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'The natives ... enquired what the Spaniards wanted. [They] answered "Food".'

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 …

Family Policies and Social Science

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 …

How to Choose an Electoral System

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 …

New Labour and the British Constitution

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 'Professor of Electoral Engineering': An election campaign in West Bengal

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 …

Academics, Academies and Public Policy: The Case of the American Health Care Debate

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 …

Bride Price, Poverty and Domestic Violence in Uganda

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.

Newton International Fellowships (BAR)

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. …

Obesity: The Welfare Regime Hypothesis

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 …

The Evolutionary Anthropology of the Family

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 Olympic Games: Imagining a New Media Legacy

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 …

Risky and Resourceful: Parenting experiences of (ex) offender fathers

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.

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