Professor Nandini Das has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept grant for her project TRACTION: Teaching Race, Belonging, Empire and Migration.
Issues of race, belonging, empire, and migration have been at the foreground of public consciousness globally in recent years. Our collective understanding of history and culture is often unsurprisingly at the centre of this discourse, with the foundational role of school education coming particularly under pressure. Imparting a full and complete understanding of issues of race and human mobility is in our collective interest, since the resulting diversity and social inclusion generate a range of socio-economic benefits, from increase in innovation and productivity, to the strengthening of social cohesion and racial equality.
The TRACTION project will draw on research undertaken by the ERC-funded project TIDE to develop a pioneering platform of training, resources, and community network in one place that will equip teachers to engage with issues of race, belonging, empire, and migration in the classroom. Its dual focus on skills-training and community-building is unique, and designed for both immediate and sustainable impact. It is also designed to be modular and expandable, cuts across subject-boundaries, and can be adapted to different national and international educational systems and examination boards.
The ultimate aim will be to translate TIDE’s research into a viable and innovative social enterprise that will remain available beyond the lifetime of ERC funding, with longstanding and far-reaching socio-economic and cultural impact.
The ERC Proof of Concept grants have been awarded to 55 researchers to explore the commercial or societal potential of their work and to bring their work closer to the market. Professor Nandini Das commented: “TRACTION is one of the very few humanities-based Proof of Concept projects, and I am delighted that the ERC's support will enable us to undertake this work”.
Find out about more about the ERC’s Proof of Concept funding on the ERC website.
