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Research funding success in Humanities – Bath Spa University
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Research funding success in Humanities

Tuesday, 11 February, 2020

Sian Sullivan, Professor of Environment and Culture in the School of Humanities and the Research Centre for Environmental Humanities, has been awarded an Arts and Humanities Research Council grant to the value of £320,027.

The award is one of 19 from more than 170 applications submitted in February 2019 to a new bilateral Humanities funding initiative of Research Councils in the UK and Germany. Only three of the 19 awards were granted to post-1992 UK universities.

The project, Historicising Natures, Cultures and Laws in the Etosha-Kunene Conservation Territories of Namibia, is built around international collaborations developed by Professor Sullivan with the University of Cologne, the University of Namibia, and with the Legal Assistance Centre NGO in Namibia.

This cross-disciplinary humanities project proposes a multivocal and historical analysis that contributes new thinking on colonialism, indigeneity and ‘natural history’. The project's aim is to support laws and practice in biodiversity conservation to more fully recognise the diversity of pasts, cultures and natures constituting this internationally-valued region. An additional strand concerns natural history specimen-artefacts collected in Namibia by colonial actors to become housed in Museums beyond Namibia, and includes research in collections in Sweden, South Africa and the UK. 

Professor John Strachan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise, said:

“Professor Sullivan’s cross-disciplinary project foregrounds the true value of collaboration across political and geographical boundaries, connecting past and present and placing people and the environment at its heart.”

The project responds in particular to two UN Sustainable Development Goals: SDG15, Life on Land, and SDG10, Reduced Inequality, and builds on Professor Sullivan’s prior research in Namibia.

Interested in environmental courses?

Ours are more popular than ever. Visit MA Environmental Humanities, MSc Environmental Management, BSc (Hons) Environmental Science or BSc (Hons) Geography to find out more. You can also take a look at the School of Humanities for more of our work on society, culture and environment.


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Sian Sullivan

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