Center for British Studies

The Center for British Studies at the University of California, Berkeley has since 2003 provided a platform for one of the largest and most distinguished groups of scholars studying British culture, society and history — spread across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and professional schools — in the United States. With a generous endowment of $2.1 million from the Robert Kirk Underhill Trust, the Center hosts or supports a wide array of scholarly, cultural, and educational activities.

The Center has three objectives:

• Strengthen Berkeley's intellectual and institutional ties to Britain
• Support graduate and undergraduate teaching and research in British Studies
• Support interdisciplinary research that recognizes Britain's relationships with America, Europe and Commonwealth countries and their effects on British economy, society, politics and culture

Since its opening, the Center has hosted visitors, run conferences and workshops, and arranged lectures and seminars across various disciplines. We've also awarded fellowships and prizes to undergraduate and graduate students, organized an exchange program between Pembroke College, Cambridge and UC Berkeley, and hosted graduate workshops and conferences. The Center for British Studies is ecumenical in its focus upon all constituent parts of the British Isles, the British Empire, and its legacies, as well as Britain's relationship with the European Community and the United States. Applicants for its graduate research fellowships need not necessarily have Britain as the primary focus of their research. We will support work on any part of the world that requires substantial research in Britain, although preference will given to those concerned with Britain's imperial or transnational influence and impact.

Mark Bevir, Director

British Art and The Global | Conference at University of California, Berkeley

September 17-18, 2018

What is the role of art history in the Brexit era? In the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, the history of Britain’s relationships with the rest of the world takes on renewed significance. This conference explores how art history today can shed light on the history of Britain’s interaction with other countries and cultures. We invite papers that illuminate global contexts for the history of British art by considering works of art (including painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative arts, photography, and other forms of visual and material culture) as sites and tools of international cooperation, conflict, and exchange. To read more about the conference, potential paper topics, and how to submit your paper, please click here.