Talking Humanities

A visit to St Paul’s Church, Jarrow, to hear how Rivers of Ink reimagines the Codex Amiatinus through projection, sound, and scholarship. Find out more about Transformative Humanities

In this episode we bring together Professor Francis Watson from the department of Theology and Religion and Lauren Randall, a Phd researcher at Durham University. They are both working on the manuscript Codex Amiatinus, the world’s oldest bible and about to tour their latest project, Rivers of Ink which looks at the making of the Codex Amiatinus and how it came to be produced in the North East of England. We talk about what makes Codex Amiatinus such an extraordinary manuscript, how it was made at Wearmouth and Jarrow, and how Rivers of Ink brings that story to life for audiences today through sound, light, and talks touring the region.

Our guests:Dr Nikita ChiuDr Chris CowieDr Vladimir Brljak  Find out more about Transformative Humanties.

Please visit the website for the walking trail: https://durhams-black-history.humap.site/Link for Sean Creighton and also relevant media links: https://durhams-black-history.humap.site/about Link to Durham's Palatinate Newspaper:  https://www.palatinate.org.uk

Overview:The Black Death of 1348–9 stands “unchallenged as the greatest disaster in documented human history,” yet the characteristics of the disease that killed approximately half the population of Europe in just a handful of years have long confounded academics. Although largely thought to be caused by Yersinia pestis, it is still unclear how the disease spread so quickly in a preindustrial society. The project uses the latest computer modelling, originally developed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, to simulate the spread of the Black Death in England. The JUNE model applies modern census data about the population and a range of information about daily life – such as work patterns, travel, and social activities – to simulate the spread of disease. This is how traditional disease modelling works: with sufficient information about a population and their behaviour, alongside information about the characteristics of a disease, it is possible to project potential future outcomes and put mitigation policies in place to limit the spread.This project inverts that logic by using the best knowledge of late medieval society to project plausible pathological pasts and determine the most likely way the disease spread. Drawing on historical and archaeological sources, the model reconstructs the broad characteristics of the late medieval population on the eve of the Black Death, such as location, age, sex, and occupation. This forms the “static” part of the model. From there, the team infers “dynamic” behavioural patterns, such as where people spent their time and whom they encountered in their daily lives. The primary objectives are to establish how the Black Death spread, the likely means of its transmission, and what this reveals about social connections in medieval society. The model can test for multiple modes of transmission: one direct, through human-to-human contact, where either infected fleas from carriers are transferred to uninfected people, or where close contact allows transmission through coughing; and one indirect, where infected fleas remain at a place and establish a “disease reservoir.”Through this work, the project aims to shed new light on the disease itself and the extent to which it was spread by human interactions, as well as on the social connectivity of late medieval society by identifying how people likely interacted with one another during one of the worst pandemics in global history. To find out more about the project please visit: https://modellingtheblackdeath.wordpress.com Participants in the conversation:Dr Alex Brown, Associate Professor of Medieval History, Durham UniversityDr Grace Owen, Postdoctoral Research Associate, History, Durham UniversityBarney Sloane FSA, Independent Researcher, OxfordshireProf Frank Krauss, Professor for Particle Theory, Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, Durham UniversityProfessor Ifan Hughes, Head of the Quantum Light and Matter research group, Physics, Durham UniversityCallum M. Brown. MPhys, Research Assistant for the Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology, Durham UniversityDr Martha Correa-Delval, Research Software Engineer, Durham University

A map of the full Coal Stories route can be found here. For the podcast we walked from Market Place (13 on map)) past St Mary-le-Bow Church (1) and down to the coal seam (2).You can find the guide at the following shops:Palace Green Library shopDurham Cathedral shopBeamish Museum ShopOr you can email durhamminingmuseumsecretary@gmail.com to request a copy of the book.

In this episode of Talking Humanities, Dr. Alistair Brown, Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities and Modern Literature at Durham University, discusses the importance of studying English in today’s world. Walking along the River Wear, he explains how English fosters empathy and story craft—skills crucial not only to personal development but also to modern industries like tech, where understanding human narratives is vital. Dr. Brown introduces the English Creates campaign, aimed at reversing declining enrolments by highlighting the value and versatility of English degrees. He also explores how Artificial Intelligence challenges traditional English pedagogy and stresses the importance of critical thinking to navigate AI’s limitations. The conversation extends into virtual reality and gamification in literature education through his “VR Literature Library” project, making classic texts immersive and emotionally engaging for younger learners. Throughout, Dr. Brown advocates for a “transformative humanities” approach—honouring traditional skills while adapting them for digital futures, including video game storytelling and the creative industries.

Welcome to our final podcast from the BFI Reuben Library. In this episode we join Dr Ladan Cockshut and Professor Simon James from Durham University in conversation with Stuart Burnside, Video Games Manager in the certification unit at the British film Institute. Their discussion centres on the legitimisation of gaming research and its connection to science fiction. It also addresses the loss of gaming heritage due to redundant technology and the study of gaming through interdisciplinary scholarship.

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This is the second in a series of conversations with specialists from the BFI and is a discussion between the BFI Reuben Library’s Senior Librarian Katie Reddington and Professor Simon James. Simon James is Professor of Victorian Literature in the Department of English Studies. He has edited five H. G. Wells novels and six numbers of The Wellsian, the learned journal of the H. G. Wells Society, and written one book and several articles on Wells. Katie and Simon discuss Wells' love of libraries and books, his novel the Time Machine, transformative humanities, and Wells’ forays into the world of film. Katie also shares some of the BFI Reuben libraries wealth of resources that relates to Wells and his film work.

 More information about Transformative HumanitiesFind out more about the BFI 

 Watch a short film from Durham University produced by Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson.Classics in The North East: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTRtSzhuzZI&t=32s

Read about Margaret Bradshaw's Honorary Degree from Durham University.Read more about Transformative Humanities at Durham University. 

Content warning: topics discussed in this episode include death, deaths during Covid and infant death. Listeners who may be sensitive to these topics, please take note.

In this episode we are in Durham with Professor Giles Gasper and Professor Brian Tanner. Giles is Professor in High Medieval History specialising in the intellectual history of the high middle ages and particularly in the development of theology. Brian is an Emiritus professor in the department of physics. They are both member of the interdisciplinary Ordered Universe project which studies the scientific works of the 13th century polymath, Robert Grosseteste. They talk about how they met through the Ordered Universe and how their work in humanities and the sciences became intertwined. They discuss the unexpected discoveries and co-authored publications which came from the project, engaging with artists and young people as well as offering advice on setting up large-scale research projects.