There seems to be a growing consensus that previous assumptions about the long term consequences of China’s rise have turned out to be misplaced. Rather than China becoming ‘socialised’ into the liberal global order (and democratising at home), a China challenge to that order is instead being identified. This is seen not just as a challenge to the distribution of power within the current system, but to some of the fundamental norms and principles that underpin it, as well as to the theories and concepts that are used to try to understand it and predict future behaviour.  Of course, some always expected it to be this way; however, others now see a Chinese ability and willingness to promote alternatives that they didn’t envisage even a decade ago.
This presentation explores how what were originally designed as defensive norms and theories for China itself have transformed into putative platforms that might have salience and utility for others outside China. The paper suggests that the Chinese position may better be understood as a critique of universalism rather than the basis of an alternative world order. It also asks whether there is more than just an aspirational dimension to new Chinese thinking on international relations built on a form of “Occidentalism”, or if we can identify a real and distinct Chinese approach to both its own international relations and the nature of the world order itself.
—
Shaun Breslin is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick and a leading British academic expert on Chinese politics and economy, globalization, regionalism, global governance, and International Political Economy. Professor Breslin is also an Associate Fellow of the Asia Research Centre based at Murdoch University and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Centre for European Studies, Renmin University. In 2010, he became an Associate Fellow in the Asia Programme of Chatham House. Professor Breslin is Co-Editor of The Pacific Review and sits on the Editorial Committee of the Review of International Studies, China and World Economy, and the Fudan Review of International Relations.

Newspapers often feature studies that sound too good to be true and often they aren’t – they are myths.

Some myths may be harmless but the phenomenon affects most kinds of research within evidence-based science. The good news is that there’s a new movement tackling misleading and unreliable research and instead trying to give us results that we can trust.

Using his research in to human pheromones as an example, Tristram will discuss how and why popular myths, including power-posing, are created and how efforts have been made to address the ‘reproducibility crisis’.

Tristram Wyatt is an emeritus fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford and formerly Director of Studies in Biology at OUDCE. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. He’s interested in how animals of all kinds use pheromones to communicate by smell. His Cambridge University Press book on pheromones and animal behaviour won the Royal Society of Biology’s prize for the Best Postgraduate Textbook in 2014. His TED talk on human pheromones has been viewed over a million times. His book Animal behaviour: A Very Short Introduction was published by Oxford University Press in 2017.

Open to all. The talk is designed for researchers from all disciplines and is open to the public.

– GPES Seminar Series – Oxford Brookes

Abstract:
Although early modern artistic connections between India and Ethiopia are reasonably well documented, there is little or no epigraphic or textual evidence for earlier histories of circulation across the Indian Ocean. Yet, architectural and other material from the Horn of Africa suggests a certain intensity of contacts with western Indian in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Highlighting the ‘archival’ value of extant artifacts and monuments, this lecture explores the role of medieval Ethiopia as a nexus between the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean.

About the Speaker:
Finbarr Barry Flood is director of Silsila: Center for Material Histories and William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of the Humanities at the Institute of Fine Arts and Department of Art History, New York University. His publications include The Great Mosque of Damascus: Studies on the Makings of an Umayyad Visual Culture (2000), Objects of Translation: Material Culture and Medieval “Hindu-Muslim” Encounter, (2009), awarded the 2011 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Prize of the Association for Asian Studies, and the 2-volume Blackwell Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture (2017), co-edited with Professor Gülru Necipoğlu of Harvard University. He is currently completing a major book project, provisionally entitled Islam and Image: Beyond Aniconism and Iconoclasm, which will form the basis of the 2019 Slade Lectures at the University of Oxford.

Maddie Breeze is a sociologist and Chancellor’s Fellow in the School of Education, University of Strathclyde. Her book Seriousness in Women’s Roller Derby was awarded the 2016 Philip Abram’s Memorial Prize by the British Sociological Association and she has researched and published on: imposter syndrome as a public feeling, feminist collaborations across academic career stages, widening participation, gender and sport, and young people’s political participation.

In this talk I begin by considering imposter syndrome as a ‘public feeling’ (Cvetkovich 2007, 2012) in higher education. Feeling like an imposter is anecdotally ubiquitous among academics, and is commonly understood to involve sensations of not belonging, of out-of-place-ness, and the conviction that one’s professional competence, is fundamentally fraudulent, that it is only a matter of time before this is discovered, before being found out. Feeling like an imposter involves the suspicion that signifiers of professional success have somehow been awarded by mistake or achieved through a convincing performance, a kind of deception. Drawing on Cvetkovich’s work on depression, I argue that thinking of imposter syndrome as a public feeling involves three steps. Firstly, putting it in social and political context, mapping imposter syndrome according to the intersectional inequality regimes that characterise contemporary UK HE. Secondly, asking what feeling like an imposter can tell us about shifts in the structure and governance of UK HE including the oft-diagnosed new managerialism and neoliberalisation, primarily marketization, casualization, and cultures of audit and measurement. Thirdly, re-thinking imposter syndrome, not as an individual deficiency or private problem of faulty self-esteem to be overcome, but instead as a resource for action and site of agency in contemporary UK HE. I explore these three steps by presenting a short story about feeling like an imposter; a piece of semi-fictional auto-ethnography, which draws on precedents for using personal narrative to analyse academic labour, as well as those for writing fiction as a mode of inquiry. The talk concludes by considering the implication of making ‘imposter syndrome’ public, in particular by asking how claims to ambivalent insider/outside positions circulate in everyday academic talk.

Abstract:
Current commentary in legal and political philosophy conceptualises political parties either as private organisations, immune from legal regulation in their internal affairs, or as quasi-public institutions, where the state may justifiably mandate certain internal regulations. I argue that, in jurisdictions with anti-defection laws, neither conception accounts for the normative status of the political party. Instead, the party ought to be conceptualised as a legislative actor. This paper then examines how conceptualising the party in this way can affect the way in which we understand the relationship between the law and a party. I explore three possible avenues of legal regulation of parties: the process of candidate selection, the selection of party leaders, and interaction between a party and its parliamentary wing. I argue that conceptualising the party as a legislative entity has the most salient implications for the third of these: the interaction between the extra-parliamentary organisation and the parliamentary party.
About the Speaker:
Udit Bhatia is a Junior Research Fellow in Politics at Jesus College and Lecturer in Political Theory at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford. His research interests lie at the intersections of democratic theory, social epistemology and constitutional law. He is currently working on the ethics of partisanship and the regulation of political parties.

Organised by Oxford Civic Society @oxcivicsoc. Architectural historian Professor William Whyte of St John’s College will reflect on the North Oxford Conservation Area, designated just over 50 years ago.. https://www.oxcivicsoc.org.uk/programme/

Two-thousand and nineteen marks the centenary of the Addison Act, the housing legislation which realised Lloyd-George’s ‘Homes fit for Heroes’ and the start of a nationwide system of state-owned housing that has lasted most of the 20th Century. Half a million homes were promised and a system of open-ended Treasury grants were made available to local councils to build.

One hundred years have now passed since local authorities in the UK where given the responsibility and the resource to provide decent housing for the working person. Whilst the responsibility remains, the conditions under which housing is to be provided have undergone a seismic shift.

Join us from 19.30 – 21.00 on Thursday 21st February as we explore how the cities of London and Oxford are working to meet this responsibility and provide decent housing for working class people.

We’ll be joined by Sian Berry, Co-Leader of the Green Party, Local Councillor for Camden and Chair of the London Assembly’s Housing Committee and Stephen Clarke, Head of Housing and Property Services for Oxford City Council.

Tickets are free but you must register to attend.

We strive to make all events at Open House as accessible as possible. You can read more about the venue on our website. If there is anything we can do to make your visit more comfortable then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Talk followed by questions and discussion

All welcome

This is the latest in a series of eight weekly talks. The full list is:

Brexit: archaic techniques of ecstasy
Thursday 17 January: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Wesley Memorial Church (New Inn Hall St)

Shamanism: taking back control
Thursday 24 January: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Wesley Memorial Church (New Inn Hall St)

Tithe, timber, and the persistence of the ancien régime
Thursday 31 January: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Oxford Town Hall (St Aldates)

Hegelian dialectics and the prime numbers (part 2)
Thursday 7 February: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Wesley Memorial Church (New Inn Hall St)

Christopher Caudwell (1907–1937) and ‘the sources of poetry’
Thursday 14 February: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Wesley Memorial Church (New Inn Hall St)

Television: remote control
Thursday 21 February: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Wesley Memorial Church (New Inn Hall St)

Fascism and populism: can you spot the difference?
Thursday 28 February: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Wesley Memorial Church (New Inn Hall St)

The epos of everyday life
Thursday 7 March: 7:30pm–9:00pm
Wesley Memorial Church (New Inn Hall St)

The day will consist of a range of events, hosted by speakers from different areas of STEM and industry. Expect to hear from keynote speakers, engage with panel discussions, and get hands on experience in smaller workshops focusing on entrepreneurship, outreach, disabilities and more.

Don’t miss out on hearing from a range of speakers, including: Dr. Chonnettia Jones, Director of Insight and Analysis at the Wellcome Trust; Prof. Daniela Bortoletto, Professor of Physics at Brasenose; plus Oxford’s own Vice Chancellor, Louise Richardson.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of gender, year and subject.

For more information visit OxFEST’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/294126621288050/

An afternoon of celebration and debate marking the legacy of former Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood.

– GPES Seminar Series, Oxford Brookes University

Talk followed by questions and discussion

We need to talk about Brexit. This crisis which affects all our lives is now evolving day by day, in the balance between danger and hope. Our actions can still affect the outcome. Join us to discuss how.
Oxford for Europe, while now preparing for what may be the greatest ever UK public demonstration on March 23rd, is hosting the latest in its series of high-profile public panel debates on Brexit, the impact of Brexit and how Brexit can be stopped.

This is a joint lecture with The Rockefeller Foundation Economic Council on Planetary Health at the Oxford Martin School

Cooling is critical for many of the sustainable development goals, including those relating to health, shelter, livelihoods, education and nutrition. As the world’s population grows, as disposable incomes grow and as urban areas grow, the need for cooling is booming. However cooling uses super polluting gases and large amounts of energy and is therefore a significant cause of climate change. More efficient, clean cooling has the potential to avoid up to a degree of warming by the end of the century and recently all governments came together to agree action to try to maximize this opportunity. Cooling sits at the intersection of the UNFCCC, the SDGs and the Montreal Protocol, but can these forces ensure success?

Dan Hamza-Goodacre will explain the risks and possibilities in the search for sustainable cooling for all.

This talk will be followed by a drinks reception, all welcome

This talk has been cancelled. Sorry.

Talk followed by questions and discussion

Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns, Cycling UK wants to hear our views on local cycle campaigning
Cycling UK has spent the last few months considering how to work with local campaign groups. Duncan is coming to Oxford because he was impressed by the energy at our conference 15 months ago. This is our chance to influence how Cycling UK relates with local groups like Cyclox.

In 2018, first year architecture students at Oxford Brookes University (OBU) took on a unique real-life design challenge (rather than tackling a fictional brief): to design a treehouse classroom for children; one that might sit in the woodland of the new Science Oxford Centre at Stansfeld Park in Headington in the future.

Hear from the students as they explain the science underpinning the architectural processes of design, material choice and construction. Architects and educators Jane Anderson and Ralph Saull will discuss the value of such ‘live’ projects in design education and the benefits to the local community they engaged with.

Join us for the next event in our Science on Your Doorstep series, where we shine a spotlight on talented people living and working in Headington.

We’d like to invite you to join our Oxford group to share some food and hear a thought-provoking talk by Leah Maclean on Intuitive Eating.

INTUITIVE EATING: freedom from diet mentality

Intuitive Eating is a process to help you get out of your head when it comes to food and body image and tune into the signals your body is sending. It helps break down arbitrary food rules and restrictions and external influences over what you can and can’t eat so you can focus on internal cues. You learn to stop determining your value based on what you’ve eaten, how much you’ve moved, or a number on the scale.

ABOUT MAHWE
Mahwe brings together people who have a keen interest in personal development and who want to share ideas and enjoy meaningful conversations. Our events are relaxed and friendly, we share a meal, often hear a talk that leads to a group conversation. You will meet open-minded people who want to learn and be the best version of themselves. £25 including your meal.

Dung beetles in the British Isles are a vital part of their associated ecosystems but have been historically rather overlooked probably due to their chosen habitat. Now our native dung beetles are finally beginning to get some of the invertebrate limelight due to an emphasis on ecosystem services and a much more environmentally friendly farming future. However we are lacking on a great deal of base data about these vitally important species and surveying is the one of the best ways to get information. This means getting into dung and discovering these unsung heroes

The Global Politics, Economy and Society (GPES) Research Centre at Oxford Brookes will be hosting its first annual lecture, given by the writer and activist George Monbiot. All welcome, but please book via the registration link.

Organised by Oxford Civic Society @oxcivicsoc. Should we prioritise the Green Belt or new homes for Oxford? In this, the first of a series of public debates to mark the 50th anniversary of Oxford Civic Society, Bob Price, former leader of the City Council, will argue that the release of Green Belt land to meet housing need can benefit the common good without undermining the enduring purposes of the Green Belt. His view will be keenly contested by Mike Tyce, Trustee of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Oxfordshire. The audience will have a chance to have their say before the two opposing speakers wind up the debate.

Doors open 7.00pm; debate starts 7.30pm. Tickets required – no entry on the door.

Tickets for this event are £7 via Eventbrite – see https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-battle-for-the-green-belt-tickets-54594574843

Jennifer Eberhardt, associate professor at Stanford University, joins us for the next in our Let’s Discuss series. She will be discussing unconscious racial bias in the context of her new book Biased. The talk will be followed by an extended time for audience Q&A so that you can really become part of the debate.

From one of the world’s leading experts on unconscious racial bias comes a landmark examination of one of the most culturally powerful issues of our time.

We might think that we treat all people equally, but we don’t. Every day, unconscious biases affect our visual perception, attention, memory and behaviour in ways that are subtle and very difficult to recognise without in-depth scientific studies.

Unconscious biases can be small and insignificant, but they affect every sector of society, leading to enormous disparities, from the classroom to the courtroom to the boardroom.

But unconscious bias is not a sin to be cured, but a universal human condition, and one that can be overcome.

In Biased, pioneering social psychologist Professor Jennifer Eberhardt explains how.

The Lecture will analyse the phenomenon of Donald Trump’s presidency against the backdrop and contrast of the European Enlightenment’s influence on the Founders of the United States. It will also explain why his stark antithesis to Enlightenment values was a winning strategy in the 2016 presidential election and how it resonates with a shift from liberalism to populism, nativism, and authoritarianism. Finally, the lecture will examine political forces in the U.S. that are opposing Trump as he ramps up his campaign for a second term.

Talk followed by questions and discussion. All welcome.

We are delighted to invite to a documentary film-screening of the film Dreamland, followed by a Skype Q&A with one of the film-makers, Professor Britt Kramvig.

The film: Viewed through the camera lens of a philosopher, it is inspired by a line from “Dreamland” by romantic poet Edgar Allan Poe “…by a route obscure and lonely, haunted by ill angels only…” A journey through people-places in Arctic landscapes is made by the figure of a native anthropologist. She follows in the footsteps of many others, recounting experience. Viewers glimpse moments of a sublime, the subject of Poe’s poem. The movie gives form to hopes for futures different than pasts. An essayistic documentary in the form of a twenty-first century Arctic road-movie by professor Britt Kramvig (UiT) and filmmaker Rachel Gomez (Tromsø). Trailer: https://vimeo.com/163989818

The ecology and history of one of the largest atolls in the world. Aldabra, situated in the South West Indian Ocean, supports the largest population of giant tortoises worldwide. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is a stronghold for wildlife in a region that is besieged by threats.

Talk followed by questions and discussion. All welcome

In our first of two seminars on the future of work after automation Dr Brendan Burchell will investigate the potential for a five-day weekend society.

Machine-learning and robotics technologies promise to be able to replace some tasks or jobs that have traditionally been performed by humans. Like previous technologies introduced in the past couple of centuries, this possibility has been met with either optimism that will permit liberation from the tyranny of employment, or pessimism that it will lead to mass precarity and unemployment.

This presentation will draw upon both qualitative and quantitative evidence to explore the possible societal consequences of a radical reduction in the length of the normal working week. Drawing upon the evidence for the psychological benefits of employment, we look at the evidence for the minimum effective dose of employment. The paper also considers why the historical increases in productivity have not been matched with proportionate reductions in working time.

About Brendan Burchell:

Dr Brendan Burchell is a Reader in the Social Sciences in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. He is also a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Dr Burchell is director of graduate education for the Department of Sociology and director of the Cambridge Undergraduate Quantitative Research Centre. He was recently Head of Department for Sociology, as well as a Director of Studies and a Tutor at Magdalene College.

Dr Burchell’s main research interests centre on the effects of labour market conditions on wellbeing. Recent publications have focussed on unemployment, job insecurity, work intensity, part-time work, zero-hours contracts, debt, occupational gender segregation and self-employment. Most of his work concentrates on employment in Europe, but current projects also include an analysis of job quality, the future of work and youth self-employment in developing countries. He works in interdisciplinary environments with psychologists, sociologists, economists, lawyers and other social scientists.

Dr Burchell’s undergraduate degree was in Psychology, followed by a PhD in Social Psychology. His first post in Cambridge was a joint appointment between the social sciences and economics in 1985, and he has been in a permanent teaching post in at Cambridge since 1990.

Register:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/future-of-work-after-automation-towards-a-five-day-weekend-society-tickets-61028132788

H.E John Mahama, former President of Ghana will give his insightful lecture at Saïd Business School in collaboration with the African Studies Centre and the Oxford Africa Business Alliance.

H.E. John Mahama was the President of Ghana from 2012 to 2017. Previously, he served as Vice President between 2009 and 2012. He is a communication expert, historian and writer and the presidential candidate of Ghana’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2020 presidential election. He is the author of My First Coup d’État and Other True Stories From the Lost Decades of Africa (2012).

The lecture will include an audience Q&A moderated by Prof. Wale Adebanwi, Director of the Africa Studies Centre & Rhodes Professor of Race Relations.

Schedule

16:30 – Registration opens
17:00 – Event starts
18:00 – Drinks reception
19:00 – Close

About the event

Please note once the main room is full you will be directed to an overflow room to watch the beamed talk, so arrive early to avoid disappointment;
Late arrivals will also be sent to the overflow room;
Spaces are limited and tickets are non-transferable so registration is essential so please use the Register button above to confirm your attendance;
The seminar is open for anyone to attend and will take place at Saïd Business School.