All mankind is of one author, and is one volume
John Donne’s evocation of human connectedness across space and time is a fitting sentiment for our Brigstow-funded project “Medievals and Moderns in conversation”. Here, we’re asking how the long-history of our rural medieval churches might help us imagine new roles today for church buildings in their communities. As part of this work we’re developing an… Continue reading→
Roll with it: teamwork and research in a pandemic
Image credit: Michael Grieve Health issues started to impact on our project (Kept Apart: couples and families separated by the UK immigration system) before the UK locked down in response to Covid-19. Just before our first workshop, Katharine (the PI) was struck down by a nasty case of food poisoning. If we cancelled the workshop,… Continue reading→
Ken Pryce: His life, his academic contribution and his relevance today: from a historian’s perspective
I’ve always regretted not meeting Ken Pryce when he was in Bristol. He left in 1973 and I had only just arrived in the city in 1972. But his book Endless Pressure first published in 1979 was to be a great influence on me, so I was delighted when Jo Kontis came up with the… Continue reading→
How can flood data be more useful? Initial Interviews
The ‘How can flood data be more useful’ research project brings together an interdisciplinary team with the aim to gain a deeper understanding of organisations’ flood data needs, in order to produce more useable science. In this short post we will provide an update on the progress of the project and highlight key contributions to… Continue reading→
Endless Pressure: Sociologists in Conversation
Julia: Do you have a copy of Ken Pryce’s Endless Pressure? Jackie: Yes, a very worn copy. The front cover has a photo of three young black men dressed in 1970s clothing, trying to look cool. The skinny middle ‘yout’ stares straight at the camera wearing pilot Ray Ban reflective sun glasses, flares and a… Continue reading→
A message from Brigstow
You might want to know what Brigstow’s been up to and what our plans are going forward. I think it’s fair to say it’s been a difficult time for everyone, both personally and professionally. So we thought it time to share some of our recent activities and future plans with you. We knew this would… Continue reading→
CALL OPEN: Brigstow Institute and Bristol Photo Festival
The commission Brigstow is delighted to be able to work with the Bristol Photo Festival to offer the opportunity for one research team to work together on a short project that uses photography as a research tool/approach/method. We’d like the project to be, ideally, both interdisciplinary and co-produced, and fit broadly within the Brigstow theme of living… Continue reading→
MAPHIS: Using machine learning to understand city development
Brigstow funded Experimental Partnership “MAPHIS: Mapping History – What historical maps can tell us about urban development” intends to develop novel, interdisciplinary methods that facilitate the extraction of information from historical maps and the analysis of Census records, in order to study urban development in the long run. The blessing, the curse, and the distortion… Continue reading→
A Tale of Three Methods
There is a recognised need to find new roles for our churches, helping them better serve communities and move towards long-term sustainability (a pressure recognised at the highest level by the Church of England). For the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), their historic churches are to be enjoyed by everyone as places of heritage, culture, spirituality,… Continue reading→
Lets continue to connect!
Hello everyone, We hope you are all keeping safe and well in the current difficult circumstances. Just to let you know that Brigstow is still open for conversations and ideas, albeit virtually rather than face-to-face. These are uncertain times but we are still planning to keep supporting new and exciting interdisciplinary projects in the future… Continue reading→