Research in Humanities and Comparative Studies
In the latest reseach assessment exercise, the Univeristy of Essex was
ranked in the top ten in the country for research. History was ranked second
in the UK while Art History and Philosphy were in the top ten. In History,
Philosophy and English Language and Literature, 95 per cent of research was
ranked as 'world leading', 'internationally excellent' or 'internationally
recognised'.
Please contact our
schools and
departments directly or our
Research and Enterprise Office for more information about our research
and how you can work with us.
School of Philosophy and Art History
The School of Philosophy and Art History is currently home to the
Essex Autonomy Project. Other
recently completed research projects include
Meeting
Margins: Transnational Art in Latin America and Europe 1950-1978 and
Aesthetics
after Photography. The School contains two research centres, the
Centre for Curatorial Studies and
Centre for the Study of
Surrealism and its Legacies and also hosts the editorial for
Inquiry:
an Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy, as well as two online
journals edited by postgraduates,
Re·bus: a Journal of Art
History and Theory and
Arara - Art and
Architecture of the Americas. A long standing commitment within Art
History to the study of art from Latin America also lead to the formation of
ESCALA - Essex Collection of Art from
Latin America. Further information about research in the School is
available on our departmental research profile and staff pages:
Essex Autonomy Project
The Essex Autonomy Project is
a research and knowledge-exchange initiative which aims to clarify the ideal
of self-determination in history, theory and practice, both for its own sake
and to guide public policy makers and frontline professionals, such as care
workers, medical practitioners and legal professionals, in dealing with the
complex issues surrounding mental competence and the capacity of vulnerable
individuals to make decisions for themselves. The project is funded by the
Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC).
Department of History
The Department of History is home to a number of major research projects
including
The Angolan Roots of Capoeira,
Covenanting
Citizens? The Protestation Oath and the English Revolution and the
Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM) project. The Department also
contains the
Centre for Local and Regional History and coordinates the university's
annual
Holocaust Memorial Week and the publication of its related journal
The
Holocaust in History and Memory. Further information about current
research is available on the departmental research profile and staff pages:
Covenanting Citizens? The Protestation Oath and the English Revolution
Covenanting
Citizens? The Protestation Oath and the English Revolution focusses on a
decisive moment in the build-up to the English Civil War. The Protestation
Oath was an oath of loyalty to the King, to Parliament and the Church which
vowed to defend them 'against all Popery and Popish Innovations'. Parliament
made the oath requirement for all people over 18 in 1642, an act which
fundamentally altered relationship between the individual and the state. The
research not only challenges the notion that England simply slipped into
civil war, but explores connections to modern discussions about the state,
religious identities and citizenship. The project is lead by
Professor John Walter and is funded by the
Leverhulme Trust.
The Angolan roots of Capoeira
The Angolan Roots of Capoeira project explores transatlantic links
between the Afro-Brazilian art form capoeira and particular Angolan
traditions of combat, dance, music, song and performance.
Dr Matthias Röhrig Assunção of the Department of History is leading an
international multi-disciplinary team which includes renowned capoeira
master Cobra Mansa and film-maker Richard Pakleppa. The project is funded by
the Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC).
Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM)
The
Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM) project aims to produce an
integrated dataset of the censuses of Great Britain for the period 1851 to
1911. This will provide a unique and unparalleled historical resource for
British social scientific research. The project is funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Department of Literature Film and Theatre studies (LiFTS)
The Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies (LiFTS) is home to
a number of ongoing research projects including
Imagining the Nation from the Eastern Fringe: the Norwich Company of
Comedians, 1811-45 and
Memory Maps. Past
projects include the recently completed
American
Tropics: Towards a Literary Geography. The department also houses four
research centres, the
Centre
for Creative Writing, the
Centre for
Film Studies, the
Centre for
Myth Studies and the
Centre
for Theatre Studies. Further information about current research is
available on the departmental research profile and staff pages:
Imagining the Nation from the Eastern Fringe: the Norwich Company of
Comedians, 1811-45
Imagining the Nation from the Eastern Fringe: the Norwich Company of
Comedians, 1811-45 is lead by
Dr
Elizabeth Kuti at the
Centre
for Theatre Studies. The project explores the Norwich Theatre circuit,
specifically focussing on the lives and cultural significance of the Norwich
Company of Comedians, from 1811 until company's disbanding in 1845, and is
funded by the British Academy,
the UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Memory Maps
Memory Maps is an
ongoing project organised by the
Centre
for Creative Writing and focusses on people and their relationship with
place. The project is lead by
Professor
Marina Warner and began as a joint venture between LiFTS and the
Victoria and Albert
Museum, who host the original Memory Maps website, an extensive
collection of original written and pictorial contributions particularly
focussing on Essex. Contributors have included
Iain Sinclair,
Billy Bragg and
Ronald Blythe, as well as members of the Centre for Creative Writing,
Marina Warner,
Philip Terry and
Adrian May. A new website hosted by the Department is currently under
construction.