The Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) is an interdisciplinary research centre within the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Founded in 2001, CRASSH came into being as a way to create interdisciplinary dialogue across the University’s many faculties and departments in the

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

, and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, as well as to build bridges with scientific subjects.

Directors

* Ian Donaldson, 2001–2003 *

Ludmilla Jordanova Ludmilla Jane Jordanova (born 10 October 1949) is a British historian and academic. She is Emeritus Professor of Visual Culture in the Department of History at Durham University. Biography Jordanova was born to a Bulgarian father and English ...

, 2003–2005 *

Mary Jacobus Mary Jacobus (February 11, 1957 – February 20, 2009) was an American journalist. She was an executive with The New York Times Company, serving as president and general manager of ''The Boston Globe'' from January through September 2006, an ...

, 2005–2011 * Andrew Webber (Sabbatical Director), 2009–2010 * Simon Goldhill, 2011–2018 * Tim Lewens (Deputy Director), 2014–2017 * Jan-Melissa Schramm (Deputy Director), 2017–2019 * Steven Connor, 2018–2022 * Joanna Page, 2022–present * Stuart Hogarth (Deputy Director), 2023–present

Management Committee

For the current CRASSH Management Committee, pleas
visit the Governance page
on the official website.

Research projects

CRASSH is and was home to numerous major, long-term research projects and centres. Current projects * Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy ** Minderoo Centre is primarily funded by Minderoo Foundation which is primarily funded by

Andrew Forrest John Andrew Henry Forrest (born 18 November 1961), nicknamed Twiggy, is an Australian businessman. He is best known as the former CEO (and current non-executive chairman) of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), and has other interests in the mining ...

, Chairman of

Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue is a global metal mining company headquartered in Australia. Fortescue focused on iron ore mining under the name of Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) until July 2023. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the ...

* Cambridge Digital Humanities * Global History Lab * Roam Within * Nasawe’sx ya’yu’cenxi – Weaving Our Own Justice Past projects *

Centre for the Study of Existential Risk The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) is a research centre at the University of Cambridge, intended to study possible extinction-level threats posed by present or future technology. The co-founders of the centre are Huw Price (B ...

(now a spin-off centre) *

Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence The Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence (CFI) is an interdisciplinary research centre within the University of Cambridge that studies artificial intelligence. It is funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The Centre brings together academi ...

(now a spin-off centre) * Beyond the Cold War: Toward a Community of Asia * Crossroads of Knowledge in Early Modern England: The Place of Literature * Expertise Under Pressure * Genius Before Romanticism: Ingenuity in Early Modern Art and Science * Making Visible: The Visual and Graphic Practices of the Early Royal Society * Qualitative and Quantitative Social Science: Unifying the Logic of Causal Inference? * Bible and Antiquity in 19th Century Culture * China in a Global World War II * The Concept Lab * Conspiracy and Democracy * Conversions * The History of Cross-Cultural Comparatism * Limits of the Numerical * Seeing Things: Early Modern Visual and Material Culture * Technology and Democracy * Visual Representations of the Third Plague Pandemic * Centre for Global Knowledge Studies * Centre for the Humanities and Social Change, Cambridge * Giving Voice to Digital Democracies: The Social Impact of Artificially Intelligent Communications Technology * The Global as ARTEFACT: Understanding the Patterns of Global Political History Through an Anthropology of Knowledge – The Case of Agriculture in Four Global Systems from the Neolithic to the Present * Religious Diversity and the Secular University

Research networks

The CRASSH Research Networks Programme supports groups of Cambridge graduate students and faculty members working together with a common interdisciplinary research interest, bringing together early-career researchers, established academics and guest speakers on particular research topics for a year of collaborative work.

Events and initiatives

The CRASSH events and initiatives programme] showcases arts, social sciences and humanities research in action. It enables Cambridge scholars to convene events designed to look beyond disciplinary boundaries and broker exciting collaborations with academics and practitioners from across the world.

Fellowships

CRASSH offers a number of Fellowship programmes to bring scholars from all over the world to Cambridge. These schemes allow a community of scholars–from postdoctoral and early career researchers to more established visiting fellows–to interact in an interdisciplinary research environment.

Alison Richard Building

At the beginning of 2012, CRASSH moved into the new

Alison Richard Dame Alison Fettes Richard, (born 1 March 1948) is an English anthropologist, conservationist and university administrator. She was the 344th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, the third Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge since the po ...

Building at the West Road gateway to the University’s

Sidgwick Site The Sidgwick Site is one of the largest sites within the University of Cambridge, England. Overview and history The Sidgwick Site is located on the western side of Cambridge city centre, near the Backs. The site is north of Sidgwick Avenue an ...

, the main base for humanities and social science teaching and research at Cambridge. The building was designed by

Nicholas Hare Architects Nicholas Hare Architects is a UK architectural practice, with a portfolio of award-winning projects. These include schools, higher education, refurbishment, commercial projects, and buildings for the arts. Founded by Nicholas Hare in 1977, the pr ...

and received a commendation at the 2013

Civic Trust Awards The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

. The Centre’s relocation put CRASSH alongside the major regional studies centres as well as the Department of Politics and International Studies. The building is also home to

Edmund de Waal Edmund Arthur Lowndes de Waal, (born 10 September 1964) is an English contemporary artist, Pottery, potter and author. He is known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels often created in response to collections and archives or ...

's first piece of public sculpture, ''A Local History'', a commission of three vitrines filled with porcelain and sunk into the pavement outside the building.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, Centre for 2001 establishments in England Culture of the University of Cambridge Educational projects History of literature Research institutes established in 2001 Research institutes in Cambridge Research projects Social science research institutes