The British Academy and the Mexican Embassy collaborated to organise a public study day at the British Museum on ‘Moctezuma’s Feast’, linked to the Museum’s ‘Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler’ exhibition. The event, which took place on 21 November 2009, offered lively presentations on topics ranging from the mystical powers attributed to …
On 23 February 2010, the British Academy Policy Centre launched its first report, ‘Social Science and Family Policies’. At the launch, there was a lively debate, chaired by Polly Toynbee of the ‘Guardian’, on the respective roles of politicians and social scientists. Dr Simon Griffiths and Lili Hoag offer a …
The British Academy Policy Centre report on choosing an electoral system for the UK was launched on 10 March 2010. Its authors, Professor Simon Hix, Professor Ron Johnston FBA and Professor Iain McLean FBA, explain why it has turned out to be even more topical than it was when the …
Funding through the British Academy Small Grants scheme has helped Professor Andy Miah and Dr Beatriz Garcia to pursue their research into the ‘non-accredited’ media at the Olympic Games. Here they describe the role of this alternative media coverage, and explain its significance for Britain on the approach to London …
Dr Liz Walker received a British Academy Small Research Grant to study the experiences of fathers who had spent time in prison. Here she reveals that it is a complex picture.
Dr Caroline Page received a British Academy Small Research Grant to study the interplay between official propaganda and public opinion on the Vietnam War in Australia and New Zealand, 1965–1973. Here she reveals how the need to be perceived as good allies of the US drew the two countries into …
In the last few months, the British Academy has hosted a range of events that have onsidered the state of the British constitution after 13 years with New Labour in power. Dr Andrew Blick offers some reflections on the significance – and limitations – of the constitutional changes, and of …
A British Academy Larger Research Grant has supported the first-ever research on how ‘bride-price’ may link to poverty and domestic violence in Uganda. Professor Gill Hague and Dr Ravi K. Thiara explain how this innovative research was carried out, and how it is helping to change some traditional attitudes.
On 16 February 2010, an event was held at the Royal Society to celebrate the success of the Newton International Fellowships scheme. The Fellowships are awarded by the British Academy, the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering to attract outstanding postdoctoral researchers to the UK for two years. …
The news coverage of the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile has been dominated by reports of ever increasing death tolls. One of the British Academy-funded Newton International Fellows, Dr Christopher Olivola, offers an explanation of why as individuals we react in such contrasting ways to different mortality rates.
A conference held in Oxford in November 2009, with financial support from the British Academy, considered the hypothesis that obesity rates are influenced by social welfare regimes, and have risen more in market-liberal than in social-democratic societies. Professor Avner Offer FBA, Dr Rachel Pechey and Professor Stanley Ulijaszek explain the …
Professor Ruth Mace FBA argues that evolutionary influences on human family patterns cannot be ignored. This article is based on a paper given by Professor Mace at the June 2009 Darwin Conference, jointly organised by the British Academy, the Royal Society and the American Philosophical Society.
The state of the public finances, which have deteriorated markedly since the onset of the recession, is a major Election issue. It provoked an exchange of letters in the ‘Sunday Times’ and the ‘Financial Times’, leading to media focus on the pace of tightening in the near term. Fellows of …
In December 2009 a British Academy Forum considered what steps might be taken by government agencies to anticipate and prepare for any future shocks to the financial system and the global economy. The two convenors of the Forum, Professor Tim Besley FBA and Professor Peter Hennessy FBA, summarised the discussion …
A new British Academy publication looks at ‘Diversity and Change in Modern India’, drawing on economic, social and political approaches. In her contribution to the volume, Dr Mukulika Banerjee provides an ethnography of an election campaign in West Bengal, based on a study of the elections won by the Left …
In the British Academy Fellows Seminar on 7 January 2010, Professor Ted Marmor FBA discussed the role that academics can play in contributing to public debate, and commended the British Academy on the recent establishment of its Policy Centre. In contrast, he provided an American perspective on the lack of …