Blog

Philosophical Solitude: Hume VS Rousseau

Project team

Our Principal Investigator Barbara Taylor approaches solitude via a study of opposites in the intellectual life of eighteenth-century Europe.

A World of Colour in the Belly of the Beast

Research network

Research network member Lisa Guenther discusses the experiences of Donny Johnson, who survived solitary confinement in a supermax prison for over 20 years by immersing himself in art and writing.

A Cinema of Cosmic Emptiness

Long read

In our fourth guest post on this blog, research network member Nick Jones takes us on a journey through outer space to find the solitary figures of cinema.

The Loneliest Man in the Whole Lonely Universe

General

On the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, our project manager Clare Whitehead reflects on the Apollo 11 mission and the true meaning of solitude in space.

Solitary Confinement: A Conversation

General

A chance to listen to researchers from our project network discuss the experience of imprisonment and solitary confinement from different perspectives.

Sociable Solitude in the Medieval Anchorhold

Long read

What did religious solitude look like both inside and beyond the walls of medieval anchorholds? Research network member Hetta Howes explores these questions in our third guest post.

Loneliness and Embodiment

Research network

Research network member Fay Bound Alberti contributes the second guest post to our blog, considering how we might understand embodied loneliness via the body and its place in the material world.

Solo Living and Happy Singlehood

Interview

This month, our postdoctoral researcher Charlie Williams has been speaking to Elyakim Kiselv about his new book on the ways in which everyone - single or coupled - can benefit from accepting solo living.

Loneliness: the Making of a Modern Panic

Research network

Our first guest post comes from research network member David Vincent, who explores how we might better consider the concept and experience of loneliness in the UK since the early 20th century.

Solitude and Sensory Deprivation (and Johnny Cash)

Long read

A surprise discovery in the Senate House Library leads our postdoctoral researcher Charlie Williams to think about country music, graphic design and the scientific study of solitude.