Woven Earth – reflections on our attempt to ‘relearn indigeneity’ in the dales
I am curled up in a hammock, swaddled in blankets on an early morning summer’s day in Brittany where I spend a few months each year with my partner. I’m in a pocket of forest and stream surrounded by industrial maize fields. The sun has just risen in a soft pink sky and I realise,… Continue reading→
Reflections on Cultivating interdependence with the land
I generally assume a shared story of division between wild and human, between divine and mundane, between self and other and in meeting one another we pick up at the point where our shared story diverges from the sense of ourselves as a person, as an individual. We start with our name and age, our… Continue reading→
‘Turning Tables on Research’
This week, the ‘Listening Table’ makes its public debut in Sparks Bristol, an enterprise co-created by the Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace, re-fashioning a landmark retail space in the centre of Bristol to support creative communities and promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The table was developed with the support of the Brigstow Institute… Continue reading→
Brigstow creative technology researchers: mapping activity across the university
We are looking for three post graduate researchers, each based in one of the three new faculties (Arts and Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, and Health and Life Sciences), to undertake a short-term project to map existing and plans for future creative technology activity across all disciplines. This project would be particularly suitable for researchers… Continue reading→
Algorithmic discrimination in Brazil
Digital technologies are increasingly used worldwide to mediate social dynamics, manage access to rights and ensure participation in economic life. However, the way such technologies are created has blind spots, sometimes literally. There is not enough discussion about the extent to which a digital infrastructure embeds discriminatory and racist assumptions when developed and deployed critically…. Continue reading→
How to do research around drug issues
“People using drugs are expecting stigma and shame. You have to be extremely careful not to slip up and make them feel uncomfortable.” “You’re interviewing people who should be in prison, you should denounce them to the authorities.” “Not all people using drugs are vulnerable, this assumption is so stigmatising!” “Sharing a story anonymously can… Continue reading→
Climate craftivism in the classroom
‘Climate Craftivism in the Classroom’ is a project that aimed to investigate how creative pedagogies and activities in schools could open up and support conversations about climate change for young people across different areas of secondary school curricula. For this project, a team of researchers at the University of Bristol’s School of Education partnered with… Continue reading→
The time it takes: A reflection on academia and activism
What can academia add to activism? Can academia add anything to activism at all? Or, perhaps, the question ought to be: should academia want to add anything to activism? In my research, I often ask myself these questions. Focusing on the context of Latin America, I study how human rights activists use visual culture to… Continue reading→
Brigstow Data Researcher
We are looking for a researcher with a background in social science or humanities and with both qualitative and quantitative skills. This project would be particularly suitable for a researcher who has an interest in interdisciplinarity, co-produced methods and creative approaches but is essentially a data analysis role. What would I be expected to do?… Continue reading→
Embracing the Interconnected wonders of Collard Hill: Academics, Artists, Activists and (Neo-)Aurelians come together to see the Large Blue Butterfly
“We’re going on a butterfly hunt, we’re going to (digitally) catch a large one!” In the childhood storybook ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen, a family stride through long grass, wade through a river and squelch through sticky mud on an adventure. In this blog, I tell the story of our own… Continue reading→