The Festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of research and knowledge about humans and society. It’s an opportunity for everyone to explore the social sciences, from health, nutrition and wellbeing to psychology, sports  and exercise, crime, equality, tech, education and identity, through events run by researchers from UK universities.

The 2024 festival is taking place 19th October 2024 - 9th November 2024 with hundreds of events delivered by 41 universities. This year the festival theme is ‘Our Digital Lives’, with varied events also covering other social science topics.

Events will include live shows, quizzes, screenings, guided walks, participatory events and  fun workshops. Each event listing includes the date, time and venue (in-person or online).

Swansea University’s activities will run from 27th October, during the October half-term until 8th November, in multiple locations including Swansea Grand Theatre, Oriel Science (Castle Street), Freud Museum London, Gower Heritage Centre, and Noah’s Yard (Uplands). There will be drop-in activities throughout the week, as well as workshops with bookable spaces.

All events are free and everyone is welcome (event listings include advice on age restrictions for some events). Event tickets can be booked via the activity links below.

The festival is led and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), which supports research and training in social science subjects.

Upcoming activities

Previous festivals

We were pleased to be joined by Bangor and Cardiff Universities to host the ESRC's offering a pan-Wales day of fun, informal and interactive events on wellbeing as part of the 2023 Festival of Social Science.

Swansea University hosted activities and workshops provided by researchers across the three Universities, following themes including mental health, behavioural change, artificial intelligence, dementia, environmental conservation, mental health, climate crisis, gender and identity, and social inequalities.

Read more about these activities

 

ESRC Festival of Social Science
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