Conventional approaches to climate policy are failing to produce real results and need to be renovated. Professor Steve Rayner, Director of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, and editor of The Hartwell Approach to Climate Policy, will present a critique of mainstream climate policies and suggest a new approach for how to address the heated issue of climate change.

Join in on Twitter #2015climate

https://www.facebook.com/events/495653777253176/

The Oxford Guild is very excited to welcome Larry Hirst CBE, former Chairman of IBM EMEA, to speak on Thursday 7th May. This will be an incredibly insightful talk and is not one to be missed, especially for anyone interested in technology, business, or issues of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The event will include a Q&A session open to the floor, and promises to cover a wide range of topics, as Larry discusses his high-profile and varied career. ALL ARE WELCOME!

DATE: Thursday 7th May 2015 (2nd Week)
TIME: 6:40pm
VENUE: Habakkuk Room, Jesus College
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE: http://tinyurl.com/LarryHirstIBMGuildTalk

Until his retirement from IBM in July 2010, Larry Hirst was chairman of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He represented IBM to the European Commission and other authorities such as NATO and the EDA on issues of international public policy and business regulation. During his time as Chairman, IBM EMEA revenues grew to $35bn, with a workforce of 110,000 people. Previous roles in his 33-year career included Chairman of IBM Netherlands (2002-2010), the leadership of IBM’s business in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa (2002-2008).
Larry is passionate about the issues of diversity and inclusion and is an Ambassador to the Everywoman company (https://www.everywoman.com/) and Black British Business Awards (http://www.thebbbawards.com/), as well as a supporter of groups including the Asian Business Networks Association, the European Women’s Achievement Award, the Afro Caribbean Group, Stonewall, Whitehall in Industry, Asian Business Women, and Investors in Diversity.
Larry was appointed C.B.E. in 2006, in recognition of Services to the IT industry.

This event will be particularly insightful for anyone considering a career in technology or business, and there will be a Q&A session as part of the event.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Oxford Internet Institute Bellwether Lecture presented by Professor Dan Burk on Copyright, Culture, and Community in Virtual Worlds

We have accumulated an increasingly rich body of data concerning online communities, particularly those that share virtual environments. The on-line interactions of such communities are uniquely mediated by the audiovisual content of the software interface, which becomes a feature of shared culture. Much of this content is subject to copyright law, which confers on the copyright owner the legal right to prevent certain unauthorized uses of the content. Such exclusive rights impose a limiting factor on the development of communities that are situated around the interface content, as the rights, privileges, and exceptions associated with copyright generally tend to disregard the cultural significance of copyrighted content. Thus, the opportunity for on-line communities to legally access and manipulate the graphical elements on which their communities are built is frought with potential legal liability. Reconsideration of current copyright law would be required in order to accommodate the cohesion of on-line communities through cultural uses of copyrighted content.

Please visit http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/events/ for more information.
Please email events@oii.ox.ac.uk to register for the event.

Reuters Institute / Nuffield College Media & Politics seminars
The following seminars will be given at 5pm on Fridays, normally in the Butler Room, Nuffield College.
Convenors: Neil Fowler, James Painter, David Levy

Speakers: Professor Ivor Gaber, University of Sussex, Dr Maya Even, visiting fellow, Reuters Institute

2015 lies between the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth last year, and the 400th anniversary of his death next year. As celebrations of Shakespeare’s profundity and morality abound, James Sheldrake will be offering a timely exploration of the darker side of Shakespeare in performance, exploring stagings of the “universal” playwright in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and pre-Civil Rights America.

James is a freelance Shakespearean. Since finishing a Masters in Renaissance Literature at Oxford, he has taught at RADA, worked with Globe Education and podcasts regularly at www.sheldrakeonshakespeare.com. He is currently pitching a programme on Shakespeare and Evil, the subject of today’s lecture, to the BBC World Service.

Helen McCrory, in conversation with Edith Hall (KCL), about her performance in the National Theatre’s recent production of Medea (2014).
Free, all welcome, no booking required.

During a speech in 1957, Prime Minister Harold MacMillan declared “our people have never had it so good”. Now, more than half a century later, are we fundamentally any better off? Through discussion of technological advances, social changes, political reforms, and economic shocks and recessions, this panel will seek to question whether the world we currently live in is indeed a better place than it was in the 1950s.

Chaired by Professor Brian Nolan, Professor of Social Policy, the panel will consist of:

*Dr Max Roser, James Martin Fellow at The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School
*Dr Anders Sandberg, James Martin Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute
*Professor Robert Walker, Professor of Social Policy

A drinks reception will follow, all welcome.

Javier Cercas, novelist and essayist, is one of Europe’s most distinguished contemporary writers. His works, which have been translated into more than twenty languages, include the acclaimed, Soldados de Salamina (Soldiers of Salamis, 2001), which was made into a film by David Trueba in 2003, La Velocidad de la Luz (The Speed of Light, 2005), Anatomia de un Instante (The Anatomy of a Moment, 2009) and Las Leyes de la Frontera (Outlaws, 2012). He has won numerous literary awards, including the Independent’s Foreign Fiction Prize, and Spain’s National Narrative award. He is currently a Professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Girona, and a columnist for El Pais. His work, which is highly politically engaged, troubles the borders of history and fiction, as it explores the Spanish civil war, or the legacies of fascism. In this sequence of lectures Javier Cercas will reflect on the nature of the novel as a genre, including discussions of The Anatomy of a Moment, as well as works by Vargas Llosa, Cervantes, Melville, James and Kafka. The final lecture will address the question of whether it makes sense to talk about intellectuals nowadays.

‘The Third Truth: Parts 1 and 2’ will cover the nature of the novel as a genre, both from a historical and theoretical point of view, and include a discussion of The Anatomy of a Moment.

Do you want to learn something new?

The Knowledge Project offers affordable evening courses in exciting subjects. Our classes are taught by specialists in small, friendly groups and open to all. The coming term is set to be our busiest schedule yet, packed with new courses and some old favourites. All courses will be held in the comfortable setting of Oxford International College, taught by passionate and talented postgraduate students. As always, our proceeds will be donated to local children’s charity Jacari.

What is Feminism? Tuesdays 6.30-8pm, 12th May – 30th June. £80

This fantastic new course – developed by the talented Monique Ma-Velous of Sydney University (Gender Studies) and University of Oxford (Creative Writing) – explores what it means to be a feminist in today’s world.

We are also offering courses in:

Creativity. Tuesdays 7-8.30, 12th May – 30th June. £80

This new and innovative course explores how creativity makes us happy, even replacing the job of therapy, and what the right creative medium is for each individual person.

Introduction to Contemporary Art. Thursdays 6-7.30, 14th May – 2nd July. £80

This course is for anyone who loves art (or would simply like to understand what the new Tate Modern exhibition is all about. You’ll cover: performance, feminism, land art, conceptual art, appropriation and globalisation. The course is discussion led so come with questions and opinions!

Introduction to Novel Writing. Mondays 6-7.30, 11th May – 29th June. £80

Our flagship course covering all the key aspects of novel writing: voice, world-making, perspective and of course endings and beginnings. No experience necessary!

Positive Psychology. Saturdays 10-11.30, 16th May – 4th July. £80

This new course looks into the popular topics of positivity and resilience. Why are some people more resilient than others and how can we increase our resilience? Why are some people more optimistic and is it possible to make ourselves happier?

Premium: Introduction to Shakespeare. Fridays 7-8.30, 14th May – 2nd July. £150
This premium course will help you to discover the world of the Bard in six discussion based classes and two outings to local plays. With the aid of a passionate postgraduate student, discover the double meanings within Shakespeare’s plays and why this playwright is still so loved today.

To enrol simply visit our website, select the course you would like to follow and fill in an enrolment form. Your space will be confirmed upon payment. Be sure to stay up to date with all of our goings on by visiting our Facebook page and feel free to contact us with any further questions.

The presenter will introduce different crowdfunding platforms which serve different purposes, for instance education-related initiatives, charitable works, new products and start-ups.

Presenter: Shan Huang, D.Phil student at Department of Education, Founder of OxFund

This is a joint event between the Oxford Martin School and The Oxford International Relations Society (IRSoC)

The lecture is free and open to all and will be followed by a drinks reception for members of IRSoc, membership is available on the night.

Major General (Rtd) Jonathan Shaw CB CBE has 32 years experience in the UK Army during which time he commanded on operations at every rank up to two star. He has gained extensive operational experience in the Falklands, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan and has a profound knowledge of the workings of Whitehall and international strategy. Major Shaw is the former Assistant Chief of Defence Staff and Colonel Commandant of The Parachute Regiment (Director of the Special Forces).

As Assistant Chief of Defence Staff, his responsibilities included international security policy, global issues and he headed the Defence Cyber Security Programme.

Graduating from Oxford having read Politics and Philosophy, he joined the Parachute Regiment in 1981 and retired as its Colonel Commandant in 2012. Since leaving the Ministry of Defence in 2012, Major General Jonathan Shaw holds consulting roles at three security companies, Optima Group UK, Certivox, and Tempest Group.

Reuters Institute seminars “The business and practice of journalism”
The following seminars will be given at 2pm on Wednesdays, normally in the Barclay Room, Green Templeton College.
Convenors: James Painter, David Levy

Speaker: Kevin Sutcliffe, head of news programmes for Europe, Vice News

The Annual Zola Skweyiya Lecture

In March of 1933, a disused factory surrounded by barbed wire held 223 prisoners in the town of Dachau. By the end of 1945, the SS concentration camp system had become an overwhelming landscape of terror. Twenty-two large camps and over one thousand satellite camps throughout Germany and Europe were at the heart of the Nazi campaign of repression and intimidation. Dr Nikolaus Wachsmann is the first historian to write a complete history of the camps. It will remain an essential read for years to come.

Mankind’s strategies of mitigation and adaptation may well turn out to be too weak and too late to avoid dangerous climate change later this century. So might we need to try a different route – geoengineering? We could for example reflect more solar radiation back into space by making more reflective clouds; or we could absorb carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and bury it underground, to diminish the “greenhouse” effect.

Would such technologies work, and would there be side effects? And who would decide whether to do this, and when, if ever, to stop. These are just some of the questions raised by the idea of engineering the climate – could we, and should we?

Join in on Twitter #2015climate

Javier Cercas, novelist and essayist, is one of Europe’s most distinguished contemporary writers. His works, which have been translated into more than twenty languages, include the acclaimed, Soldados de Salamina (Soldiers of Salamis, 2001), which was made into a film by David Trueba in 2003, La Velocidad de la Luz (The Speed of Light, 2005), Anatomia de un Instante (The Anatomy of a Moment, 2009) and Las Leyes de la Frontera (Outlaws, 2012). He has won numerous literary awards, including the Independent’s Foreign Fiction Prize, and Spain’s National Narrative award. He is currently a Professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Girona, and a columnist for El Pais. His work, which is highly politically engaged, troubles the borders of history and fiction, as it explores the Spanish civil war, or the legacies of fascism. In this sequence of lectures Javier Cercas will reflect on the nature of the novel as a genre, including discussions of The Anatomy of a Moment, as well as works by Vargas Llosa, Cervantes, Melville, James and Kafka. The final lecture will address the question of whether it makes sense to talk about intellectuals nowadays.

‘The Third Truth: Parts 1 and 2’ will cover the nature of the novel as a genre, both from a historical and theoretical point of view, and include a discussion of The Anatomy of a Moment.

Catherine Gallagher from Berkeley will give a talk on A Tale of Two Cities and the History of Modern Revenge as part of the Victorian Research Seminar series at the Faculty of English Language & Literature

From Italian Pre-Renaissance paintings to English Literature and contemporary poetry, discover how the medieval world inspired the young artists of the Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood

The inaugural Lorna Casselton Memorial Lecture, entitled “Science as Revolution”, will be at 5pm on Friday 15th May, in the main Lecture Theatre, L1, at the Mathematical Institute in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter.

It will be given by Professor Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society and Nobel Laureate.

The event is free but booking is required – please complete the booking form: http://bit.ly/1y5OLov

Reuters Institute / Nuffield College Media & Politics seminars
The following seminars will be given at 5pm on Fridays, normally in the Butler Room, Nuffield College.
Convenors: Neil Fowler, James Painter, David Levy

Speaker: Anthony Barnett, founder of openDemocracy

Marcus’ books include Croatia, a Nation Born in War and The Last of the Celts (Yale University Press). The most recent is on Victorian Balkan explorer Edith Durham. In the 1990s he was Balkan correspondent for The Independent and later its assistant foreign editor. He now edits the web portal Balkan Insight and is a part-time leader-writer for The Independent. He will talk about his book on Matthias Corvinus’ life and passion for books.

Maarten De Pourcq (Radboud University Nijmegen) will present a paper on the links between Classics, the First World War, and the Rise of Flemish Culture.
Followed by Q & A and refreshments.
Free, all welcome. no booking required.

As former European Commissioner for Climate Action and as host Minister of the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Connie Hedegaard has been at the sharp end of global agreements. While the Copenhagen talks ended with a breakthrough recognition of the scientific case for restraining temperature rises to no more than 2°C, the accord failed to achieve commitments to reducing emissions. The outcome frustrated many and Hedegaard has subsequently described the eight-draft, 115-country process as a ‘nightmare’. Hedegaard refused to give up.

Two years later in Durban, she made a stand against fierce opposition to push through a timetable for new negotiations, this time designed to create a global pact on emissions reductions. The 2015 UNFCCC in Paris is the culmination of that timetable and the global pact, if it is achieved, will come into force in 2020. Presiding over the European 2030 Climate and Energy Framework, which commits to a 40% reduction in emissions, Hedegaard said: “We have sent a strong signal to the rest of the world. We have now done our homework and now it’s up to other big economies to do theirs”.

Having seen the election results unfold, the topic of political strategy and communication is as relevant as ever in highlighting the ways in which politicians and organisations seek to influence public opinion and shape political debate. The Oxford Forum welcomes you to the Political Strategy Panel Debate to discuss the challenges faced, and the solutions provided, in devising an effective communication strategy.
This event will be co-hosted with the PPE society and the Journal of Political and Constitutional Studies.
Following the debate, we will be having dinner with the speakers in the private dining room of Christ Church. Tickets are available to purchase at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/oxford-forums-political-strategy-speaker-dinner-tickets-16819258856
It is an unmissable opportunity to engage more directly with the speakers!

Javier Cercas, novelist and essayist, is one of Europe’s most distinguished contemporary writers. His works, which have been translated into more than twenty languages, include the acclaimed, Soldados de Salamina (Soldiers of Salamis, 2001), which was made into a film by David Trueba in 2003, La Velocidad de la Luz (The Speed of Light, 2005), Anatomia de un Instante (The Anatomy of a Moment, 2009) and Las Leyes de la Frontera (Outlaws, 2012). He has won numerous literary awards, including the Independent’s Foreign Fiction Prize, and Spain’s National Narrative award. He is currently a Professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Girona, and a columnist for El Pais. His work, which is highly politically engaged, troubles the borders of history and fiction, as it explores the Spanish civil war, or the legacies of fascism. In this sequence of lectures Javier Cercas will reflect on the nature of the novel as a genre, including discussions of The Anatomy of a Moment, as well as works by Vargas Llosa, Cervantes, Melville, James and Kafka. The final lecture will address the question of whether it makes sense to talk about intellectuals nowadays

‘Vargas Llosa’s Question’ will discuss reflections on Vargas Llosa’s masterpiece, The Time of the Hero, and the core of his literary, moral and political thinking.

Reuters Institute seminars “The business and practice of journalism”
The following seminars will be given at 2pm on Wednesdays, normally in the Barclay Room, Green Templeton College.
Convenors: James Painter, David Levy

Speaker: Tom Standage, digital editor, The Economist

New College Chapel presents Paradise Lost: a staged reading of Milton’s epic poem in 3 parts, directed by Professor Elisabeth Dutton (Fribourg), featuring new settings of Milton’s hymns by the Organist, Robert Quinney, and anthems by Byrd, Weelkes and Purcell. There will be a pre-performance talk by Dr Will Poole on Friday 22nd May, 7.15, in the Conduit Room.

Wed 20 May: Books 1-4, The Parliament in Hell
Thurs 21 May: Books 5-8, The War in Heaven
Fri 22 May: Books 9-12, The Fall
Each part can be viewed individually.

Tickets on the door: £10/£5 students; £25/10 for all 3 nights. All proceeds will go to Sight Savers, who work to treat and prevent blindness in the developing world.