Vision / Culture and communication

Culture and communication

Students exploring a gallary with virtual reality headsets. Students exploring a gallary with virtual reality headsets.

We work with more than 50 cultural organisations globally, from Europe and Hollywood to China. Our partnerships with the UK’s creative and heritage industries inspire audiences and enrich lives. We connect communities through innovative technologies and empower organisations to deliver positive change.

Maiken Umbach

Through whose eyes are we seeing the past?

Professor Maiken Umbach is challenging the use of Nazi photographs in commemorating and teaching about the Holocaust

Leonidas statue, under a dramatic cloudscape at sunset, Thermopylae

Challenging the military myth: changing perceptions of ancient Sparta

A trio of Nottingham researchers are helping to challenge perceptions of the Greek city-state of Sparta, changing long-held beliefs about this ancient society.

Hollywood sign

What next for the movie industry? Helping Hollywood plan ahead

What next for the movie industry? A researcher is helping film-makers in Hollywood plan ahead.

Illustration of a GP and a patient talking

Hungry for Words: raising awareness of eating disorders in men

How the Hungry for Words project is raising awareness of eating disorders in men

Dr Gabriele Neher

Bringing museums to life through storytelling

Art historian Dr Gabriele Neher and colleagues are on a mission to modernise museums, breathing life into the stories of their exhibits and exploring new ways to engage audiences.

Two gold masks

Golden years

Our heritage lottery-funded project has helped the Theatre Royal to develop a new volunteer-led approach to researching its history

Sir Martyn Poliakoff

Spotlight on a YouTube phenomenon

The Periodic Table of Videos: sharing science with over 200 million viewers

Gabriele Gradoni researcher at University of Nottingham

Making way for 5G and beyond

New wave modelling is helping roll out the next digital revolution

A statue in a museum

Bringing museums to life through sound

From soundscapes of Bradford to compositions in caves, Dr James Mansell explains how he is working with museums to enrich visitors’ experiences

Pencils

Children should be seen and heard

Professor Andrew Fisher is pioneering the teaching of philosophy – from the primary school to post-doctoral level – and transforming the way thousands of children across the East Midlands are taught.

Jonathan Tallant

Trust me, I'm a philosopher

Local businesses, charities and the NHS have all benefited from the work of academic Jonathan Tallant, who specialises in putting philosophical concepts to use in the real world

Hands holding up a we need a change sign

The post-liberal views shaping our political landscape

A ground-breaking book by Professor John Milbank has sent ripples through the world of politics with its post-liberal approach to creating fairer societies of the future.

Viking ships

Norse Star

Dr Roderick Dale’s fascination with the Vikings is shared by many: 9,000-plus people attended the record-breaking exhibition Danelaw Saga: Bringing Vikings Back to the East Midlands

People protesting

MOOCs make history

Online learning is not only deepening engagement with a worldwide community of participants: it enriches research.

Silhouette of people projected onto digital screen

Curator of Rebellion puts Nottingham Castle on the map

Dr Richard Gaunt’s work on the history of rebellion in Nottingham has been crucial in the transformation of one of the city’s major landmarks, attracting interest from across the world.

Volunteers, students and professional archaeologists working together, taken by Will Bowden

Archaeology for everyone: the Norfolk community uncovering its own past

University academics are helping the residents of a Norfolk village uncover the remnants of its Roman past in a unique community archaeology project. Will Bowden, Professor of Roman Archaeology, explains.

Two violinists

The Solfeggio Tradition: the historic method transforming the way music is taught 

The discovery of an ancient method of learning music is revolutionising the way children and adults are being taught across Europe. Professor Nicholas Baragwanath explains.

A gold coin

Heads and tails

Iron Age coins are revealing fascinating details about the East Midlands during this period

DH Lawrence illustration

The coalminer’s son

How DH Lawrence’s life is promoting a greater appreciation of the literary and mining heritage of Eastwood among school pupils

Silk roads

The story of glass

How studying the chemical composition of ancient glass objects reveals a hidden past

Periodic table

Turning the table

Sir Martyn Poliakoff, periodic table, experimental

Memorial to Queen Victoria statue

Contested heritage: art, empire and monuments in Leeds

Dr Rebecca Senior, a Henry Moore Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, has created a series of resources to support institutions grappling with legacies of colonialism by engaging with recent debates over contested art in the UK.

Dr Angus Davison holding snails

How #SnailLove led me to the BBC

Dr Angus Davison on the Jeremy the snail phenomenon and life as a Media Fellow

Highfields Park Boating Lake, University Park Campus, Nottingham

Listen by the lake: engaging the public with sound

The Institute for Policy and Engagement’s listening posts around Highfields Park offers the public chance encounters with groundbreaking research and ideas from the university.

A scientist opening a liquid nitrogen container

The three amigos: chaos, Covid-19, (research) culture

Our response to the virus has given researchers the opportunity to reflect on what a renewed sense of community and shared purpose can achieve

Dinosaurs in a museum

Triumph of the dinosaurs

Bringing an iconic collection of dinosaur fossils from China to a Nottingham museum was a remarkable coup and forged new partnerships with the fastest-growing sector of its kind in the world

Shakespeare books

Streaming Shakespeare: the theatre industry in lockdown

Dr Peter Kirwan ponders what theatre will look like when the lights go back up

A letter from Tom Lehrer

Why the periodic table makes my heart sing

Roger Highfield of the Science Museum Group on the elemental joy of songwriter Tom Lehrer’s witty classic.