Some face-to-face events are returning. Check carefully for any requirements.
This one-day workshop with St Cross College Professional in Residence David Scrymgeour covers the steps towards building a successful organisation, from designing, starting, and growing, to managing, changing, fixing, and evolving. The workshop will be highly practical, and will help you to develop a model for thinking about an organisation and how to apply it in clear practical steps. During the course of the day, you will look at the ‘Three Pillars’ model of organisations: Sales, finance, and operations, and there will be case studies, question and answer sessions, and plenty of time for networking over a working lunch.
About David:
David Scrymgeour has worked as an entrepreneur, consultant, trouble-shooter and community advisor. He is currently Adjunct Professor and Executive-in-Residence at the Rotman School of Management.
Tickets are £5 which covers a working lunch.

In this lecture, entrepreneur David Scrymgeour will talk about developing an entrepreneurial mindset, sharing best practice and words of wisdom gleaned from a career in business.
About David Scrymgeour:
David Scrymgeour has worked as an entrepreneur, consultant, trouble-shooter and community advisor. As Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor with the Rotman Commerce Program at the University of Toronto he teaches, mentors and engages in philanthropic projects in partnership with business, not for profit, political, community and sustainable development organisations.
There will be a drinks reception after the talk.
The art market is one of the most visible, yet least understood industries in the world. And it is in the midst of a digital transformation that is redefining what and how art is transacts every day.
During this talk, Sotheby’s Senior Vice President of Data & Strategy, Edouard Benveniste gives an introduction to the art market with a focus on how data and emerging technologies are shaking up an industry long known for its opacity.
Benveniste, has spent the past decade at the world’s leading auction houses in roles spanning sales and technology, will share lessons from the transformation of the art world that can apply to any industry at the time of disruptive innovation.
Schedule:
17:15 – Registration opens
17:45 – Event starts
18:45 – Drinks reception (optional)
19:45 – Event close
About the event
The seminar is open for anyone to attend
Spaces are limited and tickets are non-transferable so registration is essential so please use the Register button above to confirm your attendance
Please note once the main room is full you will be directed to an overflow room to watch the a livestream of the event, so please arrive early to avoid disappointment
Blackwell’s are delighted to present our monthly series of talks, Philosophy in the Bookshop. In a very special event, our programme moves across the street to the Sheldonian Theatre for one night only.
Do we need God in order to explain the existence of the universe? Do we need God in order to be good?
Join Richard Dawkins for a special evening at the Sheldonian Theatre where he will be introducing his book ‘Outgrowing God’, addressing some of the most profound questions human beings confront. Professor Dawkins will be interviewed by author Nigel Warburton.
Should we believe in God? In this new book written for a new generation, the brilliant science writer and author of the international bestseller, ‘The God Delusion’, explains why we shouldn’t.
Richard Dawkins was fifteen when he stopped believing in God. Deeply impressed by the beauty and complexity of living things, he’d felt certain they must have had a designer. Learning about evolution changed his mind. Now one of the world’s best and bestselling science communicators, Richard Dawkins has given readers, young and old, the same opportunity to rethink the big questions.
In ‘Outgrowing God’, Richard Dawkins marshals science, philosophy and comparative religion to interrogate the hypocrisies of all the religious systems and explains to readers of all ages how life emerged without a Creator, how evolution works and how our world came into being.
Richard Dawkins is author of ‘The Selfish Gene’, voted The Royal Society’s Most Inspiring Science Book of All Time, and also the bestsellers ‘The Blind Watchmaker’, ‘Climbing Mount Improbable’, ‘The Ancestor’s Tale’, ‘The God Delusion’, and two volumes of autobiography, ‘An Appetite for Wonder’ and ‘Brief Candle in the Dark’. He is a Fellow of New College, Oxford and both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Literature. In 2013, Dawkins was voted the world’s top thinker in Prospect magazine’s poll of 10,000 readers from over 100 countries.
Nigel Warburton is a public philosopher and author. As well as being the host of the podcast ‘Philosophy Bites’ with David Edmonds, he is also the author of the bestselling ‘A Little History of Philosophy’, ‘Philosophy : The Classics’, ‘Free Speech: A Very Short Introduction’ and many others.
Tickets cost £10. Seating in the Sheldonian is unreserved and allocated on a first come, first served basis. Doors for entry will open at 6:15pm. For all enquiries please email events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk or call 01865 333623.
In this book talk the Author, Carl Benedikt Frey, will discuss how the Industrial Revolution was a defining moment in history, but how few grasped its enormous consequences at the time. Now that we are in the midst of another technological revolution how can the lessons of the past can help us to more effectively face the present?
This talk will be followed by a book sale, signing and drinks reception. All welcome.

How do our minds and bodies alter as we age? Can attitudes change from one generation to the next? How have the built and natural environments around us changed in the last 200 years? What are our hopes and fears for the future and how different will it be? Join researchers at the Bodleian’s Weston Library to look into the past, present and future. This event includes hands-on activities all day and a Living Library of researchers and talks in the evening.
The shop and cafe will be open until 9pm.
Data-driven micro-targeted campaigns have become a main stable of political strategy. As personal and societal data becomes more accessible, we need to understand how it can be used and mis-used in political campaigns and whether it is relevant to regulate political candidates’ access to data.
This book talk will be followed by a drinks reception and book sale, all welcome
Alongside our conference on 19th October, Greene’s Institute will be hosting our first public event: a special interactive keynote with Professor Henrike Lähnemann (University of Oxford). This event promises to be a fantastic exploration of one of the most important acts of translation in European history. All are welcome.

Award-winning sustainability journalist Tim Smedley has travelled the world to major cities dealing with severe air pollution problems including Delhi, Beijing and Paris, interviewing scientists and politicians to discover the full story of air pollution. Join him to discover what air pollution is, where it’s coming from and, most importantly, what we can do about it.
IF Oxford is operating a Pay What You Decide (PWYD) ticketing system. This works by enabling you to pre-book events without paying for a ticket beforehand. Afterwards, you have the opportunity to pay what you decide you want to, or can afford. If you prefer, you can make a donation to IF Oxford when you book. All funds raised go towards next year’s Festival.
Michael Obersteiner will present new insights from co-producing a set of new sustainability scenarios.
Major sectoral transitions will be presented to achieve development targets in line with improved ecosystem and human health. He will conclude with an outlook on new ways to socialise findings from such global assessments.
This talk is part of the Oxford Martin School Lecture Series ‘Food futures: how can we safeguard the planet’s health, and our own?’

From the geological component of a life-supporting planet, to changing how we made tools or helping your body survive every day, iron plays an important part in being human. But which of iron’s roles is the most important? Join us for a fun evening where researchers from across the sciences and the humanities (Fe)rociously try to persuade you that their use of iron is the most important. Who wins this battle of the new iron age? You decide!
IF Oxford is operating a Pay What You Decide (PWYD) ticketing system. This works by enabling you to pre-book events without paying for a ticket beforehand. Afterwards, you have the opportunity to pay what you decide you want to, or can afford. If you prefer, you can make a donation to IF Oxford when you book. All funds raised go towards next year’s Festival.

Marking the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, Kit Chapman reveals the incredible and often surprising stories behind the discovery of the superheavy elements; how they have shaped the world today and where they will take us in the future. Be introduced to the amazing people whose tireless quest to drive the periodic table forwards has led to scientists rewriting the laws of atomic structure.
IF Oxford is operating a Pay What You Decide (PWYD) ticketing system. This works by enabling you to pre-book events without paying for a ticket beforehand. Afterwards, you have the opportunity to pay what you decide you want to, or can afford. If you prefer, you can make a donation to IF Oxford when you book. All funds raised go towards next year’s Festival.

A Taste of Pompeii, with Sally Grainger
Evening Talk and Tasting
Tue 29 Oct, 6.30–9.30pm
Join author of The Classical Cookbook Sally Grainger as she shares her knowledge of classical Roman recipes adapted for the contemporary cook, painting a vibrant picture of wining and dining in the ancient world. Having whetted your appetite, enjoy a tasting array of dipping sauces in the ‘Taberna Ashmolean’.
Tickets are £35 each.
Entry is via the Front Door. Doors open 6pm, lecture at 6.30 pm.
Dr David Nabarro, former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Food Security and Nutrition, will give a talk on what implications there will be for the planet and us in linking nature, food and the climate.
Please register via the link provided. Followed by a drinks reception, all welcome
A growing middle class in the developing world, as well as increasing concerns about the healthfulness, environmental footprint and inhumaneness of conventional livestock production have given rise to neo-Malthusian concerns about how to address what seems insatiable demand for protein.
While some have doubled down on calls for reducing meat consumption, so far the most visible response has been a huge wave of innovation in a variety of what are now being called “alternative proteins.” Designed to capture the “flexitarian” market, these include insect-based foods, protein-rich “superfoods,” simulated plant-based meat and dairy substitutes, and cellular/bioengineered meat.
Their rapid development begs two crucial questions, however. How did protein become the macronutrient of concern to begin? Will protein’s new substantiations be any more nutritious and ecological than that which it substitutes? In this talk, Guthman will elaborate on what is being done in the name of protein and provide provisional answers to these questions.
Please register via the link provided.

he Technical & Moral Singularity- a Conversation about Artificial Intelligence and Ethics
This event is a conversation between Prof Nigel Crook (Head of Computing and Communication Technologies (CCT) and Interim Head of Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, Oxford Brookes) and Dr Steven Croft (Bishop of Oxford and member of House of Lords Select Committee on AI). You can read about Bishop Stevens encounter with Artie (in the picture above) here.
This event is free however as seating is limited please book a place. in Eventbrite There are pay and display spaces available on the campus from 16.30.

In this lecture, in honour of Edward Greene, Donald Meek will describe the fascinating process of Gaelic Bible translation in Scotland and Ireland. Beginning with the standard Gaelic Bible, translated between 1767 and 1804, Donald will explain its creation, and its debts to the work of earlier translators and revisers, including the Rev. Robert Kirk of Aberfoyle (who produced ‘Kirk’s Bible in 1690), but pre-eminently to the foundational labours of the translators of the Bible into Classical Gaelic in Ireland in the earlier seventeenth century. Both the principal translators of that period – Bishop William Ó Dómhnaill and Bishop William Bedell – studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where they were trained in biblical languages by the first Master of Emmanuel, Lawrence Chadderton. By way of comparison and contrast, brief reference will be made to the somewhat different histories of Bible translation into Manx and Welsh. The lecture will conclude with some discussion of the profound influence of the Gaelic Bible on the development of modern Scottish Gaelic literature, and its enduring legacy
Plants & Food Culture in Roman Britain
Wed 20 Nov, 1–2pm
Institute of Archaeology, 36 Beaumont Street, Oxford
With Alexandra Livarda, ICAC, Tarragona
At our Roman Discussion Forum research seminars you can join experts in the field of archaeology and conservation on new discoveries and ideas arising from our current exhibition, Last Supper in Pompeii. The events are organised in association with the Roman Discussion Forum at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology.
Places for these seminars are FREE, but places are first-come, first-served, so please arrive early to guarantee your place. It is not possible to book or reserve a place.
www.ashmolean.org/event/roman-discussion-forum-week-6
Poor diet is the leading risk factor for ill health in the UK, carrying more risk than smoking or hypertension.
But in an era where we seem to be constantly bombarded with often conflicting messages about our diets, is all this information actually making us any healthier? How can we cut through media hysteria and use the science to make wise choices about the food we eat and how can the Government make sensible policy decisions to help with the impact our consumption habits have on our health.
Please register via the link provided.
Food Remains from Pompeii:
The Difficulties of Reconstructing Diet
Wed 27 Nov, 1–2pm
With Mark Robinson, University of Oxford
At our Roman Discussion Forum research seminars you can join experts in the field of archaeology and conservation on new discoveries and ideas arising from our current exhibition, Last Supper in Pompeii. The events are organised in association with the Roman Discussion Forum at the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology.
Places for these seminars are FREE, but places are first-come, first-served, so please arrive early to guarantee your place. It is not possible to book or reserve a place.
www.ashmolean.org/event/roman-discussion-forum-week-7
Plants and photosynthetic microbes have the extraordinary ability to convert light energy to chemical energy and as a consequence, they are the foundation of virtually all ecosystems and all agricultural systems on the planet.
The characteristics that make plants successful in natural ecosystems are often antithetical to agriculture and over 1000s of years we have domesticated plants to make better crops. The molecular genetics revolution of the 20th century has simultaneously provided a means to understand the relationship between plant genes and plant characteristics, and the ability to target and/or select specific genetic changes in plant genomes.
This combination of knowledge and technology opens the possibility for designer crops, and raises interesting questions about the governance of our food system.
Please register via the link provided. Followed by a drinks reception, all welcome.

Are we witnessing a new, more toxic kind of politics around the world? If so, what is the alternative? Should we lament a supposedly lost civility, or is the emergence of more forthright and angry disagreements in fact a good thing? What is the line between passionate disagreement and toxic bile? Who gets to decide what are acceptable and unacceptable forms of discourse? Ultimately, how do we live together when we disagree profoundly on major issues?
Topic: Politics
Format: Debate and Q&A session

Inaugural event in our new events series focusing on responsible leadership: Driving Diversity and Inclusion Seminar Series.
Progress on diversity in the UK civil service and why it matters. How the dial only really shifted on gender, and why the focus is now on inclusion and addressing bullying and harassment. What the good leaders are doing?
Dame Sue Owen will give a talk followed by a Q&A with the audience moderated by Sue Dopson, Rhodes Trust Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Fellow of Green Templeton College, Deputy Dean of Saïd Business School.
Event Schedule:
17:15 – Registration opens
17:45 – Event starts
18:45 – Drinks reception
19:45 – Close
When the UK joined the EU in 1973 all previous trade barriers with the EU were abolished, which led to a strong intensification of trade with the European continent.
This situation will soon be a thing of the past, however, as new trade barriers will be erected with the withdrawal. Since the food self-sufficiency rate in the UK is particular low newly invoked trade barriers will significantly affect how food is produced and consumed in the UK.
Please register via the link provided.

Dr Jim Harris, Engaging with the Humanities at Oxford Saïd
A Good Mix: Krasis and the Ashmolean as an Interdisciplinary Forum.
What even is interdisciplinary work?
In this talk, art historian, broadcaster and Teaching Curator Dr Jim Harris will consider what makes the museum such a fertile context for interdisciplinary work, why early-career scholars from across the university are flocking to take up career development opportunities at the Ashmolean – and what possibilities the Ashmolean might present to students and researchers at the Saïd Business School.
Schedule
14:00 – Registration opens (with afternoon tea)
14:30 – Event starts
15:30 – Event close

Bomberg and Kitaj – Two Types of Jewish Agony in Paint
With Sir Simon Schama, Art Historian, Author and BBC Presenter
Sat 14 Dec, 12–1pm
Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road (Venue changed)
Tickets are FREE. Booking is essential:
ashmolean.org/event/beauforest-lecture-2019
Although separated by a generation, artists David Bomberg (b. 1890) and R. B. Kitaj (b.1932) shared a passionate intensity in their work that was marked by their response to the deeply troubled century in which they lived, and in particular, the rise of antisemitism. Learn how both painters expressed the power of art to mirror the darkness of the contemporary world.
This event is the 2019 Beauforest Lecture.
www.ashmolean.org/event/beauforest-lecture-2019
New technologies have always provoked panic about workers being replaced by machines.
In the past, such fears have been misplaced, and many economists maintain that they remain so today. Yet in A World Without Work, Daniel Susskind shows why this time really is different. Advances in artificial intelligence mean that all kinds of jobs are increasingly at risk.
Susskind will argue that machines no longer need to reason like us in order to outperform us. Increasingly, tasks that used to be beyond the capability of computers – from diagnosing illnesses to drafting legal contracts – are now within their reach. The threat of technological unemployment is real.
So how can we all thrive in a world with less work? Susskind will remind us that technological progress could bring about unprecedented prosperity, solving one of mankind’s oldest problems: making sure that everyone has enough to live on. The challenge will be to distribute this prosperity fairly, constrain the burgeoning power of Big Tech, and provide meaning in a world where work is no longer the centre of our lives.
This talk will be followed by a drinks reception, book sale and signing, all welcome.

Alice Kettle will discuss her works at the opening night of her exhibition at the Business School with Brandon Taylor, after which there will be a tour.
Our new exhibition showcases Alice Kettle’s unique practice; textile works which employ a combination of stitch techniques, bringing together the use of antique machines from early last century with hand stitch and contemporary digital technology.