The latest in a series of PechaKucha events will take place on Tuesday (November 18) at the Belmont Filmhouse as part of the University of Aberdeen's Being Human Festival programme.
Devised in Tokyo, the PechaKucha presentations give participants 20 images with 20 seconds to discuss each one. Over 700 cities across the globe now host the nights.
This event will see special PechaKucha presentations from researchers from the North theme at the University of Aberdeen on a diverse array of topics relating to northern cultures including history, myths and magic.
Dr Tara Beaney, lecturer in the School of Language and Literature will speak about metamorphosis in art and literature from cave paintings to the present day. The night will also include images and discussion of stone circles in north eastern Scotland by Dr Elizabeth Curtis, lecturer in Education.
PhD students in Scandinavian studies, Blake Middleton, Declan Taggart and Claire Organ will discuss giants and why they were the ultimate terror of the Norse Gods, why Thor isn’t a big girl’s blouse and the link between red gold and the sexual domination of women in Old Norse literature.
Dr Gordon Noble, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology will present images relating to the story of The man with the fearsome teeth: uncovering the Rynie Man and Jacquelyn Graham, PhD student in Archaeology and Anthropology will discuss What is “like a person” in the archaeology of Yup’ik Eskimo ideology’.
Dr Heather Doran of the University’s Public Engagement with Research Unit said: “PechaKucha is Japanese for 'chit chat’. The concept of these nights was originally devised by two architects, Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, and the first event was held in 2003 in Toyko as a way for young designers to meet, network and show their work in public.
“These nights are a great opportunity for people to share and learn about great work taking place in Aberdeen and beyond. Each night features a range of speakers from different backgrounds including subjects such as photography, science and art."
The event is free to attend and starts at 7pm.
The final PechaKucha night will take place on the Tuesday, December 2, at the Belmont Filmhouse. Full details of the programme can be found at www.engagingaberdeen.co.uk and at the series Facebook page www.facebook.com/PechakuchaAberdeen.
Being Human is a new UK-wide initiative in November that aims to engage the public with the latest research taking place across the humanities. The Festival is supported by a collaboration of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the British Academy and the School of Advanced Study, University of London, and draws together a programme of activities to inform, extend, and ignite our contemporary thinking and imagination.
For more information about Being Human and to view the full programme, please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/engage/beinghuman