Tagged / social and cultural research

BU hosts international conference on the state of the world, fifty years after it was turned inside out (circa 1967) and upside down (circa 1968)

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Association for Psychosocial Studies Biennial Conference

Bournemouth University, 5th-7th April 2018

‘Psychosocial Reflections on a Half Century of Cultural Revolution’

http://aps2018.bournemouth.ac.uk

A half century after the hippie counterculture of 1967 (‘the summer of love’) and the political turbulence of 1968 (‘May 68’), one aim of this conference is to stage a psychosocial examination of the ways in which today’s world is shaped by the forces symbolised by those two moments. It will explore the continuing influence of the deep social, cultural and political changes in the West, which crystallised in the events of these two years. The cultural forces and the political movements of that time aimed to change the world, and did so, though not in the ways that many of their participants expected. Their complex, multivalent legacy of ‘liberation’ is still developing and profoundly shapes the globalising world today, in the contests between what is called neo-liberalism, resurgent fundamentalisms, environmentalism, individualism, nationalisms, and the proliferation of identity politics.

A counter-cultural and identity-based ethos now dominates much of consumer culture, and is reflected in the recent development of some populist and protest politics. A libertarian critique of politics, once at the far margins, now informs popular attitudes towards many aspects of democratic governance; revolutionary critiques have become mainstream clichés. Hedonic themes suffuse everyday life, while self-reflection and emotional literacy have also become prominent values, linked to more positive orientations towards human diversity and the international community.

 

The programme is now available on the conference website:

http://aps2018.bournemouth.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Provisional-Programme.pdf

There are five keynotes and eighty papers, with presenters from all continents, as well as a number of experiential workshops. As well as examining the main theme of societal change, there is an open stream of papers on a wide range of topics. Methods of psychosocial inquiry are applicable to most topics. As an academic community, the psychosocial is a broad church defined only by a commitment to exploring and linking the internal and external worlds – the deeply personal and the equally deeply societal as sources of experience and action.

BU colleagues can attend the whole conference at the hugely discounted rate of £40, or £25 per day.

 

 

BU at The Freud Museum: ‘Powerplay: Psychoanalysis and Political Culture’

BRIAN, BU research

Special Day Conference, BU at the Freud Museum:

‘Powerplay: Psychoanalysis and Political Culture’

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We are surrounded by political culture as never before and yet, in some ways have never felt so powerless. The recent Brexit vote ( see: http://bit.ly/EUReferendumAnalysis2016_Jackson-Thorsen-and-Wring_v1) and the victory of Trump in the US Presidential election (US Election Analysis website) have foregrounded the significance of politics as a field of social and cultural contestation, shaped by the dynamics of power, history and material interest, but also by the irrational forces of emotion and processes of unconscious fantasy. In December 2016, the BU Centre for Politics and Media collaborated with the Freud Museum, and the Media and Inner World research network to host a special conference on different aspects of political culture today.

The conference was held at the Anna Freud Centre and the Freud Museum, London and it brought together some renowned figures to look at a broad idea of political culture and psychoanalysis, discussed as history, as a state of mind, as televisual culture and as being linked to political practice. Throughout the course of the day, the conference looked at these different areas, and how those spheres feed into the political imagination and the unconscious processes that shape it.

The day began with organizer, Professor Candida Yates (biog) who in her opening remarks, developed the themes of her recent book, The Play of Political Culture, Emotion and Identity (Palgrave Macmillan) by discussing the psychodynamics of political culture, focusing as a case study on the relationship between shame and the emotional appeal of Donald Trump for voters.

BU Professor Barry Richards (biog) then chaired the first full session of the day with the renowned cultural historian, Professor Eli Zaretsky (biog). He discussed ‘The Three Faces of Political Freud’ and the hisorical influences of psychoanalysis upon political social movements (abstract).

The second presentation was given by Psychoanalyst and Organisational Consultant, Philip Stokoe (biog), who presented a psychoanalytic approach to understanding the states of mind in societies that can produce Brexit and Trump (abstract)

In the afternoon, BU Professor, Iain MacRury (biog) interviewed the acclaimed TV screenplay writer, Andrew Davies (biog), who discussed the experience of writing TV drama House of Cards and its links to the theatre of politics in ‘real life’.

In the final session, Psychotherapist and TV and radio broadcaster, Professor Brett Kahr (biog) interviewed Baroness, Professor Sheila Hollins (biog) about the day to day culture of working as a female politician in the House of Lords. As an Independent member of the House of Lords, she speaks on mental health, disability and press regulation and she spoke in a highly compelling way about the experience of her work in those fields.

The conference was fully booked and the audience was made up of psychotherapists, analysts and academics and PhD students from the fields of politics, history, cultural studies and psychosocial studies. Students from the BU MA in International Political Communication also attended and contributed to the discussions that took place throughout the day.

The talks were recorded on podcast and so there will be an opportunity to catch up via the Freud Museum website: https://www.freud.org.uk/events/76650/power-play-psychoanalysis-and-political-culture/

Our thanks to the Centre for Politics and Media and the Freud Museum for hosting and partly funding this timely and enjoyable event.

Proposed New Research Centre: Centre for Social and Cultural Research

Research news

social researchExpressions of Interest sought:

A new interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Research Centre is proposed by Professor Ann Brooks, Prof of Sociology and Head of Research and Professional Practice in the Department of Social Sciences and Social Work (HSS). The Centre has already attracted academic colleagues from across BU and is designed to encourage the building of research synergies across different disciplinary areas.

The aims of the new Centre are as follows:

  • To offer an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Research Centre, to include social and cultural fields of research from across the Faculty and cross-Faculty, to develop research synergies and provide a productive and dynamic research culture;
  • To provide for a wide range of methodologies that address both theoretical and applied areas of research that contribute to building a platform for a range of research collaborations, publications, grant funding, conferences and consultancy;
  • To provide an inclusive intellectual forum for research across social and cultural spheres providing national and international outreach for networking building on established relationships;

 

The range of research areas covered by the proposed new Centre to date includes:

  • Gender based areas of research covering the media, women’s history,  education, health, social work and emotional labour (among other areas);
  • Emotions, intimacy and relationship analysis from a social and psychotherapeutic perspective, including emotional vulnerabilities and emotions and social change;
  • Physical and mental health around the concept of stigma;
  • Protection and safeguarding in social work and social care
  • Media based research including historically based research on women and the media. Media and popular culture;
  • Psychological and cross-cultural aspects of consumer behaviour and experience in tourism and leisure;
  • Cultural and social deprivation in sociological and social work research;
  • Citizenship, education and social diversity and marginalisation;
  • Academia, public intellectuals, HE policy debates. Research positions in academia.

 

The wide range of research interests will provide colleagues with opportunities to participate in events locally, regionally and nationally and provide opportunities to work collaboratively with colleagues who may be located in different faculties.

Expressions of Interest in the proposed new Research Centre are welcome. Please contact Prof Ann Brooks: abrooks@bournemouth.ac.uk