About us
The humanities help us understand what it means to be human. At Being Human we believe new ideas in the study of the human world – from literature, history, classics, archaeology, art history, philosophy, languages, cultural studies, music, theatre, theology, and more – should belong to everyone.
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About us
Being Human is the UK’s national festival of the humanities. A celebration of humanities research through public engagement, it is led by the School of Advanced Study at the University of London, the UK’s national centre for the pursuit, support and promotion of research in the humanities. The festival works in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy to support humanities public engagement across the UK.
Every year we help researchers in the humanities – from literature and history, languages and philosophy, art history and classics, and more – produce enjoyable events for public audiences that emphasise working with local communities to share ideas for mutual benefit.
The festival aims to:
- demonstrate the value and relevance of humanities research to society in the UK and globally;
- encourage, support and create opportunities for researchers to engage with non-specialist audiences;
- embed and join together public engagement activities in the humanities across the higher education (HE) sector.
Since 2017, the festival has worked with international partnerships – with activities to date taking place in locations including Melbourne, Singapore, Paris, Rome, and Princeton, New Jersey.
