Brains at the Bevy

5 October, Dr Annebella Pollen

The nude body and its visual depiction have always attracted attention and generated heated debate. What and who should be seen and shown, by whom and where, form the basis of the social and moral codes that shape behaviour and belief. This talk outlines nudist campaigns for bodily visibility in Britain, from the formation of the movement in the 1920s through to the legal battles of its photographers against obscenity law in the 1950s and 1960s. What can we learn from these campaigns? What are their parallels today? 

Annebella is a Reader in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Brighton.

2 November, Professor Chris Joyce

According to the international environmental movement Extinction Rebellion, we are facing an unprecedented global emergency, a mass extinction of biodiversity of our own making that threatens the future of all life on the planet.  This talk examines current species loss in relation to past mass extinction events by introducing the concept of biodiversity, assessing human impacts on nature, and considering whether we need a radical rethink of nature conservation. 

Chris is a Professor of Ecology in the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Brighton.

7 December, Dr Jess Moriarty 

Menopause is a major part of the life course, yet its wellbeing implications remain poorly understood and this leads to negative impacts on lives across the world. There is a lack of understanding of lived experience and a lack of visible stories about menopause in literary texts and the arts and so menopause as a stage in the life course remains obscured. This talk responds to a growing body of evidence that suggests that enabling people to engage in the creative arts, including storytelling, may have beneficial impacts on health and wellbeing and reports on a project at the University of Brighton that evaluated the wellbeing of women who took part in creative workshops where they were supported to tell stories about their lived experiences of menopause. 

Jess is Principal Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton and Co-director of the Centre of Arts and Wellbeing.

1 February 2023, Professor Rusi Jaspal

Life has its ups and downs. We sometimes feel uncertain about the future. Bad things happen. Psychologists have long studied how people are affected by life challenges and, crucially, how they attempt to cope when these challenges arise. Coping can take many shapes and forms. We may deny our reality, re-think what the ‘bad thing’ means or simply accept it and move on. How we cope depends on so many things: our personality, our upbringing, our environment and society – to name just a few. This talk explores psychological research on coping and provides some practical tips for confronting life challenges effectively.  

Rusi is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Brighton.

1 March 2023, Dr Kevin Wyche

The COVID-19 pandemic forced governments around the world to impose restrictions on daily life to prevent the spread of the virus. The result of this enforced ‘staying at home’ was a reduction in the amount of pollution we emitted from industry, businesses and transport.  This was especially true for nitrogen dioxide pollution.  At Brighton University we have been looking to see the impact of these lockdowns on change in air quality at both street level and in the higher atmosphere in the South East.  We found that particulate matter concentrations (released from burning fossil fuels) were affected by regional activities and that ozone pollution increased across most sites during the lockdowns, by up to 15%.  Our research has found that the changes in air quality owing to the COVID-19 lockdown are more complicated than we first thought, and this is important for policy makers and government to better understand the impacts of the transport and commercial decisions that they make in the future.

Kevin is a Reader in Atmospheric Science and the Director of the University of Brighton's Centre for Earth Observation Science.

The Bevy is a community owned pub and cafe, run by local staff, volunteers and shareholders. It's mission is to improve the lives of people in the local Moulsecoomb and Bevendean area.

The Bevy has twice been awarded as Britain's best community pub, made it to the short list for the Great British Pub Award and has been commended for being the heart of it's community. Below is a sample of when it made the headlines.