Some face-to-face events are returning. Check carefully for any requirements.
David Scourfield (Maynooth) delivers the second annual joint Classics and English Lecture.
Free public lecture, all welcome, no booking required.
Lecture followed by Q&A and refreshments.
Is international governance facing a pivotal moment? Seventy years on from the creation of the UN, the list of issues requiring international co-operation is lengthy and complex, ranging from the conflict in Syria to infectious disease outbreaks, and from nuclear weapons threats to food security. Even where concord has been achieved, as with the recent COP21 climate agreement, the road ahead will be long, hard and fraught with conflicting needs and desires.
With considerable humanitarian and environmental challenges facing the world, Baroness Amos, Director of SOAS, will draw on her distinguished career in development to look at how the international community can work together, what the UN could and can do, and at the likely obstacles to overcome on the road to helping secure global peace and security.
Registration required.
Humanitas Weidenfeld Visiting Professorship in Comparative European Literature Lecture
Marina Warner is an award winning novelist, short story writer, historian and mythographer, who works across genres and cultures exploring myths and stories. Recent work has focused particularly on the magic of fairy tales and the Arabian Nights, including Stranger Magic (2011), and Once Upon a Time (2014). In Fly Away Home: Stories (2015) she draws on mythic predecessors, translating them into contemporary significance. In 2015 she was awarded the prestigious Holberg Prize, and was also Chair of the judging panel for the Man Booker International Book Prize. She is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls, and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of London.
All are welcome to attend and no booking is required. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Mitigating climate requires a transition to low carbon energy systems and renewable energy looks increasingly likely to play a key role, but the most important resources are intermittent.
This lecture will describe the research of the Oxford Martin Programme on Integrating Renewable Energy, on how intermittency and related challenges can be addressed, technically and in markets and policy.
Registration required
Stefan Collini is Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature at the University of Cambridge. His research interests include the relation between literature and intellectual history from the early 20th century to the present.
Professor Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin School, looks at what we mean by development and what citizens, governments and the international community can do to encourage it.
Goldin explains how the notion of development has expanded from the original focus on incomes and economic growth to a much broader interpretation. He considers the contributions made by education, health, gender and equity, and argues that it is also necessary take into account the rule of law, the role of institutions, and sustainability and environmental concerns.
There will be a book signing and drinks reception after the talk, all welcome.
Registration required.
In this talk Professor Daniel Kammen, Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow at INET Oxford, will discuss the strategies emerging to cost-effectively decarbonise energy systems worldwide. This work integrates elements of the science and engineering of energy systems, regional and global energy and environmental policy, and mandates and mission objectives that have emerged from the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, and energy and climate planning in both developed and developing nations.
As Science Envoy for the US Secretary of State, Kammen will also examine opportunities that have arisen as result of the Paris Climate Accord, and US and Chinese climate agreement.
This lecture will be followed by a drinks reception, all welcome.
Registration required.
Prevention and management of infectious diseases remains one of this century’s biggest challenges. As drugs and vaccinations have proliferated, protection from disease has increasingly been seen as an individual problem, requiring individual action. But due to the evolution of anti-microbial resistance, vaccine refusal and rapid disease transmission through global trade and travel, the impact of the drugs and vaccines that we have come to take for granted is undermined.
This lecture will explore the importance of understanding the ‘Human Factor’ in disease management, looking at the effects of policy on individual and group behaviour and at the role psychology plays in developing a new understanding of collective moral responsibility for infectious disease. The lecture is an introduction to the Oxford Martin Programme on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Disease, an interdisciplinary team from zoology, history, philosophy, psychology and medicine.
Registration required.
For the third lecture of the Trinity Term Annual Lecture Series on ‘Global Education’, Dr Mary Robinson, will discuss ‘Educating for climate justice after the Paris climate agreement’.
Speaker
Dr Mary Robinson founded The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, which aims to be ‘a centre for thought leadership, education and advocacy on the struggle to secure global justice for those many victims of climate change who are usually forgotten – the poor, the disempowered and the marginalised across the world.’ She also served as the first female President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002.
As we can’t help but be aware, Shakespeare died 400 years ago. But does the Bard haunt Balliol? A behind-the-scenes talking tour of Balliol’s spring exhibition will elucidate. The talk will last about 30 minutes followed by questions and a final chance to look at the exhibition, ‘I suppose they thought I was dead’: Shakespeare at Balliol in five acts.
Professor Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin School, and fellow author Chris Kutarna preview their forthcoming book about the risks and rewards of a new Renaissance taking place in our modern world. They will show how we can achieve our own golden age, given the will. But many of the factors that undid the first Renaissance are rising once again: warring ideologies, fundamentalism, climate change, pandemics. Can we weather the crises and seize the moment to leave the world a legacy it will still celebrate, 500 years later?
There will be a book signing and drinks reception after the talk, all welcome.
Registration required.
Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are characterised by an acute shortage of trained doctors and nurses, and a strong reliance on community health workers. In this talk, drawing on recent research in urban and rural Kenya, we explore whether mobile technologies can help overcome barriers to health care training, leading to improved provision and delivery of health care services for marginalised populations. Analysing the barriers to care experienced by mothers of children with disabilities, we ask how technology can contribute to the more equitable provision of health care, the challenges of integrating mobiles into existing health care structures and implications for future research agendas.
There’s a whole world of wonderful literature out there to enjoy. From Scandi success stories Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbø, and Jonas Jonasson to the Japanese bestselling author Haruki Murakami, readers are devouring translated fiction from across the globe at an ever growing rate.
Publishers are always on the lookout for the next gem and are finding that the world is their oyster when it comes to acquiring fresh and exciting new stories.
Come and join us at 7pm on Wednesday 25th May for a discussion on the rise and rise of international literature, and the very art of translation itself.
We will be joined by Meike Ziervogel, Publisher with Peirene Press, Patrick McGuinness, acclaimed novelist, poet, critic, translator, and Chair for this year’s Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize and Nichola Smalley from And Other Stories.
For most of the world’s toughest challenges, there exists a tension between the needs of an individual and what is best for the common good. Income derived from fishing may be vital to one country’s economy but overfishing depletes stocks to dangerously low levels. Low income countries need to develop in order to lift people out of poverty but this increases demand for fossil fuels at a point where global efforts to reduce carbon emissions have become critically important.
Some of Oxford’s leading thinkers on how to manage global commons and shared resources come to together for a lively panel debate to address the tension between individual rationality and collective responsibility, drawing on examples from the four lectures in this term’s series.
Panellists:
Professor Ian Goldin, (Chair), Director, Oxford Martin School
Professor Richard Bailey, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Sustainable Oceans
Professor Nick Eyre, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Integrating Renewable Energy
Professor Cameron Hepburn, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Net Zero Carbon Investment Initiative
Professor Angela McLean, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Diseases
Registration required.
In the fourth and final lecture of the Trinity Term Annual Lecture Series on ‘Global Education’, Prof Stefan Dercon will discuss ‘Education and jobs as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis’.
Speaker
Prof Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department, Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economics and Chief Economist at the UK Department of International Development. His research at Oxford University relates to the application of microeconomics and statistics to problems of development.
How has humanities scholarship influenced biomedical research and civil liberties and how can scholars serve the common good? Entrepreneur and scholar Donald Drakeman will discuss his new book exploring the value and impact of the humanities in the 21st century with:
– Stefan Collini (Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature, University of Cambridge and author of What Are Universities For?)
– Richard Ekins (Tutorial Fellow in Law, St John’s College, University of Oxford)
– Jay Sexton (Associate Professor of American History, University of Oxford)
Chaired by Helen Small (Professor of English Literature, University of Oxford and author of The Value of the Humanities)
Free, all welcome. Join us for a sandwich lunch from 12:30, with discussion from 13:00 to 14:00. No booking required, seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
About the book
An entrepreneur and educator highlights the surprising influence of humanities scholarship on biomedical research and civil liberties. This spirited defence urges society to support the humanities to obtain continued guidance for public policy decisions, and challenges scholars to consider how best to fulfil their role in serving the common good.
The event is part of Book at Lunchtime, a fortnightly series of bite size book discussions, with commentators from a range of disciplines.
Simon will investigate class and literature ranging across British writers from the early 19th century through to the present day.
Across poetry and fiction, Simon will present works – classic and not so well-known – which foreground issues of social and economic power, work and wealth, language and accent, region and property.
This lecture asks what happens when literary pursuits turn to working-class lives and what happens when working-class people write themselves into these traditions? Is there a continuity, say, between the ‘peasant poet’ John Clare an the Booker-winning Glaswegian novelist James Kelman? Should we even care about class when we read? Is there such a thing as working-class literary tradition?
Is there anything wrong with putting a price on health, education, citizenship, and the environment? Where do markets serve the public good, and where do they not belong?
Join us for a lively discussion with Professor Michael J. Sandel about money, markets, and the good things in life.
Registration required
Professor Trevor Young, Dean of the University of Toronto and world expert on bipolar disorder, is coming to Oxford to give a talk on “Your Brain Needs YOU: Why Psychiatry Is the Best Specialty for the Brightest Medical Minds”.
Venue: Blue Boar Lecture Theatre
Time: 6-7pm (please arrive promptly)
Cost: FREE!
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As an active clinician scientist, Dr. Young’s principal research interest includes understanding the molecular basis of bipolar disorder and its treatment, and how to apply these findings to the clinical setting. He is widely published and well funded by peer-reviewed granting agencies. His research is particularly focused on understanding the processes that lead to long-term changes in brain structure and function in patients with bipolar disorder and how these changes can be targeted by mood stabilizing drugs.
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Dr. Young was appointed Chair, Department of Psychiatry effective September 1, 2010. He received his medical degree at the University of Manitoba. This was followed by residency training at McGill University and the University of Toronto where he also completed his PhD in Medical Sciences. He completed a Research Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. His former roles include Physician-in-Chief, Executive Vice President Programs at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Professor and Cameron Wilson Chair in Depression Studies in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia. He was received numerous awards including the Douglas Utting Award for outstanding contributions in the field of mood disorders, the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology Heinz Lehmann Award, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He has led several large clinical programs including the Mood Disorders Program at Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital, which received the American Psychiatric Services Gold Achievement Award. In 2009, he was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Dr. Young serves as the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, effective January 1, 2015.
In such a competitive and fast-moving industry, what measures can publishers take to remain fresh and unique? Today, innovation in publishing goes far beyond the e-book.
From crowdfunding to creating book apps, to interacting directly with book-buyers, digital publishers are doing some inventive and original things to get their books to the top of your reading list. Xander Cansell, Head of Digital at Unbound and Anna Jean Hughes, Founder and Editorial Director of The Pigeonhole join us on the 8th June to discuss the importance of innovation in publishing, and reveal some of the exciting new ways to publish and connect with readers. Come along and discover what the future of publishing looks like!
A one-day conference, with Professor Dame Marina Warner and featuring a rehearsed reading of Roberto Cavosi’s Bellissima Maria (after Phaedra/Hipploytus). Registration is £25, or £20 for students, and includes: lunch, refreshments, a drinks reception and confirms a place at the evening’s rehearsed reading (in the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, St Hilda’s). See the website for the full line-up of speakers and papers.
On June 11th, St Anne’s College will be running Oxford Translation Day, a celebration of literary translation consisting of workshops and talks throughout the day at St Anne’s and around the city, culminating in the award of the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize. Our programme includes a range of events which are all open to the public, providing students, translators, publishers, writers, and anyone interested in languages with the opportunity to discover and discuss literary translation.
Oxford Translation Day is a joint venture of the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize and Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation (the research programme housed in St Anne’s and the Oxford Research Centre for the Humanities), in partnership with the Oxford German Network and Modern Poetry in Translation.
All events are free and open to anyone, but registration is required.
– See more at: http://www.occt.ox.ac.uk/oxford-translation-day-2016
Where poetry meets science creative sparks fly, so come along and hear ideas catch fire at SciPo – a day of talks, panel discussions and readings with the distinguished Welsh poet, Tony Curtis, Director of Medicine Unboxed, Samir Guglani, multi-award-winning poet Lesley Saunders and St Hilda’s College’s own resident science poet – Sarah Watkinson. The event will be introduced by Jenny Lewis of the Poet’s House, Oxford.
Welcome to Future Debates, a series of public events supported by the British Science Association.
A genome is an entire set of DNA; all the instructions for making every part of a living thing. Research into our genomes could improve our understanding of diseases, cancers and passing on certain traits. The application of this research through genomic medicine is at the cutting edge of science. There’s large potential for the technology to help us create new treatments and preventative approaches.
Someone’s genome can explain lots of things about them, and we don’t yet understand all of what the genetic code means. Genome data is being collected from a group of patients with rare diseases and cancers across the UK, as part of the Genomics England 100,000 Genomes Project. This information needs to be collected and stored securely, interpreted by experts and viewed in a way that protects the donor’s identity. There have been discussions among scientists about the implications of genomic medicine for privacy and the NHS, and the British Science Association believes that it is vital to open that conversation up to the public.
Come and join our panel of scientists and other experts to discuss who should have access to this data. Should genomic data be used outside medicine? Should private companies share any profits they make from genomic data with participants? Does the right to privacy outweigh the societal benefit of genomic research?
Doors open from 6.00 pm, and the debate will run from 6.30 pm until 8.00 pm.
Future Debates events are part of the British Science Association’s work to make science a fundamental part of British society and culture. We want to empower many more people – not just scientists – to constructively engage in debates over the applications and implications of science in their lives, their local economy and the UK’s future.
Follow us on twitter @LivingWellOx @HumanGeneticsOx @BritSciAssoc and use the event hashtag #FutureDebates
Local songwriter and Shelley specialist John Webster’s new DVD ‘Shelley’s Golden Years in Italy’ takes Shelley from the printed page and into the flux of contemporary culture. Teaming up with poet, playwright and Shelley admirer Benjamin Zephaniah, who provides context to the Shelley songs performed by John’s group Brindaband, it is an unrivalled guide to the poet, introducing around 20 of his key poems, highlighting important aspects of his thinking and describing his final dramatic years in Italy.
John will be introducing and playing the 43 minute-long film – expect an evening touching on some of life’s ‘fundamental things’, illuminated by a great poet’s unique perspective, and leaving an afterburn of hope.
Light refreshments, with an Italian flavour, will be provided.
To confirm your attendance please email events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk or call the Customer Service Department on 01865 333623.
A collaboration between Japanese artist Isao Miura and poet Chris Beckett, presented to the Glass Tank by the Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre.
In spring 1689, Matsuo Bashō sold his house in Edo (now Tokyo) and set off with his friend, Sora, on a long risky journey to the north of Japan, mostly on foot. He travelled light, just a paper coat, light cotton gown, his writing brush and ink. His aim was to see the great northern sights like Matsushima and Kisagata Bay which had inspired poets before him, a process the Japanese call ‘uta makura’, literally ‘poem pillow’, but more accurately translated as ‘the poem road’. This exhibition explores the rich legacy of Bashō’s work, both visually and poetically, and it documents some of Isao’s artistic and physical journey from the deep north of Japan where he grew up, ‘translating’ Bashō’s text not only into English words but into sketch, to plaster, and bronze. The exhibition will be accompanied by a discussion event on Bashō and the artistic journey, and a workshop on the haiku style of prose, called haibun, which is rapidly gaining popularity in the UK, Europe and the USA.
Isao and Chris will be available in the Glass Tank every Tuesday from 12noon to 2:00pm to introduce and discuss the exhibition with anyone who is interested.
A special postcolonial seminar with Professor Brinda Bose and Professor Prasanta Chakravarty (University of Delhi). This event is CHCI funded and supported by TORCH, the English Faculty Postcolonial Seminar, and Rhodes House.
Leopold Eyharts flew on the Atlantis Shuttle to the International Space Station in 2008. Part of his mission included the installation of the Colombus Space Laboratory, the main contribution of Europe to the International Space Station. In 1998, Leopold flew
on a Soyouz Space Shuttle to the Russian MIR station. Engage in a conversation about his adventures and the future of manned exploration of space. Chaired by Valerie Jamieson, Editorial Content Director, New Scientist.
We all know that our satnav systems use GPS and weather forecasting uses meteorological satellites, but do you know that satellites are also used in farming, finance, transport systems, helping with natural disaster management, tracking wildlife and helping to eradicate illegal fishing? Learn about the latest satellite
technology, and how space is part of our everyday life.
Book on http://www.oxfordshiresciencefestival.com/space-day.html
Astronomers have discovered that the Universe is full of potential homes for life, with planets around the vast majority of stars, yet the skies remain disappointingly free of swooping starships, visiting aliens or radio signals from space. Chris Lintott
looks at the evidence for life in the Universe, explains how you can help and tries to argue that the truth is out there somewhere.