The UK’s only national festival of the humanities returns to Swansea for the fourth year running

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Swansea University’s Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) has been chosen as one of five hubs for Being Human 2017, the UK’s only national festival of the humanities.

Being Human 2017Now in its fourth year, Being Human is led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. This partnership draws together the three major bodies dedicated to supporting and promoting humanities research in the UK and internationally.

With a theme of Lost & Found, this year's celebration of the humanities is taking place nationally between 17 - 25 November 2017, with a series of free events taking place across Swansea.

Amid a diverse and interesting series of activities under the hub theme of Voices, Faces and Places, audiences will be able to:

  • Rediscover Egyptian amulets and guardian demons.
  • Listen to readings from two of the most exciting and relevant poets in the UK; Simon Armitage, and Radio 4’s Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra.
  • Enjoy an exhibition of a unique collection of portraits from the Welsh arts scene taken by Bernard Mitchell.
  • Attend a special screening of the critically-acclaimed Don’t Take Me Home, which documents the Welsh national football team’s incredible journey to the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016.  The screening is followed by a Q&A with the film’s award-winning director and Swansea University graduate, Jonny Owen.
  • Uncover family histories relating to the British Empire.
  • Make faces and stories, take multilingual snaps and even have a medieval makeover!
  • Discover lost and new voices in our multilingual city.

These events will be delivered by Swansea University’s Research Institute for Arts and Humanities (RIAH) in collaboration with a range of partners from the Swansea Bay area.

Dr Elaine Canning, Head of the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities at Swansea University, said: “We are delighted to be hosting a festival hub as part of Being Human 2017 and wish to thank the festival organisers for giving us this exciting opportunity to bring our research into the community once more."