What is TORCH? From the perspective of an undergraduate micro-intern
TORCH is privileged to host MIs (Micro-interns) in week 9 after the end of every term for a Digital micro-internship. Our MIs are incredibly helpful and support much of the work that we do across our teams. Their fresh approach and perceptions are important for us to refresh and reset what we do and how our work is communicated to our audiences. Our micro-interns often suggest ideas and improvements that we implement quite quickly - such as to our website, our social media channels or to how we promote our wide range of research activities.
Here are the thoughts of one of our wonderful MIs after her week with us in Week 9 of Trinity Term 2025
"Throughout my three years of undergrad at the University and countless books borrowed from the Philosophy and Theology Library, I managed to remain in ignorance of the top floor activities of the Radcliffe Humanities, where the engine of TORCH currently resides. Now that I have (hopefully) passed my final exams, it seems fitting that I get to peer into the “other side” of the University, all the behind-the-scenes organising and structuring, or “operations,” that facilitate knowledge exchange at the upper echelons of the Humanities. After a week of working with the lovely team at TORCH, I can safely say that I know just a little bit more about the work they engage in.
So, what is TORCH? The short answer, one that you can find on the website, is that it is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Oxford. But if you ask me, or any of the members of the TORCH team, any one sentence cannot convey all that TORCH does.
Over the past week, I’ve become familiar with TORCH’s various research hubs and networks, as well as the frequent events they hold, often open to the public. The five interdisciplinary hubs were especially intriguing to me: Environmental Humanities, Medical Humanities, Race and Resistance, Intersectional Humanities, and the Performance Research Hub. (I wonder which hub will be formed next - as a PPEist, might I suggest a Philosophy and Social Policy Hub?). I met with Alex Coke, who is the Theatre & Performance Research Partnerships Manager, who spoke to me about performance—poetry, theatre, music, dance, film—as a mode of research. I also had a conversation with Arunima Cheruvathoor, the current International Officer, about the international side of TORCH, consisting of partnerships with universities around the world, seed funding projects, and global fellowship positions that foster the cross-pollination of knowledge.
My personal favourite part of TORCH that I got to know over the week is the “Book at Lunchtime” events. I was tasked with editing the subtitles of several “Book at Lunchtime” videos to be uploaded to the YouTube channel (go check it out!). I found myself learning about the history of the book through the lives of print shop owners and binders like Wynkyn de Worde (“The Book-Makers” by Adam Smyth), and a psychoanalytic approach to urban poverty around the world (“Unseen Cities” by Ankhi Mukherjee). Had I known about TORCH during my undergraduate, I would have certainly made room in my schedule to attend each of these events. Luckily for me, all “Book at Lunchtime” events are filmed and posted on the YouTube Channel. I have added several to my “Watch Later” playlist.
But that’s just my own limited perspective on TORCH. If you’re still wondering what more TORCH has to offer and how you can get involved, I implore you to take a deep dive through the website and join the mailing list. And do visit the Schwarzman Centre, opening in 2026, which will serve as the new home to TORCH and the rest of the Humanities Division. I will definitely be making a trip back to Oxford to see the friendly faces of the TORCH team."
