PEOPLE in Manchester will be able to find out how research taking place at the city’s universities affects their everyday lives at a new festival taking place next month.
The city is hosting a strand of the ESRC Festival of Social Science for the first time – but there will be no sitting in stuffy lecture theatres, with events including an exhibition celebrating “lapsed clubbers”, an investigation into the real lives of young people in the city, walking tours and film screenings.
The festival strand has been organised by Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Manchester.
All events are free to enter. The festival runs from November 7 to 14, and venues include Manchester Met’s city centre campus, No 70 Oxford Street (formerly Cornerhouse), Manchester Art Gallery and the Northern Quarter exhibition venue 2022.
Prof Jean-Noel Ezingeard, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “This is the thirteenth year of the Festival of Social Science but it’s the first time that we are hosting a dedicated Manchester strand in partnership with the ESRC and the University of Manchester.
“This is a festival that reflects the diversity of Manchester as a city, and the unique qualities that set it apart from other cities in the UK. It is a fantastic showcase of the range of internationally-renowned research taking place at the University which has an influence not only in academia, but also on people’s everyday lives.”
The diverse range of events includes a photography exhibition looks at the changing face of society over the last 50 years, while a film double bill on November 10 will explore the nature of friendship in new and unexpected ways.
Other participants will be quite literally “thinking on their feet” when they discuss everything to do with urban sustainability on a special guided walking tour of the city on November 11 and 12.
