Cyclox and the Oxford Pedestrians Association (OxPA) will be welcoming representatives of the bus companies that serve Oxford to a meeting to discuss the relationship between bikes, buses and pedestrians on the city’s busy streets.

Richard Mann, an Oxford-based transport and liveable cities consultant, will open the meeting with a presentation on how to make an excellent bus network and lead a discussion with contributions from Phil Southall of the Oxford Bus Company and Martin Sutton of Stagecoach.

There will be plenty of opportunities for questions and discussion from the floor, which will make for a very interesting event for anyone interested in how we move around our city. This is a public meeting so please come and add your voice to the debate.

How can the human economy become more sustainable in the face of a rapidly changing climate? Professor Cameron Hepburn, Director of the Economics of Sustainability programme at The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, will discuss new ways of assessing climate and economic risk, how to stimulate innovation in greener technologies, and the impacts of climate policy on the economy.

Join in on Twitter #2015climate

C.S. Lewis is best-known for his Narnia Chronicles and works of Christian apologetics such as Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain, but he was professionally a literary critic and literary historian with carefully thought out ideas about the imagination and its function. Dr Michael Ward will give two talks, looking at Lewis’s understanding of imaginative creativity, first in theory and then in practice. Metropolitan Kallistos, who has spoken and written on Lewis in relation to Orthodoxy’, will reflect on Lewis’s Christian faith.

Amy Hollywood (Harvard) delivers a series of lectures on “The real, the true, and the mystical” in Oxford. At 7pm will be a play on Derrida in Oxford by John Schad and Fred Dalmasso.

Tickets 8£/ 5£ reduced for students and Lecture attendants.

Amy Hollywood (Harvard) delivers a series of lectures on “The real, the true, and the mystical” in Oxford.

Amy Hollywood : The Unspeakability of Trauma, the Unspeakability of Joy: The Pursuit of the Real at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century

Enter a lost world of music and poetry as more than 300 years of Mughal rule approached its end at the hands of the British in 1857. William Dalrymple, award-winning historian, in performance with the celebrated North Indian vocalist Vidya Shah, takes us back to the bygone era of matchless splendour, bringing to life a world of emperors, courtesans, politics, bayonets, intrigue and love, through words and music. Doors open at 17.45. Food and drinks in the Pitt Rivers Museum till 9p.m. after the lecture. Signed copies of ‘The Last Mughul’ and ‘Return of the King’ available after the lecture.

We are all aware that Christian communities with ancient roots in the Middle East, are again under enormous pressure.This study day looks in detail at the present situation and how different communities are responding. Mardean Isaac is British-Assyrian and will speak on the Assyrian Christian community which has suffered multiple tragedies over the past century. Fr Shafiq is a Melkite (RC) scholar based in Oxford, whose roots are in Lebanon, a country deeply affected by the surrounding conflicts and the flow of refugees. Anthony O’Mahony is a leading scholar of Middle Eastern Christianity. He considers the situation in the Holy Land, and asks to what extent diaspora communities can preserve their distinctive Christian cultures and spirituality when scattered across the world in very different cultural and geographical contexts.

• Mike set up the volunteer organisation Smile Kids Japan (website under reconstruction…) in 2007 to promote sustainable and local volunteering at institutional care facilities (sometimes called orphanages) in Japan. This grew and has helped volunteers set up visits in 25 of the 47 prefectures in Japan, seeing several thousand people volunteer their friendship to kids in care. Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Tohoku, Smile Kids Japan joined up with another NPO, Living Dreams, and Mike moved to the area to work full time on this project. Mike and the team raised over $900,000 in the months after the disaster, working with large corporate donors and setting up smaller events, including a 5 kilometre fun run that was carried out in 12 countries on the same day and raised over $100,000. The work was featured on the ITV ‘Tonight’ documentary news program, and in national papers. After giving a talk at TEDxTokyo and returning to the UK to study the alternative care system in Japan, Mike was invited by the Japanese Ambassador to meet and talk with the Emperor and Empress of Japan along with other Brits, including Lord Patten, who had been involved in the relief work.

• Mike is going to speak about fundraising strategies and will suggest (at least) three concrete ideas for fundraising that can be done before the end of term. These can be used for any charity fundraising, however the focus will be on post disaster, specifically on the situation in Nepal.

• The meeting aims to form a small team who can work on a flash fundraising event before the end of term, though you do not have to participate further if you just want to listen to the talk and learn more about fundraising.

To Book a place, click ‘going’ on our Facebook Event https://www.facebook.com/events/467192280115835/

OxFund — the Crowdfunding Society for Oxford Students
Email: hello.oxfund@gmail.com
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Alongside global warming, the destruction of the world’s biodiversity and natural capital threatens to undermine economic growth. Another 3 billion people and a world economy some 16 times bigger by 2100 threatens environmental destruction on a scale which would make the twentieth century look positively benign. On current policies, natural capital – those assets nature gives us for free – will be massively depleted and undermine economies. To put growth on a sustainable basis requires that natural assets are taken seriously – in national and corporate accounts, on balance sheets, and by providing compensation for damage, pollution taxes and a nature fund. This lecture sets out how to do this, how to start restoring natural capital, and why it is necessary for sustainable economic growth.

Speaker: Prof Dieter Helm. Dieter is an Official Fellow in Economics at New College, Oxford, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Oxford and Professorial Research Fellow of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He is Chair of the Natural Capital Committee and a Director of Aurora Energy Research Ltd. The revised edition of his most recent book, Natural Capital – Valuing The Planet, is due to be published in May by Yale University Press.

Professor Rachel Bowlby from Princeton University will give a seminar on Commuters: From the Nineteenth Century to Now as part of the Science, Medicine and Culture in the Nineteenth Century seminar series. All are welcome, no booking is required.

Twenty minute talk, Q&As, and an hour of discussion. Free entry, no need to book. You’re welcome to come along just to listen, or to take part actively in the discussion.

Earth System scientists believe the Earth has entered a new epoch in the Geological Time Scale, the Anthropocene or ‘the Age of Man’, in which humans now rival the great forces of nature in determining the geological trajectory of the planet. The new epoch, driven mainly by human-induced climate change, represents a rupture in Earth history with profound consequences for humankind and the Earth System itself. The concept grew out of the new discipline of Earth System science, a ‘paradigm shift’. A number of scientists and social scientists have put forward interpretations of the Anthropocene that, mostly unconsciously, deflate the significance of the new epoch and the threat it poses to humankind and the Earth. It has variously been equated with the Holocene, interpreted as just another instance of ecological or landscape change, rendered banal by the discovery of historical ‘precursors’, and framed as a welcome opportunity for humans to remake the Earth. Each of these can be shown to be a misreading of Earth System science.

Clive Hamilton is an Australian academic and author. His books include Growth Fetish (Pluto Press), Requiem for a Species: Why We Resist the Truth About Climate Change (Earthscan) and Earthmasters: The Dawn of the Age of Climate Engineering (Yale UP). He is the co-editor (with Christophe Bonneuil and Francois Gemenne) of the just-released The Anthropocene and the Global Environmental Crisis: Rethinking modernity in a new epoch (Routledge). Clive is currently writing a book on the larger meaning of the Anthropocene. He is currently Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra. He has held various visiting academic positions, including at Yale University, Sciences Po and the University of Oxford.

Human-caused global warming has been making headlines for over two decades, but people’s opinions on it often depend on what headlines they’re reading. How is it that a scientific theory has become so politicised? Join us to hear Adam Levy (Nature, University of Oxford; @ClimateAdam), a climate change scientist and YouTuber, discuss the key scientific evidence behind climate change, and explain why perspectives on climate change shouldn’t be a matter of belief.
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Guest speaker: Dr Mike Macnair, Associate Professor in Law, University of Oxford

Talk, Q&As, and discussion. You’re welcome to come along just to listen, or to take part actively in the discussion. Free entry, no need to book.

The Mask You Live In follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America’s narrow definition of masculinity.
The documentary presents the personal narratives of young boys and men and features experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education, and media, further exploring how gender stereotypes are interconnected with race, class, and circumstance. The Mask You Live In ultimately illustrates how we, as a society, can raise a healthier generation of boys and young men. Written, produced and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2015.
After the screening there will be a panel discussion with the film producer.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom is making a stop in Oxford on her way back to California from Cannes after being awarded the Glass Lion Award at the Cannes Lion Film Festival 2015. https://www.canneslions.com/cannes_lions/press/press_releases/1058/cannes_li
She will be talking about her experience in film making and campaigning. With more than 4 million views on YouTube for The Mask You Live In trailer it is promising to be an event not to miss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc45-ptHMxo

Special Turner Event at the Ashmolean Museum

Turner’s High Street, Oxford: a Unique Townscape

With Colin Harrison

Wednesday 8 July, 11am-12pm, Lecture Theatre

Find out more about Turner’s most significant townscape and the greatest painting of the city that has ever been made. Senior Curator of European Art, Colin Harrison, will give a special talk from 11am on Wednesday 8 July.

Tickets £5/£4 concessions. Booking is essential.

To find out more about the Ashmolean’s current campaign to secure Turner’s painting for the nation visit: http://www.ashmolean.org/turner/

The AllTrials campaign calls for all past and present clinical trials to be registered and their full methods and summary results to be reported – half of all trials go unpublished. The AllTrials petition has been signed by 84,879 people and 574 organisations. A co-founder of the popular initiative, Professor Carl Heneghan will talk about how the campaign is making progress by leaps and bounds, and issues raised in the five years spent obtaining the unpublished evidence for Tamiflu, as well as the implications for health care and general practice in the future.

Carl Heneghan is Director of the Centre of Evidence-Based Medicine, a General Practitioner and Senior Tutor of Kellogg College. He is a clinical epidemiologist so studies patients who see clinicians, especially those with common problems. His work focuses on improving the evidence-base to change practice. His research includes the treatment of communicable diseases in primary care, including recent work on Tamiflu.

Talk – Perspectives: Cheating

A short series of talks on cheating, fakes and frauds to accompany the exhibition by Lynn Hershman Leeson.

Speakers include:

Nigel Warburton: The Ethics of Cheating
Warburton discusses how and why we decide to cheat and if it’s ever ok to cheat.

Nigel Warburton is a freelance philosopher, podcaster and writer, described by Julian Baggini as ‘one of the most-read popular philosophers of our time’. His books include A Little History of Philosophy, Philosophy: The Basics, Philosophy: The Classics, Thinking from A to Z, The Art Question, and Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction. He is the interviewer for the popular Philosophy Bites podcast which he makes with David Edmonds and which has been downloaded nearly 19 million times, and has formed the basis of two books, Philosophy Bites and Philosophy Bites Back.

Robert Hutton: Lying
Hutton will talk about how we lie to ourselves and to each other, the sorts of lies we tell and how you can spot a lie.

Robert Hutton is a British political reporter for Bloomberg News and author of the Journalese collection Romps, Tots and Boffins and the Uncommunication guide Would They Lie To You?

Megan Aldrich: Authenticity and the Gothic Revival
Aldrich will discuss William Beckford at Fonthill Abbey, who on occasion lied about the provenance of his decorative and antiquarian objects because he was so caught up in the ‘narrative’ of what he wanted them to be. Aldrich will talk about the fashion for creating false and imagined architectural histories in England in the 19th Century.

Megan Aldrich began her career in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. She curated the exhibition on the Crace firm of decorators at the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery in Sussex in 1990 and edited the accompanying publication. She is currently Senior Fellow in Object Based Studies at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Free, booking essential via https://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/event/perspectives-cheating/

What the World is Losing, a talk with Dr Paul Collins, Dr Robert Bewley & Dr Emma Cunliffe

A special talk with Dr Paul Collins, Curator of the Ancient Near East Collections at the Ashmolean Museum, as well as Dr Robert Bewley and Dr Emma Cunliffe from the University of Oxford School of Archaeology

Saturday 25 July, 10.30am‒12pm
Ashmolean Museum Lecture Theatre

FREE entry. No booking required.

*** Spaces limited. Please arrive early to secure your seat. ***

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Middle Eastern cultural heritage is under threat as never before. These talks highlight what the world is losing in Iraq and Syria, as well as talking about Oxford University’s ‘Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa’ project.

Dr Paul Collins spoke in April this year about the recent destruction of museums, libraries, archaeological sites, mosques, churches and shrines across northern Iraq to highlight the unique heritage that is being lost.

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This is a free Festival of Archaeology Talk. See the full programme of events at: http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Festival/

A one-day free exhibit featuring powerful children’s drawings from Burma and Sudan.

The event is co-sponsored by Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) and Waging Peace. The drawings from Burma were collected on visits by HART to their partners. HART works with these partners and others in conflict or post-conflict areas, often facing persecution and oppression and trapped behind closed borders. The areas in which HART’s partners work are often not reached by larger organisations and Government support.

The pictures from Sudan were collected by Waging Peace, from Darfuri children living in refugee camps in Chad. Waging Peace is a non-governmental organisation that campaigns against genocide and systematic human rights abuses and seeks the full implementation of international human rights treaties.

These drawings are commanding and moving, providing an insight into the lives and minds of children living in these contexts.

A lecture in aid of the British red Cross services in Oxfordshire and beyond kindly given by award winning journalist Peter Taylor and entitled ‘Terrorism from IRA to Al Quaeda and ISIL.’ In his lecture Peter will describe his 40 year journey from reporting the IRA to investigating Al Qaeda and, latterly, assessing the Islamic State. He will discuss how successful – or otherwise – governments and states have been in countering the threats and addressing their root causes.

Droughts threaten societies, economies and ecosystems worldwide. Yet our ability to characterise and predict the occurrence, duration and intensity of droughts, as well as minimise their impacts, is often inadequate.

This symposium brings together global experts and will showcase multidisciplinary research being undertaken on droughts from across the world. There are three themes:

-UK Drought Science and Policy
-Understanding the social dimensions of drought
-Drought Science and Policy from around the world

Confirmed speakers:

-Professor Jim Hall, University of Oxford, UK
-Professor Lee Godden, Melbourne University, Australia
-Professor Casey Brown, University of Massachusetts, United States
-Professor Christopher Duffy, Penn State University, United States
-Professor Greg Garfin, University of Arizona, United States
-Dr Peter Wallbrink, CSIRO, Australia

An open lecture by Professor Andrew Steane of Exeter College on the subject ‘Faithful to Science’. Professor Steane will contend against the prevailing view that science and faith are incompatible – for him each enriches the other – by drawing on material from his recently published book, “Faithful to Science – the role of science in religion”. There will be an opportunity for questions afterwards. Refreshments will be provided and entry is free.

Are there gender differences in attraction? What are we looking for in a potential mate? Can you find someone attractive online? What other features make us more or less attractive? Join us to hear Dr Martin Graff (Reader and Head of Research
in Psychology, University of South Wales) examine some of the research on romantic attraction and why attraction is important to us.

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Actress, performer and researcher, Dr Naomi Paxton explores the importance of theatre, performance and propaganda in the campaign for Votes for Women.

In 1908, the Actresses’ Franchise League was founded to support the suffrage movement. It staged suffrage events and readings, and its members wrote and produced plays in support of the cause. Eminent members included Cicely Hamilton, Ellen Terry, Elizabeth Robins, Edith Craig and Sybil Thorndike. By 1914 membership numbered over a thousand and the League was working nationally and internationally in support of the suffrage cause.

Dr Naomi Paxton has shared her passion for the work of the Actresses’ Franchise League at many events, including the National Theatre, Hay Festival and Latitude Festival and was one of the AHRC/BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers for 2014-15. She is the editor of The Methuen Drama Book of Suffrage Plays (2013).

Kellogg College along with the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences and the Kellogg College Centre for Governance and Transparency will present a series of talks themed ‘Harms in Healthcare’ with guest speakers Ben Goldacre, Jeffrey Aronson, Carl Heneghan, and Kamal Mahtani.

Talks will cover self-interests and research, combined with increased global competition that are currently leading to substantial harms in healthcare. In addition, a growing body of research on adverse drug reactions has uncovered that there is considerable room for improvement in the public understanding of this little known area. We will question whether medicine is broken  – do patients and the public ever fully understand what doctors, academics and regulators have been permitted to do to them and what would their reaction be? We’ll also discuss the impact of a £500 million deficit in the public purse from stockpiling the controversial drug Tamiflu.

This event is part of the University of Oxford’s alumni weekend. The event is open to all, including members of the public.

The Oxford Architecture Society lecture series

Lisa Finlay is coming to speak to us from Heatherwick Studio.
Established by Thomas Heatherwick in 1994, Heatherwick Studio is recognised for its work in architecture, urban infrastructure, sculpture, design and strategic thinking. At the heart of the studio’s work is a profound commitment to finding innovative design solutions, with a dedication to artistic thinking and the latent potential of materials and craftsmanship. In the twenty years of its existence, Heatherwick Studio has worked in many countries, with a wide range of commissioners and in a variety of regulatory environments.

In conjunction with The Angus Library and Archive’s exhibition ‘Navigating the Congo’, Dr Rob Burroughs will be speaking on missionary travellers in the Congo Free State and examining how documenting the violence of King Leopold II’s colonial regime led missionaries to new understandings of their own work and the peoples and cultures that they witnessed in central Africa.

Dr Rob Burroughs is Senior Lecturer in the School of Cultural Studies and Humanities, Leeds Beckett University. His publications include Travel Writing and Atrocities (Routledge 2011) and The Suppression of the Atlantic Slave Trade (co-edited with Richard Huzzey, Manchester 2015). Rob is the lead UK partner in the NWO-funded European research project ‘The Congo Free State across Languages, Media and Cultures’. Current projects include research of the Africans who testified against colonial violence in the Congo Free State.

Part 3 of a three-part mini-series on notation: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.

Part 1 was Reading Slough and London Paddington: the persistent lure of spelling reform (July 16th). Part 2 was Writing little messages in Italian: the social origins of music notation (August 20th).

Free entry, no need to book. You’re welcome to come along just to listen, or to take part actively in the discussion. The meeting room will be indicated on the display screen just inside the Town Hall entrance lobby.