For September we are back at Catherine Street and our usual date of third Thursday in the month. We are inviting you to bring along your portfolio or a piece of recent work that you are proud of and would like to show to the group.

This can be digital or physical – a website that you have built or been a part of building, a video you have made or contributed to. Print designers bring along your latest document or other product. Photographers bring a set of prints or show us your website.

We are looking to give you creatives 6 minute slots to show your portfolios.

This is not a night of critique it is a night to celebrate your creativity and restart on a high after the summer!

You can also come just to watch and get some inspiration, but if you’d like to show something please let us know by posting in the conversation on Meet-Up , or you can email Richard at Film Oxford, office@filmoxford.org

Sculptor & director of The Bullpen foundry, Wesley Jacobs will talk about the alchemy of casting iron sculpture, running furnaces, wielding and manipulating metal and how it draws people into its magic and mystique. Wesley was awarded a 2013 Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship to undertake practical research into current iron casting practice in the USA. Since returning to the UK, he has been putting into practice his experience, having built a new furnace and teaching at his small foundry near Abingdon.

The land of the Pharaohs has long been a source of inspiration for Western artists, but the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 unleashed a craze for all things Egyptian as never before, influencing everything from the visual arts to music and literature.

Join art critic Alastair Sooke in conversation with Ghislaine Wood, from the V&A, and Professor Stephanie Moser of Southampton University for this unique Friday at 5pm about the influence of ancient Egypt on our cultural lives.

Ticket £9 discounts £7

Simon Singh has been unearthing scientific and mathematical mysteries for more than 20 years. Here he will introduce his new book, The Simpsons and their Mathematical Secrets, which explores the vast amount of mathematics smuggled into the world’s most successful sitcom.

Author, journalist and TV producer Singh’s BAFTA-winning documentary Fermat’s Last Theorem was also the subject of his first book, with later acclaimed titles covering the Big Bang theory, alternative medicine and code-breaking.

After the show Singh will sign copies of his books, which will also be for sale.

Tickets £7, discounts £5

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.

Join Professor Nick Bostrom for a talk on his new book, Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies, and a journey that takes us to the frontiers of thinking about the human condition and the future of intelligent life.

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

This book talk will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jupxhH9mE-g

About the book:
The human brain has some capabilities that the brains of other animals lack. It is to these distinctive capabilities that our species owes its dominant position. Other animals have stronger muscles or sharper claws, but we have cleverer brains.

If machine brains one day come to surpass human brains in general intelligence, then this new superintelligence could become very powerful. As the fate of the gorillas now depends more on us humans than on the gorillas themselves, so the fate of our species then would come to depend on the actions of the machine superintelligence.

But we have one advantage: we get to make the first move. Will it be possible to construct a seed AI or otherwise to engineer initial conditions so as to make an intelligence explosion survivable? How could one achieve a controlled detonation?

Imagine that Plato came to life in the twenty-first century and embarked on a multi-city speaking tour. How would he mediate a debate between a Freudian psychoanalyst and a ‘tiger mum’ on how to raise the perfect child? How would he handle the host of a right-wing news program who denies there can be morality without religion? What would Plato make of Google, and of the idea that knowledge can be crowdsourced rather than reasoned out by experts? Rebecca Newberger Goldstein attempts to answer these questions and more…

What is contemporary art? What does contemporary mean? This course will look at and contextualize some of the major currents within art today. Whether you are an art aficionado, or you would simply like to explain what the new Tate Modern exhibition is all about, this course is aimed at all levels.

This course runs for eight weeks on Mondays at 7.30 – 9pm, from the 13th October to the 1st December.

For more details, and to sign up go to knowledgeproject.co.uk, or email alison@knowledgeproject.co.uk

About us:

The Knowledge Project offers affordable evening classes in exciting subjects. Our classes are taught by specialists in small, friendly groups (no more than ten) and are centred on lively discussion. We are a social enterprise and all our proceeds go to local children’s charity Jacari.

In the coming term we also have spaces available on:

– Shakespeare
– Environmental Science
– Novel Writing
– Moral Philosophy
– Anthropology
– Psychology

Courses are held over 8 evening sessions (£80) or in a single intensive Sunday (£50).

‘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.

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.

Jim Gwilliam will be presenting a talk on Micro Four Third Lenses (M43) that are used on some video and stills cameras (including the Blackmagic pocket cinema camera). The M43 system design specification allows for smaller bodies to be designed, and the shorter flange focal distance means smaller lenses. Virtually any lens can be used on MFT camera bodies, as long as an adapter exists. The aim of M43 is to get DSLR like images without the bulky size of DSLR cameras.

Smaller and lighter cameras and camcorders can mean more creative freedom for camera operators and cinematographers. He will be bringing along a variety of lenses and adapters and explain how they are used and how they can be employed in video work to get the best results.

The talk will be on practical tips to get you up and going, and how to get great images, with these affordable lenses, (not the science behind them).

Second speaker Adam Hale (also on video production)

We will be holding the Adobe Group Raffle for everyone that attends. People will put their names into a hat and winner will be picked at random, Prize is one-year’s subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud (premiere, after effects, photoshop & 20+ more programs).

Overture to the Oxford Ceramics Fair
With Janice Tchalenko, potter

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Fri 17 Oct, 2–3.30pm

Janice Tchalenko is an award-winning potter whose work has been exhibited internationally and commissioned for retail outlets such as John Lewis. In this lecture Janice talks about her work and inspiration.

We invite you to join us at 3pm each day from Monday 13th October to Friday 17th October when five leading academics will be lighting up Blackwell’s Bookshop and talking about their passion for their subject.

Marianne Talbot Director of Studies in Philosophy at the University of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education “What Does Studying Philosophy Teach Us?”

These talks are free to attend, places are limited so please arrive early to ensure a seat. For more information please visit our Customer Service Department at Blackwell’s Bookshop, Broad Street, Oxford. Alternatively, contact our Customer Service Desk Tel: 01865 333623 email: events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk

“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.

Eye of Horus Necklace workshop
With London based jewellery design company Tatty Devine

Ashmolean Museum

Sat 18 Oct, 2 – 3.30pm

Influenced by the ‘Discovering Tutankhamun’ exhibition, join esteemed independent design company Tatty Devine and make your own ‘Eye of Horus’ necklace at this exclusive jewellery making workshop. Learn the essential techniques and skills needed to create a necklace in gold and sapphire mirror Perspex. Create your perfect statement piece or a one-of-a-kind gift that’s fit for a Pharaoh.

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.

The Sick Rose is a beautifully gruesome and strangely fascinating visual tour through disease in an age before colour photography. This stunning volume, combining detailed illustrations of afflicted patients from some of the worlds rarest medical books, forms an unforgettable and profoundly human reminder of mankinds struggle with disease. Incorporating historic maps, pioneering charts and contemporary case notes, Richard Barnetts evocative overview reveals the fears and obsessions of an era gripped by epidemics. Richard will be accompanying his talk with a slide show presentation of the books illustrations in all their glory – not for the squeamish!

Despite our extensive knowledge of the major challenges the world faces during coming decades, impasse exists in global attempts to address economic, climate, trade, security, and other key issues. The Chancellor will examine the implications of this gridlock, drawing on the work of the Oxford Martin Commission for Future Generations – of which he is a member – as well as experiences from his distinguished political and diplomatic career.

This lecture is also being live webcast on youtube, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB3QmvwvHCk

About the Speaker

Lord Patten joined the Conservative Research Department in 1966. He was seconded to the Cabinet Office in 1970 and was personal assistant and political secretary to Lord Carrington and Lord Whitelaw when they were Chairmen of the Conservative Party from 1972-1974. In 1974 he was appointed the youngest ever Director of the Conservative Research Department, a post which he held until 1979.

Lord Patten was elected as Member of Parliament for Bath in May 1979, a seat he held until April 1992. In 1983 he wrote The Tory Case, a study of Conservatism. Following the General Election of June 1983, Lord Patten was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office and in September 1985 Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science. In September 1986 he became Minister for Overseas Development at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1989 and was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1998. In July 1989 he became Secretary of State for the Environment. In November 1990 he was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Chairman of the Conservative Party.

Lord Patten was appointed Governor of Hong Kong in April 1992, a position he held until 1997, overseeing the return of Hong Kong to China. He was Chairman of the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland set up under the Good Friday Peace Agreement, which reported in 1999. From 1999 to 2004 he was European Commissioner for External Relations, and in January 2005 he took his seat in the House of Lords. In 2006 he was appointed Co-Chair of the UK-India Round Table. He was Chairman of the BBC Trust from 2011-2014.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, and Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. He served as Chancellor of Newcastle University from 1999 to 2009, and was elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford in 2003. His publications include What Next? Surviving the 21st Century (2008); Not Quite the Diplomat: Home Truths About World Affairs (2005) and East and West (1998), about Asia and its relations with the rest of the world.

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.

Special Russian Art Tour
Leonid Pasternak to Mir Iskusstva: the Russian Art World in the 1900s
With Dr Galina Mardilovich, independent scholar

Tuesday 28 October, 2.30‒3.15pm

Ashmolean Museum Gallery 21

Discover the treasures of the Ashmolean with this great introduction to the Museum. Free, no booking required

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.

Most moral philosophers and psychologists focus on explicit moral beliefs that people give as answers to questions. However, much research in social psychology shows that implicit moral attitudes (unconscious beliefs or associations) also affect our thinking and behavior. This talk will report our new psychological and neuroscientific research on implicit moral attitudes (using a process dissociation procedure) and then explore potential implications for scientific moral psychology as well as for philosophical theories of moral epistemology, responsibility, and virtue. If there is time, I will discuss practical uses of these findings in criminal law, especially regarding the treatment of psychopaths and prediction of their recidivism.

Yama to Oni: Ghosts and Demons in Asian Art
With Jasleen Khandari, art historian

Ashmolean Lecture Theatre

Fri 31 Oct, 2–3pm


Ghosts, demons and the afterlife have an important place in Asian culture. In this lecture, Jasleen Khandari explores representations of ghosts and demons in the art of India, Tibet and Japan.

This free event will see Andrew Kotting, Iain Sinclair and others present the first showing of their work-in-progress film project about the poet John Clare (1793-1864), By Ourselves. Talks and performances will accompany the showing, responding to the poet’s 80-mile walk, reimagined by the film, from an Essex asylum, back to his home village of Helpston, Cambridgeshire.

About the speakers
FILM MAKER, ANDREW KÖTTING; WRITER, IAIN SINCLAIR AND ARTISTS, JEM FINER AND KIRSTEN NORRIE PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

Andrew Kötting’s films include ‘Gallivant’, ‘This Filthy Earth’ and ‘This Our Still Life’. He is Professor of Time Based Media for the University of Creative Arts.

Iain Sinclair’s 2005 memoir Edge of the Orison: In the Traces of John Clare’s ‘Journey Out of Essex’, is the inspiration for ‘By Our Selves’. Other works include Ghost Milk and American Smoke.

Jem Finer was one of the founding members of The Pogues, cowriting many of their songs. He has been artist in residence at the Universities of Oxford and Bath.

Kirsten Norrie is a musician performance artist who makes video and objects, and who publishes poetry under the name MacGillivray.

Hosted by Professor Simon Kövesi of the Department of English and Modern Languages, Oxford Brookes University.

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

This intensive Sunday course is for anyone interested in exploring the question of ‘What should I do?’ Every one of us will have experienced situations in our lives in which the right course of action did not seem clear to us. Throughout the day we will blend theory with discussion, considering the works of some of the greatest thinkers of all time, ranging from Aristotle to more contemporary, before applying this to controversial debates: euthanasia, abortion, and the death penalty. In the end, we will also consider the worrying question of whether we can ever be morally responsible for anything we do.

This course runs from 10am – 5pm on Sunday 2nd November.

For more details, and to sign up go to knowledgeproject.co.uk, or email alison@knowledgeproject.co.uk

About us:

The Knowledge Project offers affordable evening classes in exciting subjects. Our classes are taught by specialists in small, friendly groups (no more than ten) and are centred on lively discussion. We are a social enterprise and all our proceeds go to local children’s charity Jacari.

In the coming term we also have spaces available on:

– Shakespeare
– Environmental Science
– Novel Writing
– Anthropology
– Psychology
– Contemporary Art

Courses are held over 8 evening sessions (£80) or in a single intensive Sunday (£50).

Professor Marni Thomas Wood, of Berkley University and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, in association with DANSOX (Dance Scholarship Oxford) discuss Working with Martha Graham. Free, all welcome, no booking required.

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