Exploring Bristol-Toulouse Research Synergies in the Arts

With the readmission of the UK to Horizon Europe, now is the time for UoB to invest further in its bilateral partnerships with European HEIs and to begin to repair some of the damage inflicted upon UK HEIs’ standing more generally by Brexit. The universities of Bristol and Toulouse already have a co-tutelle agreement put in place by the School of Modern Languages (SML) at UoB and Toulouse’s Department of British Studies (DBS). A first co-supervised doctorate was awarded in 2023. Both SML and DBS are now seeking to deepen this relationship through a series of exploratory workshops to identify synergies and further opportunities for collaboration between researchers across the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences at both institutions. These will therefore extend beyond the co-tutelle’s focus on contemporary British politics to reflect some of the broader interests of both faculties with a particular emphasis on comparative studies, a growing strength and research priority for both.

Two themes were identified for further development: small nations (identity, language and politics) and African Studies. We will also explore further exchanges between academics at both institutions at all stages of research career from postgraduate to professorial.