Speaking Citizens was a research project (2020-25) based at the University of Sussex aiming to broaden understanding of the educational concept of ‘oracy’.

Led by cultural historian Tom F. Wright, the project brought together social scientists, humanities researchers, policymakers and educators to ask difficult questions about the role of speaking and listening in schools and in society.

On this site you can find links to our findings, our series of educational resources, sessions from our major Uses of Oracy’ conference and an archive of blogs from leading experts and practitioners.

The core project team comprised of Arlene Holmes-Henderson (Classics, Durham), Stephen Coleman (Politics, Leeds), Hester Barron (History, Sussex) and Stuart Dunmore (Linguistics, Edinburgh).

Speaking Citizens was kindly funded by grants from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council, and from the University of Sussex.