Rome: an Empire’s Story
With Professor Greg Woolf, University of St Andrews
Saturday 19 April, 11am–12pm, Headley Lecture Theatre

Our April Director’s Special Guest Lecture will be given by Professor Greg Woolf, University of St Andrews, on the subject of the Roman Empire, telling the story of how this mammoth empire was created, how it was sustained in crisis, and how it shaped the world of its rulers and subjects.

Tickets on the door £8/£7

The Global Art Compass: New Directions in 21st‒century Art
With Alistair Hicks, author

Tuesday 22 April, 2-3pm, Headley Lecture Theatre

Alistair Hicks talks about his new book in which he argues that no single curator, critic, or dealer should monopolize our view of contemporary art. Instead, he encourages us to make our own way through the art world: to see art, listen to the artist, and trust our own responses.

Tickets £5/£4
http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

The Topic of the Debate segment of the afternoon (from c. 630pm) will be
______ … “THE ART of BEING HUMAN” … _________
We’ll explore how art has been/ could be used for social, personal, and also spiritual development. Do you think Modern Art is an Empty SHELL?!

“Art with no Meaning is Pointless; Aesthetics alone don’t make great Art”
Do you agree with the above statement?

With Wu Tang Clan trying to claim there latest album is ART by releasing only one copy (for sale to the highest bidder!) can anything now be art?

How has art affected you? Does it have to be in a gallery or coffee table book to classify as “a work of art”? What about Graffiti? Performance Art?

Come to the ART BAR and take part in our discussion as part of Festival Taster “Jam Sandwich” on Sat 26th April. Workshops start at 5pm including Hoola Hooping, Costume making, interactive theatre, musical improvisation (jamming)

speakers:
Dr. Rachel Ibreck, Lecturer in Securing Human Rights, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Dr. Julia Viebach, Career Development Lecturer, Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford

Arts of War and Peace: Samurai Culture in Japan
With Jasleen Kandhari, art historian

Tuesday 29 April, 2-3pm, Headley Lecture Theatre

The Edo period in Japan was a peaceful time ruled by the Tokugawa Shoguns. This lecture explores the sumptuous art forms of Samurai culture including arms and armour, lacquerware, gold screen paintings and Japanese tea ceremony wares from the 17th‒19th centuries.

Tickets £5/£4
http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

Dahrendorf Leture, Ulrich Beck (University of Munich and LSE)
Discussants: Kalypso Nicolaïdis (St Antony’s College, Oxford), Lord David Hannay (Former UK Permanent Representative to the EU and UN)
Convenor: Timothy Garton Ash (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

The Skoll Centre Venture Awards are £10-20k investments in early-stage social ventures founded by University of Oxford students and alumni.

Join the Skoll Centre team and last year’s awardees to learn all about the awards, and how you can apply for them. Drinks and snacks provided.

China is facing severe water challenges. Many parts of the country suffer from chronic water scarcity. Pollution is affecting the health of hundreds of waterways and public concern is increasing. Floods and droughts are a constant threat, especially as climate change increases uncertainty over rainfall patterns. Freshwater biodiversity is declining, with aquatic species such as the Yangtze river dolphin facing extinction.

The Chinese authorities have recognised that tackling these challenges is a matter of national priority and have significantly increased the resources available to water managers, emphasising ‘three red lines’ of improved water quality, increased water efficiency and more sustainable water allocations.

So how can China meet its aspirations for a water secure future which aids its continued economic development while enhancing environmental quality? This seminar will explore the current and potential future water situation in China, the response of China to these challenges drawing on global experiences, and risks to critical water infrastructure.

Current and future water challenges in China
Prof Li Yuanyuan, Vice President, General Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Planning and Design, Ministry of Water resources, PR China

Strategic principles and frameworks for water management in China and beyond – lessons from a global review
Dr David Tickner, Chief Freshwater Advisor, WWF-UK

Infrastructure vulnerability to water-related risks in China
Prof Jim Hall, Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University

Professor of Caribbean Literature and Culture at Goldsmiths University, Joan Anim-Addo brings us her voice on Black Women’s Writing and the place of the Black figure in the Humanities. This event will be hosted in connection with Oxford ACS.

We are delighted to welcome Anushka Asthana to Oxford on the 6th of May!

She is the Political Correspondent for Sky News, the Policy Editor at The Observer and was formerly the Chief Political Correspondent at The Times. In 2006 she won the Lawrence Stern fellowship for journalism.

This will be an incredibly interesting event for anyone interested in journalism, politics or media.

Subtitle: Forced displacement, coercion and foreign policy

Seminar by Professor Kelly M. Greenhill (Tufts University)

Part of the Refugee Studies Centre Trinity term Public Seminar Series

Who was involved in the Miner’s Strike and what did they do?
Why does the Miner’s Strike still matter 30 years on?
What can we learn from the Miner’s Strike and the activism around it?

Speakers:

Former Striking Miner: Mel Hepworth
(from Askern pit, Doncaster, Yorkshire and founder of the Facebook page 30th anniversary of the Miner’s Strike. Mel was recently featured on Radio 4’s The Reunion about the Miner’s Strike)

Women Against Pit Closures: Brenda Nixon
(activist from Thorne, Doncaster, Yorkshire)

Oxford Miner’s Support Group (tbc)

A short talk followed by questions and discussion. All welcome.

speakers:
William Kelly, Artist and Humanist

Dr. Rama Mani, Senior Research Associate at the Centre for International Studies at the University of Oxford and Councillor of the World Future Council

Labour MP for Rhondda since 2001. Shadow Minister for Welfare Reform since October 2013. Author of several books including Parliament: The Biography. Part of the Mansfield Lecture Series, convener Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

India: A Short History
With Andrew Robinson, author

Saturday 10 May, 2-3pm, Headley Lecture Theatre

India is the world’s largest democracy and a fast-growing economy. It is also a civilization with roots more than four thousand years old, including the technically advanced cities of the Indus Valley, the Buddha, Hindu dynasties, the Mughal Empire, and the British Raj. This lecture looks at individuals, ideas, and cultures, as well as the rise and fall of kingdoms, political parties, and economies.

Tickets £5/£4
http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

We are delighted to welcome Norwegian Politician, Anniken Huitfeldt, to St Catherine’s College to deliver a lecture on the theme of ‘Women in Politics’. Anniken represents the Labour Party in Norway, and has been Minister for Labour and Social Inclusion since 2012. This lecture is part of our programme of events celebrating the 40th anniversary of co-education at St Catherine’s.

Speaker:
Professor James Sweeney, Professor of International Law, University of Lancaster

Tour: Joseph Beuys & Jörg Immendorff
With Colin Harrison, Senior Curator of European Art

3–3.45pm on Wednesday 14 May and Wednesday 11 June

Tours are free, no booking is required. Please meet in Gallery 2.

http://www.ashmolean.org/exhibitions/details/?exh=92

Solidarity & responsibility-sharing for refugee protection in the EU’s Common European Asylum System

Speaker: Madeline Garlick (Radboud University)

Part of the Refugee Studies Centre Trinity term Public Seminar Series

Campaigning journalist, Campbell, will talk about the ideas behind her new book, “The End of Equality”.

Short talk followed by questions and discussion. All welcome.

Magnificence, Love and Scaffolds: Politics at the Court of Henry VIII, With Dr Suzannah Lipscomb
Saturday 17 May, 11am–12pm, Ioannou Centre

Historian, author, and broadcaster Dr Suzannah Lipscomb will speak on the politics of spectacle, persuasion, magnificence, and the politics of love at the court of Henry VIII. The court revolved around the splendid person of the king himself. And although politics was the only game worth playing, it was a dangerous game, ‘for the most part’, Sir Thomas More observed, ‘played on scaffolds’.

Tickets £8/£7
http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/ticketsoxford/#search=Magnificence

You ever wanted to understand more about climate change? Is it real? what are the consequences?
Come join us for an expert panel from Oxford University who will shed some light on this highly debated subject

When is a volcano going to erupt and how do you measure that?
What is Magma and how can we start studying it?

These questions and more will be explained by top academics from Oxford University.
More details on our website.

Dr Stephen Tuck is University Lecturer in American History and Director of the Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH). He also co-leads an interdiscipilnary network “Race and Resistance across borders in the long twentieth century,” based at TORCH. He is currently working on three projects: African American religion during the Jim Crow era, links between the British and American struggles for racial equality, and the influence of national location on the writing of American history. His most recent book is We Ain’t What We Ought To Be: The Black Freedom Struggle from Emancipation to Obama (www.weaintwhatweoughttobe.com). His forthcoming books include (with Nicolas Barrerye, Michael Heale and Cecile Vidal) You the People: writing American history abroad (California, 2014), and (with Robin Kelley) The other special relationship: race and rights in Britain and America (Palgrave, 2014). His current project, nearing completion, is a short book of Malcolm X’s visit to Oxford in 1964. My main book project is a study of the effect of white supremacy on religious faith. He is a fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, and a visiting fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, Harvard.

Upstairs, in the function room, at the Mitre. 7:30pm with drinks and nibbles served from 7pm.

OULC and LGBTQ Society are delighted to jointly welcome Peter Tatchell for an event at the Corpus Auditorium. A prolific human rights campaigner, Peter is particularly known for his work with LGBTQ movements. Famously, he attempted a citizen’s arrest on Robert Mugabe in 1999 and 2001.

Peter is also a former Labour Party parliamentary candidate, and a more recent supporter of the Green Party. On Monday, he will join us to discuss LGBTQ rights in the context of both domestic politics and international affairs. There will be a Q&A session after his speech, in which the audience can explore his wide-ranging interests and expertise. We hope to see you there.

On 14 December 2013, the second edition of the Visible Award was awarded to The Silent University, a knowledge exchange platform initiated by the artist Ahmet Öğüt and led by a group of asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants. In recognition of the award, the London branch of The Silent University will produce a two-day event, with the first day organised in collaboration with the Oxford Migration Studies Society and the Refugee Studies Centre.

The event will focus on drawing together members of The Silent University in dialogue with artists, curators, and theoreticians who are working on projects that deal with migration issues in the legal framework of Western democracies. The Visible Award, which in its mission is looking for art that ‘leaves its own field and becomes visible as part of something else,’ is proud to accompany The Silent University in its encounter with the academic realm outside of the space of art.