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Our Research

To understand the world we live in, we need to understand how cultures connect and how those connections shape us.

Our three research themes aim to help us make sense of the world around us. To discover our projects, click on our theme titles.

Culture and community

Culture emerges from communities and communities inform cultural practices. Our work explores the concepts of identity, belonging, justice efforts and citizenship.

We champion research which explores the role of culture in establishing and negotiating relationships between people and places across times and spaces, particularly in relation to migration, human rights and social justice. We also support work that examines the place-making possibilities of culture and that supports community building opportunities locally, nationally and internationally.

Creativity and connection

What is the transformative potential of the arts in relation to wellbeing? How can arts and STEM researchers work together? This theme highlights the development of a wide range of cultural practices.

We critically examine performance in its widest sense, and consider the role of performativity in making sense of the world. We are keen to support work that involves minority communities and people normally remote from academic research. Work on cultural value and the value of culture is also central to this theme.

Transnational and global humanities

Our work focuses on translation and exchanges between cultures, from the local to the global. We explore how culture acts as a site of resistance and emanicipation.

We also support innovative digital projects that open up the critical exploration of the humanities, and work that seeks to understand and address the challenges of a globally connected world. Under this theme, we analyze and investigate the complex interrelationships between human activity (cultural, artistic, economic, and political) and the environment.

City of Culture 2021

Our Connecting Cultures GRP has also supported projects that lead up to Coventry's City of Culture year in 2021. We have co-funded research with the Sustainable Cities GRP and Coventry UniversityLink opens in a new window over three years of the 'Open Call' funding scheme. We also contributed seed funding a number of stand alone projects.

City of Culture & Warwick