ADVANCED HUMANITIES ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM 2025

Time Travel: Journeys to Past and Future Humanities

The 2025 Advanced Humanities Annual Symposium explores two fascinatingly interconnected fields of art and study - Modern Medievalism and Commercial Space Travel. 

From medieval artwork, the Lord of the Rings stories, to studies in gothicism, so much is encapsulated under the umbrella term ‘Medievalism’. The morning session, Return of the Dark Ages: the Cultural Messaging of Contemporary Medievalism, will discuss the history and study of Medievalism within the spheres of art, ethics, religion, and politics. An understanding of the diverse elements that define Medievalism reflects significant and controversial conversations happening in our constantly changing modern world - such as moral discussions related to space travel. 

The afternoon session, To Infinity and Beyond: the Intersection of Commercial Space Travel and the Humanities, will bring the controversy of commercial space travel under the macroscope of the Humanities. With expert speakers from the fields of philosophy, literature and social science*, these space-centric discussions will take us on a journey to the extremities of human relevance. Exploring the interface of science, capitalism, politics and culture in the ongoing effort to colonise space, let us consider what the future may hold for humanity.