Reproducibility is a central principle of scientific research and its importance is now increasingly emphasised. Several fields such as cancer drug discovery, social psychology and computational science are said be undergoing a credibility crisis due to irreproducible results and initiatives to address this are springing up from research communities, funders and other stakeholders.

What does reproducibility mean to your research and how could researchers in Oxford, both individually and as an institution, take steps to promote greater reproducibility of findings? Come along for an evening of discussion and explore this topic with the Oxford Open Science group. We look forward to hearing your views!

Session organisers: Simon Benjamin and Victoria Watson

Egyptomania: The Allure of Ancient Egypt
With Henrietta McCall, Department of the Middle East, British Museum

2pm Saturday, 11 October 2014 at Ashmolean Museum | Venue Information

Henrietta McCall talks about the enduring appeal of ancient Egypt in western culture. She assesses how it began with Napoleon in the early 19th century; how symbols and imagery from antiquity inspired architecture, gardens, furniture and fashion; and how in the 1920s that appeal reached its climax with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.

‘Tutankhamun and Co. Ltd’: Arthur Weigall and the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb

With Julie Hankey, author of ‘A Passion for Egypt: Arthur Weigall, Tutankhamun and the Curse of the Pharaohs’

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 14 Oct, 2.30‒3.30pm

From 1905 to 1912, Arthur Weigall was Howard Carter’s successor as Chief Inspector of Antiquities for Upper Egypt. He used his position to conduct a campaign against government practice of allowing amateur collectors to excavate for private profit. With Tutankhamun’s discovery, Weigall came into open conflict with Carter’s patron, Lord Carnarvon, over his exclusive contract with The Times, and ‒ at a time of political unrest in Egypt ‒ over his assumption of rights to the contents of the tomb.

How can we be confident that we have correctly understood someone – or that they, in turn, have understood us? Wittgenstein cryptically claimed that “if a lion could speak, we could not understand him”. In this lecture Constantine will clarify what Wittgenstein meant, rejecting a number of misinterpretations and objections along the way. He will also demonstrate Wittgenstein’s invaluable insights into what confident communication with others consists of.

About the speaker
Constantine Sandis Photo

CONSTANTINE SANDIS is Professor of Philosophy at Oxford Brookes University, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has been visiting fellow at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. He is author of The Things We Do and Why We Do Them and editor of a number of books as well as Bloomsbury’s Why Philosophy Matters and Macmillan’s Philosophers in Depth series.

The Jerash and Decapolis Cities
With Linda Farrar, historian and archaeologist

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Thurs 16 Oct, 2–4pm (inc. tea & cake),

Today, the ancient Greco-Roman Decapolis region straddles the countries of Jordan, Israel and Syria. This lecture explores the distinct characteristics of the cities of Jerash, Gedara, Pella and Philidelphian (Aman) and tells the stories of each cities unique role in the development of this historic region.

“Everywhere the Glint of Gold”: Colourising Tutankhamun’s Tomb
With Liam McNamara, Ashmolean Keeper for Ancient Egypt and Sudan and co-curator of ‘Discovering Tutankhamun’ exhibition

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sat 18 Oct, 2‒3pm

Howard Carter’s evocative description of the ‘wonderful things’ he saw upon entering Tutankhamun’s tomb continues to capture the public’s imagination. The excavation of the tomb and its contents were documented in black and white photographs taken by Harry Burton. This talk explores the various methods by which the excavators – and their successors – sought to ‘colourise’ the contents of the king’s tomb, from 20th-century gouache paintings on ivory, to the latest in 21st-century digital imaging techniques.

The Annual Sidney Ball Memorial Lecture:
Professor Tom Cook, Joan and Sarepta Harrison Chair in Ethics and Justice, Professor of Sociology, Psychology, Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research, will be this year’s lecturer.

This paper identifies three major assumptions of the current evidence-based policy movement that seeks to use scientific methods to identify effective social policy initiatives: (1) Randomized controlled trials are the best way of identifying what works and should be preferred for building up an evidence base or should even constitute the only legitimate inputs into that base; (2) In policy research it is not difficult to label the causal agent in general language; and (3) Extrapolating from past causal findings (however secure) to future policy contexts depends on formal sampling theory. Empirical evidence is used to address these three assumptions. Each is found to be overstated. A somewhat different model of evidence-based research is briefly proposed. It makes more realistic assumptions about how research can contribute to evidence-based policy and respects the conceptual interdependencies between creating high quality tests of causal propositions, correctly labeling the cause (or effect), and minimizing the extrapolation from past knowledge to future applications.

In this talk by Tom Steinberg, we will explore how previous epochal technologies (e.g steam, nuclear) affected politics and government but didn’t require leaders to develop any brand new, specialist skills in order to govern effectively. You didn’t have to be a master of atomic physics to understand what the Bomb would do, and reading classic texts like Machiavelli could still help you negotiate, even with the Soviets. But the digital revolution is different. It brings policy options to the table that simply didn’t exist before, and makes the standard forms of public sector delivery implode (think Healthcare.gov or the NHS IT disaster). In this seminar, Tom will discuss the nature of this gap, and float some possible solutions.

Please note that this seminar will be conducted ‘off-the-record’ under Chatham House rules and will be followed by a drinks reception.

Tutankhaten ‒ Prince and King
With Dr Marianne Eaton-Krauss, independent scholar

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 21 Oct, 2.30‒ 3.30pm

The name of Tutankhamun is familiar throughout the world, yet academics continue to dispute not only the identity of the boy king’s parents, but also the meaning of the name he was given at birth, Tutankhaten. This lecture explores these questions and examines objects that document his life up until the moment the decision was taken to alterhis name to Tutankhamun, marking the conclusion of a campaign to restore the god Amun to his traditional place at the head of the pantheon from which he had been toppled by the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten.

cycle BOOM: Investigating how cities and bicycles shape older peoples’ experiences of cycling.

cycle BOOM is a 3-year study by Oxford Brookes to understand cycling among the older population and how this affects independence, health and wellbeing. The ultimate aim is to advise policy makers and practitioners how our environment and technologies can be designed to help people to continue to cycle in older age or to reconnect with cycling.
Ben Spencer will talk about the project and share some of the early findings from the first wave of research this summer.

Eating Restoration Glue to Stay Alive: A History of Hermitage
With Dr Rosalind P. Blakesley, University of Cambridge

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Wed 22 Oct, 11am–12pm

The Hermitage is an institute like no other,
 housing over 3 million objects in buildings as iconic as the Winter Palace, seat of the Romanov dynasty until its spectacular fall from grace in 1917. As the Hermitage celebrates its 250th anniversary, Dr Blakesley charts its history from the lavish patronage of Catherine the Great to the unparalleled acquisitions of Impressionist and Post- Impressionist works.

Tutankhamun and Revolution
With Dr Paul Collins, Jaleh Hearn Curator for Ancient Near East and co-curator of ‘Discovering Tutankhamun’

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sat 25 Oct, 2‒3pm

This talk considers three historical periods when the image and idea of Tutankhamun became a focus for revolution both in Egypt and beyond. Starting in the ancient world, the revolutions of the Amarna age, into which Tutankhamun was born, witnessed a transformation in the concept of kingship. In the early 20th century, as Egypt claimed independence from British control, Tutankhamun became a symbol of opposition to imperial rule. Finally, in recent years, Egypt has faced political upheaval and revolutionaries
have again employed the image of Tutankhamun.

The Time of the Gods: Myths from Ancient Egypt (STUDY DAY)
With Dr Garry Shaw, Egyptologist and author

Tue 28 Oct, 10.30am‒4pm

An introduction to Egypt’s creation myths and a history of the reigns of these gods on earth. This study day will cover myths, both well-known and the more obscure, related to notable deities such as Re, Amun, Osiris, Horus and Isis.

Unwrapping Tutankhamun
With Dr Christina Riggs, Senior Lecturer, School of Art History and World Art Studies, University of East Anglia

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Tue 28 Oct, 2.30‒3.30pm

After three years of work in the tomb, Howard Carter and his team were ready to reveal the body of Tutankhamun. Using photographs and diaries from the excavation, this illustrated lecture follows Carter’s work in stages as they worked through the layers of wrappings around Tutankhamun’s body, and considers what else we can learn from the unwrapping of other materials in the tomb.

Fit for a Pharaoh: The Authorised Facsimile of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
With Adam Lowe, Director and Founder of Factum Arte
Gallery 21, Ashmolean Museum
Wed 29 Oct, from 6.30pm

The ticket price includes: a talk by Adam Lowe of Factum Arte; a tour of the Discovering Tutankhamun exhibition; and a drink at a special wine reception in the Ashmolean’s vaulted café.

Before Egypt’s recent political revolution, the tomb of Tutankhamun was viewed by up to 1,000 visitors per day. This had a dramatic effect on the tomb, which resulted in a deterioration of the structure of the walls. Using digital technology to record the tomb’s interior in unparalleled detail, Factum Arte produced a full-scale facsimile that can be visited at Luxor, thus relieving pressure on the actual tomb. Adam Lowe explains the process behind the production of the facsimile and explores current debates about the creation of replicas to preserve the world’s cultural heritage for future generations.

Japonism and the Impressionists
With Julian Heslewood, art historian

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Thurs 30 Oct, 2–3pm

During the Renaissance, the new science of perspective allowed western artists to create art that depicted the world in a realistic way, showing perspective, depth and volume like never before.
In the 19th century western artists discovered that Japanese print makers had used other techniques to depict the real world. Monet, Van Gogh and many others adapted these discoveries in to their own methods creating an unconventional and exciting visual experience.

The seminar is part of “Religion, Society & Politics” series, hosted by Oxford Orthodox Christian Student Society. The seminar is aimed at understanding developing global-local interactions between the religious and the secular and examining the social and political consequences of religion and politics, with a focus on both conflict and cooperation and their association with religion in different contexts.

Professor Haynes is internationally recognised authority in religion, politics and democratisation. His most recent books include “Religious Transnational Actors and Soft Power” (2012) and “Routledge Handbook of Democratisation” (2011).

Dress up to party like it’s 1922 and discover the decade’s fascination with Ancient Egypt at an evening of Jazz Age performances, workshops and talks.

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FREE ENTRY
7 – 10.30pm
Halloween night: Friday 31 October 2014

The Rooftop Bar and Vaulted Café will be serving drinks until 10.30pm.

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For programme news see:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1445682889032169/
or
http://www.ashmolean.org/livefriday

A discussion with two representatives of an Israeli peace village called Neve Shalom (Hebrew) / Wahat al-Salam (Arabic). In this unique village, Arab and Jewish Israelis have chosen to live together in peace, celebrating both cultures, languages and religions equally together.

Bob Fenton and Rami Mannaa, from the village, explain how the current political situation impacts upon their lives and work towards peace.

Chaired by The Very Rev John Drury, Chaplain of All Souls and Former Dean of Christ Church, Oxford.

Free Admission – Retiring collection for community peace projects bringing together Arab and Jewish teenagers from outside the village.

In Conversation: Sir Norman Rosenthal and Dr Georgina Paul
‘Joseph Beuys & Jörg Immendorff’ Exhibition Event

Wednesday 5 November, 11.30am–12.30pm
At the Ashmolean Museum

Join the curator of the exhibition, Sir Norman Rosenthal, as he discusses the social and political context of these two seminal German contemporary artists with Dr Georgina Paul, Associate Professor in German and Fellow at St. Hilda’s College, University of Oxford.

Entry is free and no booking is required.

Find out more about our ‘Joseph Beuys & Jörg Immendorff: Art Belongs To The People!’ at http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibitions/details/?exh=92

Sherpa Adventure Gear presents the BMC Club Autumn Lecture series! The Oxford University Mountaineering Club will be hosting Neil Gresham and Kenton Cool to speak at the Oxford Maths Department (Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6HD) on Wednesday the 5th of November at 7:30pm. Doors open at 7pm, there will be a raffle in the interval, with the final lecture finishing at 9:30pm. Tickets for this exciting event will cost £8, and can be purchased here or on the door.

Neil is one of Britain’s most well known all-round climbers and is one of the few climbers in the world to have climbed E10. He is also the UK’s most experienced climbing coach, and is the training columnist for Climber magazine and Rock & Ice magazine.

Kenton is the holder of the British record for most Mount Everest summits, recently completing the ‘Triple Crown’ of Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse in three days. He is also a Piolet d’Or nominee for a route on Annapurna III and was the first British person to complete a ski descent of an 8,000m peak.

Non-fat, low-fat, saturated fat, trans fats, healthy fats – in an era where we seem to be constantly bombarded with often conflicting messages about our diets, is all this information actually making us any healthier? How can we cut through media hysteria and make wise choices about the food we eat, and what impact do our consumption habits have, not just on our own health but that of the planet?

Speakers:

Professor Susan Jebb, Professor of Diet and Population Health, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Dr Tara Garnett, Principal Investigator, Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food
Dr Mike Rayner, Principal Investigator, Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food
Join in on Twitter with #c21health

This seminar will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UbwkWsEdmU

About the Speakers:
Professor Susan Jebb is a nutrition scientist and her research interests are focused on how what we eat affects the risk of gaining weight or becoming obese and the interventions that might be effective to help people lose weight or reduce the risk of obesity-related diseases. She has also conducted a series of randomised controlled trials to study the impact of dietary changes on the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In general, this work highlights that body weight is a more important risk factor for ill-health than differences in the nutritional composition of the diet. She has strong scientific collaborations with the Behaviour and Health Research unit at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Human Nutrition Research unit, where she was a Programme Leader for many years.

She is also very interested in how scientific evidence on diet is translated into policy and practice, by government, industry, the public health community and the media. She was the science advisor for the Foresight obesity report and subsequently chaired the cross-government Expert Advisory Group on obesity from 2007-11. She is now a member of the Public Health England Obesity Programme Board. She also Chairs the DH Public Health Responsibility Deal Food Network, developing voluntary agreements with industry to improve the food environment. She is one of the Chairs of the NICE Public Health Advisory Committees. She is actively involved in a number of events and media projects to engage the public in issues relating to diet and health. In 2008 she was awarded an OBE for services to public health. She is a Trustee and former Chair of the Association for the Study of Obesity.

Dr Tara Garnett is a Principal Investigator at the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and she initiated, and runs the Food Climate Research Network, now based at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford.

Her work focuses on the contribution that the food system makes to greenhouse gas emissions and the scope for emissions reduction, looking at the technological options, at what could be achieved by changes in behaviour and how policies could help promote both these approaches. She is particularly interested in the relationship between emissions reduction objectives and other social and ethical concerns, particularly human health, livelihoods, and animal welfare. Much of her focus is on livestock, since this represents a nodal point where many of these issues converge.

Tara is keen to collaborate through the FCRN with other organisations to undertake research, organise events and build and extend interdisciplinary, intersectoral knowledge in this field.

Dr Mike Rayner is a Principal Investigator on the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and Director of the British Heart Foundation Centre on Population Approaches for NCD Prevention, which is based within the Nuffield Department of Population Health of the University of Oxford, and which he founded in 1993.

Mike’s particular research interests are in food labelling, food marketing, food taxes and the relationship between a healthy diet and sustainable diet.

Mike is also Chair of Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming in the UK, and Chair of its Childrens’ Food Campaign in the UK. He is a trustee of the UK Health Forum, Chair of the Nutrition Expert Group for the European Heart Network based in Brussels and a member of the Scientific Advisory Panel of the International Obesity Task Force. He is also an ordained priest in the Church of England.

The 35th Annual Barlow Lecture
Yongle to Zhengtong: Fifty Years that Changed Chinese Art?
With Professor Craig Clunas, University of Oxford

Friday 7 November , 5-6 pm, Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Sir Alan Barlow (1881-1968) was a leading 20th-century collector of Chinese and other eastern ceramics. Deeply committed to public education, he left the collection as a trust to be used in universities and museums by the widest possible audience and it is now on loan in the Ashmolean museum, where pieces can be seen throughout the Chinese displays and in the Islamic gallery. This year’s lecture focuses on the British Museum’s autumn blockbuster show Ming: 50 Years that changed China and is delivered by the exhibition’s co- curator Craig Clunas.

Free, booking required. Contact:

T 01865 288001
E eastern.art@ashmus.ox.ac.uk

Department of Eastern Art,
Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford OX1 2PH

Childhood in a New Age:
Adults Look at Children, Children Look at Themselves in Russia, 1890‒1920

With Professor Catriona Kelly, University of Oxford

Saturday 8 November, 11am–12pm
At the Ashmolean Museum – Lecture Theatre

During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the Russian Empire underwent a period of hectic change at every level. This talk, based on the literature and visual arts of the period, as well as journalism, family history and the writings of children, explores how the massive changes of the era affected the Empire’s youngest citizens.

Tickets are £5/£4 concessions and booking is recommended as places are limited.
Visit http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

What impact are government anti-terrorism actions having on our society? Our Panel Debate on the impact of anti-terrorism legislation in the UK is an event not to be missed for anyone interested in in this area of policy. With speakers including David Anderson QC, and Jonathan Russell (Political Liaison Officer at the Quilliam Foundation), this is should be an exciting and enlightening discussion on an incredibly divisive topic.

Why Film Matters
Part of the Why Philosophy Matters Series

With Professor Stephen Mulhall, New College, Oxford University

Wednesday 12 November, 6‒7.30pm, Ashmolean Education Centre

Join esteemed scholars to talk about the hot topics in contemporary culture and philosophical thought. In partnership with Oxford Brookes University and sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy.

Free, no booking required, seats allocated on a first-come first-served basis. Entry via St Giles’ Street, drinks from 5.45pm.

Panel:

Professor Charles Godfray, Director, Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and author of the chapter How can 9-10 Billion People be Fed Sustainably and Equitably by 2050?
Professor Ian Goldin, Director, Oxford Martin School, Editor of Is the Planet Full? and author of the chapter Governance Matters Most
Professor Sarah Harper, Director, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, Oxford Martin School and author of the chapter Demographic and Environmental Transitions
Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Director, Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests, Oxford Martin School and author of the chapter The Metabolism of a Human-Dominated Planet
Dr Toby Ord, James Martin Fellow, Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology and author of the chapter Overpopulation or Underpopulation?
The panel will discuss whether our planet can continue to support a growing population estimated to reach 10 billion people by the middle of the century.

The panel discussion will be followed by a book signing and drinks reception.

This panel discussion will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIqDQP1Vjc

About the Book:
What are the impacts of population growth? Can our planet support the demands of the ten billion people anticipated to be the world’s population by the middle of this century?

While it is common to hear about the problems of overpopulation, might there be unexplored benefits of increasing numbers of people in the world? How can we both consider and harness the potential benefits brought by a healthier, wealthier and larger population? May more people mean more scientists to discover how our world works, more inventors and thinkers to help solve the world’s problems, more skilled people to put these ideas into practice?

In this book, leading academics with a wide range of expertise in demography, philosophy, biology, climate science, economics and environmental sustainability explore the contexts, costs and benefits of a burgeoning population on our economic, social and environmental systems.

Public Seminar: Thinking About the Brain

With speakers: Professor Chris Kennard; Professor Glyn Humphreys; Professor David Lomas; Dr Joshua Hordern; Dr Ayoush Lazikani; Dr Matthew Broome; Dr Chrystalina Antoniades

Thursday 20 November, 5.30-8.30pm
Ashmolean Education Centre

The evening will offer an opportunity to explore current research into the brain and the mind from a wide range of perspectives, from medieval literature to contemporary art and neuroscience.

Thinking About the Brain is a public seminar, forming part of the developing collaboration between the Ashmolean Museum’s University Engagement Programme and Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences. It is being co-organised by Dr Jim Harris, Andrew W Mellon Foundation Teaching Curator at the Ashmolean, and Dr Chrystalina Antoniades, Lecturer in Medicine at Brasenose College and Senior Research Fellow in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

Open to all and free of charge. To ensure a place, please follow this link to e-mail Dr Jim Harris (at jim.harris @ ashmus.ox.ac.uk), or telephone 01865 288 287.

The Oxford Climate Forum is the country’s largest student climate change conference, held right here in Oxford. This year, a fantastic line-up of leading academics, activists and environmentalists will discuss and debate topics ranging from putting a price on carbon through to how to communicate about climate change effectively, in what will be a diverse and inspiring multi-day event.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OxfordClimateForum?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OxClimateForum

A History of Ancient Greece in Fifty Lives
With David Studdard, historian

Saturday 22 November, 2–3pm
Ashmolean Museum Lecture Theatre

David Studdard creates a vivid picture of life in all arenas of the Ancient Greek world. Delve into the worlds of mathematics, geography, rhetoric, historiography, painting and sculpture; explore the accounts of historians, mystics, poets, dramatists, political commentators and philosophers; and travel through the ancient realms of Sicily, Afghanistan, Macedonia and Alexandria.

Tickets are £5/£4 concessions and booking is recommended as places are limited.
Visit: http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132