As academic activity quietens down over summer (at least for our students anyway!), we’ve pulled together some of our most recommended books, blogs, articles, documentaries, podcasts and films that cover some of the themes our courses look into.

Our top 5 picks are:

1. 5 Broken Cameras: Award-winning documentary by a Palestinian father, farmer and activist, filmed over 5 years of turmoil in a West Bank Village. Recommended by Dr Sophie Roborgh
2. My Name is Why: Memoir by Lemn Sissay, current chancellor of UoM, about his childhood in the institutional care system, and finding out the truth about his family at 17. Themes of race, British- ness and home. Recommended by Dr Billy Tusker Haworth
3. Your wall can(not) divide us: Digital exhibition of graffiti and street art in conflict zones, used to protest politics, engage the community and share messages of hope and resistance, put together by a number of HCRI academics. View here
4. Half of a Yellow Sun: Best-selling author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche’s novel set during the Nigerian/Biafran civil war of 1967-70. Recommended by Dr Roisin Reed
5. Force Majeure: Fictional film about family relations and fragile masculinity before, during, and after an avalanche in the French Alps. Recommended by Dr Nat O’Grady

Access the full reading list here

Many thanks to all of our staff and students who contributed to the list. If you read/listen to/watch any of our choices, get in touch and let us know your thoughts via

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