Through partnerships with the cultural and heritage sectors, and exciting developments in visual arts and creative writing, Creativity, Culture and Heritage researchers are spearheading innovative approaches to the study of ancient and modern artefacts and the relevance of the past for the present.
In this episode, Senior Librarian Katie Reddington gives an introduction to the British Film Institute's Reuben Library. The Talking Humanities podcast introduces projects and reflections from researchers across the Arts and Humanities Faculty at Durham University.
The report, An Evidence-Based Approach to Creating a Culture of Inclusive Opportunity Through Arts and Creativity, was published in March 2025 and is a collaboration between Child of the North, the Centre for Young Lives, and Professor Simon James of our Department of English Studies as its executive editor. It calls for urgent action to ensure that creative careers are not only available to the wealthy.
The report found that despite the UK’s cultural sector contributing £31bn to the economy and employing over two million people, opportunities for young people to engage in the arts are declining.
Learn more about report details, key insights, and policy recommendations.
Goldschmidt, N. (2023). Fragmentary Modernism : The Classical Fragment in Literary and Visual Cultures, c.1896 - c.1936. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fragmentary Modernisms investigates how our idea of ‘the classical fragment’ has been shaped by the dialogues between classical scholars and modernist artists and writers in the first half of the twentieth century.
Learn more about Fragmentary Modernisms: The Classical Fragment in Literary and Visual Cultures, 1896-1950.
The Durham Music & Science Lab investigates a variety of questions related to music-evoked autobiographical memories (MEAMs), in particular the prevalence, features, and retrieval of these memories, how MEAMs vary across the population, and whether music has any unique ability to evoke qualitatively different memories than other common memory triggers.
Learn more about music-evoked autobiographical memories and publications of this research project.
This is the second in a series of conversations with specialists from the BFI and is a discussion between the BFI Reuben Library’s Senior Librarian Katie Reddington and Professor Simon James. Simon James is Professor of Victorian Literature in the Department of English Studies.
The Durham Commission is a joint research collaboration between Durham University and Arts Council England, convened to look at the role creativity and creative thinking should play in the education of young people.
Supported by a £2.8M investment from the University’s Strategic Research Fund, H360 brings together research at the intersection of natural and cultural heritage.
Discover some of Durham University's research centres, initiatives, and projects related to Creativity, Culture, and Heritage.
Explore the world of the visual arts and film from a global and historical perspective.
A distinctive interdisciplinary course that invites you to develop your knowledge and understanding of visual culture.
Develop your skills in writing poetry and fiction and enhance your knowledge of twentieth and twenty-first century literature on this exciting and rewarding course, taught by award–winning writers.
Our research-led education ensures our broad range of courses will challenge and inspire you.
Visit the Transformative Humanities page to find out more about current research projects of other themes.
Find out more about the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Durham University.