Archive

The 2024 Festival of Social Science at the University of Leicester featured:

Moving People, Moving Pictures: Representations of Migration on Screen

The University of Leicester’s Migration, Mobility and Citizenship Network (MMCN) partnered with Phoenix Leicester to bring three excellent films paired with discussion of how they represent different aspects of international migration and the migrant experience on the screen.

Health Bytes: Getting Digitally Fit

Aimed at those with limited skills and knowledge of health literacy this interactive session engage participants in discussions about how digital health literacy impacts various aspects of wellbeing, including mental health, physical health, and social connectivity. These discussions will help participants understand the broader implications of digital literacy on their overall quality of life.

Winston Parva Revisited: A community restudy of Established-Outsider Relations 

The aim of this event was to engage the local community, and those interested in the work of prominent sociologist Norbert Elias, with research that has previously, and continues to be, undertaken in the South Wigston area of Leicestershire.  In addition to learning about the research participants were encouraged to engage in a range of activities including (for younger attendees) drawing the local area, taking part in interactive digital research methods and sharing their memories of living and being part of the community where this important study is based.

Young People’s Law Reform Club: Protecting us in our digital life

This one-day participatory event held at the Leicester Law School enabled young people to work with researchers to decide what new laws should be created to address modern challenges in the online lives of young people.

Criminology goes to the Movies! Scrapper

Building on past film seasons in 2022 and 2023, the University of Leicester’s School of Criminology, Sociology, and Social Policy once again partnered with Phoenix Leicester.  This year's film focussed on how youth justice is depicted on screen and why media matters in criminal justice.

What helps you cope when life is hard? A live drawing session with Dr Ozzy Ogbeide

This live online drawing event focussed on the concept of resilience—specifically, the systems and elements in our lives that help us navigate challenges and thrive in and after adversity. The session delved into the everyday support systems, both tangible and intangible, that contribute to our resilience pathways and participants were encouraged to explore their thoughts and feelings through drawing.

Health Matters

A range of activities, including an online physical activity session, a breathing and meditation workshop and nutrition advice regarding healthier food options were held to support local communities to become more active and mobile and empower them to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing.

The 2023 Festival of Social Science at the University of Leicester featured:

Criminology film season

A series of film screenings to encourage members of the community to think about crime and justice and how we use this as a source of entertainment. Each film was introduced by an academic working within the Centre for Hate Studies research hubs and focussed on how film represents crime and justice, what this means for the subject, and highlighted the current research in the area.

Well-being at the end: Time to reform the law on assisted dying

This one day participatory event, aimed at young people interested in justice and social issues, enabled participants to discover how laws are reformed and the processes involved in this, including the involvement of the public and role research plays.

Mast Khana Swasth Khana - eat well, eat healthy and Nacho Nacho - Dance, Dance

These two interactive events, led by the Centre for Ethnic Health Research, promoted healthy alternatives to Indian cooking during the Diwali celebrations and physical activity in a fun and culturally appropriate style.

Revisiting the Harms of Hate: Film premiere and live podcast

Ten years on from producing the award-winning film ‘The Harms of Hate’ this event reconnected with the original film participants and other victims of hate crime to assess how their experiences have been affected by a decade characterised by hostility, volatility and toxicity. This followed a live podcast of ‘Hidden Hate’ with special guests, the CEOs of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Stop Hate UK.

Joe Orton’s Leicester by bike

A 10-mile cycle tour around Leicester with talks about leading twentieth century playwright Joe Orton (1933-1967) featuring 9 stops at sites significant to Orton's life readings from his unpublished teenage diaries. The tour ended at the University of Leicester giving attendees the opportunity to look at material in the Orton archive.

"We know all about you”: how are teenagers commercially influenced online?

This event showcased the different forms of commercial harm experienced by teenagers online enabling teenage participants to explore together different forms of online commercial harm experienced by teenagers.

Bodies that matter: Celebrating the social history of the body in the Viking age

This interactive exhibition of a number of body-objects explored bodies and bodily matters in the Viking age and invited reflection upon ideas of bodily wellbeing and the social construction of body norms, both past and present.

EmpowerED: Shaping healthcare research together

Healthcare workers, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds, face a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and adverse outcomes. These interactive sessions featured games and brainstorming activities focussing on understanding the barriers to research engagement for non-clinical staff including games designed specifically for non-clinical healthcare workers. 

You need to see this: Realities of public service work today

This conversation-based forum on the nature of public service work in Leicester and Leicestershire aimed at raising awareness of the issues facing the public service worker today with the aim of supporting dialogue and networking across the sector.