Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities

University of London

The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities (BIH) was established in 2004 to stimulate research, public debate and collaboration among academics and intellectuals on important public issues of our time. As part of this mission, the BIH aims to foster a climate of interdisciplinary research and collaboration among colleagues across the College with all five Schools (Arts; Law; Social Sciences, History and Philosophy; Science; Business) at Birkbeck, University of London, as well as inviting in other UK-based and international academics, researchers, and activists.

Key to our remit is the promotion of new ideas and forms of understanding in the Humanities and beyond. To facilitate this, we organise lectures, conferences, discussion panels, masterclasses and film screenings with colleagues at Birkbeck and beyond, many of which are free and open to the public.

We also provide short-term fellowships for a small number of scholars from Britain and overseas, who wish to collaborate with colleagues at Birkbeck. These are chosen yearly through an open competition.

Each year, the BIH holds its internationally renowned London Critical Theory Summer School. This two-week course provides a unique opportunity for graduate students and academics to follow a course of study with internationally renowned critical thinkers. Past tutors have included: Achille Mbembe, Jodi Dean, Sarah Nuttall, Ranjanna Khanna, Etienne Balibar, Susan Buck-Morss, Drucilla Cornell, Costas Douzinas, Stephen Frosh, David Harvey, Esther Leslie, Laura Mulvey, Jacqueline Rose and Slavoj Žižek.