‘Global Polycrisis and the Powers of Narrative: The Role of Academia, Art, and Public Intellectuals’ was the theme for the Holberg Prize panel event at the British Academy.

Gurminder K. Bhambra, Professor of Historical Sociology and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation for the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Sussex, was part of a prestigious panel event hosted by the Holberg Prize at the annual meeting of the Holberg Committee at the British Academy on 23 October.

In the context of global interconnected crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss, the proliferation of warfare to multiple territories and domains of civil society, the theme for the panel was ‘Global Polycrisis and the Powers of Narrative: The Role of Academia, Art, and Public Intellectuals’, for which they were asked to examine the current status and power of narratives in terms of the role academia, art and public intellectuals should play in shaping, contesting and providing alternative narratives in local and global contexts.

Fellow panellists included Paul Gilroy - Emeritus Professor of Humanities at University College London; Griselda Pollock - Professor Emerita of Social and Critical Histories of Art at the University of Leeds; and Ann Phoenix - Professor of Psychosocial Studies at the Institute of Education, University College London, and Chair of the Holberg Committee.

Speaking about the experience, Professor Bhambra said:

“In my contribution, I discussed ‘Operation Raise the Colours’ which is mobilising a narrative of the Union flag that goes against the history of the flag, whereby colonial subjects fought and died under its colours. Through this, I highlighted the need for narratives that explicitly acknowledge the shared, connected histories that are part of the present conjuncture.

“There was a general concern raised within the discussion about the role of academic values of rigour, objectivity, and standards as the basis for interventions in public debates. This is something that we, as academics, need to reflect further upon.”

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The Holberg Prize - and Nils Klim Prize - are awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology. The 2025 Holberg Prize was awarded to Indian scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Humanities Professor at Columbia University, for her groundbreaking work in the field of literary theory and philosophy. The Nils Klim Prize went to Daniela Alaattinoğlu who had previously been a Visiting Fellow at CORTH, here at the University of Sussex.