Summer School theme and host university

The theme

The Environmental Arts and Humanities is a dynamic field of the human sciences which offers important perspectives on the environmental challenges facing global society today. Climate change, biodiversity loss, systemic pollution and the environmental and social cost they pose in both the developed and developing world are timely and relevant concerns for students of the Commonwealth. These issues underline the importance of cross-border cooperation at a time of significant geopolitical tensions, which are pushing environmental issues further down government and media agendas.

Summer School participants will draw on the diversity of their experiences to explore an interconnecting set of global challenges, and will learn more about how arts and humanities approaches in interdisciplinary combinations, make studying these grave socio-ecological problems both engaging and empowering.

Throughout the Summer School students will be introduced to key ideas and approaches within the Environmental Humanities through a series of workshops, field trips, and keynote talks on subjects including: 'New narratives for environmental change' in relation to history and geography, philosophy and anthropology, literature and the visual and performing arts, heritage and tourism.

The programme will include practical activities exploring these issues, supplemented by visits to sites such as Avebury, the Avalon Marshes, and the heritage cities of Bath and Oxford. Students will engage in arts and humanities group projects supported by an international team of research experts and representatives from local heritage organisations.

Bath Spa University

Bath Spa University's vision is to be a leading university in creativity, culture, and enterprise. This vision is reflected in the Summer School's emphasis on creative research and practice in relation to pressing socio-environmental challenges.

Bath Spa is a leading UK University in the development of a coherent Environmental Humanities initiative. The University is based in a UNESCO World Heritage city, and is well connected to a network of international partners.

The Newton Park campus of Bath Spa University is a place of wonderful contrasts, from the unique blend of history and modernity in its buildings and facilities, to the mixture of tranquillity and vibrancy in the campus community. The campus offers the perfect setting of an ecologically and historically rich landscape, with state-of-the-art teaching and accommodation facilities, including professional TV studios, a media wall, and filming facilities.

The campus has its own nature reserve, a lake with its own lakeside walk, woods, historic listed buildings, and rolling fields. Participants will also enjoy a study day in the Corsham Court campus, a traditional country house rich in history with a significant art collection.