The moon has fired the imagination of storytellers for centuries and the extravagant tales of alien life they created will help explore what it means to be human at the University of Dundee next month.
Dundee is once again a key part of Being Human, the UK’s national celebration of the humanities, which takes place from 12-22 November. The programme will be built around the theme of ‘The Lunar City’, with events linking to scholarship at the University.
Despite Covid-19 restrictions, more than 200 workshops, talks, screenings and readings will take place across the UK. The University is hosting socially distanced in-person events at Dundee Contemporary Arts and Dundee Science Centre as well as online happenings.
The programme will blast off with lunar storytelling and crafts for children and will also feature a day in the life of an astronaut, out-of-this-world poetry, the launch of new comic books, an exploration of Dundee’s Moon hoax, and a special screening of cult classic Moon.
“The moon is the ultimate blank page,” said Dr Daniel Cook, Being Human lead for Dundee and a senior lecturer at the University’s English department. “As ever, we look forward to working with staff and students across the University, as well as colleagues across the city, on delivering another vintage series of creative and critical activities.
“The Being Human festival is always a highlight in our calendar as we explore Dundee’s connections with great writers, thinkers and doers. This year we’ll be heading to the moon and back, figuratively speaking – taking you from lockdown to countdown, as it were.”
Already established as the UK’s annual celebration of humanities research, Being Human boasts a diverse range of events delivered by academic researchers in collaboration with community and cultural partners. As expected, given the pandemic, online activities have come to the fore.
Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, and funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the British Academy, Being Human is a national forum for public engagement with humanities research.
The festival highlights the ways in which the humanities can inspire and enrich lives, helping us to understand ourselves, our relationships with others, and the challenges we face in a changing world.
More information about all the Dundee events can be found on the Being Human website.
University of Dundee
Nobel Prize winning poet and honorary graduate Seamus Heaney has described the University of Dundee as ‘having its head in the clouds and its feet firmly on the ground.’ The ability to be both aspirational and down-to earth and to blend ground-breaking intellectual achievement with practical applications, has given the University its distinctive character.
