King's Interdisciplinary Humanities

💡 Dr Pavan Mano from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social explores decolonising the curriculum & asks 'how we might rethink the work we do in the classroom to persuade students that there remains value to reading at length, to living with complexity and resisting easy answers' in @globalpolicy.bsky.social ⤵️

COMMENT: Singapore's national identity excludes those who don't look like a 'regular family' | King's College London Nationalism usually works on the basis that a nation should imagine itself as a “we”, with a common identity, history and culture. But it doesn’t always clearly say who the “we” are. Instead, it…

🇸🇬 Singapore commits to being a nation of equality – but is this a reality for every citizen?

Dr Pavan Mano from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social shows how Singapore's policies on issues such as housing and COVID restrictions favour heterosexual couples for @uk.theconversation.com ⬇️

💡 'It can feel weird asking for help... and intimidating as an Early Career Researcher.'

Dr Pavan Mano (@kingsinterhums.bsky.social), Dr Leonie Smith & Professor @annavignoles.bsky.social discuss academic funding on the new @britishacademy.bsky.social & @leverhulme.ac.uk podcast ⤵️
shorturl.at/FGNct

Global Cultures MA student wins AKC Leathes Prize for essay on love Éile Rasmussen, student on the Global Cultures MA, has won the AKC Leathes Prize for the Faculty of Arts & Humanities for her essay on the ethic of radical, relational love.

🏆 Congratulations to Global Cultures MA student @eilerasmussen.bsky.social on winning the AKC Leathes Prize for an essay on the ethic of radical, relational love 💘

'To have that work recognised affirms that these questions are shared, urgent, and alive,' said Éile ⤵️
www.kcl.ac.uk/news/global-...

My Global Cultures MA research: Knowledge is empowerment Lauren Castle-Baker describes how the Global Cultures MA has influenced the way she approaches her career.

🎓 Lauren Castle-Baker (Global Cultures MA) shares how modules on diversity and inclusion, the digital realm of global cultures, and gender studies and globalisation have altered her approach to work projects.

💡 Originally published on @alivewithideas.bsky.social

🔗 Read more ⤵️

King's academic appointed as Pedro Henríquez Ureña Chair Dr Rosa Andújar, Senior Lecturer in Liberal Arts in the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities, has been appointed as the Pedro Henríquez Ureña Chair (Cátedra Pedro Henríquez Ureña) by the Bibliot...

🇩🇴 Dr Rosa Andújar from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social was appointed as Pedro Henríquez Ureña Chair by the Biblioteca Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña in the Dominican Republic thanks to her research on the influence of ancient Greece on Latin America.

🔗 Read more ⤵️
www.kcl.ac.uk/news/kings-a...

Liberal Arts student wins Jelf Medal for Faculty of Arts & Humanities Jessie Sumroy, who graduated from the Liberal Arts BA this summer, received the Jelf Medal for the Faculty of Arts & Humanities.

🎓 Congratulations to Jessie Sumroy (Liberal Arts BA) on receiving the Jelf Medal for the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at graduation 🎉

'I am grateful to have this award as a commemoration of the relationships, hard work and fun that formed my time here,' said Jessie 👇

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/liberal...

COMMENT: Will the new James Bond embrace hi-tech gadgets in an age of AI? The films have a complicated history with technology Development of a new James Bond film is underway at Amazon Studios, with the creater of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, now attached to write the screenplay, which will be directed by Denis Villeneuve.

🚘 What hi-tech gadgets can we expect in the new James Bond film?

Dr Christopher Holliday from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social plots how the films mirror the technology of their time and whether AI will be the star of Bond 26.

🔗 Read more from @uk.theconversation.com ⤵️

www.kcl.ac.uk/news/comment...

King's alumnus Dylan Huw to represent Wales at the 2026 Venice Biennale Dylan Huw (BA Liberal Arts with a Major in Film Studies, 2014-2017) has been selected by Arts Council of Wales to represent Wales at the 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice.

🌟 Congratulations to our alumnus Dylan Huw (BA Liberal Arts
@kingsinterhums.bsky.social with a Major in Film Studies @kingsfilmstudies.bsky.social, 2014-2017), who has been selected to represent Wales at the 2026 Venice Biennale!

COMMENT: England's redesigned banknotes will reveal how the country sees itself The Bank of England has announced a redesign of its banknotes and invited the public to suggest new themes that might feature on them. Victoria Cleland, the Bank of England’s chief cashier, said this…

💷 As the @bankofengland.bsky.social invites the public to submit ideas for new banknote designs, Dr Pavan Mano from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social reflects on the contradictions of national symbols and the irony of undertaking this activity in an increasingly cashless society.

🔗 Read more 👇

'Multilingualism is seen as a problem' – valuing languages in university settings Speakers debated the possibility of achieving true multilingualism in universities at the latest Language Debates event on 23 June, hosted by Language Acts and Worldmaking.

🔤 'Not everyone is quite so enthusiastic about multilingualism as I am.'

Professors Terry Lamb and Jo Angouri put forward the case for promoting and valuing linguistic diversity in universities at a Language Debate, hosted by Language Acts and Worldmaking on 23 June 👇

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Talking Business - 27/06/2025 Is AI the future of advertising? As the industry becomes a $1trillion phenomenon is new technology and political upheaval going to upend it?

🤖 'We're dealing with the automation of labour, but at the same time we're also dealing with ethics, consent and risk.'

Dr Christopher Holliday explores the challenges and opportunities for advertising and AI on BBC Talking Business.

📺 Watch from 03:28 🔽
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Penelope's Opera: amplifying the unheard voices of ancient Greek myth In the latest Spotlight on Arts & Humanities, we look at the work of Dr Emily Pillinger, who works in the Department of Classics and in the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities. She developed a ...

🎶 Can music transform our understanding of classical myths?

Dr @emilypillinger.bsky.social's research gives voice to the unheard character of Penelope from Homer's Odyssey by using contemporary musical performances to share ancient myths with modern audiences 👇
www.kcl.ac.uk/news/spotlig...

Not yet James Bond's Time to Die: can 007 survive his latest… Dr Christopher Holliday from the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities asks what the James Bond franchise will look like with Denis Villeneuve at the helm.

🎥 Is Denis Villeneuve the right choice to direct the next James Bond film? 🍸

Dr Christopher Holliday from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social explores what the franchise needs to 'future-proof Bond's status as a British institution against charges that 007 is past his best' ⤵️
www.kcl.ac.uk/not-yet-jame...

Pixar needs original animated hits. They're much harder to come by at the box office Pixar built its name on original animated movies such as 'Toy Story,' 'Finding Nemo' and 'Up.' But in recent years, its sequels have been the moneymakers.

🍿 Why are sequels more popular than original animated films?

Dr Chris Holliday from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social says Pixar is at a 'crossroads where they are trying to balance films that have an audience built into them and their identity as a studio of innovation' ⤵️
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

🩺 'Cultural competency is not just an academic concept – it is an essential component of effective, empathetic and ethical clinical practice.'

🏆 Ava Khoshnaghsh explains how being a Cultural Competency Champion helped her win the 2024 Balint Society Essay & Creative Writing Award 👇
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Propaganda in action: photographs document legacy of US Cold War messaging in Brazil Visual media can play a dominant role in shaping our understanding of politics – sometimes without us even noticing. In this Spotlight on Arts & Humanities, Dr Daniel Mandur Thomaz, Senior Lecturer…

📽️ Has Cold War propaganda impacted politics in Brazil today?

In our latest Spotlight on Arts & Humanities, discover how Dr Daniel Mandur Thomaz has supported school children in Brazil to recognise how propaganda has shaped the country’s understanding of modern political messaging 🇧🇷

🔗 Read more 👇

🇸🇬 Dr Pavan Mano from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social uncovers how the governance of sexuality is used as a tool of nationalism in postcolonial Singapore in his new book, Straight Nation 📘

🔗 Find out more at the book launch on 5 June with @asenevents.bsky.social ⬇️
www.kcl.ac.uk/events/asen-...

My Global Cultures MA dissertation: the exclusion of disabled people… People with disabilities are amongst the most vulnerable people in a humanitarian crisis. Even though international organisations often acknowledge the importance of including people with…

👩‍🦽 NGOs often say they offer humanitarian support to people of all abilities – but does it happen?

For her Global Cultures MA dissertation, Anna Fatholahzadeh explores how disabled people are excluded from receiving the assistance they need.

🔗 Read more 👇
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Non-government organisations fail to acknowledge role of Whiteness in entrenching racism, says new paper A new paper argues that international non-government organisations (INGOs) need to confront the role of Whiteness in their history and work to become truly anti-racist.

💡 INGOs are 'colour-blind' when communicating anti-racism by not considering their own role in racist structures, says new research by Dr @eddyade.bsky.social (@kingsinterhums.bsky.social) and Dr Eilish Dillon (@maynoothuniversity.ie) in a new paper for @ersjournal.com.

🔗 Read more 👇

Critical Intersections Symposium: Call for Papers This one-day symposium brings together scholars exploring methodological and practical approaches to staging meaningful dialogues between critical traditions that share a common object of critique:…

📢 Registration is now open for the Critical Intersections Symposium on 15 May.

Speakers will explore questions around creating reciprocal dialogues, practices of humility and care, the role of positionality, and ethical considerations in engaging with marginalised scholarship.

🔗 Register here ⬇️

Champions celebrated for spearheading Cultural Competency movement Cultural Competency Champions were celebrated at a special event on 24 March to recognise their role in fostering an inclusive and globally aware community at King's.

🫶 A special event on 24 March celebrated Cultural Competency Champions for fostering an inclusive community at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social.

💬 'The message of cultural competency may seem simple, but its impact is beyond imagination,' said Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin.

🔗 Read more ⬇️

🎉 Congratulations to Ava from @kingslsm.bsky.social on this award! 'I’m grateful for the chance to voice issues that matter to me,' she said.

Learn more about Cultural Competency at King's, part of @kingsinterhums.bsky.social ⤵️
www.kcl.ac.uk/interhums/pr...

🚨 Call for papers: Critical Intersections Symposium

We invite contributions that engage with intersections between critical traditions that share a common object of critique: Western ontologies and epistemologies.

Deadline: 4 April 2025

🔗 Find out more and how to apply ⤵️
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🤖 Discover how AI tools are impacting copyright laws, employment and creativity in the film industry, and the solutions proposed through Dr Holliday's research ⬇️

Governance of sexuality used to bolster nationalism, says new book A new book by Dr Pavan Mano, Lecturer in Global Cultures in the Department of Interdisciplinary Humanities, examines the link between nationalism and sexuality in independent postcolonial Singapore.

🌏 'Ultimately, nationalism forments little more than perpetual division and exclusion – this is on display all around the world at the moment.'

In a new book, Dr Pavan Mano from @kingsinterhums.bsky.social reveals how Singapore's governance of sexuality reinforces nationalism 🇸🇬

🔗 Read more ⬇️

'The stealth of the powerful is difficult to follow' – Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya interrogates money and power structures Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya explored how the rich and powerful make certain social groups ‘disposable’ at the inaugural Interdisciplinary Humanities lecture on 12 March.

🤝 'It seems better to know only a little, imperfectly & together, than to pretend the next step will be just like the last.'

Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya asked how to find common ground in a time of polarisation at the @kingsinterhums.bsky.social annual lecture.

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Interdisciplinary Humanities Annual Lecture: 'What is there to say in the face of catastrophe? What might it take to understand the horror of the world?' Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya (UCL) presents the first Interdisciplinary Humanities Annual Lecture, exploring how we can understand the horror of the world.

☢️ Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya from @ucl.ac.uk presents the inaugural Annual Lecture for @kingsinterhums.bsky.social, asking 'What is there to say in the face of #catastrophe? What might it take to understand the horror of the world?'

📆 12 March
🕕 6pm-7.30pm

🔗 Register here ⬇️

🎨 'In the twenty-first century, it has become impossible to remove art galleries from the dominant ideological systems that produce, maintain and continue to fund them.'

Dr George Legg (@kingsinterhums.bsky.social) reflects on 25 years of Art on the Underground.

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Education systems need to challenge capitalist and colonial roots, says new book Challenging colonialism and neoliberalism in education systems is the route to re-imaging global structures, says a new book co-edited by Dr Sara Camacho Felix, Senior Lecturer in Global Cultures and…

🎒 Dr @sarafelix.bsky.social (@kingsinterhums.bsky.social) and Nyashadzashe Mandivenga (LSE) are co-editors of a new e-book exploring the colonial, neoliberal & capitalist foundations of global #education systems, offering alternative models that acknowledge youth power & agency.

🔗 Discover more ⤵️