During Michaelmas Term, OxTalks will be moving to a new platform (full details are available on the Staff Gateway).
For now, continue using the current page and event submission process (freeze period dates to be advised).
If you have any questions, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Python is one of the most popular programming languages for data science, both in academia and industry. It is also a good entry programming language for anyone trying their hand at coding for the first time. This gentle introduction to Python is aimed at all students or staff around campus with little to no prior experience with Python or programming wanting to take that first step. The course will cover all the basics needed to get future coders started on their journey. By the end of the session, you will have written your first bits of code and be ready to explore what Python can do for your own data or personal projects. The training will be delivered by Matthieu Miossec, Head of Computational Genomics Group, Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford. The course is divided into two sessions: Session 1, 13 October, 9:00 am – 11:00 am Session 2, 16 October, 9:00 am – 11:00 am This will be an interactive session where participants will be expected to follow along with the demonstration, coding throughout the session. Topics to be covered: -Why use Python? -Data types and data structures in Python. -Conditional statements and loops. -Writing flexible functions. -Reading and writing to files. -Putting it altogether in a simple bit of code. Intended Audience: Staff and students with little to no prior experience with Python or programming in general. Objectives: -Become more comfortable with Python and programming in general. -Have a basic understanding of the main data types and structures in Python. -Have a basic understanding of error messages and how to resolve them. -Write some code to automate the resolution of a small problem. -Be able to write a short bit of code to extract or write information from a file. -Learn how to break a bigger problem into smaller problems through divide and conquer approach. -Know where to find additional information on Python. Requirements: Participants are expected to bring their own laptops so they can follow along with the interactive session. Pre-course work: None. There will be a small challenge in between the two sessions for participants to attempt. Software required: Python with Python IDLE or similar Register:https://forms.office.com/e/jEmEragSPU?origin=lprLink
"Global Forests" is an autumn school for doctoral and post-doctoral students whose research focuses on forest issues and coming from all scientific disciplines. The aim of the autumn school is to offer a time for scientific exchange and training to a multi-disciplinary group of young scientists. A large place is given to forestry issues in the South and early carrier researchers from the South are strongly invited to participate. Forest areas are constantly changing, at all spatial and temporal scales. According to the available data, forest area on a global scale has been declining for several centuries. Behind this global trend lies a diversity of forest dynamics depending on regional contexts. In particular, there are significant differences between temperate forests, which have been gaining ground for several decades, and tropical forests, where deforestation continues. These forest dynamics are essentially driven by anthropogenic factors: long-term transformations in the economy and their consequences for land use, and the effects of international trade on agricultural production. Indeed, the ongoing decline in global forest area can primarily be attributed to land grabbing and the advancement of ‘pioneer fronts’, particularly ‘agricultural fronts’. In a global context marked by climate change, continuing population growth and far-reaching geopolitical and economic changes, forest areas are particularly strategic. But contradictory logics mean that contrasting uses coexist. Clearing land for crop cultivation, but also preserving or extending woodland, is justified in the name of the transition to a more sustainable development model. These forest dynamics and the resulting changes in forest land use inevitably have consequences, including the erosion of biodiversity, carbon depletion, and harm to the well-being of forestdwelling populations. These impacts are experienced at every level, from local to global. They are producing effects that are felt at long distances from the places where the changes in use are taking place. From this point of view, changes in land use are part of global environmental change. During this autumn school, we will be focusing on the ecological and societal impacts of these changes in land use. What are they, and how can they be described and measured? What links do they have with human activities and what types of processes are involved? What interplay of scales is at work? Are existing models sufficient to account for these processes and their effects? Do new studies offer new ways of looking at the problem, can patterns be identified? Submissions should emphasise an interdisciplinary approach to these issues, in support of Global Forests' ambition to bring together doctoral students from a range of disciplines in order to explore and develop new areas of research.
During infection, the immune system unleashes protective responses to fight against the pathogen while also establishes a memory compartment that will provide protection in case of a subsequent pathogen encounters. The B cell memory compartment is composed of two layers: long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) and memory B cells (MBCs). LLPCs mainly migrate to the bone marrow, where they continuously secrete high-affinity antibodies and provide protection against re-infection with the same pathogen for years or even for lifetime. In contrast, MBCs remain in a quiescent state in secondary lymphoid organs (spleen and lymph nodes) until a future encounter with the same pathogen or a variant. Only then, MBCs will proliferate and differentiate into antibody-secreting plasma cells to provide a rapid and effective protective response, or re-enter germinal centre reactions, where they will diversify the memory repertoire. In the last years, it became evident than LLPCs and MBCs not only remain in lymphoid organs but further take residence in barrier tissues upon mucosal infections. During my talk, I will discuss how distinct barrier tissues, such as the lungs and the gut, use different B cell memory strategies to fight recurrent pathogens.
Drawing on over four years of research, Dr Lynn Schneider presents findings on the lived experiences, psychosocial outcomes, and support needs of children in families affiliated with extremism and terrorism. Her work examines both repatriated children who were taken to or born in ISIS-held territories in Syria and Iraq, and children growing up in families with domestic Islamist or right-wing extremist ties in Germany. The talk will explore the challenges and opportunities involved in reaching and supporting these children. Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm. Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have significantly expanded the possibilities for educational research, especially in analyzing complex social interactions within classroom environments more efficiently. In my talk, I focus on AI-based approaches for classifying teachers’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Specifically, I highlight the use of computer vision techniques to analyze nonverbal immediacy, and the application of large language models (LLMs) to assess motivational messages delivered by teachers. I will also discuss the potential and limitations of these AI-driven methods, along with their ethical implications and relevance for educational practice. The talk provides an overview of our research conducted at the Science of Intelligence research center (2019–2025; https://www.scienceofintelligence.de/) as well as ongoing work in my research group, Research on Instruction and Schools, at the University of Potsdam, within the new DFG-funded project Motivate! (https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/dfg-projekt-motiv) Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
Inputs from the two eyes appear to compete with each other for driving responses in the developing visual cortex: occluding one eye allows the other to become more powerful. Competition for a limited supply of neurotrophins was proposed as the cellular and molecular basis of this interaction. We have used genetic and chemical-genetic manipulations to delineate the mechanisms of such competition and conclude that it is the result of the interaction of distinct mechanisms that are not inherently competitive. We have also devised a novel approach to revealing the neural code at different levels of the mouse visual system. Neural encoding manifolds that we create can also be used to probe machine learning networks like those used to recognize pictures in Facebook. We find that these artificial “neural” networks are more similar to big retinas than to small brains. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Michael Stryker studied at Deep Springs College and the University of Michigan, where he earned the B.A. in philosophy with a minor in mathematics and worked in the laboratory of James Olds. He earned the Ph.D. in Peter Schiller's laboratory at M.I.T. in 1975, followed by postdoctoral research with David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel at the Harvard Medical School. He joined the Physiology Department and nascent neuroscience program at UCSF as an assistant professor in 1978, holds the W.F. Ganong Chair of Physiology at UCSF, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Allen Institute He has been honored by the W. Alden Spencer Prize from Columbia, the Ralph W. Gerard Prize from the Society for Neuroscience, and by election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. His laboratory’s research focuses the role of neural activity in the development and plasticity of precise connections within the central nervous system. Most of his work has been on the visual system, in recent years on the visual cortex of the mouse. Current experiments seek to understand the cellular and neural circuit mechanisms of activity-dependent cortical plasticity, the interactions between neural activity and molecular cues in the formation of cortical maps, the difference between the limited plasticity in the adult brain and the much greater plasticity during critical periods in early life, and novel mathematical means for understanding cortical coding. His experiments take advantage of transgenic mice and optical as well as electrical approaches for recording from and labeling and perturbing connections of specific cells.
Summary: Ivermectin is an endectocide effective against endo- and ectoparasites and is widely used in mass drug administration (MDA) for neglected tropical diseases. It also kills malaria vectors that feed on treated individuals, making MDA with ivermectin a potential tool to reduce mosquito-driven malaria transmission. We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Kwale, Kenya (84 clusters; high bed net coverage >80%). Clusters were randomized 1:1 to receive ivermectin (400 μg/kg) or albendazole (400 mg, active control) once a month for three months during the “short rains.” Children aged 5–15 years were tested monthly for malaria infection for six months. Primary outcomes were malaria incidence and adverse events, analyzed using generalized estimating equations under the intention-to-treat principle. A total of 28,932 participants were enrolled. Ivermectin MDA reduced malaria incidence among children by 26% compared to control, with no safety concerns observed. We conclude that ivermectin MDA can reduce residual malaria transmission Biography Prof. Marta Maia is an Associate Professor of the Nuffield Department of Medicine. She has a background in one health and epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. Prof Maia has over 15 years of experience working on the development and testing of malaria vector control interventions in East Africa, having worked on spatial repellents, topical repellents, attractive-targeted sugar baits, and endectocides. Most recently, she was the Principal investigator of the BOHEMIA trial in Kenya which aimed to evaluate mass drug administration (MDA) of ivermectin for reduction of malaria transmission. She is currently based in Kenya at the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme where she leads the Vector Unit.
The speaker will highlight the urgent and growing global threat posed by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in tuberculosis (TB) and other non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections. This talk will address the major challenges in developing new therapeutic strategies to target the varied physiological states of these resilient pathogens and their exceptional ability to evade host defence mechanisms across human, animal, and environmental settings, within biofilm-forming microbiomes. Drawing on recent research findings, the seminar will discuss the validation of novel therapeutic targets that could accelerate drug design and discovery efforts. In particular, it will highlight promising work on the repurposing of carprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, to help reverse drug resistance in TB and NTM diseases. This interdisciplinary seminar is designed to engage a broad audience, including researchers in basic science, public health professionals, clinicians, and industry experts, all united by a shared interest in tackling one of the most pressing health threats of our time.
"We define populism as a platform that promotes policies based on a mis-specified model of the world — a simple alternative worldview. Voters’ trust in the traditional political class evolves over time, depending on the performance of mainstream politicians while in office. Crucially, political distrust increases voters’ susceptibility to the alternative worldviews offered by populists. In turn, the threat of populist success disciplines traditional politicians encouraging better performance. We study when and how populists and their alternative narratives gain traction or recur, and we examine their long-run effects on voter welfare. A key feature of the model is the feedback loop between distrust and alternative truths: political distrust persists, making voters more receptive to populists even when traditional politicians improve their performance. This dynamic gives rise to a low-trust trap, where trust in mainstream politicians never fully recovers, and cycles of populist and traditional rule repeatedly emerge.
Richard studied Biochemistry at the University of Bristol, before moving to King’s College London to study for a PhD in Cell Biology. After graduating, he moved to the US for a postdoctoral fellowship in Channing Der’s lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he investigated the role of novel RHOA mutations in the development of gastric cancer. In 2019 Richard moved back to the UK and joined the PLOS Biology team in November 2020. He covers a range of topics for the journal, including molecular biology, genetics/genomics, structural biology, cancer. The talk will give an overview of the processes that take place in a scientific journal, from submission of a study to the final decision, be it acceptance or rejection. This will include how editors make decisions on new manuscripts, how reviewers are selected and what is expected of them, as well as the habits of effective authors before submission and when preparing a revision. The talk will also give guidance on how to write the manuscript – importantly dos and don’ts of titles and abstracts-, as well as cover letters and rebuttals to reviewers, and will cover what is a useful presubmission enquiry, as well as when it makes sense to appeal a decision and how to do it. Lastly, we will cover basic concepts in Open Science, its effects on scientific advance, trust and reproducibility, and Open Science implementation
Australia’s has one of the world’s highest life expectancies and was relatively less impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic than other countries. However, Australia is also experiencing several concerning emerging mortality trends found in other English-speaking countries; these include slowing life expectancy increase, relatively high mortality among younger adults, high obesity prevalence and widening socio-economic inequalities. This seminar will explore these emerging trends and inequalities using Census-linked death registration data, with a particular focus on the use of multiple cause of death data to understand Australia’s unique mortality dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of multimorbidity and risk factors in mortality. It will discuss the findings in comparison to other English-speaking countries and widely relevant issues of quality of cause of death data. Chair: Wen Su
On a regular tree, assign each vertex a random independent value. Two players alternate choosing a child of the current vertex. When reaching level n, player 1 receives from player 2 the cumulative sum of the values along the chosen path. We show that in some cases the value of this game converges as n\to\infty. Joint with Gourab Ray and Yinon Spinka.
This paper will query the extent to which the True Religion Apologies of the Jacobite theologian Abū Rāʾiṭa al-Takrītī (d. c. 835) and Nestorian theologian ʿAmmār al-Baṣrī (d. after 838) offer a coherent understanding of the relationship between religion and coercive force. Attention is given both to the 'true religion' apologies themselves, and also, concerning Abū Rāʾiṭa, to his "Refutation of the Melkites Concerning the Union" (III).
Are you planning to present a poster at an upcoming conference, meeting or symposium? This introductory session will provide you with some top tips on how to create a poster presentation which will help you to communicate your research project and data effectively. There will be guidance on formatting, layout, content, use of text, references and images, as well as advice on printing and presenting your poster. This session will also provide help with locating resources such as templates, free-to-use images and poster guidelines. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to: evaluate the effectiveness of templates, formatting, text and images; and plan, prepare and present your poster. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student.
For many in the natural sciences, the publication of Carl Linnaeus’ _Species Plantarum_ (1753) divides biology into two periods: one where the natural world was scientifically ordered, and a previous time that was overrun by competing provincial knowledge systems. This talk explores the period of chaos, by centring on the work of British naturalists to describe, name, and communicate the flora of their colonial territories in the early eighteenth century. While they failed to produce a universal system of classification, these botanists left behind a substantial legacy in the form of their natural science collections such as herbaria. Analysis of these specimens as archival material alongside scientific publications and manuscripts reveals that, in the time before Linnaeus, it was local names that provided much-needed referential stability, facilitated scientific communication, and shaped European collections and taxonomic systems. *Madeline White* is a historian of science, environment, and the British Empire, and the postdoctoral research associate on the Digital Global Plants project at the University of Oxford. Her current project uses natural science collections to explore the efforts of British naturalists to create environmental knowledge through collection, cultivation, and classification. She completed her DPhil in 2024 at the Oxford Centre for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. From January, she will be a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Program in Environmental Policy and Culture at Northwestern University.
In this talk I shall discuss the physiology of cognitive control. One classical approach seeks abstract control functions (e.g. inhibition, set switching), perhaps associated with specific coarse regions of the frontal lobe. I suggest that this way of posing the problem is mistaken. Behaviour is directed by a whole-brain model of the current situation, with many parts integrated into their correct roles and relationships. At the heart of this integration is a multiple-demand (MD) system well known from human brain imaging, with components closely connected, but widely distributed across the cortex. To address physiology, I shall discuss neural data from monkeys solving problems in an on-screen maze. With recordings from four putative homologues to human MD regions, in different regions of the frontal lobe, we examine key components of a mental model – current state, goal state, actions diminishing the difference between these two, and abstract problem structure. Across regions there was overlap but also wide quantitative variation in encoding fundamental task features. Sensory input and current state were strongly coded in ventrolateral frontal cortex, goal most stably in dorsomedial frontal cortex, and move most rapidly in both ventrolateral and dorsal premotor cortex. Insula/orbitofrontal cortex responded during revision of a prepared route. Partial specialisations likely arise from distinct connectivity, while widespread copying of task representations reflects strong information exchange. Classical approaches to control, I suggest, should be discarded in favour of a whole-brain approach to construction and use of mental models.
This award-winning documentary comes to Oxford straight from the London Film Festival. It beautifully tells the story of five Sudanese people - a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two street boys - all in search of freedom, who have their stories unexpectedly woven together through animated dreams, street revolutions and a civil war. Attending the screening are two of the film's protaganists who have flown in from Nairobi and so, following the screening we will have a Directors Q&A. This is with Rawia Alhag, a Sudanese journalist based in Nairobi; Khadmallah Ali, a Sudanese activist also based in Nairobi; and Phil Cox, a British filmmaker, followed by a short wine reception. A world cinema collaboration produced by Native Voice Films & The Sudan Film Factory. Directed by Rawia Alhag, Anas Saeed, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea Mohammed & Phil Cox. Produced by Giovanna Stopponi & Talal Afifi. Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMytTsr2psM Convened as part of Dan Hodgkinson's Radical Visions agenda, ODID's Film Events, and the North East Africa Forum seminar series.
The OCCT is a vibrant and diverse research centre, with a focus on translation, comparative criticism, and multilingual literature, based jointly in The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities and St Anne’s College. We run seminars, workshops, a postgraduate-led discussion group and an annual conference. We stage public events, such as Oxford Translation Day, and the newly relaunched journal, OCCT Review. This welcome event was a great opportunity for students from a range of faculties and disciplines to meet our organising committee, hear about OCCT’s exciting programme of events this term, and to meet each other!
Drawing from his seminal work The Power of Placebos (Johns Hopkins University Press), Professor Jeremy Howick presents a rigorous examination of placebo and nocebo phenomena that challenges fundamental assumptions in contemporary medical research and clinical practice. This keynote advances the argument for a paradigm shift beyond the first placebo revolution, which established scientific legitimacy for placebo effects, toward a more ethically grounded and methodologically sophisticated approach to therapeutic intervention. The presentation critically interrogates the widespread deployment of placebo controls in clinical trial design, systematically deconstructing the purported methodological advantages including assay sensitivity, absolute effect size determination, and participant recruitment efficiency. Professor Howick demonstrates that these justifications lack robust scientific foundation when proven therapeutic alternatives exist, raising profound ethical concerns about withholding established treatments from research participants. Central to this discourse is the imperative to harness placebo mechanisms through evidence-based clinical communication, therapeutic alliance building, and contextual healing factors. The keynote explores how negative expectancy effects—nocebo phenomena—can undermine treatment efficacy through iatrogenic harm, while positive therapeutic contexts can enhance clinical outcomes through neurobiologically mediated pathways. This scholarly presentation advocates for methodological reform in clinical research ethics, proposing restrictions on placebo-controlled trials when proven therapies are available, while simultaneously calling for the systematic integration of placebo science into evidence-based medical practice.
For many readers, life-writing—especially memoir—is taken to offer a representation of a life that is more or less believed to be true, or as true as memory work can make it. Yet recent, high profile controversies have called many of those truth claims into question. In this session, leading life-writers, *Elleke Boehmer* and *Kate Kennedy*, draw on their research and experiences as writers to explore the boundaries between memory and invention, truth and storytelling, in contemporary life writing. Focusing on texts including Raynor Winn’s _The Salt Path_, Elleke Boehmer’s _The Shouting in the Dark_, and Helen Zenna Smith’s _Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War_, they ask: * How much invention can legitimately go into life writing? * How much of memoir is made up, and—when in doubt—why not resort to autofiction? Open to all. Registration recommended.
This introductory session will provide an overview of our Management in Medicine programme and the accredited pathway, should you wish to follow it. You will also hear experiences and feedback from members of previous cohorts and how the programme has changed more recently.
Chimpanzee populations across Africa exhibit remarkable cultural diversity, with distinct tool-use traditions and behaviours that are passed down through generations. In this talk, Dr Kat Almeida-Warren will explore how archaeological approaches to studying these cultural traditions provide critical insights into human evolutionary origins by revealing the behavioural and cognitive foundations of technology and cultural transmission in our closest living relatives. Drawing on her fieldwork experiences, she will also discuss how threatened chimpanzee populations face not only biological extinction but also the loss of cultural knowledge and discuss how cultural considerations can inform conservation strategies that protect both chimpanzees and their unique cultural heritage. Katarina ‘Kat’ Almeida-Warren is a primate archaeologist and Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Oxford, leading research at the intersection of archaeology, primatology, and evolutionary anthropology. Her work examines the archaeology of non-human primate tool-use and culture, with a focus on its contributions to human origins research and primate conservation. Her fieldwork centres on wild chimpanzee populations across Africa, conducting research at Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park—the site of Jane Goodall's renowned studies—and Guinea's Bossou Forest—known for its community of nut-cracking chimpanzees. Kat is also a National Geographic Explorer and a member of the recently established IUCN Working Group for Chimpanzee Cultures.
Are you baffled by open, confused by embargoes? Does the mention of the colour gold or green catapult you into a realm of perplexed irritation? Come to this session, where we’ll break down open access and all its many jargon terms, confusing publishing structures and hint at the advantages you can reap by publishing open. The session will cover: what is open access? Key terms – Gold, Green, Article Processing Charges; where to get more information and help; where to look for open access material; and useful tools to assist you in publishing open access. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
A general online introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods of British and Western European history. Learning outcomes are to: gain an overview of some of the key online resources for medieval, early modern and modern British and Western European history; know how to access subscription resources.; and gain awareness of key examples of useful resources: bibliographic databases; reference sources; primary sources; maps; audio-visual resources; and data sources. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Tuesdays, 12.15, The Margaret Thatcher Centre, Somerville College Followed by a free buffet lunch
There has been a surge in experience sampling, ecological momentary assessment, diary, and multimodal research studies, in which students and teachers are followed intensively within a relatively short time-window. Technology assisted data-collection techniques such as electronic self-report questionnaires, facial emotion recognition algorithms, and wearable technology for physiological measurement enable researchers to collect detailed situation-specific data. Such data can be analysed using multilevel and dynamic structural equation models, using the Bayesian estimator. Going beyond many studies to date, I in this talk focus on the importance of multiple-reporter data (student-reports, teacher-reports and observations) and linkages with objective data (situational executive functioning). I will illustrate the talk with key findings from a range of intraindividual studies, and interpret these within a frame of personalized (individualized) learning. This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar Series. Join in-person or on Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
Why do some ethnic groups produce local political leaders while others do not? We argue that the spatial distribution of ethnic groups within cities -- particularly their concentration into ethnic enclaves -- shapes political candidate emergence. Ethnic enclaves facilitate leadership by reducing mobilization costs, enabling targeted public goods provision, and fostering dense social and economic networks. Using a novel approach that combines machine learning classification of candidates' ethnic ancestries with spatial measures of ethnic clustering, we analyze data from 638 U.S. cities over five decades. We find that greater geographic clustering significantly increases both the emergence and electoral success of co-ethnic candidates, especially in city council elections. This relationship is nonlinear, intensifying beyond a threshold of spatial concentration. Our findings demonstrate that spatial concentration, beyond simple population share, shapes pathways to local political leadership.
A special lunchtime seminar, as part of Dan Hodgkinson’s Radical Visions agenda While the world’s focus has been fixed on Gaza, a brutal civil war in Sudan has displaced over 12 million people, placed over 24 million people in acute hunger and famine, and caused the direct casualties of an estimated 150,000 people. This seminar explores what the war’s chaos and displacement has meant to Sudanese communities, their sense of cultural and social belonging, and their notions of home – as well as how artists and academics can respond to these events. These issues will be discussed with the Sudanese and British filmmakers who made the award-winning feature documentary “Khartoum” (2025) and with Professor Marlyn Deegan, whose Digital Humanities work leading the “Sudan Memory” project has sought to both safeguard and protect vital cultural heritage and make it digitally accessible for younger generations of Sudanese to engage with wherever they are. Presenters: Rawia Alhag is a Sudanese filmmaker & journalist currently based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her work focuses on women’s and children’s issues, shedding light on the experiences and struggles of Sudanese people both within their communities and in the diaspora. She currently works as a journalist with international media outlets as well as directing award winning short films. She is one of the five directors of KHARTOUM. Khadmallah Ali is a Sudanese social activist and business woman. Originally from the Nuba Mountains, she lives today in Nairobi Kenya. She is a graduate in Economics and Sciences and works in Nairobi running her own independent business. She has travelled widely in East Africa as a speaker advocating for Sudanese women’s rights. She is a lead participant in the film KHARTOUM. Phil Cox is a British filmmaker and journalist who has worked extensively in Sudan since 2004. He co-runs the independent company Native Voice Films with Giovanna Stopponi which produced the multi award winning Sudan based films THE SPIDER-MAN OF SUDAN THE SALON and also KHARTOUM - which was awarded the Berlinale Peace Prize in 2025. He is one of the five directors of KHARTOUM. Professor Marlyn Deegan (KCL) is one of the UK’s leading experts in the Digital Humanities, who leads the “Sudan Memory” project which seeks to conserve and promote valuable cultural materials from and about Sudan through digitisation and via an online platform. The Sudan Memory project mission is to help preserve these archives and their stories, so that current and future generations can benefit from this precious and important heritage. Prof Deegan is also a former member of the Refugee Studies Centre.
Abstract: The Cellular Imaging Core Facility (CICF), based in the Centre for Human Genetics at the Old Road Campus, leverages cutting-edge imaging technologies to provide new spatio-temporal insights into complex biological systems. Home to one of the most comprehensive suites of microscopy systems in the University of Oxford, the CICF supports a broad spectrum of imaging approaches including confocal and widefield microscopy, live-cell and high-content imaging (for slides and multiwell plates), and super-resolution techniques such as SIM, SMLM/STORM, Airyscan and SoRa. Our advanced capabilities also encompass specialised methods such as FLIM, FRET, FRAP, FCCS and TIRF, complemented by powerful analysis workflows that combine classical segmentation with machine learning to interrogate highly complex five-dimensional datasets. As the imaging facility partnered with the Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, we will highlight how our imaging and analysis expertise—together with our experience in live-cell imaging and sample preparation—can add real collaborative value to your research. We will also showcase some of our current technologies and example projects, including ongoing collaborations within the department. Bio: James Bancroft Dr James Bancroft is the Microscopy Team Lead for the Cellular Imaging Core Facility (CICF), a role he has held since 2020. He leads a team of four specialists supporting a diverse research community in designing, executing, and analysing imaging assays across a wide range of biological systems. Since taking on the role, James has significantly expanded the CICF’s technological and analytical capabilities through successful grant applications and strategic industry partnerships. He has extensive experience in the development of advanced imaging assays and is an expert in multiple microscopy modalities, combining insights gained during his academic career with over three years in industry working at the forefront of microscopy innovation. Before joining the CICF, James spent six years as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford, where his work focused on applying live-cell imaging to investigate the regulation of cell division. Katie Holden Katie Holden is an Advanced Imaging Specialist in the Cellular Imaging Core Facility, where she supports researchers through user training, imaging assay development, and advanced image analysis. She has particular expertise in imaging complex samples such as organoids, iPSC-derived models, and live-cell systems, and she develops bespoke image-analysis pipelines to extract meaningful biological insight from high-dimensional data. Before joining the CICF, Katie worked in the University’s iPSC Facility and the Diabetes and Inflammation Laboratory, where she gained extensive experience in iPSC culture and differentiation. She also applied these skills within the neuroscience field to generate and study iPSC-derived neuronal models using advanced microscopy.
How should monetary policy respond to sectoral shocks in a world where consumption baskets vary systematically across households? We present a multi-sector New-Keynesian model with generalized, non-homothetic preferences and inequality. The output gap is governed by a Marginal Consumer Price Index (MCPI), rather than the regular CPI. Policy trade-offs are shaped by a novel wedge in the New-Keynesian Phillips Curve (NKPC). Analytical results and quantitative simulations show that, following negative shocks to necessity sectors, the NKPC is shifted upward, increasing CPI inflation but decreasing the output gap. We find that the optimal policy response is relatively accommodative.
Looking for time and space to focus on your writing? Come to our regular writing group meetings. This group is designed for scholars who engage with humour in their research, whether through literature, performance, media, history, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies, or other. We provide structured time for focused writing, support each other’s accountability, and offer a community for those who share an interest in the study of humour. Snacks, tea, and coffee will be provided.
The Changing Character of War will convene a panel to discuss Patrick Porter's new book with Stanford University Press. Porter makes the case for realism in the age of war, economic dislocation and climate crisis. Porter tackles three prominent criticisms of realism: that it is immoral, unrealistic, and provincial. Realism, he argues, is everything its critics believe it is not: moral in its commitment to securing the polity and its interests in a world where there is no higher government; realistic and the best starting point for explaining how human groups tend to behave; and practical for use by everyone, everywhere, including beyond the Euro-Atlantic. Professor Patrick Porter is Professor of International Security and Strategy at the University of Birmingham. He will be joined a panel to discuss his book, published this month by Stanford University Press. Dr Susan B. Martin is a Senior Lecturer in the War Studies Department at King’s College London. Dr Jeanne Morefield is Associate Professor in Political Theory and Tutorial Fellow in Politics, New College Oxford. Dr David Blagden is Associate Professor of International Security and Strategy, University of Exeter. Dr Seán Molloy is Reader in International Relations at the University of Kent.
Who do you need to engage with in the policy world to achieve impact? In this workshop, we will help answer this and other questions by equipping Medical Sciences researchers, DPhil students, and professional services staff to identify and map the people and groups who influence or are impacted by their research, when it comes to policy engagement. Using stakeholder analysis frameworks and interactive exercises, participants will learn to identify and categorize their relevant audiences across government agencies and other pertinent policy actors. Learning outcomes: - A greater ability to identify, evaluate, and prioritise those in the policymaking community who may have an interest in policy-relevant research - A better understanding of: (i) the value of systematic stakeholder analysis; (ii) the guidance and resources available to support stakeholder analysis
The development process in India, along with its alleged achievements, has induced multiple difficulties and hardships for poor and working people. In villages, farming families confront an agrarian crisis, with rising costs of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, inadequate irrigation facilities, low prices for their crops, grave indebtedness, and ecological damage to the soil, water, and forests. Due to a paucity of jobs in the countryside, many are compelled to migrate to cities for work. Once in the city, migrants confront many difficulties. In workplaces, they contend with low-paid, insecure, exhausting, and hazardous work. In neighborhoods, they deal with congested living conditions, poor qualities of air, water, and sanitation, vulnerabilities to illnesses, and separation from their families in the village. This book pursues the following inquiry. How are migrant workers confronting these myriad difficulties and hardships, in ways which are less injurious and more life-promoting? The book proposes an answer in three parts. In a metal factory in Delhi, the anchoring ethnographic site of this book, migrant workers engage in resistances and collective struggles against perceived oppression and injustice. In the city and village, they weave integrative filaments to one another, in empathetic closeness and fellowship. In the cosmological domain, they attempt to resist soul-distorting processes in present, decivilizing times. Through these activities, migrant workers strive towards, and at times realize, elements of a good life. Shankar Ramaswami is a Professor of Sociology at O. P. Jindal Global University, India. He works on the anthropologies of globalization, migration, urban workers, and religion in South Asia. He completed an A.B. in Economics at Harvard College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology at the University of Chicago. Prior to coming to Jindal University, he was Lecturer on South Asian Studies in the Department of South Asian Studies at Harvard, where he taught courses on anthropology, literature, cinema, and religion. At Jindal, he teaches courses on global capitalism, autonomous politics, urban ethnography, religion and justice, the Mahabharata, and Indian cinema.
Join us for a fireside chat with Ulrik Juul Christensen M.D, co-author of Mastery: Why Deeper Learning is Essential in an Age of Distraction written with Tony Wagner. (Mastery by Tony Wagner | Hachette Book Group https://share.google/jr2DlgjbAvjxV9jqF) How are teachers’ roles evolving? From sources of information – to sources of inspiration. The outside world is changing digitally - humans need to change fast as well but stay human! We’ll explore why deeper learning is more essential than ever, how AI is reshaping education, and what it means to reimagine learning in this digital age. Fireside chat at OxfordXML Wolfson College, University of Oxford and Online with Jessica Kennedy White, Ph.D researcher University of Sussex, University of Oxford Alumni, Wolfson College Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MDYzMjAyMzktOTE1Yy00YzQwLTgyMDUtNjZkZTlhMjY5NWEz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e44820d7-5edb-4030-9763-4c8cdc3aafd6%22%7d ------ Short bio: Ulrik Juul Christensen M.D: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulrikjuulchristensen/ Executive Chairman and Founding Partner of Area9: https://area9lyceum.com/ Growing up in a family of educators he has long had an affinity for both teaching and learning. Since founding his first company in 1997, he has continued to devote his professional life to advancing a highly individualised, improved way of learning and have been driving the development of Area9 and McGraw-Hill Education’s adaptive learning platforms. His first company, Sophus Medical, was sold to Laerdal Medical in 2002 where the technologies became the basis for Laerdal Medical's dominant role in emergency medicine computer simulation which works with customers like HealthStream and the American Heart Association among others. He has given numerous keynote lectures and has spent the last 20 years pioneering advancements in adaptive learning, blended learning, computer simulation, and debriefing technologies. In February 2014 Area9 and McGraw-Hill Education joined forces through a large acquisition of Area9's educational company and most of Area9's educational activities at the time. Area9 Labs was established to continue to be a powerhouse for cutting edge research in educational technologies, and Area9 Learning to pioneer the market for adaptive learning in the corporate/organisational space. As part of the acquisition, he joined McGraw-Hill Education's board of executives as senior fellow for digital learning to facilitate McGraw-Hill Education's journey as an industry leader in digital and personalised learning. He is serving as the Executive Chairman for the Area9 Group that counts a high-end computer science company, Area9 Innovation, and Area9 Lyceum™ which was founded in 2018 to develop the next generation infrastructure for education targeting K-12, higher education, workforce development and corporate as well as government and defence. He currently serve on the boards a number of companies as well as on the board of the Technical University of Denmark and Global Underwater Explorers and advisory boards of several educational organisations ------ Jessica Kennedy White BA(Hons), M.Sc. Oxford University, Wolfson College Alumni Ph.D. interdisciplinary researcher in Education and Human Computer Interaction at University of Sussex She is a Learning Sciences Researcher and advisor to digital learning companies on learning design and innovation. She served as Senior Director of Learning Sciences at Area9 Lyceum™ where her doctoral research explored evidence-based applications of their Adaptive Learning Platform that enables a mastery-based approach to teaching and learning. She has also served as a Research Mentor at UCL on a €4.5M EU Horizon project supporting EdTech startups, and as an Academic Consultant at McGraw Hill Education integrating evidence-led adaptive learning developed by Area9 into diverse curricula Earlier in her career, she founded Thinc, an NGO in Austria advancing participatory digital education, and collaborated with EDUCULT on EU-funded projects connecting schools and cultural institutions across Europe. Inspired by a family of educators who pioneered language reform and early educational technologies in higher education, she has dedicated her career to reimagining teaching and learning. Published research on Ph.D. topic: White, J., du Boulay, B. (2024). Supporting Learners’ Metacognition and Meta-Affect. In: Santoianni, F., Giannini, G., Ciasullo, A. (eds) Mind, Body, and Digital Brains. Integrated Science, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-58363-6_5 Forthcoming chapter: Ethics in Digital Education in Elgar Companion to Applied AI Ethics: https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/the-elgar-companion-to-applied-ai-ethics-9781803928234.html
In this seminar, historian and curator Vera Fine-Grodzinski discusses the life of the groundbreaking art patron, Peggy Guggenheim. Through an exploration of Guggenheim’s Jewish roots and pioneering promotion of women artists, Fine-Grodzinski will demonstrate that Guggenheim was far more than a wealthy heiress. Guggenheim’s patronage of twentieth-century women’s art culminated in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, one of Venice’s most loved art institutions. Speaker Details: Vera Fine-Grodzinski studied Sociology at the ‘Frankfurt School’ at J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt and Art History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. They also hold an MA and PhD from University College London. Her doctoral dissertation, ‘French Impressionism and German Jews: The Making of Modernist Art Collectors and Art Collections in Imperial Germany’, is a study of pioneering Jewish art dealers, private collectors and public philanthropists before World War One. Her historical Memoir ‘Always on the Move’ is awaiting publication. Fine-Grodzinski is a curator, writer, independent scholar, and lecturer in social and cultural Jewish history at University College London. Her articles have been published in academic and cultural journals in the UK and abroad. Fine-Grodzinski is co-founder of OCLW’s Jewish Women's Voices programme. About the Programme: Jewish Women's Voices is a collaborative initiative by Kate Kennedy, Director of the ‘Oxford Centre for Life-Writing’, and Vera Fine-Grodzinski, a scholar of Jewish social and cultural history. The Programme is the first of its kind at any UK academic institution. Launched in October 2023, the Programme celebrates the life-writing of Jewish women often underrepresented in mainstream historical accounts. The Programme is a three-term seminar series dedicated to exploring the diverse experiences of Jewish women across centuries, countries, and cultures. Further information about the Programme can be found here. Further Details and Contacts: This hybrid event is free and open to all. Registration is recommended for in-person attendance and required for hybrid attendance. The seminar will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 10:30 on 14 October 2025. Any queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson. Please note, Vera Fine-Grodzinski will also be in conversation with Karole Vail, Peggy’s granddaughter and current director of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, on 15 September 2025, as part of Jewish Renaissance’s event series.
In this seminar, historian and curator *Vera Fine-Grodzinski* discusses the life of the groundbreaking art patron, Peggy Guggenheim. Through an exploration of Guggenheim’s Jewish roots and pioneering promotion of women artists, Vera demonstrate that Guggenheim was far more than a wealthy heiress. Guggenheim’s patronage of twentieth-century women’s art culminated in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, one of Venice’s most loved art institutions. Open to all. Registration recommended (required for online attendance).
Biomolecular assembly is a cornerstone of cellular organisation and function. Understanding its principles is essential for both elucidating biological processes and advancing therapeutic design. Multivalency, the cooperative binding of oligomeric subunits to form higher order assemblies, is a fundamental aspect of biomolecular interactions. Yet, it remains challenging to quantify, mainly due to the resultant molecular heterogeneity. Here, we present a mass photometry-based framework, enabling real-time, single-molecule visualisation of multivalent interactions in solution and on lipid membranes. We apply it to SARS-CoV-2 spike-ACE2 interactions and inhibition, as well as virus-like particle (VLP) assembly. We show that SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and inhibition correlates with cooperativity and oligomerisation rather than 1:1 binding affinities. ACE2 promotes spike oligomerisation in a variant-dependent manner, while antibodies exploit oligomerisation to enhance binding and inhibition. For VLPs, weak multivalent interactions drive hierarchical assembly through topologically stable intermediates consistent with the computed free energy landscape. Visualisation of individual assembly pathways events demonstrate that stochastic, state-dependent kinetics fine-tune the assembly process. Together, our results establish a general experimental platform for resolving biomolecular assembly and multivalent cooperativity controlling biological function with molecular resolution in real time.
How, and to what extent, do apartheid regimes, ideologies, policies, and practices impact higher education? In this webinar, we will discuss the role of universities in apartheid, settler colonialism and racial supremacy. We will focus on higher education in apartheid South Africa and Israel, unpacking the role of higher education systems, institutions and scholars in othering and subjugating Black and Palestinian people, respectively, and enabling, facilitating, justifying and/or participating in crimes against humanity. Finally, we will address the importance of international academic solidarity with the oppressed and discuss the strategic role of academic boycotts and the global movement to decolonise higher education.
Book launch & discussion with the author: Tatiana Thieme (UCL) Discussant: Sangwon Chae (Oxford) In Nairobi’s underserved neighborhoods, “hustle” has emerged as both a vital survival strategy and a way of life for youth. Exploring the multiple meanings and manifestations of the hustle economy across different scenarios of provisioning, distribution, exchange, learning and mobilizing, Hustle Urbanism draws on more than a decade of ethnographic engagement to center the logics, perspectives and inventive strategies of a group of youth who constantly navigate job scarcity, inadequate basic services and climate induced harms. Tatiana Thieme shows how young people develop tools of resistance against the legacies of colonial violence and uneven urban development while carving out spaces of opportunity for themselves and their peers. Filling a significant gap in both existing scholarship and popular discussion, Hustle Urbanism offers critical theorization of precarious urban environments and the affirmative modes of making life work in the city against the odds. 30% Discount Code: FSS25 Order online at www.combinedacademic.co.uk Dr Tatiana Thieme is associate professor of human geography at University College London. Tatiana's research focuses on different forms of entrepreneurial and makeshift urbanism and their effects. More specifically, she is interested in the cultural and economic geographies of work that takes place outside of (or alongside) waged economies, and everyday coping strategies in precarious urban environments. Sangwon Chae is a DPhil student in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Sangwon's doctoral study explores the political dynamics of alternative urban place-making, or the makings of alternative urbanism, in the context of East Asian urban developmentalism and its paradigm shift.
This seminar series intends to offer a space for graduate students, faculty and early career scholars actively researching southern Africa to present works-in-progress and receive constructive feedback. We invite inquiries into any aspect of the social and political history of southern Africa. We welcome topics that are historical in substance, and that cross disciplinary boundaries into anthropology, politics and human geography. Presenters are invited to discuss thesis chapters, draft articles, with the option to pre-circulate, and to talk through research proposals and early findings from recent research. The format consists of 20-minute presentations, followed by some 40 minutes of feedback and conversation. The series will also host a roundtable discussion in week 8, with which we aim to reflect on new questions, themes and sources in the study of the region. The seminars and roundtable consider the possibilities and productivity of deploying innovative methodologies. We welcome contributions that draw on and raise new questions about the use of approaches and sources ranging from memoirs, music, and visual narrative to archival research and oral histories. All are welcome to attend.
We investigate the supply and demand drivers of bank deposit pricing in the Euro area during the period 2007--2024. We document that the pass-through of policy rates to sight deposit rates is low, asymmetric, varies across the monetary policy regimes, and decreases over time. %The magnitude of the deposit rate pass-through is shaped by market structure and bank characteristics. We build and estimate an equilibrium model of bank deposit markets, and find that the price sensitivity of depositors displays large heterogeneity between households and firms, across countries, and over time. Our estimates suggest that rate-sensitive depositors increasingly switched to alternative, higher-yielding savings products over time, thereby decreasing the average rate-sensitivity of the remaining pool of sight deposits. In turn, banks' market power in overnight deposits increased, thereby accounting for the sluggish increase in overnight deposit rates following the 2022 European Central Bank's hike in policy rates.
Millions of consumers choose renewable tariffs, generating more than £1bn in renewable certificate (REGO) spending since 2020. But current regulations don’t direct that money towards the clean power Britain needs during expensive peak hours. The UK’s regulation treats all renewable certificates equally—whether they represent power generated during cheap, sunny afternoons or scarce, high-demand evenings. The Matched Clean Power Index, launching October 27 at www.matched.energy, ranks suppliers by how well they align renewable generation with customer demand. The index uses public data from Elexon, Ofgem, and NESO to track the power served to customers on a half-hourly basis for 213 TWh of consumption — roughly 75% of the UK market. More than 30 experts across the sector have contributed to the methodology, including researchers at Imperial College and several energy suppliers.
'Sacred Places Tell Tales' explores the history of Egyptian Jewry through the lens of Cairo’s synagogues, treating them as “living archives” of Jewish life from 1875 to the present. Examining their architecture, locations, and social functions reveals the heterogeneity of Cairo’s Sephardi, Ashkenazi, and Karaite communities and the diverse ways modern Jewish identities were formed. The talk also considers contemporary efforts to preserve Jewish heritage—synagogues, cemeteries, and cultural memory—within Egypt’s shifting political and social landscape. These debates about Jewish heritage are deeply entwined with broader struggles over Egyptian identity, minority rights, and the contested narratives shaping the country’s present.
Hector Abad Faciolince is a Colombian writer, translator, and journalist. He has been a visiting professor at the Freie Universität Berlin in Germany and the University of Iowa in the United States. Among his most widely read books, translated into English, are Oblivion. A Memoir; Recipes for Sad Women; and The Farm. His two most recent books are a chronicle of a trip to Ukraine that ended in tragedy, Ahora y en la hora, which narrates the last days of the Ukrainian writer Victoria Amélina, and a short novel in which an elderly retired philosophy professor, outraged by the famine in Palestine, tries to smuggle food into Gaza: Con tres dedos se escribe. Abad Faciolince, born in Medellín in 1958, began various careers in his country (Philosophy, Medicine, Journalism), but finally graduated in Modern Languages and Literature from the University of Turin, Italy.
Trapped ions—charged atoms suspended using electric fields—are among the most promising systems for exploring the strange world of quantum physics. In October’s Balliol Online Lecture Dr Srinivas will introduce how trapped ion experiments work and why they’re such a powerful platform for both fundamental research and emerging technologies. He will then delve into three areas of his research. First, explaining how quantum entanglement is used to enhance the precision of atomic clocks. Next, exploring how the spring-like motion of ions can create exotic, nonclassical states of matter that behave in ways we never encounter in everyday life. Finally, he will discuss his work in quantum computing at Oxford Ionics—a spinout from the University of Oxford—where they're working towards a practical quantum computer using ion-trap technology. Dr Raghavendra Srinivas is a research fellow in the Department of Physics and Early Career Fellow in Physics at Balliol College, and also works part-time for Oxford Ionics. His research focuses on using trapped ions for quantum information processing, quantum sensing and fundamental quantum optics. Dr Srinivas was awarded Optica’s 2024 Theodor W Hänsch Prize in Quantum Optics, which recognizes impactful early career researchers working on optics-enabled quantum technologies.
Transboundary research partnerships between high-income and low- and middle-income countries are characterised by disparities in resources and capacity, as well as structural inequality between North and South. Over the past decade, this topic has gained prominence, as evidenced by the numerous papers published and new guidelines, playbooks, and codes of conduct released. During his sabbatical in Oxford and Bristol, Dr Christoph Lüthi interviewed selected academic staff from universities and research centres in the Global North and South about their experiences with research collaborations. What are the main features of equitable collaborations? How can we progress from tokenistic inclusion to transformative research collaborations that adopt a more reflective approach to global imbalances in knowledge production? His presentation will present some initial findings and introduce a number of recently developed tools and guidelines and formulate some recommendations. Dr. Christoph Lüthi is a senior scientist and former director of the Sandec (Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development) research department at Eawag/ETH. He is also a committee member of the Swiss Alliance for Global Research Partnerships, hosted by the Swiss National Science Foundation. His interest in equitable North-South research partnerships is grounded in almost three decades of water and sanitation research in Africa and Asia. The event will be followed by a drinks reception at the Reuben College Bar.
Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine upended Europe’s security order, exposing vulnerabilities that continue to shape trans-Atlantic strategy. By early 2025, Russia is advancing slowly in Ukraine’s east, while Kyiv faces resource and manpower strains, and U.S. policy under a new Trump administration introduces uncertainty. Neither side has a clear path to achieving its objectives, and prospects for a ceasefire remain slim. Still, U.S. leverage—sanctions capacity, military weight, and alliance leadership—offers a narrow window to test Moscow’s willingness to negotiate. Any sustainable outcome must preserve Ukrainian sovereignty, deter renewed Russian aggression, and incentivize European states to build stronger, more autonomous defence capabilities. At the same time, Western leaders must balance deterrence with diplomacy to reduce risks inherent in an increasingly militarised region. Policy coordination across Washington and European capitals will be decisive: alignment could shape a stable security order, while division risks prolonged conflict and dangerous escalation.
‘Meet the Faculty’ with Profs Colin Burrow, Joe Moshenska, Ted Tregear and Gillian Woods
The Centre for Early Medieval Britain and Ireland is pleased to host this special lecture and the associated workshop on Wednesday 15 October, both funded by the Ford Bequest, to explore the topic of 'global Britain' in the early medieval world. Most colleagues will be familiar with narratives that globalize British history in terms of histories of empire, but Britain in the early middle ages was not a colonial metropolis, but rather the periphery of the old Roman empire. Important work, including much here at Oxford, is globalizing the history of early medieval Britain by exploring not just the material culture that indicates Britain’s participation in long-distance chains of trade and exchange, but also the evidence for inhabitants of early medieval Britain as emigrants. *Francesca Tinti* is an expert on the history of the early English Church, contacts between Angl0-Saxon England and continental Europe, and the use of the vernacular. She is the author of _Sustaining Belief: The Church of Worcester from c.870 to c.1100_ (2010), _The Forum Hoard of Anglo-Saxon Coins_ (2016) and _Europe and the Anglo-Saxons_ (2021).
Join us for an evening with Vona Groarke, Ireland Professor of Poetry, who will be in conversation with biographer Kate Kennedy. I am going to tell your life and you are going to help me, Ellen O’Hara, of whom I am a sort of thin‑veined proof. In her award-winning memoir, Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara, Vona Groarke traces her great-grandmother’s journey from impoverished County Sligo to New York in July 1882. In this genre-bending work, Vona weaves newspaper clippings, passenger lists and baptismal records with sonnets, speculative dialogue and ghostly visitations to examine not only her great-grandmother’s life, but the lives of the many ‘Ellens’ who traversed the Atlantic “and made such a difference, in the United States and at home.” There will be fact and doubt and speculation. There will be imagining. Vona will read from Hereafter and discuss her creative process with Kate Kennedy. A Q&A will follow their conversation, with audience members invited to ask questions about Vona’s research and approach to life-writing. Reading Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O'Hara prior to this event is desirable but not necessary. Speaker Details: Vona Groarke has been described in Poetry Ireland Review as ‘one of the best writers in Ireland today’. Her ninth poetry collection, Infinity Pool, was published in May 2025 by The Gallery Press, with poems from it having appeared recently in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Poetry (Chicago), The Poetry Review, Poetry London and The TLS. In 2022, New York University Press published Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara – a mixed-genre account of Irish women domestic servants in 1890s New York, which arose out of her time as a Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library 2018-19. Of it, The Spectator predicted: ‘Groarke’s lyrical act of historical investigation will surely become a classic of Irish literature’. Hereafter won the 2024 Michel Déon Award and was cited by the judges as ‘truly powerful, enchanting and singular’. She is a member of Aosdána, the Irish Academy of the Arts, and of the Royal Literary Society, and is the current Writer in Residence at St. John’s College, Cambridge. From September 2025, she will take up a three-year term as Ireland Professor of Poetry Dr Kate Kennedy is a writer, cellist, and BBC broadcaster. Her work combines words and music, in performance, on the radio, and on the page. She is a Research Fellow in Life-Writing at Wolfson College, Oxford, and Director of the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. Her most recent book, Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound (2024) is part memoir, part biography, and her previous biography Dweller in Shadows (2021) explored the life of British poet-composer Ivor Gurney. She is a regular presenter for BBC Radio. Further Details and Contacts: This event is free and open to all; however, registration is recommended. This is an in-person event, but it will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 14:30 on 14 October 2025. Any queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
When Gladstone delivered the first Romanes Lecture in the wake of the 1892 General Election, he was just beginning his fourth - and final - term as Prime Minister. With him in Parliament, among the ranks of his Liberal MPs, was one notable new face: Dadabhai Naoroji, the first Asian to be elected to serve in the House of Commons. 133 years later, the 2025 Lecture will be given by journalist Mishal Husain, also of Asian heritage, whose memoir ‘Broken Threads’ charted a family story of India and Pakistan. She will explore the symbolism of Naoroji’s election and the cause that brought him into politics: the poverty gap between his native India and Britain. His critique of Empire influenced two younger men, Gandhi and Jinnah. who had come to study in England in that period and witnessed Naoroji's rise. Both would go on to shape 20th century South Asia. Husain will look at narratives of identity, both historical and contemporary, and portrayals of communities and conflicts. And she will contrast the present time with the more hopeful period in which she began her career in the 1990s, when the end of the Cold War held the promise of a more settled, peaceful world order. In an age of contested facts and clickbait she will argue for depth and reason, using examples from her own faith and heritage to show that such an approach is part of both East and West.
We will explore the art and science of colour vision across the life span. We shall do so in the form of a biography; the biography of the eye of Claude Monet and that of his fellow Impressionists. Neural pathways subserving colour vision change continuously throughout life. Concurrently, the lens loses its transparency; it becomes brown, thereby decreasing portions of the short-wave spectrum reaching the retina. It is often thought that colour perception will be altered owing to brunescence of the aging lens. This expectation is reasonable, but is that what actually happens? The answer may surprise you.
In her award-winning memoir, _Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara_, Ireland Professor of Poetry, Vona Groarke traces her great-grandmother’s journey from impoverished County Sligo to New York in July 1882. In this genre-bending work, Vona weaves newspaper clippings, passenger lists, and baptismal records with sonnets, speculative dialogue and ghostly visitations to examine not only her great-grandmother’s life, but the lives of the many ‘Ellens’ who traversed the Atlantic “and made such a difference, in the United States and at home”. Vona will read from _Hereafter_ and discuss her creative process with Kate Kennedy
Are you an early career/fixed term researcher, or doctoral student trying to get some writing done? Do you research on a topic related to health, medicine, the body, or mind using Humanities or Social Sciences approaches? The Medical Humanities Writing Group is an inclusive, interdisciplinary and casual gathering, encouraging writing as well as meeting others: all DPhil and FTR/ECR members of the collegiate university community are welcome. We have timed writing blocks and coffee/tea/light refreshments, and are focused on setting writing goals and getting work done in a positive and supportive environment. Attendance is free and you are welcome to join us for anything from a single session, to a few, or even the whole term. Writing Group sessions in MT2025: Wednesday 15 October 2025 09.00 - 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Wednesday 22 October 2025 09.00 - 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 28 October 2025 09.00 - 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 11 November 2025 09.00 - 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 18 November 2025 09.00 - 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 25 November 2025 09.00 - 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Wednesday 3 December 2025 09.00 - 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
This event will respond to Francesca Tinti's Ford Special Lecture of the previous evening, consider the current state of 'globalizing' approaches to early medieval Britain, and raise questions about the future directions of the field. Invited panel: Jörg Drauschke (Mainz); Maria Duggan (Newcastle); Helen Gittos (Oxford); Caitlin Green (Cambridge); Jane Kershaw (Oxford); Robert Klapper (Oxford); John Angus MacAulay (Oxford); Francesca Tinti (Basque Country). All attendees will have the chance to contribute to the conversation and there will be an opportunity for informal discussions and networking. While the full event runs 09:15-14:00 there will be breaks at 10:30, 11:45 and 13:00 for those who might need to come or go. A sandwich lunch will be provided, but booking is required. Please email "$":mailto:conor.obrien@history.ox.ac.uk (with details of your dietary requirements) to book.
This workshop will cover the basics of copyright as they apply to researchers at the University of Oxford. It will explain the different types of copyright work that are used or generated in research and the rights and responsibilities for researchers and academic authors in an age of increasingly open scholarship. We will discuss the practical implications of copyright law on the publication process, as well as the production and sharing of research data. This will include the licensing of research outputs and data and the use of open licences such as Creative Commons. We will also cover ownership of copyright, author agreements with publishers and the benefits of signing up to the University of Oxford rights retention pilot. Finally, the session will cover the use of copyright content owned by others as part of the research process. This will involve looking at the role of rights clearance, copyright exceptions, due diligence and risk management in common research scenarios. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
In 2002, Duquesne and Le Gall established an invariance principle for discrete Galton-Watson forests, characterizing their scaling limits as a class of continuum random trees called Lévy forests, in an analogous manner to how continuous-state branching processes are obtained as scaling limits of discrete Galton-Watson processes. Their invariance principle, however, relied on two assumptions: i) that the Galton-Watson forests are subcritical, and ii) that Grey’s condition is satisfied in the limit. The invariance principle has since been extended in work by Duquesne and Winkel (2019, 2025+) leaving open only the case where both assumptions i) and ii) fail. In this case limiting trees may be both unbounded and not locally compact, and as such the classical Gromov-type topologies used for studying convergence of R-trees are not suitable. We develop instead a weaker notion of convergence by extending the technique of mass erasure to R-trees equipped with a suitable class of boundedly finite measures. The talk is based on ongoing work, and its aim will be to introduce the invariance principles, the notion of mass erasure and some of the main results of the project. No prior knowledge is assumed, other than standard probability- and measure theory.
It is hypothesised that microglia, the primary immune cells in the brain, play a key role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. To address this, we investigated the effects of 3-month treatment with the monoclonal antibody natalizumab on a PET biomarker of microglia, CSF cytokines, and symptom measures in people with first-episode psychosis. I will be presenting unpublished findings from this study and future directions. This seminar is hosted in person at the Department of Psychiatry, Common Room. To join online, please use the Zoom details below: https://zoom.us/j/97330056859?pwd=rrLAlrOoptEYpaDkWovAKhGqUjpYV4.1 Meeting ID: 973 3005 6859 Passcode: 649983
Xi Jinping has preserved his position but can he revive reform? In this talk, Dr Willy Lam will examine supreme leader Xi Jinping’s relations with principal stakeholders in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) establishment, including the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) top brass, the spies and security-related cadres, fellow princelings, and party elders. Particular focus will be put on his ties with top generals and admirals, including speculation that his military proteges have been removed by his foes so as to isolate Xi. Dr Lam will also evaluate the ‘party core’s’ controversial economic policies, especially focussing on the Xi leadership’s emphasis on Soviet-style industrial policy so as to strengthen the high-tech civilian and military sectors. He will also talk about the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs offensive on Xi as well as the CCP establishment. The top princeling’s hard power projection in the Taiwan Straits, Japan Sea, South China Sea and even Australia will be discussed. While on the one hand, the ‘systemic competition’ between China and the US will be exacerbated, the possibility that President Trump might strike a ‘big deal’ with Xi will be examined. Based on the conclusions of Dr Lam’s latest book, From Confucius to Xi Jinping: the DNA of Chinese Politics (Routledge 2025), what is the impact of China’s millennia-long political DNA on present-day CCP politics, including the future of Xi Jinping? Will Xi be able to snatch a fourth-year term in 2027 so that he will rule until 2032? Dr Lam will examine how the teachings of Confucius and the Legalist School (including the ethos of Qinshihuang or Qin the First Emperor) have influenced the thinking of Xi, who is an acknowledged follower of Mao Zedong, the 20th-century Qinshihuang. Dr Willy Lam has a BA in Liberal Arts from Hong Kong University (HKU), a Master's in Buddhist Studies (summa cum laude) also from HKU; an MA in Asian Studies from the University of Minnesota, US; and a PhD in economics from Wuhan University, China. He is a Senior Fellow with the Jamestown Foundation, Washington DC and a research fellow with the Center of Asian Research at the University of Victoria, BC. Dr Lam was a professor of Chinese political economy at International Akita University in Japan from 2004 to 2007; he taught Chinese politics, history and foreign affairs at the Chinese University of Hong Kong from 2007 to 2022. Prior to this, Dr Lam was China editor of the South China Morning Post through the 1990s. He was an accredited foreign correspondent in Beijing from 1986 to 1989. Dr Lam has written 11 books about elite Chinese politics, including two on Xi Jinping. Dr Lam is working on his third book about Xi Jinping, which is expected to be published mid-2026.
Almost a year after the geopolitical shock of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, the contours of President Trump’s grand strategy are coming into sharper focus. How have the new policy directions changed the domestic politics of national security and how have they changed global politics? How successful has Trump’s remaking of America’s role in world been and which other major powers have most effectively adapted to the new reality?
Dr Tom Parr: In this talk, I present and build on the central line of argument defended in my recent monograph, Empowering Workers in an Age of Automation, clarifying how labour market policymakers should respond to the emerging threats and opportunities associated with artificial intelligence. More substantively, I argue for a human-centred approach that emphasizes the ways in which workers can benefit from the availability of artificial intelligence, but that assigns governments a pivotal role in securing this outcome. The resulting account is sensitive to the empirical reality, cautions against sensationalist narratives, and suggests an exciting interdisciplinary research agenda that demands that we integrate philosophical insights with findings from across the humanities and social sciences.
Oxford University has a wealth of resources to help students and researchers with exploring entrepreneurship and commercialising their research. In this session we will take a look at some of the programmes and events run by the Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre, and get valuable insights from Oxford Science Enterprises into what they are looking for when investing in entrepreneurial projects. We will discuss what entrepreneurship is, how to start thinking about your research from a commercial perspective, and how to get involved.
RGEA is pleased to announce the launch of a new course ‘Good Clinical Practice (GCP) for laboratory staff’. The course is for University of Oxford staff working in laboratories handling samples derived from clinical trials, and outlines the principles of GCP from the perspective of the laboratory. It will be delivered in-person at Boundary Brook House (Old Road Campus), by members of RGEA who have previous experience of working in laboratories.
1 hour panel: Exploring the 2025 BHM theme: How do Black activists, leaders, and educators embody “Standing Firm in Power and Pride”? Discussion will focus on UK racial justice movements, cultural identity, and progress in equality work. Speakers include: Rory Gaskin: award-winning academic, educator, speaker, and previous University College Undergraduate. Patricia Daley: is Professor of the Human Geography of Africa. She is also the Helen Morag Fellow in Geography at Jesus College. Jessica Agboola: the Founder of KINSIS, a social enterprise supporting black women in education and leadership through residentials, talks, workshops, and research. Bertha Tobias: a Rhodes Scholar pursuing a DPhil Geography & Environment at St Antony's College. This panel, ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’, will reflect on Black activism surrounding Black History Month generally speaking to both nationwide and University-specific approaches to Black activism and inclusion. Following a 60-minute panel, there will be an opportunity for Q&A. This panel will be chaired by Seun, SU President for Undergraduates. Refreshments will follow the panel. You will need to register for a free ticket, please see the link for further information. If you're attending the event and have access needs, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Email us at: studentengagement@oxfordsu.ox.ac.uk and we'll do our very best to accommodate you.
We're delighted to kick off our new seminar series with Professor Jonathan Greenacre, who will present his groundbreaking research on "Bridge Contracts: Kenya's Mobile Money Innovation." About the speaker: Professor Greenacre brings deep expertise in the regulation of new technologies and financial products in developing contexts. He has advised the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and governments across Africa and Asia on financial inclusion, consumer protection, and systemic risk. He holds a Masters and DPhil from Oxford University. About the research: "Bridge Contracts: Kenya's Mobile Money Innovation" examines the legal and contractual frameworks that enabled Kenya to build a network of 180,000 mobile money agents, providing services to 30 million people. Greenacre’s analysis of these "bridge contracts" offers critical insights into how firms and governments can extend financial services to rural and frontier areas across Africa. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, and other African countries, this research critiques existing law and development programs and offers new frameworks for understanding financial inclusion at scale.
Understanding how the brain flexibly adapts to its environment requires moving beyond isolated regions to consider system-wide interactions. In this talk, I will present our work developing NeuroAI models of brain-wide learning and dynamics. I will highlight the critical interplay between cortical, subcortical, and neuromodulatory systems and how this shapes adaptive behaviour. Our findings suggest that cortical networks may be less plastic than traditionally thought, with subcortical structures such as the cerebellum rapidly learning goal-driven predictions that guide cortical dynamics. At the same time, our work suggests that cholinergic neuromodulation adaptively regulates cortical learning to support resilient task representations. Together, these results point to learning as an emergent property of multiple interacting systems, whose continuous interplay underlies robust and flexible behaviour.
🚀 Kicking off our new seminar series! Join us for the first session of our new hashtag#TIDESeminarSeries, bringing emerging voices in development together to discuss new research on technology and innovation in development. For our inaugural session, we will welcome Associate Professor Jonathan Greenacre, who'll discuss how hashtag#Kenya built a network of 180,000 agents to provide mobile money services to 30 million people. Associate Professor Greenacre brings extensive experience advising the UN, World Bank, and IMF on financial inclusion and consumer protection. His research on "bridge contracts" reveals the legal and regulatory frameworks that enabled Kenya's mobile money revolution and what this means for financial inclusion across Africa and beyond. 📍 Where: ODID Seminar Room 3 🕓 Time: 16:00-17:30 📅 When: Wednesday, 15th October This session launches our term-long exploration of technology, innovation, and sustainable development. Don't miss it!
Israel’s assault on Gaza, which was launched after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, is now widely recognised as a genocide. Yet the violence in Gaza, and Palestine-Israel as a whole, did not begin in October 2023. This talk takes its history back to the original ethnic cleansing of 1948 (known in Arabic as the nakba or catastrophe), when 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced, with more than 200,000 fleeing to Gaza. Over subsequent decades, Israeli military occupations caused further displacements, juxtaposed with immobilising measures that increasingly confined Palestinians to the Gaza Strip’s 141 square miles. The situation in Gaza today, whereby Israeli forces have displaced virtually the entire population and the government is openly planning their expulsion, can only be fully understood within this long-term trajectory. This talk will trace the historical antecedents of displacement and immobility in Gaza, arguing that the Strip is a site of modern refugee history at its most extreme. Dr Anne Irfan is Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Race, Gender and Postcolonial Studies at University College London, where she researches histories of displacement and humanitarianism in Palestine. She is author of the books Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the international refugee system (Columbia University Press, 2023) and A Short History of the Gaza Strip (Simon & Schuster/ WW Norton, 2025), and has published award-winning articles in journals including the Journal of Refugee Studies, Contemporary Levant and Jerusalem Quarterly. In addition to her academic work, Dr Irfan has written for The Nation, The Washington Post and +972 magazine, and has appeared on BBC, Al Jazeera and ABC News. She also teaches the class Colonial Past, Refugee Present on the RSC's International Online School in Forced Migration. Please register to attend this event. The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall. All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk.
Join online via Microsoft Teams by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3hfr23
The talk introduces a new notion of “ambicoloniality,” first used in the book Ambicoloniality and War: The Ukrainian-Russian Case (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025) by Svitlana Biedarieva. The concept of ambicoloniality is employed to analyse the current situation, in which Ukraine has become Russia’s territory of obsession, and Russia, in its desire to occupy Ukraine, has, in effect, subjected itself to Ukraine’s symbolic dominance. The book argues that the Ukrainian–Russian case is different from the examples covered by both postcolonial and decolonial theorists, with ambicoloniality presenting a key point of divergence from already existing models. To explore the reasons and consequences of such a differing process of colonial expansion, anti-colonial struggle, and decolonial release, the presentation also examines the role that cultural hybridity plays in political self-identification in both Ukraine and Russia, and how this hybridity has manifested in society and culture (including examples of art and literature) following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The talk will be followed by a Q&A with one of the founders of the Oxford Ukraine Hub, Dr Panayiotis Xenophontos, before opening questions to the audience.
In How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey challenges the conventional belief that economic and technological progress is inevitable. For most of human history, stagnation was the norm, and even today progress and prosperity in the world’s largest, most advanced economies—the United States and China—have fallen short of expectations. To appreciate why we cannot depend on any AI-fueled great leap forward, Frey offers a remarkable and fascinating journey across the globe, spanning the past 1,000 years, to explain why some societies flourish and others fail in the wake of rapid technological change. By examining key historical moments, from the rise of the steam engine to the dawn of AI, Frey shows why technological shifts have shaped, and sometimes destabilized, entire civilizations. He explores why some leading technological powers of the past, such as Song China, the Dutch Republic, and Victorian Britain, ultimately lost their innovative edge, why some modern nations such as Japan had periods of rapid growth followed by stagnation, and why planned economies like the Soviet Union collapsed after brief surges of progress. Frey uncovers a recurring tension in history: while decentralization fosters the exploration of new technologies, bureaucracy is crucial for scaling them. When institutions fail to adapt to technological change, stagnation inevitably follows. Only by carefully balancing decentralization and bureaucracy can nations innovate and grow over the long term—findings that have worrying implications for the United States, Europe, China, and other economies today. Through a rich narrative that weaves together history, economics, and technology, How Progress Ends reveals that managing the future requires us to draw the right lessons from the past.
Richard was an Australian Fulbright Scholar to Yale University where he was a Global Justice Fellow. He was the inaugural Chief of Navy Fellow and a Visiting Fellow to the Changing Character of War Centre at Pembroke College, Oxford. He holds doctorates: from the University of Western Australia and from the University of New South Wales. He is interested in the relationship between law and ethics, in public responsibility, in character, and in relationships between leadership, organisational culture, and risk. He serves in the Royal Australian Navy in the rank a commander. He has been Deputy Director at the Royal Australian Navy Sea Power Centre, and at the Centre for Defence Leadership and Ethics at the Australian War College. He has taught in the areas of Military Ethics and Australian Defence Policy at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He speaks regularly to the Royal Australian Navy Command Designate Course. His recent book is Politics and the General in Supreme Command (Routledge, 2024). https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NzgzZTM1YjItNjNiYy00NGU5LTllMWMtODRlM2ViNmJhMTIy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2283ae5aa7-e7b2-46f3-82c1-8e8a0d3b778e%22%7d
The growing implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are spurring states to consider international agreements to help manage the governance of this rapidly shifting technology area. The feasibility of agreements often is dependent on their verifiability, the extent that states can determine if other parties to an agreement are complying. Join the Oxford University International Relations Society (IRSoc) and Ben Harack, lead author of a recent Oxford Martin School report on verification and international AI governance for a timely and cogent discussion. Ben Harack is a DPhil student in International Relations at the University of Oxford's Department of Politics and International Relations and DPhil Affiliate with the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative. Ben studies the potential for artificial intelligence to trigger a world war and how to prevent that from happening. Previously, Ben studied semiconductor physics and then spent a decade in Silicon Valley as a software engineer.
Last summer, Queen’s welcomed figurative painter Kayoon Anderson and multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker Di Mainstone to College for our first creative residency programme. This term we are delighted to welcome them both back to College to share their work from that creative period. Kayoon will present three new paintings of members of Queen’s and Di will show her film ‘Mind Garden’ created in the College. The works explore the themes of identity and existential threat. Kayoon’s practice centres on the relationships between people and spaces. For her, the diversity of the College’s community, alongside its historic architecture, raised interesting questions of identity, heritage, and belonging. During her residency, Di explored the emotional and neurological evolution of our species through the lens of climate change.
There is growing evidence that placing nature at the centre of the design process can significantly affect health and well-being outcomes. From reducing stress and supporting recovery, to enhancing cognitive function and social connection, nature-informed design is increasingly recognised as a vital factor in healthier built environments. Yet questions remain about how strong the evidence is, how benefits are measured, and how far these approaches can be scaled in practice. Bringing together experts across architecture, landscape design and healthcare, this seminar will explore how engaging with nature can help shape healthier environments—from schools and workplaces to hospitals and public spaces. Drawing on current evidence and real-world projects, the discussion will feature approaches such as green infrastructure, natural light, adaptable landscapes, and restorative design—considering whether these elements can become central to the way we plan and build the places where we live, work, and heal.
This webinar brings together researchers, practitioners, and people with lived refugee experience to examine how solidarity is enacted in real health systems—where it works, where it is misappropriated, and where unsolidaristic practices appear. The goal is not only to understand what has been done, but to imagine what more is possible when we move from isolated efforts to a shared purpose.
Medical Statistics Drop In Session with Dr Lei Clifton, Programme Director of the MSc in Applied Digital Health, Primary Care Department, University of Oxford. Day: Thursday Date: 16 October 2025 Time: 11:00 -12:00 Venue: BDI conference room (lower ground, near the cafe) Registration: https://forms.office.com/e/b8UEEgrBrY?origin=lprLink Do you have a burning medical statistics-related question that you would like to discuss with the wider Oxford Biomedical community? Submit your question in advance and join the drop-in session, where Lei Clifton will address your query. If you’re interested in being part of the conversation but don’t have a specific question, feel free to attend the session in person and follow along. This is an excellent opportunity to engage in knowledge exchange with your peers. The session will be informal and conversational, encouraging participants to share their perspectives on medical statistics. There will be no set agenda or specific topics of focus; instead, discussions will be spontaneous, shaped by the questions and interests brought forward on the day. Attendees will have the freedom to drop in and ask questions without restrictions, allowing for an open and dynamic exchange of ideas. While the session will not include presentations or detailed statistical analysis, general advice on study design and statistical methods will be provided. The emphasis will be on applying statistical thinking to real-world questions rather than conducting in-depth explorations of predefined topics. This is an in-person event only.
This roundtable brings together women's, gender and queer historians from a variety of generations to ask, 'what did you do last summer?' MSt and doctoral students, early career researchers, and postholders, new and familiar, are all welcome. Convened by Sarah Knott, with contributions from Matt Cook, Mori Reithmayr, Tehila Sasson, Hannah Stovin, Emily West, and Grace Whorrall-Campbell. We are test-driving the new Schwarzman Centre, and meet initially in History's large Seminar Room on the building's 2nd floor.
Observational data, from electronic health records, claim databases or disease registries, are increasingly used to understand the causal effect of treatments or exposures on health outcomes. When the start of follow-up, the time of eligibility assessment and the time of treatment initiation do not coincide, standard analysis methods may lead to biased estimates of treatment effects. This bias is known as immortal-time bias. In this presentation, we will first describe situations in which this bias occurs, and then introduce a few solutions to prevent or handle this issue, with a focus on the clone-censor-weight approach.
This talk builds on an exhibition of the same name held earlier this year by the AHRC funded Curious Travellers Project (https://curioustravellers.ac.uk/en/), of which I am a part, and hosted at the Gilbert White Museum in Hampshire. While the project as a whole considers Thomas Pennants entire body of work, my focus, and that of this talk, centres on the conversations between the two naturalists, Rev. Gilbert White (1720-1793) and Thomas Pennant (FRS 1727-1798), and how that developed their work and legacy.
Following the very successful seminars series on J. R. R. Tolkien in 2023 and 2024 (for recordings see: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/fantasy-literature) we are pleased to announce a new round of presentations by Oxford academics on fantasy literature to run this Michaelmas Term (2025). These talks are aimed at students and members of the public and act as introductions to a range of writers and texts in the field of fantasy literature/weird fiction. The series is organised by the Faculty of English and hosted by Exeter College. All talks will be held in the Fitzhugh Lecture Theatre, Cohen Quad, Walton Street, Oxford (Exeter College’s annex), and run 1.00-2.00pm. Attendance is free of charge but we ask you to register using the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/seminar-series-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-4530103
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
At this Great Minds Live event, leading scientists from Dementias Platform UK will explore exciting aspects of recent dementia research. Biomarkers offer the opportunity for a simple blood test to accurately diagnose dementia. Can this revolutionise diagnosis in the NHS? In research, streamlining study delivery through the development of registers such as the Great Minds cohort of volunteers, is making it easier to find the right people for the right study. And what could AI bring to dementia science?
Puzzled by PICO? Daunted by databases? Baffled by Boolean? This one-hour online introductory class will offer top tips and advice on how to find literature to answer a research question. No prior experience necessary! Together, we will break down a question into the PICO format, put together a structured search, and try it out in PubMed. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what structured searching is, and when to use it; break your research question down into searchable concepts; and make use of Boolean operators (ANDs/ORs) in your structured searches. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
The lecture examines the hitherto scarcely researched missionary khuṭbas of the Nile Mission Press, which emerged in the early 20th century under the direction of the Presbyterian missionary Arthur T. Upson. These texts mark a strategic turning point in the Christian–Muslim missionary discourse by literally adapting the form of the Islamic Friday sermon (khuṭba) and filling it with biblical–qur'ānic parallel readings. Following the World Missionary Conference of Edinburgh (1910), they adopted a less polemical and more constructive tone, seeking to reach Muslims through narrative accessibility and intertextual argumentation. The analysis demonstrates how these khuṭbas employ exegetical procedures, reinterpret central theological concepts, and thereby unfold a specific form of analytic–interpretative hermeneutics. At the same time, they provoked systematic counter-sermons by Ottoman scholars such as Seydişehrī and Hasan Sabrī, who, drawing on kalām methodology and rhetorical precision, opposed the Christian readings with Islamic interpretations of the sacred scriptures. In this way, a dialogically structured constellation of texts emerged in which Christian missionary strategies and Islamic apologetics mutually challenged and further developed one another. The lecture highlights how Christian–Muslim relations in the early 20th century crystallized within a specific textual form, the khuṭba.
In this 60-minute online workshop you will be introduced to the methodologies and principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other evidence reviews. The session will cover: formulating a focused research question; preparing a protocol; developing a search strategy to address that research question; choosing appropriate databases and search engines; searching for grey literature and ongoing studies; storing and managing references; and documenting and reporting your search. Intended audience: Medicine and NHS; Researcher and research student
Praying mantises are specialized predators with several visual adaptations to detect and capture prey. In this talk, I will talk about three adaptations: stereo vision, second-order motion detection and sustained attention. We tested mantises with virtual 3D targets and showed that mantis stereopsis enables prey capture in complex scenes but relies on a different mechanism to that seen in primates. We next tested their responses to different forms of motion and demonstrated the important of second-order motion for prey detection by not prey capture. Finally, we tested the ability of mantises to attend to prey once they become stationary and found that mantises are capable of long-term sustained attention that depends on stereoscopic disparity. I will discuss the implications for real world behaviour and the benefits of a comparative approach towards understanding visual cognition.
This book analyzes the "bridge contracts" and laws which Kenya used to build a network of 180,000 mobile money agents in Kenya. The firm uses these agents (comprising corner stores and other retail outlets) to provide the mobile money mobile money service to 30 million people in Kenya. The book uses insights from this study to critique existing law and development programs run by the United Nations, World Bank, and other organizations. The book draws on fieldwork in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and other countries in Africa, and work with the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund.
The terroir concept suggests that some food and drink products profoundly express the environments in which they are made, including the natural ecology and the 'local knowledge' of producers who have historically worked within it. The terroir idea also underpins geographical indication regimes which reserve the use of designated place names for producers working within delineated regions and following agreed-upon methods. But how far can terroir claims be extended before they unravel? In this talk I explore the limits of terroir through presentation of two bodies of research - the first with apple cider makers in Devon, England, and the second with artisan cheese makers in several European countries. I ask to what extend terroir claims hold when applied to opposite ends of a scale continuum - on the one side to micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi, yeasts etc) that are essential to food and drink ecologies of production, and on the other side to macro-cultural phenomena (various forms of expressive culture, savoire-faire, and social identity) that are essential to local productive systems. I conclude that, while terroir serves a vital purpose in calling attention to the importance of place, we must not lose sight of the way that terroir products and the places in which they are made reflect movement and change.
Artificial intelligence is often seen as a mirror of human intelligence, an attempt to replicate the processes that occur within a human mind. However, a different perspective is presented in the book Feeding the Machine, co-authored by Prof Mark Graham. AI is described as an "extraction machine." When users interact with AI products, they typically only see the surface and the outputs it generates. In reality, the extraction machine absorbs vital inputs—capital, power, natural resources, human labour, data, and collective intelligence—and transforms them into statistical predictions, which AI companies convert into profits. This process requires control over material infrastructure, workers, and knowledge. The talk introduces the Fairwork project, an action research methodology designed to hold companies within the AI production network accountable. It examines how the Fairwork methodology has successfully functioned in the gig economy, having scored nearly 700 companies to date. Fairwork works with platforms to encourage pro-worker changes to policies and practices. Guided by the Fairwork Principles, companies improve conditions for workers and develop safer, fairer businesses. As a result of Fairwork's engagement, 64 companies have agreed to implement 300 pro-worker changes, covering all five Fairwork Principles. These changes include ensuring minimum or living wages, GDPR-compliant data management, sickness insurance, contracts aligned with local legislation, anti-discrimination policies, the election of workers’ representatives, and collaboration with local workers' associations. The talk further explores how this methodology will be extended to AI supply chains to compel companies to act more responsibly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Mark Graham is the Professor of Internet Geography at Oxford University. He is also the Director of Fairwork. This initiative has actively pushed companies to implement worker-friendly policies, impacting millions of jobs. His latest book, "Feeding the Machine," delves into the human labour behind the development of Artificial Intelligence. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
Why do popular narratives of automated drone delivery so often feature mothers, midwives, and babysitters? To answer this question, this talk takes at its starting point the tech industry claim that advances in artificial intelligence and robotics promise to relieve reproductive and domestic laborers from the drudgery of menial tasks. Unencumbered from these obligations, we’re told, humans are free to reach their full potential. As feminist scholars remind us, however, this vision of automation regards the gendered and racialized workers who historically perform devalued tasks under racial capitalism as less than human. Moreover, despite industry forecasts of human obsolescence, the automated workplace hasn’t eliminated human labor so much as degraded it: workers are routinely subjected to unsafe conditions, sped-up production schedules, and unreliable work hours. This talk examines how science fiction offers an uneven critique of racial capitalism’s violence and degradation by way of its global shipping networks. Specifically, through tales of drones performing automated gestational and post-gestational labor, this talk argues that science fiction tests the biopolitical limits of transportation and logistics as gendered, reproductive care work.
For far too long now the Edo period has been pigeonholed as a ‘print culture’. It is time to explode this myth, and Professor Kornicki will do so by exploring some of the huge quantity of manuscript books that circulated in the Edo period. Sceptical? Well, consider why it is that so many printed books survive in only one copy or in no copies at all, while many manuscript books survive in hundreds of copies. And consider why so many collections of books private and public contain so many manuscript books. It was not just the poor who turned to manuscripts but also the wealthy and the sophisticated: in fact, you could not be a well-read man or woman without resorting to manuscripts. In some ways this phenomenon reminds us of the circulation of poetic manuscripts in 17th-century England or of clandestine political texts in pre-revolutionary France, but it was on a much bigger scale in Japan. Some of the manuscripts that form part of Professor Kornicki’s own collection will be available for inspection prior to being donated to the Bodleian Library.
Pauline Croft, ‘Free Trade and the House of Commons 1605-1606’, _Economic History Review_, 28 (1975), 17-27; S.G.E. Lythe, ‘The Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the Debate on Economic Integration’, _Journal of Scottish Political Economy_ 5 (1958), 219-28; Alexandra Gajda, ‘War, peace and commerce and the Treaty of London (1604)’, _Historical Research_, 96 (2023), 459-72.
To join online, please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KbVXDl5TQWCP1I0nKS1TiQ
Join OCLW for an evening with scholar and writer Yosef Wosk as we celebrate the launch of his latest book, New Life Joke Shop: Travels and Observations. A sweeping odyssey of thought, travel and adventure, defying conventional form and ideas. — Sasha Colby, author of The Matryoshka Mysteries; Director, Graduate Liberal Studies, Simon Fraser University New Life Joke Shop is the second volume in Wosk’s autobiographical trilogy. Through essays and vignettes that fuse travel writing, memoir and cultural critique, he offers what he calls “a confectionary, a philosophical variety store, a word emporium of observations on Ageing, Arts, Books, Charity”, and more. Written through a lens he terms psychogeography—“the cosmos becoming conscious of itself through the agency of human awareness”—the collection treats streets, interiors, archives and objects as catalysts for thinking about memory, technology, conflict and care. Wosk will read from New Life Joke Shop and reflect on its form, themes and key contentions. An audience Q&A will follow. Speaker details Yosef Wosk is an Adjunct Professor in Humanities, a Simons Fellow and former Director of Interdisciplinary Programmes in Continuing Studies at Simon Fraser University, where he developed programmes including The Philosophers’ Café and the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars. An ordained rabbi, he holds two honorary doctorates, PhDs in Religion and Literature and in Psychology, and Master’s degrees in Education and Theology. He is president of Kolbo Holdings. Widely travelled—including expeditions to the North and South Poles—Wosk is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He has founded hundreds of libraries and supported museums on all seven continents, endowed Vancouver’s Poet Laureate, and taught thousands of students worldwide. Identified as one of the top ten thinkers and most thoughtful citizens in the province, he is included in Canadian Who’s Who and has received numerous awards, including the Order of British Columbia, the Freedom of the City of Vancouver, the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, and a Culture Beyond Borders Medal from the United Nations. In 2020, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. Active in communal affairs—especially in education, libraries, museums, the arts, social services, heritage conservation, gardens, philanthropy and religion—Wosk is a media commentator, public speaker, and published author. Further Details and Contacts After the event, join us for a complimentary wine reception. This hybrid event is free and open to all. Registration is recommended for in-person attendance and required for hybrid attendance. The seminar will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 14:30 on 16 October 2025. Queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
The fifteenth-century illustrated compilation 'Origins of the Śākyas' (Shishi yuanliu 釋氏源流) is considered the most important retelling of the life of the Buddha in late imperial China, yet its impact on Chinese (and East Asian) book culture has been surprisingly overlooked. Spanning four hundred episodes, presented in the 'picture-above-text' format, Shishi yuanliu couples the life of the Buddha with a pseudo-historical survey of Chinese Buddhism from antiquity to the Yuan dynasty. The monk Baocheng who compiled Shishi yuanliu strove to create a grand vision of Buddhist teachings, rituals, and history that would be both comprehensive and accessible to a wide audience. In its vision of Chinese Buddhism as deeply rooted in the life story of its founder, it draws on the realms of genealogy, hagiography, and historiography, yet transcends all three genres. In this talk, Dr Ganany will discuss Shishi yuanliu vis-à-vis other Ming accounts of 'origins' (yuanliu 源流 and chushen 出身) in daily-life encyclopaedias, hagiographic anthologies, and popular narratives (xiaoshuo 小說), arguing that Shishi yuanliu represents an important milestone in the development of Ming book culture beyond the realm of Buddhism. Noga Ganany is an Associate Professor in Chinese Studies at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College. Her main research interests are Chinese cultural history, Chinese religions, premodern Chinese literature, history of the book, and popular culture. Her current book project, Origin Narratives: Hagiographic Literature and Religious Practice in Ming China, examines the interplay between cultic reverence and literary writing in a subgenre of illustrated books celebrating the life stories of gods, immortals, and popular cultural icons. Dr Ganany is a board member of the Society for the Study of Chinese Religions (SSCR) and a board member of the Society for Ming Studies.
Speaker Bio: Ahmet Davutoglu, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, is a world-renowned professor of international relations. Davutoglu, who gives conferences in many parts of the world, is the author of many books such as 'Systemic Earthquake' and 'Alternative Paradigms'.
Join Katrina Mulligan, National Security Lead for OpenAI and former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, in conversation with Dr Brianna Rosen, Executive Director of the Oxford Programme for Cyber and Technology Policy, as part of the Global Tech Policy Seminar Series. Artificial intelligence is reshaping the foundations of national security—introducing powerful new tools for intelligence, defense, and diplomacy, while also changing the speed, scale, and nature of global competition. This talk will examine how frontier AI models are transforming the security landscape, highlighting opportunities (such as logistics optimization and decision support) and risks (including misuse, escalation, and the erosion of strategic stability). Drawing on current research and policy debates, the conversation will explore a central challenge for democracies: how to harness AI responsibly for national advantage while setting global norms that prevent destabilizing uses. This event is part of the Global Tech Policy Seminar Series hosted by the Oxford Programme for Cyber and Technology Policy (OxCTP).
Clouds display striking forms of organization on the mesoscale (a scale ranging typically from 2 to 200 km). Far from being a mere curiosity, this organization challenges our understanding of atmospheric physics and climate. What processes control cloud patterns and organizations? How much does the mesoscale organization of convection matter for climate? I will show how new observations from satellites and field campaigns shed light on how and why clouds organize at the mesoscale. Then, based on simulations from a new generation of climate models, I will explore the role that this mesoscale organisation might play in climate and climate change.
The 2025 Black History Month Lecture will be delivered by award-winning historian Professor Hakim Adi. The event is organised by the University of Oxford BME Staff Network and the Equality and Diversity Unit who are honoured to welcome Hakim as this year's speaker. The lecture will explore themes of power and pride in the rich histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain, encompassing approximately 10,000 years of Britain's history. Hakim is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Professorial Research Associate at the Centre of Pan-African Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies. He was the first historian of African heritage to become a professor of history in Britain. In August 2024, Hakim was the recipient of the ‘Outstanding African Studies Award’ by the African Studies Association (UK) in recognition of his ‘exceptional contribution to the field of African Studies, for expanding and disseminating knowledge on Africa.’ In April 2025, he was awarded the Amilcar Cabral Centenary Medallion by the Fundação Amilcar Cabral (Cape Verde) for his work honouring the memory of Amilcar Cabral. Hakim has appeared in many documentary films, on TV and on radio and has written widely on the history of Africa and the African Diaspora, including three history books for children. His most recent publication, Africa and Caribbean People in Britain: A History (Allen Lane, 2023), was shortlisted for the prestigious Wolfson History Prize in Britain in September 2023.
Join OCLW for an evening with scholar and writer Yosef Wosk as we celebrate the launch of his latest book, _New Life Joke Shop: Travels and Observations_. _New Life Joke Shop_ is the second volume in Yosef’s autobiographical trilogy. Through essays and vignettes that fuse travel writing, memoir and cultural critique, he offers what he calls “a confectionary, a philosophical variety store, a word emporium of observations on Ageing, Arts, Books, Charity”, and more. Written through a lens he terms psychogeography—“the cosmos becoming conscious of itself through the agency of human awareness”—the collection treats streets, interiors, archives and objects as catalysts for thinking about memory, technology, conflict and care. Yosef will read from _New Life Joke Shop_ and reflect on its form, themes, and key contentions. Open to all. Registration recommended (required for online attendance).
You are warmly invited to an evening celebrating the outstanding biomedical research at Jesus College. Join us in the Ship Street Centre on Thursday 16th October from 18.30 for an inspiring event featuring Professor Geoff Higgins and Professor Jonathan Cook, who will share insights into their research careers. There will also be opportunities for questions and discussion. Drinks and nibbles will be provided. No booking required, SPEAKERS & TALKS • Professor Geoff Higgins Molecules to Medicine: How Laboratory Discoveries Drive Radiotherapy Advances Geoff Higgins is the Malcolm and Margaret Howat Chair of Clinical Oncology at Oxford University and is an Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. His laboratory research focuses on developing novel strategies to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy treatment. Key findings are translated into large-scale drug development programmes or directly into clinical trials. He overseas ten multi-disciplinary radiotherapy focused research groups that are led by clinicians, biologists, and medical physicists. • Professor Jonathan Cook Medical Microbiology: from bench to bedside (and everything in-between) Jonathan is pursuing a career as a Clinician-Scientist , with a special interest in Medical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and structure-guided vaccine design. He is conducting postdoctoral research within the Jenner Institute, focusing on malaria vaccine development. Jonathan is supported by a Banting Fellowship and is a Dr Sara Hope Browne Research Associate at Jesus College.
Associate Professor Jason Harley will discuss 'Leveraging Simulation and Educational Videos to Equip Medical Residents with Tools to Combat Harassment'. Ms Mei Nortley will speak on 'Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare'. The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. Chair: Professor Dominic Furniss All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This online session will introduce you to EndNote, a subscription software programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily. On completing the workshop you will be able to: understand the main features and benefits of EndNote; set up an EndNote account; import references from different sources into EndNote; organise your references in EndNote; insert citations into documents; and create a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
Galton-Watson process is a classical stochastic model for describing the evolution of a population over discrete. In this process, every individual independently produces offspring according to a fixed distribution. We introduce a reinforced version of the Galton-Watson process, with parameters $\nu$ and $q \in (0,1)$, such that every individual in the process reproduces as follows: with probability $1-q$, it gives birth to children according to the law $\nu$, while with probability $q$ it chooses one of its ancestors uniformly at random and gives birth to the same number of children as that ancestor. Denoting by $Z_n$ the number of individuals alive at generation $n$ in this process, we study the asymptotic behaviour of $\mathbb E(Z_n)$, give conditions for $\mathbb{P}(Z_n \to \infty) > 0$ and describe the empirical ancestral offspring distribution of individuals at large times.
In the early 1940s, Nationalist China was an important shaper of the post-World War II economic order founded at Bretton Woods; by the early 1950s, the People’s Republic of China had become a target of Cold War economic sanctions and absent from the order’s major institutions. Tracing Nationalist and Communist ideas about China’s place in the international economic order, Amy King examines how these ideas shaped, and were shaped by, the changing character of that order from World War II to the early Cold War. She explores the order-shaping mechanisms used by Chinese actors, and the important continuities in Nationalist and Communist ideas about the strategic, rather than liberal, foundations of international economic order. Examining the order transition from World War II to Cold War highlights the incremental evolution in shared ideas that may occasion other moments of order transition, and the historical origins of contemporary Chinese economic ordering ideas. Amy King is Associate Professor in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs. She has published widely on China-Japan relations, the economics-security nexus in Asia, and China's historical and contemporary role in shaping the international order. The author of China-Japan Relations After World War II: Empire, Industry and War, 1949–1971 (Cambridge University Press, 2016), Amy’s works have also appeared in the European Journal of International Relations, Modern Asian Studies, Security Studies, Journal of Cold War Studies, and the Cambridge Economic History of China, among others. Her research has been supported by an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship and a Westpac Research Fellowship, and she holds an MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies and DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford.
Join us for the next session in our Venture Bites online series, hosted by the Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre. Venture investing is a learnable skill. Unless you work in VC, that knowledge remains inaccessible. In this session, Jed Ng will share key principles for successful venture investing from his journey as a self-taught 'Angel' whose backed two 'Unicorns' and built an investor syndicate of more than 1400. Jed is a self-taught 'Super Angel'. He has one exit and backed two 'Unicorns' from seed stage. He leads a syndicate backed by over 1400 LPs and is on a mission to build the world's most scalable angel network. His latest venture, AngelSchool.vc, is an accelerator training the next generation of angels, investors and syndicate leads. Their programmes have impacted over 300 angels in 40 countries and launched 20 new syndicates. As a tech operator, he built the world’s largest API marketplace with an Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) backed start up.
At the time of the American Revolution (1765–83), the British Empire had colonies in India, Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Canada, Ireland, and Gibraltar. The thirteen rebellious American colonies accounted for half of the total number of provinces in the British world in 1776. What of the loyal half? Why did some of Britain’s subjects feel so aggrieved that they wanted to establish a new system of government, while others did not rebel? In this authoritative history, Trevor Burnard and Andrew Jackson O’Shaughnessy show that understanding the long-term causes of the American Revolution requires a global view.
The sequence of vigilance states is tightly regulated, and sleep continuity is likely an essential feature of its function. Recent discoveries on local discontinuities in vigilance states in rodents and humans raise new challenges to define sleep/wake stability. Here I will discuss new data from our laboratory demonstrating cortex-wide complex dynamics across sleep/wake cycles using genetically encoded voltage sensors. I will also describe a new neuronal circuit that predicts the onset and duration of REM sleep, raising new hypothesis about the nature of the REM homeostat. Finally, I will describe attempts to non-invasively modulate arousal circuits and optimize sleep quality. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Luis de Lecea obtained his PhD from the University of Barcelona in 1991 and conducted postdoctoral training at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. He identified several neuropeptides with key functions in cortical excitability and sleep regulation and brain reward function. In 2006 he moved to Stanford, where he has pioneered the use of optogenetics in vivo and neuromodulation of sleep-wake cycles. Dr. de Lecea’s work accumulates more than 180 manuscripts that have been cited over 34,000 times. He has received numerous awards including ACNP Integrative neuroscience award, NARSAD Distinguished Investigator and Sleep Research Society Outstanding Achievement Award, Senior Fulbright Scholarship, among others. Dr. de Lecea has lectured around the world and served on numerous national and international committees including the Board of Scientific Counselors for NIDA, the Klarman Family Foundation and the BrainMind Foundation.
This is a hybrid seminar. To join via Zoom, please register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/YmzUbU13RV-38x2LejA1KQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
When are public comments characterized by high information quality more likely to occur in bureaucratic policymaking? We answer this question using a text-as-data approach applied to an original dataset covering more than 20,000 comments across 1,037 policy acts issued by the European Commission. We construct four measures capturing our multi-dimensional concept of information quality of comments. Our argument emphasizes the interplay between the demand and supply of information provision and highlights the critical role of institutional factors in explaining comments’ information quality. We find that high-quality comments are more likely to emerge during the policy formulation stage and, counterintuitively, in relation to EC policy documents that are informationally dense and syntactically complex. We find no systematic co-variation between a policy area’s established or scientific status and comment quality. Our findings provide novel insights into how the design of public commenting procedures and crafting policy acts shape comments’ information quality.
*For our first session of term, come join us for a chill chat about the network and a discussion centred on ‘the body in the archive’ (no reading needed!)*. Even when our research does not directly touch on the body, we all have bodies, and our engagements with the university and archive as well as broader society are informed by our different experiences of embodiment. To kick off our term card, we will be holding a discussion group on the ‘body in the archive’, discussing our own experiences of embodiment as researchers and the value of subjectivity and phenomenology in academia.
This paper analyzes a model in which an outcome equals a frontier function of inputs minus a nonnegative unobserved deviation. We allow the deviation's distribution to depend on inputs, thereby allowing for endogeneity. If zero lies in the support of the deviation given inputs—an assumption we term assignment at the frontier—then the frontier is identified by the supremum of the outcome at those inputs, obviating the need for instrumental variables. We then estimate the frontier, allowing for random error whose distribution may also depend on inputs. Finally, we derive a lower bound on the mean deviation, using only variance and skewness, that is robust to a scarcity of data near the frontier. We apply our methods to estimate a firm-level frontier production function and inefficiency.
The Oxford Conservative Thought (OCT) Reading Group is a non-partisan group devoted to academic exploration of small-c conservative political thought. We welcome, and actively encourage, viewpoint diversity and constructive engagement across ideological divides (all good-willed participants are welcome!) Each week we read one assigned text, and we recommend more for anyone who is very keen! You can view our reading list here: ---> https://bit.ly/OCTMT25 Week 1 focuses on conservative attitudes to change. The OCT meets weekly in term time on Fridays from 3:30-5pm Meetings take place in the Large Discussion Room in the Social Science Library, Manor Road Building. Join our WhatsApp chat: —> https://chat.whatsapp.com/Co90YuC23vU7jDfH2XS7CC?mode=wwt
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapter 1 Supplementary: Paul Goodman, ‘Utopian Thinking’ in Utopian Essays and Practical Proposals (1962); Peggy Kornegger, ‘Anarchism: The Feminist Connection’ (1975)
The decades between the 1970s to the 1990s brought striking transformation in the conceptualisation of women, gender, and the economy. New ideas, particularly connected with notions of 'empowerment', presented a major challenge to prevalent views of the proper role of women in markets and households. In the case of the global South, women and girls came to be seen as the key drivers of development. This paper will explore the various dimensions of this moment, and will argue that it constitutes a major shift in the vision of the global gender order. *Professor Maria Misra* is a Professor of Global History at the University of Oxford, and a fellow of Keble College. She is the author of _Business, Race and Politics in British India, 1850-1960_ (Clarendon, 1999) and _Vishnu's Crowded Temple: India Since the Great Rebellion_ (Yale University Press, 2008). She is currently completing a book on the global history of gender.
NoTamperData is a project designed to strengthen trust in primary research data. At the point of data collection, cryptographic fingerprints (hashes) of the raw dataset are securely stored online. This allows researchers to later prove that a specific dataset (e.g., a .csv file) is the authentic version collected at that time and has not been altered. If the raw dataset is preserved, its integrity can be verified against the stored fingerprint. Additionally, researchers can extend this assurance by sharing their data processing and analysis code, ensuring transparency and reproducibility throughout the research process. This project was inspired by a series of highly publicised research fraud cases in 2023, including that of Francesca Gino and Marc Tessier-Lavigne. After winning an "idea pitch competition" during ETH CC 2024 in Brussels, Simon partnered up with my John Ndigirigi to apply for a grant to continue building this infrastructure.
Researchers from the Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies are inviting families to join a Poo Trivia Quiz for Biology Week 2025. The live online event is a free, family-friendly quiz created by poo scientists for anyone poo-curious. They aim to help everyone to learn more about what happens in our guts and our toilets. Families/teams can join online from their home devices to participate in the 40-minute interactive quiz. Quiz rounds will include poo science, poo health, poo in the news and whose poo is that? The Royal Society of Biology celebrates Biology Week annually to highlight and champion the biosciences and everyone working in them. The Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies is based in the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, a biomedical research centre of the University of Oxford. The Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies is involved in many national projects studying how the gut microbiome is involved in health and disease. Recent projects range from inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis to how a mother’s diet affects the gut microbiome of her babies. Event Dates: • 5pm Friday 17 Oct 2025 • 2pm Saturday 18 Oct 2025 For more information please contact Dr Kate Coldwell kate.coldwell@kennedy.ox.ac.uk
Join for a panel discussion with H.E. Vikram Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom, and Mr. Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman of Hero Enterprise, on 'Into India and South Asia: Culture, Commerce, and the Future of UK-India Relations'. The discussion will be followed by a drinks reception. Please register by 13th October 2025. Sponsored by Mr. Sean Tiwari and Mr. Meenu Malhotra DL, Honorary Consul General of India and Chairman of Malhotra Group PLC.
Author Manu Kapur discusses his new book on learning through the science of failure with St John's College President, Professor Lady Sue Black. Manu Kapur is currently the Director of the Singapore-ETH Centre, and a Professor of Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. With a strong technical background in engineering and statistics as well as doctoral training in the learning sciences, Manu brings a unique interdisciplinary skill set to the study of human learning, both in terms of the fundamental mechanisms of human learning as well as developing applications for translating these mechanisms for teaching and learning. Manu is widely known mainly for his research on learning from Productive Failure, is a sought-after keynote speaker, and has delivered two TEDx talks. His contributions extend across high-profile journals and conferences, influencing educational policies and practices internationally. For more information, visit www.manukapur.com.
Since the early Meiji period, Japan's 'catch-up' development strategy has been heavily reliant on the importation of 'advanced knowledge' from the West. Japanese higher education has assumed a pivotal role in the dissemination of Western knowledge through translation. This seminar addresses how cultural transmissions, facilitated by translation, have impacted Japanese higher education and the manner of thinking cultivated thereby. A key concept is the notion of 'pseudo-deductive’ ways of thinking, developed through the process of translated scholarship from Western knowledge into the Japanese language. This has been accompanied by the development of both images of 'advancement' and abstract understandings of the meanings, but often the realities corresponding to such words as ‘democracy’, ‘human rights’, and/or ‘education’ did not exist in Japan. The employment of such abstract concepts and translated words also facilitated the establishment of authority on the part of professors; one-way lecture styles have historically been the most prevalent teaching method in Japanese universities. The discussion will also address positive outcomes of these processes.
Come for free snacks and drinks, to learn more about the Network and meet other students and staff interested in LGBTQ+ history. Open to all –especially new students and faculty!
The Insights for Action seminar series explores how researchers and practitioners within and beyond Oxford are using research insights to drive social change. In this month’s seminar, being co-hosted as a part of the Said Business School’s Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series, we will discuss the concept of meta-economics—integrating economics with ethics, the social sciences, and the natural sciences —and how social and emotional intelligence can help leaders shift towards this more integrated, holistic worldview. Moderator Professor Marya Besharov will be joined by Jonathan F. P. Rose, President of Jonathan Rose Companies and a leader in sustainable urban development, and Dr. Daniel Goleman, renowned author and expert on emotional intelligence and systems thinking.
Internationally acclaimed comedian and writer *Sarah Jones* is inviting students to take part in a focused research and development session for her new show, America, Who Hurt You?. This is a rare chance to step inside the creative process as Sarah scratches early ideas, tests new material, and invites thoughtful responses from students. *What you’ll do* * Take part in a guided conversation with Sarah about the themes and questions shaping the piece. * Offer reflections and feedback that will directly inform the next draft. * See first-hand how a new theatre work develops between page and stage. *How to take part* Please email Elizabeth ("$":mailto:elizabeth.lawal@humanities.ox.ac.uk) with a brief paragraph (3–5 sentences) about your interest and any access requirements by 10 October. Places are limited; we will confirm attendance by the 12th.
*British Academy/Wellcome Trust Conferences bring together scholars and specialists from around the world to explore themes related to health and wellbeing.* Climate change and human health are interconnected global issues that pose a threat to human existence, and while science is necessary to meaningfully address these challenges, using science alone is not sufficient. Attitudes and behaviours determine adoption patterns, and consequently the success or failure of the technological innovations that aim to improve the health of humans and the planet. Faith and value systems influence factors such as life goals, behavioural choices and demographic outcomes, which have an impact on adoption patterns. Decision makers have failed to understand these factors sufficiently while addressing these global challenges. This conference will bring together climate, health and faith practitioners to share knowledge and build links between sectors, to move towards sustainable decision-making and adaptation strategies. Please visit the website for programme and more information: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/british-academy-conferences/climate-health-and-faith-understanding-science-building-trust/
Researchers from the Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies are inviting families to join a Poo Trivia Quiz for Biology Week 2025. The live online event is a free, family-friendly quiz created by poo scientists for anyone poo-curious. They aim to help everyone to learn more about what happens in our guts and our toilets. Families/teams can join online from their home devices to participate in the 40-minute interactive quiz. Quiz rounds will include poo science, poo health, poo in the news and whose poo is that? The Royal Society of Biology celebrates Biology Week annually to highlight and champion the biosciences and everyone working in them. The Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies is based in the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, a biomedical research centre of the University of Oxford. The Oxford Centre for Microbiome Studies is involved in many national projects studying how the gut microbiome is involved in health and disease. Recent projects range from inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis to how a mother’s diet affects the gut microbiome of her babies. Event Dates: • 5pm Friday 17 Oct 2025 • 2pm Saturday 18 Oct 2025 For more information please contact Dr Kate Coldwell kate.coldwell@kennedy.ox.ac.uk
This workshop invites us to consider decolonial modes of teaching and learning through dance in collaboration with Tjimur Dance Theatre, a contemporary Indigenous dance company from Taiwan. In this contemporary body movement workshop based on the Paiwan idea of Varhung, Tjimur Dance Theatre will introduce Paiwan culture, traditional dance steps, songs, and the unique ways that the Theatre adapts these into the Tjimur dance technique. The dances of the Paiwan people originated from their daily lives and traditional ceremonies. Most of their dance steps are presented in the four-step form. Their body rhythms are also guided by songs. There are four parts to the workshop, namely “Beginning with Song (to Dance)”, “Following the Voice”, “Transforming the Breath” and “Creating through Voice”. The artistic director Ljuzem and choreographer Baru will also share the development of the Dance Theatre of extending the traditional Paiwan cultures to contemporary dance movements. The workshop will conclude with a question-and-answer segment featuring Tjimur Dance Theatre. Date: 18 October 2025 (MT Week 1 Sat) Time: 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm (with refreshments after) Location: St John’s College (Kendrew Quad) B24 Events Room The workshop is open to members of Oxford University. There are limited spaces available. Cost: Free. Sign up by 15 October 2025 at tinyurl.com/decolonialdance To prevent no-shows, a £7 deposit is required to secure your place (details in form). The deposit will be fully refunded when you attend the workshop. In cases of financial difficulty, the deposit can be waived. You will receive a confirmation email about your place once you submit the form and deposit. This workshop is kindly supported by the St John's College Small Arts Grant and the University of Oxford School of Geography and the Environment Technological Life Research Cluster. Kindly email rachael.chan@ouce.ox.ac.uk should you have any queries.
This event is a free, one-hour lecture, hosted by Oxford University's Sustainable Urban Development programme. The event will be live-streamed from our Lecture Theatre, so you have the option to join us online or in person. Cities are often the first responders in times of crisis - whether conflict, climate disaster, or migration. This lecture by keynote speaker Ievgeniia Kopytsia, draws on Ukraine’s experience to examine how cities on the frontlines of conflict can become laboratories for transformative recovery, reimagining housing, climate adaptation, legal frameworks, and participatory governance. It explores the challenges and opportunities of urban crisis response, highlighting the role of local leadership, adaptive policy, and cross-sector collaboration in building more resilient, inclusive urban futures amidst profound disruption.
Professor Siskind will review the epidemiology of cardiometabolic comorbidity and provide recent research findings around the role of lifestyle interventions, metformin and GLP-1RAs among people with severe mental illness. This seminar will be hosted in person at the Department of Psychiatry, Gelder Room. To join online, please use the details below. https://zoom.us/j/99724973246?pwd=aWRUynuZaZKaegFLl0I3QImkkJ5PuU.1 Meeting ID: 997 2497 3246 Passcode:079218
Meet with other researchers working on histories of childhood and youth, with papers exploring ‘play’ from: Fiona Maxwell (University of Chicago) on drama and performativity; Holly Nielsen (historian and narrative designer) on board games; and Caitlin Hendrie (Macquarie University) on archaeological approaches.
Inflammatory responses are orchestrated by a complex network of cells and mediators, including circulating proteins such as cytokines and soluble receptors. The development of high-throughput proteomic technologies now allows for profiling of the plasma proteome at scale. Studying the proteome is valuable from both a basic and translational perspective since proteins are the effector molecules of biology and the targets of most drugs. In the first half of this talk I will outline our work using various proteomic platforms in clinical cohorts to profile immune-mediated diseases, focussing on lupus and vasculitis. In the second half of the talk, I will describe our proteo-genomic studies in epidemiological scale cohorts, identifying genetic variants associated with protein abundance (pQTLs). I will describe how pQTLs can be integrated with GWAS data to provide insights into the molecular basis of complex diseases by identifying proteins that lie between genotype and phenotype. In particular, I will focus on the use of techniques such as Mendelian randomisation analysis which allow us to move beyond descriptive molecular data to identifying proteins likely to play a causal role in immune-mediated disease etiology.
Are men more dishonest than women? Or is that just another stereotype? How does this impact our working lives? Join us for a thought-provoking presentation by Johannes Abeler as we dive into the science of lying - where human psychology, morality, and economics collide. This talk explores real experiments involving thousands of people across the globe, revealing how we balance money, truth, and reputation when no one is watching. Whether you're curious about behavioural economics or just want to settle the age-old debate between the sexes, this is one talk you won’t want to miss.
Sebastian Lund, “Powered by the Sun: Energising Empire in the Age of Solar.” (Including Rokeya Hossain ‘Sultana’s Dream’ (1905), HG Wells War of the Worlds (1898))
Religiosity in the United States has declined significantly over the past several decades. While this trend has been extensively documented and debated, its broader social and cultural consequences remain underexplored. In this study, we investigate how declining religiosity has influenced shifts in Americans' attitudes towards key moral issues, such as same-sex relationships, abortion and euthanasia, and gender norms. Using the repeal of blue laws which prevented commerce on Sundays as an exogenous factor that reduces church attendance, we identify the causal impact of reduced church attendance on public opinion on key issues. Our analysis shows that declining religious service attendance, induced by the repeal of blue laws, contributed to a more liberal trajectory in American moral attitudes in the late 20th century, reshaping public perspectives on important moral issues. Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm. Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
Reading has long been a subject of fascination for me: what exactly do we mean by it? What do we mean by 'close' reading? And is translation anything other than a reading for a particular audience, or audiences, of readers? Translating five of Colette's works over the last couple of years (for Penguin Classics) has further fed my interest. The lively - often extravagant - debates about AI and machine translation have rumbled in the background. Colette was writing for a heterogeneous audience (unlike many of her contemporaries) not least because of commercial/financial pressures. There are complexities in her writing that the translator has to understand. And choices have to be made. Colette's syntax can have political corollaries. And philosophical significance can be abstracted from her poetics. I'd like to think aloud about the ways in which translating Colette has enriched - and sometimes confused - my ideas about translation. And to explain my title with examples from Colette's works. Belinda Jack is a writer, translator, and academic. She is currently a Professor at Christ Church College, University of Oxford, and was a Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College from 2013 to 2017. She is the author of six books, including The Woman Reader, George Sand: A Woman's Life Writ Large, and an Oxford University Press VSI, Reading.
I will provide an overview of what electrodermal activation (EDA) is and how it can be used to measure emotional activation in educational contexts as part of multimodal studies. I will discuss approaches and pros and cons of analyzing and averaging EDA data over (1) sessions as well as (2) long (minutes) and (3) short (seconds) segments. Presented studies will illustrate the different kinds of insight EDA data can provide for educational research. Harley and colleagues (2015) found evidence that EDA data was only loosely associated with concurrent self-report and facial expressions of emotions when all three channels were temporally aligned. Harley and colleagues (2019) found that habitual self-reported suppression strategies significantly and positively predicted medical students’ skin conductance levels averaged over a learning session, while skin conductance response significantly and positively predicted their diagnostic efficiency. Moreno and colleagues (2024) found that the mean-level of EDA increased as simulations progressed over three phases, from initial contact through delivery of medical procedures. Matin and colleagues (under review) and Azher and colleagues (under review) found that learners’ EDA significantly increased in response to arousing events in two different simulation training studies. Theoretical, methodological, and educational implications and future directions will be discussed. Brief Bio: Jason M. Harley, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor (tenured) in the Department of Surgery, McGill University, Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Director of Research of the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning, Director of the Simulation, Affect, Innovation, Learning, and Surgery (SAILS) Lab, and Associate Member of the Institute of Health Sciences Education. They have been inducted into The Society for Simulation in Healthcare’s ASCEND Leadership Network, and received The Canadian Association of Medical Education Certificate of Merit Award, and The Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award from the Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning SIG of the American Educational Research Association. Prof. Harley completed their FRQSC and SSHRC CGS-funded Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at McGill University in 2014 and held an FRQSC-funded postdoctoral position in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Montréal from 2014-2015. Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
Colonial powers often governed the frontier regions of their colonies differently from non-frontier regions, employing a system of “frontier rule” that restricted access to formal institutions of conflict management and disproportionately empowered local elites. We examine whether frontier rule provides a more fragile basis for maintaining social order in the face of shocks. Using the arbitrarily defined historical border between frontier and non-frontier regions in northwestern Pakistan and 10km-by-10km grid-level conflict data in a spatial regression discontinuity design, we find that area historically under frontier rule experienced significantly higher violence against the state after 9/11. We argue that 9/11 represented a shock to grievances against the state which, in the absence of formal avenues of conflict management, escalated into sovereignty-contesting violence. A key strategy employed by insurgents in this escalation was the systematic assassination of tribal elites, which undermined the cornerstone of frontier rule's social order.
HDRUK Oxford Monthly Meetup, Monday 20 October 2025, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Speaker: Dr Charlie Harper, Trial Data Scientist, NDPH Mode: Hybrid In person venue: Richard Doll Building Lecture Theatre To attend online – please register (link below) Short Bio: Charlie is a Trial Data Scientist working in the Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit (CTSU) at Oxford Population Health and the Data Linkage Lead for the ASCEND-PLUS trial. His work aims to develop new trial methods to streamline large-scale randomised trials that produce reliable answers, including the use of healthcare systems data to recruit and follow-up participants. Abstract: Large-scale randomised trials are increasingly costly and resource intensive to conduct, thus limiting the size and duration of follow-up of contemporary clinical trials. Streamlining trials by re-using healthcare systems data offers the opportunity to conduct more efficient trials at scale. In this talk Charlie will (1) present the theory behind utilising such data in clinical trials, (2) outline recent findings about how reliable healthcare systems data are in ascertaining trial outcomes; and (3) illustrate its use in the ASCEND-PLUS randomised trial of semaglutide versus placebo in people with diabetes.
In pollution haven theories, trade and environmental policies can have signifi- cant effects on the levels and incidence of pollution and economic activity across countries, leading potentially to a race to the bottom. This paper studies the international effects of China’s ban on plastic waste imports. In recent decades, high-income countries had been reducing their plastic waste burden by exporting it to China. This changed in 2017 when China banned key plastic waste imports, raising concerns over creation of waste havens in other parts of the world. The paper shows that China’s policy led to a diversion of trade that had repercussions for countries across the world. Turkey emerged as a major importer of plastic waste from high-income countries. We provide direct evidence that importers in Turkey gained economically from better access to plastic waste that could be recycled and re-used as inputs in production. But their gains did not outweigh the losses of domestic firms that generated plastic waste and were displaced by import competition after China’s ban. These domestic waste generators became more likely to mismanage their plastic waste, including through open burning. Air pollution increased more in Turkish regions where these waste generators were located. We model the channels of waste and recycling in a gravity model of trade and the environment to explain the empirical findings and to quantify the environmental externalities from China’s unilateral import ban.
The seminar will examine the development of Melkite law among the Arabic-speaking, Chalcedonian Orthodox Christians of Syria and Egypt from the seventh to the thirteenth century. On the one hand, it will explore the extent to which the Melkites maintained an independent legal tradition from Byzantium. On the other hand, the growing influence of Constantinople after the Byzantine conquest of Antioch in 969 and the impact of Islamic law on Melkite legal practices will be discussed.
The annual Tinbergen Lecture, named after Nico Tinbergen, is a student led lecture series organised by the Junior Consultative Committee (JCC) and the speaker is chosen by graduate students to present on an interdisciplinary topic in biology. Lord Krebs will reflect on the work and legacy of Niko Tinbergen, including his insistence on rigorous clarity in posing scientific questions. He will illustrate this legacy by analysing two current controversies related to science and policy.
This paper examines one of the most striking nineteenth-century critiques of the chemico-industrial transformation of agriculture and food, Pierre Leroux’s _circulus_. In response to the development of a capital-intensive system of agriculture, one that understood the introduction of artificial fertilizers as augmenting soil’s ability to produce without interruption and thereby yielding agriculture infinite productive gains, Leroux advanced a radical critique of extractive agriculture and developed an alternative theory of a sustainable circular economy. Leroux’s circulus was no naïve or utopian response to the chemico-industrial transformation of agriculture and food. It was deeply embedded in the scientific literature of its day and maintained scientific truths that an emerging chemical vision of the world evaded. This paper presents Leroux’s circulus within this wider scientific context and shows how it participated in a scientific debate on the industrial transformation of agriculture. It shows how Leroux’s circulus contained a vision of farming, food, and nature that, in the face of today’s intimately connected crises of agriculture and the climate may help us rethink our relationship to nature. *Michael Drolet* is Senior Research Fellow in the History of Political Thought, at Worcester College, Oxford. He is an intellectual historian with interests in 18th, 19th, and 20th century French philosophy, and French political, social, and economic thought. He has written widely on French liberalism, French Romantic Socialism, and contemporary French thought.
: Over the past 15 years, there have been extensive efforts to raise awareness about mental health in schools, universities, workplaces and society at large. The goal was to reduce stigma, improve help-seeking and ultimately reduce mental health problems. However, during this period, mental health problems have only increased. In this talk, I present qualitative and quantitative evidence that mental health awareness efforts might paradoxically make some people feel worse, particularly adolescents. I will use the example of mental health lessons in schools (‘universal interventions’) to illustrate how ideas that are good on paper can fail to deliver in practice, and reflect on why – despite evidence of null and negative effects – it is difficult to stop these interventions being delivered in schools. I end by thinking about how we might move forward from here: how we can build on what we have learnt so far to talk about mental health in a more helpful, hopeful way.
You are warmly invited to join us at Rhodes House for the opening of our Artist in Residence Rebecca Korang's exhibition Radical Joy on Monday 20 October. This year, Berlin-based artist Rebecca Korang undertook an intellectual residency with the support of the Rhodes Trust. To mark the culmination of her research-driven project, Rhodes House is hosting Korang’s second solo show. Responding to the theme of 'Radical Joy,' Korang centres the stories of Black prisoners of war in the Second World War. Korang presents a novel depiction of their lived experiences through her creative interventions into the archive, using tools and mediums including textile, weaving, and painting. Engaging with archival material and the built environment, Korang has built her own archive using images and material found from eBay. As an Afro-German woman, the theme of "Radical Joy" became inevitably autoethnographic. This exhibition is a culmination of multiple and intertwined threads; bridging the personal with historical, embodied, and situated explorations. Doors open at 17:30, with introductory remarks from Rebecca Korang and the Rhodes Trust team at 18:00. Drinks and canapés will be served.
Most people use ChatGPT to answer questions – but the real breakthrough comes when you use it to ask the ones you are not thinking to ask. This session, led by Anders Reagan (a Lead Business Technologist at the AI and ML Competency Centre), explores how to turn ChatGPT into a powerful tool for surfacing blind spots, forgotten commitments, unspoken tensions, and high-impact opportunities hiding in plain sight. By configuring custom instructions, enabling memory, and loading it with rich institutional context—meeting transcripts, project docs, scattered notes – you can prompt the model to elevate patterns, contradictions, and insights you and your team may be overlooking. We will dive into techniques for using ChatGPT to conduct pre- and post-mortems, detect strategic drift, trace recurring themes across months of discussion, and surface priorities that have quietly fallen through the cracks. This is about using AI not to replace thinking, but to deepen it. The event will start with tea, coffee and biscuits from 5pm, followed by the talk from 5.30. About Anders Anders Reagan is a Lead Business Technologist at the AI and ML Competency Centre, with a strong academic foundation in human rights and peace studies, holding degrees from Uppsala University and the UN-Mandated University for Peace. Prior to joining Oxford, he worked at the Stockholm School of Economics’ (SSE) House of Innovation, where he played a pivotal role in translating cutting-edge innovation and AI research into actionable insights for business and society. With specialized AI training from Impact Academy, Anders has lectured at SSE and international conferences on the latest applications of generative AI across research, education, and administration. He is particularly focused on integrating AI into higher education, aiming to advance strategic thinking, enhance communication, and improve the scope and quality of creative thinking.
What is Life-writing? Life-writing includes every possible way of telling a life-story, from biography and autobiography, through letters and memoir, to bio-fiction, blogs, and social media such as Tweets and Instagram stories. In this conversation, biographers Kate Kennedy and Hermione Lee discuss these and other aspects of life writing. This event is the second in a two-part series that introduces some of the major questions animating contemporary life‑writing. Be sure to join us for Part I, when Kate Kennedy sits down with Elleke Boehmer to discuss the boundaries between memory and invention, truth and storytelling, in contemporary life writing. Speaker Details: Hermione Lee was President of Wolfson College from 2008 to 2017 and is Emeritus Professor of English Literature in the English Faculty at Oxford University. She is a biographer and critic whose work includes biographies of Virginia Woolf (1996), Edith Wharton (2006), Penelope Fitzgerald (2013), and Tom Stoppard (2020). She has also written books on Elizabeth Bowen, Philip Roth, and Willa Cather, an OUP Very Short Introduction to Biography, and a collection of essays on life-writing, Body Parts. She was awarded the Biographers’ Club Prize for Exceptional Contribution to Biography in 2018. From 1998 to 2008, she was the Goldsmiths’ Professor of English Literature at Oxford. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2023 she was made GBE for services to English Literature. She founded OCLW at Wolfson College in 2011. She is currently working on a biography of Anita Brookner. Dr Kate Kennedy is a writer, cellist, and BBC broadcaster. Her work combines words and music, in performance, on the radio, and on the page. She is a Research Fellow in Life-Writing at Wolfson College, Oxford, and Director of the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. Her most recent book, Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound (2024) is part memoir, part biography, and her previous biography Dweller in Shadows (2021) explored the life of British poet-composer Ivor Gurney. She is a regular presenter for BBC Radio. Further Details and Contacts: This event is free and open to all; however, registration is recommended. This is an in-person event, but it will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 14:30 on 20 October 2025. Any queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
Religion-related violence is the fastest spreading type of violence worldwide. Attacks on religious minorities follow a clear pattern and are preceded with early warning signs. Until now, such violence had no name, let alone a set of policies designed to identify and prevent it. A unique attempt to create a new moral and legal category alongside other forms of persecution and mass murder, Religicide explores the roots of atrocities such as the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, the Bosnian war, and other human rights catastrophes. The authors tap into their decades of activism, interreligious engagement, and people-to-people diplomacy to delve into a gripping examination of contemporary religicides: the Yazidis in Iraq, the Rohingya in Myanmar, Uyghur Muslims and Tibetan Buddhists in China, and the centuries-long efforts to wipe out Indigenous Americans. Yet, even in the face of these horrific atrocities, the authors resist despair. They amplify the voices of survivors and offer a blueprint for action, calling on government, business, civil society, and religious leaders to join in a global campaign to protect religious minorities.
The Management in Medicine (MiM) Shadowing Programme provides medical students, doctors in training, postgraduate students and others with an interest in healthcare management, with an opportunity to shadow a senior manager in healthcare, or social services for approximately two half-days. The purpose of the shadowing is to give those working or interested in healthcare an insight into the activities of managers, how they go about those activities, and the issues on which they work. During this event, Dr Nicholas Hicks will explain what is expected of you if you apply to the programme and are successful. You will also have the opportunity to hear from previous shadows about their experience of the programme. The programme is competitive and priority will be given to those who attend the launch on 6 November. In early December, potential Shadows will then be invited to apply, stating their preferences for the shadowing placement based on the information provided. There are a limited number of places available and the application process will be competitive.
In this online workshop you will be shown the functionality of Zotero, which is a free-to-use software programme used to manage references and create bibliographies. Zotero will be demonstrated on a Windows PC but users of MacOS or Linux computers will be able to follow the demonstration. The workshop will cover: understanding the main features and benefits of Zotero; setting up a Zotero account; importing references from different sources into Zotero; organising your references in Zotero; inserting citations into documents; and creating a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
A characteristic feature of chronic inflammation is its predilection for certain anatomical sites. In this presentation, I will explore the concept of "Inflammation Location" to illustrate how unravelling the biological pathways underpinning the genetic, molecular, and cellular basis of inflammation across distinct yet clinically related Immune Mediated Inflammatory Diseases (IMIDs) can help explain why many some IMIDs are site specific and other systemic. Traditional models of research in IMIDs silo their management within specific specialties and between children and adults. Patients with disease in one organ system often have co-morbid involvement of another organ and are treated in similar ways with similar drugs. Here I will provide a mechanistic link between gene-environment interactions and clinical outcomes via tissue biology. By breaking down the clinical and operational boundaries that prevent an integrated programme of experimental medicine research in IMIDs, we aim to deliver a tissue-based, cellular understanding of inflammation to facilitate cross-disease, cross-discipline, basket-trials which utilise Bayesian statistics to de-risk early-stage trials. In the longer term our aim is to link the cellular basis of IMIDs to therapeutic interventions that either target shared pathogenic mechanisms or are disease specific. This seminar is hosted in-person at the Department of Psychiatry, Seminar Room. To join online, please use the details below: https://zoom.us/j/94567124781?pwd=sVxXabbSWibdU8A9W2clQlG9neRGbQ.1 Meeting ID: 945 6712 4781 Passcode: 470970
Are you looking to learn about the ways in which to transmit scientific ideas and make your research accessible to a non-specialist audience through a variety of mediums? This session will serve as an introduction to science communication and how it can be successfully incorporated into our roles. By the end of this session you will be able to: define science communication and provide a list of examples; explain why science communication is important for both our CPD and the public; and list ways in which we can all get involved in science communication. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
Monte Carlo sampling is the standard approach for estimating properties of solutions to stochastic differential equations (SDEs), but its error decays only as 1/√n, requiring huge sample sizes. Lyons and Victoir (2004) proposed replacing independently sampled Brownian driving paths with "cubature formulae", deterministic weighted sets of paths that match Brownian "signature moments" up to some degree D. They prove that cubature formulae exist for arbitrary D, but explicit constructions are difficult and have only reached D=7, too small for practical use. We present an algorithm that efficiently and automatically constructs cubature formulae of arbitrary degree, reproducing D=7 in seconds and reaching D=17 within hours on modest hardware. In simulations across multiple SDEs, our cubature formulae achieve an error roughly of order 1/n, orders of magnitude smaller than Monte Carlo with the same number of paths. Based on joint work with Thomas Coxon and James Foster.
Andrew Bastawrous is an eye surgeon, innovator, and CEO of Peek Vision, a non-profit dedicated to ending avoidable blindness. After experiencing significant vision loss in childhood, Andrew devoted his career to making eye care more accessible. He has worked across Africa and Asia, led major research studies, and developed award-winning technologies that bring eye health to underserved communities. Under his leadership, Peek has partnered with governments and NGOs worldwide, reaching millions through programmes that combine community insight, mobile technology, and data-driven systems. Andrew is also a Professor in Global Eye Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a TED Fellow, recognised internationally for his contributions to global health innovation. https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/bastawrous.andrew
Life-writing has long provided people living with illness a means to reflect, record, reframe, communicate, and create art. Recent medical advances mean that more people survive serious conditions or are able to manage them in the long term. At the same time, digital media has multiplied how lives and selves can be written into being. Yet social and cultural frameworks still shape the definition and meaning of illness. This OCLW 'Lives in Medicine’ workshop creates space for counter-narratives of illness. More broadly, it examines the entanglements between illness experiences, life writing, and prevailing cultural storylines. The workshop brings together scholars, literary authors, and practitioners of illness life-writing to consider questions such as: What roles do narratives play in enabling—or hindering—the articulation of different illness experiences? Which forms of life-writing (and other modes of expression) can work as counter-narratives to mainstream scripts? Do we need stories of cancer and other socially and medically consequential conditions that sit outside clinical frames? What counter-narrative strategies might such stories use, and what might they reveal? These questions place us at the porous threshold between bodies and selves, and between medical science, the humanities, and the arts. The workshop is open to anyone interested in transdisciplinary research, life-writing, illness narratives, experience and memory, medicine, critical health humanities, narrative medicine, cancer studies, and queer, feminist, trans, and crip studies, as well as critical and creative approaches to the arts. Workshop Outline: 1100-1200: ‘Counter-narratives of Cancer’: introduction by Hanna Maretoja and Astrid Joutseno/Swan. 1200-1300: Lunch (registered participants may purchase lunch from Wolfson dining hall). 1300-1345: Interview with author Maddie Mortimer, The Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies (2022). 1345-1500: Demonstration of the Narrative Agency Reading Group Model. 1500-1530: Tea/Coffee break (refreshments provided). 1530-1700: Roundtable: ‘Illness, Narrative, and Life-Writing’ (Danielle Spencer, Emilia Nielsen, Angela Woods, and Tamarin Norwood). NB: The demonstration includes reading and creative writing exercises. However, there is no obligation to share your writing. No preparation is required. The demonstration will be streamed but will not be recorded. Speaker Details: Hanna Meretoja is Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of SELMA: Centre for the Study of Storytelling, Experientiality and Memory at the University of Turku. She runs the Research Council of Finland projects “Counter-Narratives of Cancer: Shaping Narrative Agency” (2023–27) and “Narrative Agency Reading Group Model: Applications for Libraries, Schools and Hospitals” (2025–26). She has been a Visiting Scholar at Oxford Centre for Life-Writing (2019–2020) and a Visiting Fellow at Exeter College, University of Oxford (2019–2020, spring 2023), and she is a member of Academia Europaea and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Her research primarily focuses on narrative studies and medical and health humanities. Her publications include The Ethics of Storytelling: Narrative Hermeneutics, History, and the Possible (2018, Oxford University Press), The Narrative Turn in Fiction and Theory (2014, Palgrave Macmillan), and a novel (Elotulet, 2022; Die Nacht der alten Feuer, 2024; ‘The Night of Ancient Lights’) that deals with the experience of getting a cancer diagnosis. Astrid Joutseno/Swan is a Researcher in the Finnish Research Council Project’ Counter-Narratives of Cancer: Shaping Narrative Agency’ (2023–2027), University of Turku. During 2024–2025 Joutseno is a Visiting Scholar at Oxford Centre for Life-Writing, University of Oxford. For 2023–2024 Joutseno was Postdoctoral Fellow in the Arts at Helsinki Collegium of Advanced Studies. Joutseno’s current research focus is on her original finding: the grief of the dying. Her interest in grief extends to cancer grief, generational and inherited grief, and artistic expressions of grief. Joutseno’s doctorate is from Gender Studies, specialising in theories and praxis of life-writing. Her PhD ‘Life Writing from Birth to Death: How M/others Know’ (2021) won the Best PhD dissertation award at the University of Helsinki. Joutseno’s article ‘Becoming D/other: Life as a Transmuting Device’ won the 2020 Hogan Prize. Astrid Swan is an award-winning songwriter and performer. She has published seven albums, one memoir and a novel. In 2018, Swan’s album From the Bed and Beyond won the Teosto award in Finland and was shortlisted for the Nordic Music Prize the same year. Since 2014, Joutseno/Swan has lived with breast cancer. This experience has informed both her research and creative practice. Emilia Nielsen is the author of two critically noted collections of poetry, Body Work (Signature Editions, 2018) and Surge Narrows (Leaf Press, 2013). Her book Disrupting Breast Cancer Narratives: Stories of Rage and Repair (University of Toronto Press, 2019) received the American Folklore Society’s Elli Köngäs-Maranda Prize. She is an associate professor in the Department of Social Science at York University, Toronto, where she teaches in Health and Society and supervises graduate students in Communication and Culture, Critical Disability Studies, English, and Health Policy and Equity. Her current research explores the experiential knowledge of chronic illness, hybrid forms of life-writing, and critical-creative approaches. She hosts and executive produces the podcast On Being Ill: Conversations on Creativity, Disability and Identity. Danielle Spencer is a faculty member in the Columbia University Narrative Medicine Graduate Program. Author of Metagnosis: Revelatory Narratives of Health and Identity (Oxford University Press, 2021) and co-author of the Perkins-Prize-winning The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine (OUP, 2017), her work appears from The Lancet to Ploughshares. She is Editor of the Anthem Studies in Narrative and Health Humanities series, Associate Editor of Literature and Medicine, and has held fellowships at MacDowell and Yaddo. Angela Woods is Professor of Medical Humanities at Durham University. She is Director of Durham’s Institute for Medical Humanities and Director of the Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities, funded by Wellcome. Her research spans voice-hearing and psychosis; narrative and health; and the dynamics of interdisciplinary collaboration. She co-edited The Edinburgh Companion to the Critical Medical Humanities and edits Bloomsbury’s Critical Interventions in the Medical and Health Humanities. In 2025, she was appointed Fellow of the English Association and awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Linköping University. Tamarin Norwood is an author and academic with a background in fine art. Her literary memoir of neonatal loss, The Song of the Whole Wide World, is now used in medical and midwifery curricula in the UK and Australia, building on her Wakley Essay Prize-winning ‘Something Good Enough’ in The Lancet. She holds a Leverhulme ECR Fellowship (Loughborough, 2023) and, in 2025, became Associate Editor at Medical Humanities, Honorary Fellow at Durham’s Institute for Medical Humanities, and Affiliate Scholar at SELMA, University of Turku. Maddie Mortimer was born in London in 1996, and studied English Literature at the University of Bristol. She has worked in marketing and as a screenwriter. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies is her first novel. It won the 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize for best debut novel. It has also been longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2022, and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2023. Maddie has been shortlisted for the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award 2023. Further Details and Contacts: This hybrid event is free and open to all. Registration is required. The workshop will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 2200 on 13 October 2025. Queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
Being an academic researcher can provide a great foundation to become a founder, and playing to strengths is essential. But some parts of the commercialisation journey can seem alien, or even counterintuitive, when considered from an academic perspective – from pitching to investors without peer-reviewed data to pivoting your technology based on market feedback rather than scientific merit. How can you make the most of your rigorous, evidence-based, and scientific mind as you embark on your founder journey? And what new mindsets could serve you well, as the whims of the market take centre stage? Drawing from examples of successful academic-founder transitions in climate tech, we’ll explore how to bridge the gap between laboratory excellence and commercial success.
Tuesdays, 12.15 The Margaret Thatcher Centre, Somerville College Followed by a free buffet lunch
High-quality Early Childhood Education (ECE), characterised by warm, responsive adult–child interactions and rich learning experiences, has the potential to reduce inequalities in child development by school entry. Yet families experiencing structural disadvantage are often least likely to access such provision. This risks widening developmental gaps, compounding structural inequalities for children and families, and ultimately harming society. Furthermore, the conceptual models used in this area by longitudinal research and educational policymaking all too often fail to integrate (a) how structural inequalities shape access to high-quality ECE with (b) what high-quality ECE can achieve in reducing developmental inequalities. Drawing on a range of longitudinal evidence, this seminar therefore asks: 1. What are the contemporary conceptual frameworks often used by longitudinal researchers and educational policymakers to describe links between structural inequalities, ECE and early development? 2. Where did these conceptual frameworks come from, and how long have they been in use? 3. If these frameworks are limited, why does their use persist? Drawing on the answers to these questions, a new conceptual framework is then presented that more fully represents relationships between structural inequalities, ECE and early development. The utility of this framework for researchers, and thus for research-informed policymaking, is then illustrated using empirical examples, including using data from the UK Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) study. Ultimately, how researchers and policymakers understand the world shapes the narratives that they produce about it. It is therefore of utmost importance that the conceptual models that they draw upon in their work are accurate to the structures and processes of the world that that they are engaging with. This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar series. Join in-person or online: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
(with Bryce Dietrich) How do pedestrians respond to the race of those around them? Building on field experiments showing that pedestrians give wider berths to Black individuals (Dietrich and Sands 2023), we extend and deepen this literature using immersive Virtual Reality (VR). First, we show that real-world pedestrian behaviours replicate in VR: on average, individuals maintain greater physical distance from Black avatars compared to white avatars. Second, we link these behavioural responses to surveys, and find no clear relationships between avoidance and pre-treatment characteristics or between "treatment" and racial attitudes. Together, this work provides insights into how nonverbal actions may carry the imprint of structural inequalities, even when such behaviours go undetected by surveys.
This seminar discusses findings from a recent analysis of the impact of the pandemic on cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes. More specifically, results from the 2022 Programme in International Student Assessment (PISA) were juxtaposed against five previous test administrations to examine the impact of school closures across Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Europe. The findings, gleaned from approximately 1.45 million student test profiles, suggested an important intersection between cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. In particular, pandemic related learning deficits for students with high levels of a sense of belonging and growth mindset were approximately one school year for reading, and half a school year for mathematics and sciences. Conversely, for students who were frequently bullied, the COVID-related losses averaged 1.5 school years across all three test domains: mathematics, reading, and science literacy. Overall, the analysis indicated that students, when controlled for the trend, experienced a loss of 0.07 standard deviations in their sense of belonging to school, an increase of 0.14 standard deviations in fixed mindset, and a 3% decrease in the probability of being frequently bullied, compared to past student cohorts. The results further suggested that lower socioeconomic status students, as represented in the bottom quartile of the PISA Economic, Social, and Cultural Status (ESCS) index, were disproportionate impacted by the pandemic. The seminar concludes with a discussion of the implications for supporting academic resilience in contemporary education systems. Biography Louis Volante (PhD) is a Distinguished Professor at Brock University and a Professorial Fellow at UNU-MERIT / Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. His interdisciplinary scholarship focuses on the global governance of education; politics, policy, and large-scale reform; political economy of education systems; international achievement surveys and policy diffusion; and impact evaluation of policies and programmes. Professor Volante’s research is widely referenced in academic and policy communities and has received continuous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). His current SSHRC funded research examines the short- and long-term impact of the pandemic on student learning outcomes. Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d s
We study a market in which several firms potentially each supply a number of "brands" of fundamentally the same product. Consumers differ in which products they consider, and firms compete using (multi-dimensional) mixed pricing strategies. We show when firms apply uniform pricing across their brands, and when they use segmented pricing so that one "discount" brand is always priced below another. We explore the case of symmetric brands in particular. We discuss the impact of introducing a new brand, of imposing a requirement to set uniform prices across a firm's brands, and of mergers between firms.
This seminar discusses findings from a recent analysis of the impact of the pandemic on cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes. More specifically, results from the 2022 Programme in International Student Assessment (PISA) were juxtaposed against five previous test administrations to examine the impact of school closures across Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Europe. The findings, gleaned from approximately 1.45 million student test profiles, suggested an important intersection between cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. In particular, pandemic related learning deficits for students with high levels of a sense of belonging and growth mindset were approximately one school year for reading, and half a school year for mathematics and sciences. Conversely, for students who were frequently bullied, the COVID-related losses averaged 1.5 school years across all three test domains: mathematics, reading, and science literacy. Overall, the analysis indicated that students, when controlled for the trend, experienced a loss of 0.07 standard deviations in their sense of belonging to school, an increase of 0.14 standard deviations in fixed mindset, and a 3% decrease in the probability of being frequently bullied, compared to past student cohorts. The results further suggested that lower socioeconomic status students, as represented in the bottom quartile of the PISA Economic, Social, and Cultural Status (ESCS) index, were disproportionate impacted by the pandemic. The seminar concludes with a discussion of the implications for supporting academic resilience in contemporary education systems. Biography Louis Volante (PhD) is a Distinguished Professor at Brock University and a Professorial Fellow at UNU-MERIT / Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. His interdisciplinary scholarship focuses on the global governance of education; politics, policy, and large-scale reform; political economy of education systems; international achievement surveys and policy diffusion; and impact evaluation of policies and programmes. Professor Volante’s research is widely referenced in academic and policy communities and has received continuous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). His current SSHRC funded research examines the short- and long-term impact of the pandemic on student learning outcomes. Full Biography: https://brocku.ca/education/faculty-and-staff/dr-louis-volante/ https://unu.edu/merit/about/research-fellow/prof-louis-volante Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d s
Weight management in pregnancy is a growing concern as excessive and insufficient gestational weight gain (GWG) is linked to adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Despite this, there are no consensual GWG recommendations used in routine clinical management of pregnancies. The existing IOM guidelines do not provide detailed guidance that are GA specific for routine monitoring during pregnancy. Pregnancy assessments of risks and classification into inadequate, normal, and excessive should be assessed at each GA as opposed to only trimester specific. In addition, IOM guidelines were based primarily on data from the United States and may not be suitable for diverse populations worldwide. In this talk, we will revisit GWG cut-offs for pregnancy monitoring and discuss approaches towards development of GWG standards and ongoing work being undertaken by WHO to re-define GWG standards.
Join us for an in-depth discussion with Dr. Karam Shaar, a leading political economist and Chief Economic Consultant on Syria to the United Nations, as we examine the country’s political economy beyond the Assad era. Dr. Shaar has produced extensive research on Syria and advised international organizations and research institutions on reconstruction, fiscal reform, and governance. The conversation will explore Syria’s emerging economic philosophy — spanning fiscal, monetary, investment, and privatisation policies — and consider how political forces, capital, and society interact in re-defining the state’s role. It will also explore the influence of the international community and regional dynamics in shaping the new political and economic order. Moderated by: Jad Baghdadi, Rhodes Scholar and PhD Candidate at ODID researching state–capital relations Chair: Adeel Malik, Globe Fellow in Economies of Muslim Societies and Associate Professor, ODID
Salience indicates what to pay attention to and instigates learning to pay attention. The insula forms a central hub of the salience network. However, the nature of the salience signals processed by the insula remained a matter of debate. For example, motivational salience increases with both the aversiveness and appetitiveness of predicted outcomes and one would therefore expect a salience-processing region to show increased activity in both domains. While there is some evidence for common encoding of appetitive and aversive outcomes, the insula has also been shown to preferentially encode the aversive rather than the appetitive domain. Using both Pavlovian and instrumental tasks, in this talk I provide evidence that the anterior insula encodes errors in the prediction of motivationally salient outcomes (absolute prediction errors) in a subjective fashion (based on individual ratings) and similarly in the appetitive and aversive domain. By contrast, middle insula regions preferentially encode salience prediction errors in an objective fashion (based on actual probabilities). Moreover, at the time of outcome predicting cues, the anterior insula encodes salience prediction errors preferentially in the aversive domain, suggesting that it integrates salient outcomes more readily into predictions when they occur in the aversive domain. The findings are compatible with the anterior insula playing a role in subjective experience and reconcile distinct views on its domain specificity. Bio: Philippe Tobler is Professor in Neuroeconomics and Social Neuroscience at the Department of Economics, University of Zurich. His research explores value-based decision making and reward learning in both social and non-social contexts, including how constituents of subjective value (such as risk, effort, delay) are processed in the brain; he uses behavioural experiments, fMRI, and pharmacological manipulations.
The majority of words across the world’s languages consist of smaller meaningful units, or morphemes, which combine and recombine to create new words (e.g., mis-trust-ful-ness). Previous research shows that such words are processed in terms of these smaller units. Although psycholinguistics has made important advances in understanding this process of morphological decomposition, the field currently faces a serious limitation: most of what we know is based on English and other Indo-European languages (Cayado & Rastle, in prep). This reliance constrains our understanding of how morphological decomposition takes place and which linguistic factors modulate this process. Existing models of morphological processing variously assume that positional information, phonological and orthographic changes, phonological variability, and consistency in the orthographic and phonological forms of morphemes play a critical role during decomposition. In this talk, I will present a series of behavioural and magnetoencephalography (MEG) experiments that systematically test how these linguistic properties influence morphological decomposition. First, I exploit Tagalog infixation and pseudo-infixation to investigate the role of affix positional information in morphological processing (Cayado et al., 2023; in prep). Second, I examine morphophonological changes and variability in Tagalog—specifically nasal assimilation and substitution—to test how such changes, which obscure the boundary between prefix and stem, and the variability in their application, modulate the decomposition of morphologically complex words (Cayado et al., 2024, 2025). Third, I use Tagalog reduplication to examine how mismatches between orthographic and phonological forms affect morpheme recognition and activation (Wray et al., 2022; Cayado et al., in prep). I will conclude by discussing how evidence from Tagalog challenges existing models of visual word recognition and outlining my plans to extend this work to reading acquisition, with the goal of informing the inclusion of morphology in reading curricula. Bio: Dr. Dave Kenneth Tayao Cayado is a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, Department of Psychology. His research delves into how morphologically complex words are processed and represented in the human mind and brain, with a particular focus on Tagalog. Employing behavioral experiments and neuroimaging techniques like magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography, he investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying morphological decomposition across different modalities. Dr. Cayado earned his PhD in Psycho/Neurolinguistics from Queen Mary University of London in 2024, where he explored the flexibility of morphological processing models through the lens of Tagalog morphology. Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3aM_SoBsI8nakThXNUxEguh57-GSvT6JopDdhFnEBgr3I1%40thread.tacv2/1759499608058?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e0e2c03d-d313-4dab-bd7c-afbd83792648%22%7d
Can public R&D investment in developing countries drive productivity growth? We study this question in the context of Brazilian agriculture and the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa), a public research corporation established in 1973 to develop locally suitable science and technology. First, we show that Embrapa redirected research toward prioritized staple crops and local ecological conditions, and increased research productivity, especially in remote and research-scarce regions. Second, exploiting the staggered rollout of research centers alongside heterogeneous local exposure to Embrapa’s technology development, we find that Embrapa significantly increased agricultural output, driven both by higher productivity and expanded input use. Combined with a model, these estimates imply that public R&D investment increased national agricultural productivity by 110% with a benefit-cost ratio of 17. The decentralized structure, in which research labs were spread across many ecological zones instead of in a single hub, explains a large share of these benefits.
The last half century has seen society, technology, the character of conflict and the British Army itself all change greatly. From a low point in the 1970s, the Army's war fighting capability increased in the 1980s in the face of a prospective war with the Soviet Union. This capability was then tested on operations from Kuwait in 1991 through to Afghanistan in 2001 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. There followed two decades of descent from this high plateau of military achievement. Mistakes made in Iraq and Afghanistan led to a decline in support for military deployments. Cuts to defence funding and botched equipment procurements also meant the British Army of 2021 was only half the size of that of 1970, and with much key fighting equipment either obsolete or approaching obsolescence. About the speaker Ben Barry is a Senior Fellow for Land Warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Before this, he served in the Army, where he commanded an armoured infantry battalion and a multinational brigade on United Nations and Nato operations in Bosnia. He is the author of the acclaimed book ‘Blood, Metal and Dust: How Victory Turned into Defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq’.
Modern researchers need to have an up-to-date understanding of working with research data. This relates equally to the material they create themselves and that obtained from other sources. Academic institutions, funding bodies and even publishers are now expecting competence in these issues. This workshop will provide a grounding in the different ways quantitative and qualitative data is being made available to benefit researchers. By the end of the session you will also have some insight into how your own future work could add to the process and become part of the research discourse. The course aims to provide an overview of macro and micro data sources available at the University of Oxford, including national data archives, subscription services, business data, and offers some pointers for further searching. Topics to be covered include: overview of the landscape of data sources for health researchers, social scientists and most other researchers; how to obtain macro and micro data via specific sources; qualitative and quantitative data resources; additional data services such as the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), Eurostat, Researchfish and the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative's online interactive databank and global Multidimensional Poverty Index; plus specialist sources for business and economic data subscribed to by Oxford University; the value of resources for informing research design and methodological innovation; and the importance of data management and cybersecurity. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student; Staff
Despite limited empirical evidence of its effectiveness, transitional justice remains the dominant paradigm within international peacebuilding frameworks for addressing conflict-related harm. The field, which expanded significantly after the Nuremberg trials and tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, has faced sustained critique for its legalism, international imposition, and marginalisation of victims—prompting calls for structural transformation. Within this critical turn, Sri Lanka has emerged as a key site of scholarly intervention, contributing to the literature through empirically grounded critiques that advocate for a decolonial reconceptualising of transitional justice. This presentation will analyse preliminary findings of a British Academy project on transforming transitional justice through decolonial methodological approaches in Sri Lanka. The project navigated complex methodological terrain, pursuing a decolonial approach within a context where colonial structures and systems remain, producing findings which contribute to further challenging dominant praxis on transitional justice. Preliminary findings reinforce existing scholarly arguments for gender- and identity-based justice, and by advancing notions of equity and self-determination as integral to justice, contribute to expanding the conceptual imaginary of transformative justice.
The United States has undergone two massive shifts in housing and schooling in the past 40 years. First, residential income segregation has markedly increased, especially among families with children. Second, postsecondary enrollment has greatly expanded, likely as a result of higher wages for college-educated workers. As these two secular trends have ascended side-by-side, a puzzle has emerged: Are families competing for neighborhoods that can ensure their children’s success in the college game? If so, are families increasingly hoarding geo-spatial opportunities to maximize their children’s socioeconomic success? To illuminate possible answers to these questions, I examine three successive cohorts of restricted data on students going to college in the early 1980s, the mid-2000s, and the late 2010s to understand whether the neighborhoods in which students grew up have increasingly differential impacts on their college enrollment and college selectivity outcomes. Using geocoded data from the NLSY 1979, NLSY Children and Young Adults, and transcript data from the High School Longitudinal Study, I track students from childhood and adolescence through young adulthood and find that the neighborhoods where they grew up indeed do have increasingly differential impacts on their college outcomes across these three cohorts of students. I discuss the potential implications for future economic disparities as increased competition for housing among families contracts students’ access to higher education.
The scale of atrocities in Gaza since October 2023 has overshadowed less catastrophic issues such as employment and workers’ rights. Yet these concerns, while less urgent, significantly affect individual lives, non-citizen workers, and the region’s political economy. Key developments include the replacement of Palestinian workers with migrant workers and the adoption of problematic recruitment mechanisms discarded in the past. These developments reflect a tension between three logics underlying the political economy of non-citizen labour in Israel/Palestine: a capitalist, an ethno-nationalist, and a colonial logic. They show how events since October 2023 have shaped the relationship between the three logics. Conflicts around the use of national security rhetoric following the 7 October attack to promote a far-right political ideology and around domestic and international checks and balances that used to offer (limited) protection of workers’ rights demonstrate these tensions. Dr Maayan Niezna is a Lecturer at the University of Liverpool School of Law and Social Justice. Before joining the School, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Modern Slavery and Human Rights at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on trafficking for labour exploitation, the regulation of labour migration, and the rights of non-citizens. She previously worked at the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants-Israel, the Office of the National Anti-trafficking Coordinator, Israeli Ministry of Justice, UNHCR, and worked on issues concerning the rights of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as a lawyer at Gisha-Legal Center for Freedom of Movement. Dr Niezna's co-author Dr Yahel Kurlander is a sociologist of labour markets specialising in migration and work. Her research explores the intersections of labour migration, agriculture, law, and health, with a focus on Thai and other migrant workers in Israel. She has published extensively in leading academic journals and collaborates on international research with partners from academia and civil society. Her current projects address the impact of war on migrant workers, agricultural policy, and access to healthcare for marginalised groups. She is a Senior Lecturer at Tel-Hai Academic College.
In this 60-minute online workshop you will be introduced to the methodologies and principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other evidence reviews. The session will cover: formulating a focused research question; preparing a protocol; developing a search strategy to address that research question; choosing appropriate databases and search engines; searching for grey literature and ongoing studies; storing and managing references; and documenting and reporting your search. Intended audience: Medicine and NHS; Researcher and research student
Nearly 40 years ago, Andy Yao proposed the construction of “Garbled Circuits,” which had an enormous impact on the field of secure computation -- both in theory and in practice. In Garbled Circuits, two parties agree on a Boolean circuit that they want to evaluate, where both parties have partial, disjoint inputs to the circuit, and neither party is willing to disclose to the other party anything but the output. In this talk, Professor Ostrovsky will survey the state of the art for garbling schemes, including computing with Garbled Random Access Memory, the so-called GRAM constructions that were invented by Lu and Ostrovsky in 2013, as well as more recent progress, including the GRAM paper by Heath, Kolesnikov and Ostrovsky, which received the best paper award in Eurocrypt 2022. He will also discuss Garbled Circuits in the malicious setting, where parties try to deviate arbitrarily from the prescribed protocol execution to gain additional information, and will review some of the latest advances in this area. The talk will be self-contained and accessible to the general audience. Rafail Ostrovsky holds the Norman E. Friedmann Endowed Chair in Knowledge Sciences at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering. He is a Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at UCLA. He was elected as a Fellow by multiple organizations, including the American Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR). Prof. Ostrovsky is a foreign member of the Academia Europaea. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed articles and holds 16 patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). He served as chair of the IEEE Technical Committee on Mathematical Foundations of Computing from 2015 to 2018 and as Chair of the IEEE Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS) 2011 Annual Conference Program Committee (PC). He also served on over 40 other international conference PCs and is serving on the editorial boards of the Journal of ACM and the Algorithmica Journal. He also served on the Journal of Cryptology's editorial board from 2006 until 2025. Prof. Ostrovsky is the recipient of multiple awards and honors, including the 1993 Henry Taub Prize; the 2017 IEEE Computer Society Edward J. McCluskey Technical Achievement Award; the 2018 RSA Award for Excellence in Mathematics (also known as RSA Prize); and the 2022 W. Wallace McDowell Award – the highest award given by the IEEE Computer Society. The Strachey Lectures are generously supported by OxFORD Asset Management
In a world scarred by cycles of atrocities, a weighty question looms large: how do these devastating events shape political behaviors decades later? Political scientists have engaged in this debate, and conventional wisdom holds that victims who were once subjected to crimes against humanity rarely support a political party that attempted to exterminate them. This study seeks to investigate why, despite a legacy of brutal repression, including the deaths of over 20,000 civilians, many survivors and their descendants in the Matabeleland Regions (MMR) now support ZANU PF, the political party responsible for the atrocities of the 1980s. Guided by Vamik Volkan’s Chosen Trauma and Lazarsfeld’s Michigan theory, the study aims to interrogate the roles of candidate perception, party identification, and policy preferences, and how they intertwine with collective and individual memory during elections. Anchored in interpretivist and social constructivist paradigms, the multi-case study will be restricted to four districts, Matobo, Tsholotsho, Lupane, and Nkayi, which are purposively selected due to their deep historical exposure to Gukurahundi and notable patterns of electoral volatility. The anticipated contributions for this research are twofold. First, the study seeks to explain voting behavior in MMR and to expand the limited literature on electoral behavior in post-conflict countries. It will challenge sweeping generalizations in existing studies by showing how localized dynamics, beyond trauma, ethnicity, clientelism, performance legitimacy, patronage or violence, shape electoral preferences. Second, it will examine collective and individual memory, with the aim of clarifying contradictions on whether psychological scars from violence permanently influence political allegiance. By focusing on MMR’s unique context, the study intends to advance understanding of how shifting loyalties emerge in post-conflict settings. Oxford Southern Africa Discussion Group, Michaelmas term 2025
We are delighted to welcome Professor Caroline Buckee, Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard, known for her work on infectious disease dynamics and public health modelling. In this seminar, she will discuss malaria transmission in the Amazon, extreme heat impacts on informal workers in India and the importance of community-led research. The seminar will be chaired by James Hay and will take place on Tuesday 21 October, from 16:00 to 17:00, in the St Cross College lecture theatre. Following the seminar, there will be a drinks reception and an opportunity to network with all attendees. Abstract Professor Caroline Buckee will discuss how malaria dynamics in the Amazon are shaped by gold mining and human migration, highlighting the challenges faced by malaria control programmes in remote regions across it will discuss how malaria epidemiology and dynamics in the Amazon are driven by gold mining and human migration, and how this creates challenges for malaria control programs in remote settings across the Americas. Professor Buckee will base this discussion in the context of how mathematical models are used to support programmatic decision making, and argue that social and economic drivers are more important than environmental determinants in malaria outbreaks in the region. Professor Buckee will also discuss a project in Ahmedabad, India, on the impact of extreme heat on women working in the informal sector, and the importance of community-led research to address health problems. Biography Professor Caroline Buckee is a Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Professor Buckee's research interests span infectious disease epidemiology and ecology, with a focus on vector borne diseases including malaria and dengue, human mobility and the impact of labor migration on the spread of epidemics, and the intersection of climate risks and human health and well-being. Professor Buckee's group actively supports National Malaria Control Programs in the global south to improve surveillance and analytical approaches to targeting interventions. Her group has several projects focusing on the impact of gold-mining on malaria transmission and control in the Amazon region in South America. In India, Professor Buckee's group is working with communities to understand the impact of extreme heat on poor working women, and to develop community-led intervention research. From 2013-2023, Dr. Buckee was the Associate Director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics. She co-founded and co-directs Crisis Ready (crisisready.io), a joint platform between Harvard's Data Science Initiative (HDSI) and Direct Relief, to support data-driven responses to public health emergencies and disasters. Dr. Buckee co-leads the South Asia Climate and Health Research Cluster supported by Harvard's Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability.
The advent of large language models (LLMs) provides an opportunity to conduct qualitative interviews at a large scale, with thousands of respondents, creating a bridge between qualitative and quantitative methods. In this paper, we develop a simple, versatile open-source platform for researchers to run AI-led qualitative interviews. Our approach incorporates established best practices from the sociology literature, uses only a single LLM agent with low latency, and can be adapted to new interview topics almost instantaneously. We assess its robustness by drawing comparisons to human experts and using several respondents-based quality metrics. Its versatility is illustrated through four broad classes of applications: eliciting key factors in decision making, political views, subjective mental states, and mental models of the effects of public policies. High performance ratings are obtained in all of these domains. The platform is easy to use and deploy: we provide detailed explanations and code for researchers to swiftly set up and test their own AI-led interviews. In addition, we develop, validate, and share a simple LLM-based pipeline for textual analysis and coding of large volumes of interview transcripts
As COP30 approaches, questions about the role of food systems in global climate negotiations are more urgent than ever. Despite being responsible for a significant share of greenhouse gas emissions and being especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, food systems have long remained on the margins of COP discussions, sidelined to external pavilions and parallel sessions rather than featured on the main stage. In this TABLE event, we ask our panelists to envision a gathering of world leaders and decisionmakers in the near future that adequately weighs the role of food systems in climate change and understands the measures needed to shift diets in a sustainable way and scale back food systems’ impact on the environment. We’ll explore how food systems could gain stronger recognition at COP30 and beyond. What would an ambitious, food-centered climate agenda look like? Drawing on their expertise and the most recent evidence, such as the EAT-Lancet report, our panel will discuss how rethinking food could reshape these international conversations. Confirmed Panelists: - Senni Alho, Innovations Officer, Clim-EAT - Sigrid Wertheim-Heck, Associate Professor in Global Food System Sustainability at the Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University & Research - Tamsir Sallah, Member of the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences (IAAS World) and the Former Exchange Coordinator of IAAS Netherlands - Jillian Student (moderator), Knowledge integrator and researcher on transdisciplinary research and education, Wageningen University & Research Please note: Event starts at 17:15 CEST local time (in the Netherlands) and but is listed as 16:15 BST here for our online audience in London.
Seminar followed by Q&A and drinks - all welcome - join in person or online The amazing diversity of life on Earth is the direct result of evolutionarily unavoidable tradeoffs that all life has faced since the Cambrian explosion. Because of such tradeoffs, new species coexisted with, and did not displace, established species. These same tradeoffs explain why greater diversity leads to increases in ecosystem productivity and stability, carbon capture and storage, water quality, soil fertility, and resistance to invasive species. Humans, the only species to escape these tradeoffs, caused waves of extinctions during the past 50K years. In this, the final period of rapid increases in human population and income, the prevention of further extinctions will require major changes to agriculture, diets and energy sources and usage. Biography David Tilman is Regents Professor and McKnight Presidential Chair in Ecology at the University of Minnesota, and Distinguished Professor in the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara. Tilman is an ecologist whose long-term experiments and related mathematical theory were the first to show that biodiversity is a major determinant of ecosystem stability, productivity, carbon storage and susceptibility to invasion. His recent work focuses on ways to protect and preserve biodiversity by improving agriculture and diets. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Royal Society. Awards include the International Prize for Biology, the Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, the Balzan Prize, the BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award, the Asahi Foundation’s Blue Planet Prize, and in 2025, the United States National Medal of Science. He is deeply interested in the interface of science, society, ethics and environmental policy, and has communicated the benefits of scientifically-based solutions to major environmental problems with the public, politicians, and media. He has given expert invited testimony to Congressional committees and served on several White House scientific advisory committees. David Tilman, whose Ph. D. was from the University of Michigan in 1976, has written two books, edited four books, and published more than 375 scientific papers, including more than 40 papers in Nature and Science. The Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity Network are interested in promoting a wide variety of views and opinions on nature recovery from researchers and practitioners. The views, opinions and positions expressed within this lecture are those of the author alone, they do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery/Biodiversity Network, or its researchers.
This presentation will summarise E.ON UK’s approach to helping the UK’s households, businesses and communities transition to a low carbon energy future. It will introduce E.ON’s activities in the UK across energy retail and solutions. There will be some example initiatives that highlight E.ON’s commitment to ensure the energy transition works for everyone, and not just the most well off.
Evidence matters for public policymaking. Yet calls for ‘evidence-based policy’ often risk oversimplifying inherently political processes— assuming that particular forms of scientific evidence can directly determine policy decisions, or that politics should be excluded from policymaking altogether. In contrast, this talk (based on the open-access book of the same title), argues that it is critical to move away from asking how policy can be ‘based on’ evidence; to instead consider what better uses of evidence would look like - from both scientific and democratic principles - given the inherently political nature of the policy process. The talk identifies a range of biased and problematic uses of evidence when assessed against these normative principles, leading to the development of a ‘good governance of evidence’ framework. Ultimately it argues for institutionalisation of good governance principles in the form of the structures, rules, and norms of science/evidence advisory systems that can ensure the use of rigorous, systematic, and technically valid pieces of evidence within decision making processes that are representative of, and accountable to, populations served. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Dr Justin Parkhurst (BS, MPhil, DPhil) is an Associate Professor of Global Health Policy at the LSE Department of Health Policy. His research interests lie in global health politics and policy, and the political nature of evidence use to inform policy decisions. He led a 5-year programme of work on Getting Research Into Policy in Health funded by the European Research Council, resulting in multiple open access publications including the book: The Politics of Evidence: From Evidence Based Policy to the Good Governance of Evidence, (Routledge). He currently co-leads (with Dr Freddie Ssengooba) the ‘Systems of Evidence to Improve Health Policy in Africa’ (SEIHPA) project which studies institutional arrangements and processes that provide science/evidence advice to health policymakers in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi and Rwanda (funded by the National Institute of Health Research - NIHR). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
Scholars argue that great powers must be technological leaders, and that autocracies, which suppress creativity and information flows, will stifle innovation. Many observers of China’s rise thus argued that it would be unable to compete technologically with the United States. Professor Lind's book, Autocracy 2.0: How China's Rise Reinvented Tyranny (Cornell University Press 2025), challenges this view by showing that China has become a global innovation leader. Professor Lind shows that China and other 'smart authoritarians' have adapted their tools of control to better compete in today’s globalized information age. The evolution of Autocracy 2.0 suggests that China (and other smart authoritarian regimes) will be more competitive than observers expected, which has powerful implications for the balance of power, the future of international order, and the global struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. Jennifer Lind researches the international relations of East Asia and US foreign policy toward the region. She is Associate Professor of Government at Dartmouth College and a fellow at Chatham House, London, and at Harvard University's Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies.
What explains patterns of state repression during civil wars? To address this question, this paper analyzes novel data on rebel attacks and security operations during Algeria’s War of Independence from France. The data were constructed from 15,000 pages of declassified intelligence documents collected from France’s national archives, providing a uniquely fine-grained picture of violence in Algeria over time and across this territory. I find that rebel attacks targeting communes with a larger concentration of Euro-Algerians, i.e., individuals of European descent born in Algeria, elicited more violent responses from the French armed forces than similar attacks that targeted predominantly indigenous Algerian communities. These differences are not well accounted for by variations in state capacity or geography. To explain these results, I develop a new theory of bottom-up demand for repression. I argue that French forces were responsive to pressures by Euro-Algerian civilians who demanded punishment of and protection from rebel attacks against their communities, and that these civilians’ mobilization for repression helps account for variations in coercive responses. This paper contributes to literatures on colonial rule, state repression, and conflict more broadly by unpacking the processes through which civilians shape repression by armed actors.
James A. Fraser works on the political and historical ecology of tropical forests, agrarian change, and struggles for recognition in Amazonia and West Africa. He holds a PhD in Environmental Anthropology from the University of Sussex, taught at Lancaster University in the UK for twelve years, and has held various visiting fellowships in institutions in Brazil and Colombia. His research has explored themes of sustainability, justice, and socio-ecological resilience, with a strong focus on collaborative work with forest peoples. Dr. Fraser is also engaged in postgraduate training and participatory research in Latin America, mentoring students and fostering cross-cultural academic exchange.
This paper examines how populations in conflict zones perceive foreign military interventions, using Mali as a case study. Based on an original survey experiment (N = 1,594), it compares support for interventions led by the UN, ECOWAS, France, and Russia, focusing on how actor identity, perceived effectiveness, and integrity shape preferences. Findings challenge common assumptions: states—especially non-Western ones like Russia—often attract more support than international organizations; effectiveness raises support across all actors; and misconduct erodes approval, particularly for otherwise trusted interveners. The study highlights the importance of local perspectives for understanding legitimacy and warns Western states not to assume preferred-partner status in an era of multipolar competition and declining UN reach.
Santanu Das (University of Oxford): ‘The Maritime Closet: Queer Lives at Sea’, chaired by Elleke Boehmer (Hosted by the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing)
The Sheldonian Series continues this academic year, centering around issues relating to 'Power'. The series will explore 'Cancel Culture' in Michaelmas term (Tuesday 21 October 2025), ‘Activism’ in Hilary term (Tuesday 4 February 2026) and the theme of ‘Satire’ in Trinity term (20 May 2026). Join the Vice-Chancellor on Tuesday 21 October to hear from panellists discussing 'Cancel Culture': is cancellation a threat to free expression, or a necessary means of accountability? This event is open to all and includes an audience Q&A. Panellists: Sunder Katwala – Director of the British Future think tank Helen Mountfield KC – Trustee for Index on Censorship, barrister, and Principal of Mansfield College Lord Young of Acton – General Secretary of the Free Speech Union and Conservative peer Zoe Williams – Journalist, columnist and author at The Guardian The Vice-Chancellor will open and close the event, and the discussion will be moderated by David Isaac, Provost of Worcester College. The series aims to promote freedom of speech and inclusive inquiry within the collegiate University.
‘Naval tradition?’, Winston Churchill was said to have growled, ‘Monstrous! Nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash!’. In this lecture, Santanu Das will seek to uncover and examine this much-mythologised yet largely unknown world aboard what Herman Melville called ‘the wooden-walled Gomorrahs of the deep’ and its relationship to literary and cultural forms. Drawing on a variety of sources from British and US maritime archives—from descriptions of sailors’ tattoos (ranging from drawings of ‘penises with sails’ to words like ‘Pay before you enter’ on strategic body-parts) and ethnological texts to nineteenth-century sodomy trials and sailors’ testimonies—Das focuses on particular moments and processes of erotic knowledge and action in selected texts by Herman Meville, Pierre Loti, E.M. Forster and James Hanley. The impulses are both historicist and literary. What such an investigation reveals is a lost world of linguistic richness and tactile intimacies queerer than queer, resulting in powerful and often perverse structures of feeling and form, but seldom organised under the sign of ‘queerness’. The literary texts Das considers, on the other hand, do not just fill in the gaps in the archives or imagine a radical future. Shaped by ‘fate and ban’ as much as the lives they imagine, they represent the phenomenology of desire and its entanglement in the worlds of violence, authority and law through strategies which resist straightforward historicist or politicised readings. Important to the lecture will be the question of the archive and its relationship to life-writing: How do we create and define a ‘queer archive’, if at all, given the silences of traditional sources and the strangeness of literary texts? Is there a specifically ‘maritime closet’? If much of the attention in recent years has been on the discursive and the political, Das seeks to highlight the perverse impulses and pleasures of queer lives and literature in an increasingly sanitised critical culture. Speaker Details: Santanu Das is Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Modern Literature and Culture at All Souls College, University of Oxford. He is the author of two award-winning monographs, Touch and Intimacy in First World War Literature (2006) and India, Empire and First World War Culture: Writings, Images, and Songs (2018) and the editor of Race, Empire and First World War Writing (2008) and the Cambridge Companion to the Poetry of the First World War (2014). He is currently editing the Oxford Book of Colonial Writings of the First World War and writing a book on the experience and aesthetics of sea voyages. Further Details and Contacts: After the event, join us for a complimentary wine reception. This event is free and open to all; however, registration is recommended. This is an in-person event, but it will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 14:30 on 21 October 2025. Any queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
Film in French with English subtitles. With Paul Kircher, Angelina Woreth, Ludivine Sagnier. August 1992. A sweltering afternoon in a forgotten valley of Eastern France, marked by its silent blast furnaces and its lake. Fourteen-year-old Anthony and his cousin try to escape their boredom by the water, where they meet Steph and Clem. For Anthony, this will become the summer of first love—the kind that defines everything. A bittersweet turning point, marking both the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. But there is also Hacine, a restless rebel from the neighborhood. And a stolen motorcycle that will upend Anthony’s world. Over the course of four decisive summers, the lives of Anthony, Steph, and Hacine will intersect, collide, and intertwine. Amid the chaos, love will struggle to find its way… Adapted from the eponymous novel by Nicolas Mathieu.
Are you an early career/fixed term researcher, or doctoral student trying to get some writing done? Do you research on a topic related to health, medicine, the body, or mind using Humanities or Social Sciences approaches? The Medical Humanities Writing Group is an inclusive, interdisciplinary and casual gathering, encouraging writing as well as meeting others: all DPhil and FTR/ECR members of the collegiate university community are welcome. We have timed writing blocks and coffee/tea/light refreshments, and are focused on setting writing goals and getting work done in a positive and supportive environment. Attendance is free and you are welcome to join us for anything from a single session, to a few, or even the whole term. Writing Group sessions in MT2025: Wednesday 15 October 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Wednesday 22 October 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 28 October 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 11 November 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 18 November 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 25 November 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Wednesday 3 December 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
Puzzled by PICO? Daunted by databases? Baffled by Boolean? This one-hour online introductory class will offer top tips and advice on how to find literature to answer a research question. No prior experience necessary! Together, we will break down a question into the PICO format, put together a structured search, and try it out in PubMed. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what structured searching is, and when to use it; break your research question down into searchable concepts; and make use of Boolean operators (ANDs/ORs) in your structured searches. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
The second half of the nineteenth century, marked by recurrent military and diplomatic conflict, witnessed large-scale forced displacement into the Ottoman Middle East. With it came a prolonged crisis that unsettled established legal and ethical frameworks, creating a volatile environment in which the slave trade not only persisted but adapted and, in some cases, expanded—even as formal efforts to suppress it were underway. This paper turns to a pivotal moment within this broader turbulence: the 1877–78 Russo-Ottoman War and its aftermath. It examines the practices of Ottoman slaveholders and traders—many of them women—operating across different scales, from elite mistresses to local intermediaries. In doing so, it explores how these practices collided with a shifting global moral order that recast legal categories of race, ethnicity, religion, and state belonging, leaving a lasting imprint on the region’s social and legal landscape.
Written with Oriana Bandiera, Menna Bishop, Robin Burgess, and Jack Thiemel
This session introduces the pharma and biomedical industries and offers tips and strategies on entering related careers. You will gain an overview of the sector and hear from panellists who have successfully transitioned into various pharma/biomedical industry roles, and who will share their stories and answer your questions. Join us for practical guidance and first-hand experiences!
Are you thinking about applying for the Master of Public Policy (MPP)? Have you got a burning question you want to ask before hitting submit? Submitting your master’s applications can be daunting. We are committed to attracting the brightest students from all over the world and want to ensure you have all the information you need before applying for any of our master’s courses. Hear from our admissions team on application requirements, the admissions process and making sure you have everything ready to submit your application. Come with your questions at the ready! Please note the Q&A will take place online only.
AI is often seen as a job killer — but our latest OII study suggests it could actually help you get hired. A new international experiment with recruiters and HR professionals in the US, UK, and Germany shows that AI skills significantly improve a candidate’s chances of being invited to an interview. Applicants with certified AI skills — through online courses, platforms, or university programs — were even more likely to be shortlisted. These certifications not only increase visibility in hiring processes but also help offset traditional disadvantages, such as lower levels of formal education, career changes, or gender-related bias. As AI continues to reshape the world of work, it may also be opening new doors to employment. The findings highlight the need for inclusive reskilling programmes and accessible certification pathways to ensure broader access to the benefits of AI. Investing in micro-credential infrastructure could play a key role in making the future of work more equitable. Visit www.skillscale.org for more details on the study.
Join us as we welcome Jack Fuchs, who will be running two sessions. 1. Entrepreneurship Unlocked: Introduction to Entrepreneurial Pursuits (13:00-15:00) Key areas covered: What it takes to pursue an entrepreneurial business Different types of entrepreneurial journeys What makes a great entrepreneurial business 2. Deeper Dive with Aspiring Entrepreneurship (15.30-17.00) (for those that have an idea) Key areas covered: Deeper dive into the entrepreneurial opportunity framework Basics of financing Founder principles Jack's current roles include VC Operating Partner, Board representative, investor, and advisor positions with AI, med-tech, and clean tech businesses. Finally, there will be opportunity for drinks and networking at the end of the day from 17.00.
For our next talk, in the Digital Phenotyping seminar series, we will hear from Matthew Nour, NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry, Senior Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry, on Wednesday 22 October, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, at the Big Data Institute (BDI). Title: Charting trajectories of human thought using large language models Date: Wednesday 22 October 2025 Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Venue: BDI/OxPop, Seminar Room 0; followed by refreshments in the atrium Abstract: Understanding how humans organize and sample conceptual knowledge is a central challenge in cognitive science. Language has long been recognized as providing our richest behavioural window onto thought, yet a reliable mapping of words to mental concepts has proven formidable. Artificial Intelligence large language models (LLMs) constitute highly sophisticated models of human conceptual organization, offering unprecedented opportunities to revisit the challenge of decoding thought content from words. We introduce VECTOR, a computational framework that transforms language model representations into cognitively-meaningful representational spaces. Applying VECTOR to narrative samples generated by 1,100 participants, we cast individual narratives as geometric trajectories through conceptual space, revealing how thoughts flow from one idea to the next. Crucially, these narrative trajectories have interpretable geometric properties, predicting momentary language behaviour (response times) as well as individual differences in real-world communication patterns. By revealing the hidden geometry of thought, VECTOR enables quantitative investigation of uniquely human mental processes, opening new avenues for understanding how humans dynamically organize and navigate knowledge in naturalistic settings. Short bio Matthew studied Medicine, Neuroscience and Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He subsequently combined postgraduate medical training with clinical neuroscience research, first as an Academic Foundation Doctor (Oxford), and later as an MRC Clinical Research Fellow (MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences & Imperial College London) and an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Psychiatry (Institute Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London). In 2018 Matthew was awarded a Wellcome Trust Fellowship to complete a PhD in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at UCL under the supervision of Professor Ray Dolan FRS (UCL) and Professor Zeb Kurth-Nelson (DeepMind). Matthew re-joined the University of Oxford in 2022 as an NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry, and is now a Senior Research Fellow and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the Department of Psychiatry. His current interests span cognitive neuroscience, AI in psychiatry ("computational psychiatry"), and psychopharmacology. Hybrid Option: Please note that these meetings are closed meetings and only open to members of the University of Oxford. Please respect our speakers and do not share the link with anyone outside of the University. The purpose of these seminars is to foster more communication among employees throughout the University, so we strongly advise in-person attendance whenever feasible. Microsoft Teams meeting Meeting ID: 366 709 908 720 5 Passcode: G7jp3Aj7
Utilising data from Finland, where genetic details of approximately 500,000 individuals are linked to a national health registry, this presentation will explore the use of polygenic scores and electronic health records (EHRs) to predict disease susceptibility. It will highlight the challenges and successes of employing polygenic scores for disease prediction. Additionally, the talk will discuss the application of machine learning algorithms to predict healthcare outcomes from EHRs, assessing their fairness and generalizability across different populations. The presentation will conclude with a direct comparison of genetic and EHR-based predictions to assess which approach is most predictive and generalizable across healthcare systems.
Utilising data from Finland, where genetic details of approximately 500,000 individuals are linked to a national health registry, this presentation will explore the use of polygenic scores and electronic health records (EHRs) to predict disease susceptibility. It will highlight the challenges and successes of employing polygenic scores for disease prediction. Additionally, the talk will discuss the application of machine learning algorithms to predict healthcare outcomes from EHRs, assessing their fairness and generalizability across different populations. The presentation will conclude with a direct comparison of genetic and EHR-based predictions to assess which approach is most predictive and generalizable across healthcare systems.
The United States has undergone two massive shifts in housing and schooling in the past 40 years. First, residential income segregation has markedly increased, especially among families with children. Second, postsecondary enrollment has greatly expanded, likely as a result of higher wages for college-educated workers. As these two secular trends have ascended side-by-side, a puzzle has emerged: Are families competing for neighborhoods that can ensure their children’s success in the college game? If so, are families increasingly hoarding geo-spatial opportunities to maximize their children’s socioeconomic success? To illuminate possible answers to these questions, I examine three successive cohorts of restricted data on students going to college in the early 1980s, the mid-2000s, and the late 2010s to understand whether the neighborhoods in which students grew up have increasingly differential impacts on their college enrollment and college selectivity outcomes. Using federally restricted geocoded data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and transcript data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, I track students from childhood and adolescence through young adulthood and find that the neighborhoods where they grew up indeed do have increasingly differential impacts on their college outcomes across these three cohorts of students. I discuss the potential implications for future economic disparities as increased competition for housing among families contracts students’ access to higher education. Chair: Melinda Mills
Panel 1 14:10 – 14:30 Florian Mühlfried (Ilia State University)Decolonizing Terminology: Anthropology in and of the Caucasus. 14:30 –15:00 Megi Kartsivadze (UCL) Georgia in the Soviet Archive: Power, Language, and the Politics of Silence. 15:00 –15:20 Tea Kamushadze (GIPA / TSU / University of Oxford) Epistemologies of Exclusion: Colonial Logics and the Silencing of Child-Rearing Practices in Soviet Georgian Ethnography. 15:20 –15:40 Tamta Khalvashi (Ilia State University)Patchwork Epistemology: Rethinking Anthropological Knowledge Production from Postcolonial Margins. 15:40 –16:00 Q&A 16:00 –16:30 Coffee and Tea Break Panel 2 16:30 – 17:00 Nana Kobidze (Central Europian University) “If you want to study the Caucasus, you should go to Russian Studies programs": Understanding Postsoviet Area Studies from the Postcolonial Perspective. 17:00 – 17:20 Anna Cieślewska (University of Lodz) Territories of Belonging: Alternative Citizenship and Religious Infrastructure of Azerbaijanis in Georgia. 17:20 – 17:40 Teona Lomsadze (Tbilisi State Conservatoire) Soviet Cultural Epistemologies and Their Afterlives in Education and Research of Georgian Traditional Music. 17:40 – 18:00 Sandro Shar (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance) Soviet Disfigurement of Georgian Vernacular Musical Practice and Its Enduring Influence. 18:00 – 18:20 Q&A Chaired by Dr. Madeleine Reeves (University of Oxford) and Dr. Eleanor Peers (University of Oxford) Convened by Dr. Tea Kamushadze (GIPA / TSU / University of Oxford)
Determining consumer preferences and utility is a foundational challenge in economics. They are central in determining consumer behaviour through the utility-maximising consumer decision-making process. However, preferences and utilities are not observable and may not even be known to the individual making the choice; only the outcome is observed, often in the form of demand. Uncovering the shape of utility functions is important, as its curvature governs a consumer's willingness to substitute between goods, providing the key causal mechanism for predicting their real-world responses to price changes, but is largely left unexplored. In this talk, Marta Grześkiewicz will present an algorithm for uncovering a utility function based on observational consumption data. The algorithm, Preference Extraction and Reward Learning (PEARL) is able to uncover a representation of the utility function that best rationalises observed consumer choice data given any specified functional form. Towards this, she introduces a flexible utility function, the Input-Concave Neural Network which is a neural network with concave activation functions that is able to capture complex relationships across goods, including cross-price elasticities. The method is shown to obtain near-zero errors on counterfactual predictions on simulated noise-free and noisy data. About the speaker: Marta Grześkiewicz is a College Assistant Professor (Early Career Fellowship), Director of Studies, and Fellow in Economics at St John’s College, University of Cambridge. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and an MSc in Data Science and PhD in Economics and Machine Learning from UCL. Her research interests lie at the intersection of economics and machine learning. Her current projects involve developing algorithms to model choice and decision-making by economic agents, with applications in consumer theory and behavioural finance, agent-based modelling with machine learning in banking and finance, and the integration of economic theory into machine learning models for economic forecasting.
Dario studied Molecular Biotechnology (obtaining both BSc and MSc degrees) at the University of Naples, and then moved to London to undertake a PhD in Cardiovascular Biology at the BHF Centre of Excellence at King’s College, where he studied the mesenchymal transdifferentiation of human endothelial cells. He worked previously at Nature Reviews Cardiology and Nature Reviews Rheumatology as an Assistant Editor, then at PLOS ONE and PLOS Biology as a Senior Editor. Dario joined the editorial team of Communications Biology in August 2023 and is based in the London office.
Part of the 2025-2026 series ‘How can we respond to this systemic crisis?’. A series of master classes, seminars, workshops and talks with Professor Laura Rival, research collaborators and colleagues. Michaelmas Term series titled: ‘In Latin America, by greening the state at the top and from below’.
Filmed over ten years at the New York City Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture, Transcendence - the first documentary of its kind - follows the healing journeys of a Tibetan nun, a Chadian human rights advocate, a Jamaican gay man, and a survivor of Sierra Leone’s civil war who come to the US seeking refuge as they work with care providers to overcome unimaginable cruelty, rebuild their lives, and find the strength to speak out against those who terrorised their communities in the countries they once called home. As each person tells their story, they reverse the silence their oppressors sought to impose. By speaking out, they are taking radical action in the name of freedom — and delivering a message of hope, healing, courage, and resistance that is more important than ever.
Reina Lewis and Katrina Rolley, ‘(AD)Dressing the Dyke: Lesbian Looks and Lesbians Looking’, in _Buy This Book_, eds. Mica Nava et al. (Routledge, 1997), 291–308. Contacts: Katie Burke and Eszter Kovacs. Contacts: Katie Burke and Eszter Kovacs
Older adults and individuals with chronic illnesses or disabilities, as well as caregivers, often face increased exposure to climate-related hazards such as extreme heat, natural disasters, and displacement. It is essential to ensure that Long-Term Care systems are prepared to respond to climate-related events and other potential future crises. Dr Adelina Comas-Herrera, Director of the Global Observatory of Long-Term Care at the London School of Economics, will explore how LTC systems can prepare for climate-related emergencies and crises, considering lessons from the difficulties that countries, including the United Kingdom, faced when trying to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hybrid event is run by Green Templeton’s long-running Care Initiative, led by Professor Mary Daly. After the talk there will be a short drinks reception in the Stables Bar.
William Kuskin isn't just Head of English at Boulder. He's also the person who first introduced me to the academic study of comics, through his 2013 MOOC 'Comic Books and Graphic Novels', a fantastic and eye-opening course that inspired hundreds of students across the globe. William's main research area is the history of the book. He has written and edited books and articles on William Caxton, the emergence of printing in the fifteenth century, the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, comic books, and online pedagogy. He contributes to Inside Higher Education and even writes an occasional blog on motorcycling. He will be talking to us on the mouth-watering topic of 'The Grid: Prefiguration In Ultimate Spider Man'.
Join Andrew Miller, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP) and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs in the Biden Administration, in conversation with Janina Dill, Professor of Global Security, as part of the Calleva-Airey Neave Global Security Seminar Series at the Blavatnik School of Government. This session will examine how the ongoing conflict is reshaping regional dynamics, destabilising fragile political orders, and reverberating across global security architectures. Situating Gaza within the broader crises of governance, ideology, and geopolitics, the discussion will highlight the risks of regional fragmentation and the erosion of international norms. In line with the series’ aim, the seminar will explore the policy implications of these developments, providing insights for governments and decision-makers facing one of the most pressing security challenges of our time. The event is followed by a drinks reception. Please note, this event takes place in person only.
The two fastest-growing global uses of food crops are their conversion into biofuels and their use as livestock feeds. These trends are accelerating the risks of species extinctions, of agriculturally-driven climate change, and of agricultural water and air pollution. Biofuel production from food crops also directly decreases the availability of food for the world’s 700 million malnourished people, and may cause further harm to the world’s poor by impacting food prices. When both their direct and indirect environmental impacts are considered, most food-based biofuels cause more environmental harm than the petroleum fuels they replace. The solution to global food and environment problems is often thought to require the efficient closure of yield gaps, healthier diets, and input-efficient agriculture. To these must be added a fourth: the rapid elimination of crop-based biofuels.
Join online via Microsoft Teams by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3hfr23
This talk explores the conceptions of solidarity at work in practices of solidarity with ‘precarious migrants’ who are engaged in contesting the government of transnational movement and in virtue of this activity are exposed to border violence. In doing so, it aims to shed light both on how to conceptualise the phenomenon of solidarity with precarious migrants and on the relationship of practices of solidarity to displacement as process, condition and, finally, a contemporary form of life. David Owen will argue that we can distinguish between different modalities of solidarity that stand in different relationships to governmental power and to displacement, and that doing so helps to clarify both the ethical and political stakes of solidarity with precarious migrants. David Owen is Professor of Social and Political Philosophy at the University of Southampton. In 2024-25 he was Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, co-convening the themes seminar ‘The Politics of Migration and Displacement as a Form of Life’ with Professor Didier Fassin. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Academy of Social Sciences. His most recent books are What Do We Owe to Refugees? (Polity 2025) and the co-edited volume The Political Philosophy of Internal Displacement (OUP 2024, with Jamie Draper). The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall. Registration not required. All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk.
Walter Lippmann (1889–1974) was among the most influential and wide-ranging political writers in modern America. As both a journalist and political theorist, he shaped ideas about liberalism and democracy, the nature of public opinion, US power and empire, and the roles of journalists, experts, and citizens. Tom Arnold-Forster provides a bold historical reassessment of Lippmann’s intellectual life, offering fresh perspectives on a career at the intersection of daily news and democratic theory.
In Tudor England, artworks were often described as ‘lively’. What did this mean in a culture where naturalism was an alien concept? And in a time of religious upheaval, when the misuse of images might lure the soul to hell, how could liveliness be a good thing? In this talk we'll explore a hitherto neglected aspect of Tudor art, re-enlivening the period’s vivid visual and material culture and discovering how artists were able to make absent things present, and make the dead live. *Dr Christina Faraday* is an Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge. Among her other contributions, she is the host of the _British Art Matters_ podcast. Her latest book is titled _Tudor Liveliness: Vivid art in Post-Reformation England_ (Yale University Press, 2023).
Interested in the British Political Landscape? Join John Bowers KC and Sir Vernon Bogdanor as they discuss ‘Making the Weather’, Sir Vernon's latest book. Sir Vernon is a former professor of Politics and Government and an Emeritus Fellow of Brasenose College. ‘Making the Weather’ is a fascinating profile of six politicians who changed the political landscape of Britain. It will be a lively and informative evening. The event will be followed by a drinks reception. Sir Vernon was formerly Professor of Government at Oxford University, and Senior Tutor and Vice-Principal at Brasenose College. He has written widely on government and politics, including books The People and the Party System, Monarchy and the Constitution, and Power and the People: A Guide to Constitutional Reform. Most recently, he has edited a book on The British Constitution in the Twentieth Century and written on The New British Constitution. He has been an adviser to government and parliamentary bodies on many occasions, and in 1998 was awarded the CBE for services to constitutional history. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. Please register with the link attached. https://forms.office.com/e/746aCJq56k
In our October event, Jaz Brisack (Mississippi & Wadham 2019) will discuss their book Get on the Job and Organize: Standing Up for a Better Workplace and a Better World. Jaz is a union organizer and cofounder of the Inside Organizer School, which trains workers to unionize. After spending one year at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, they got a job as a barista at the Elmwood Starbucks in Buffalo, NewYork, becoming a founding member of Starbucks Workers United and helping organize the first unionized Starbucks in the United States. They have also worked with organizing committees at companies ranging from Nissan to Tesla to Ben & Jerry’s. Jaz’s first book, Get on the Job and Organize: Standing Up for a Better Workplace and a Better World, is out this year from One Signal Press.
*Day 1: 23 October* 09:00-09:30 Welcome 09:30-10:30 *Carwyn Jones* (Law, Victoria University of Wellington, online) and *Ria Holmes* (Law, Victoria University of Wellington): He kōrero tuku iho: Song, stories, and speech in Māori law 10:45-11:45 *Jonathan Lainey* (curator, McCord Stewart Museum, Montreal): Wampum as Archive and Evidence 12:00-13:00 Lunch 13:00-14:00 *Claudia Brittenham* (Art History, U. of Chicago): Tonacayotl, Our Sustenance: Maize, Market Law, and Plant-Human Relations in Mesoamerica 14:15-15:15 *Sven Ouzman* (Archaeology, U. of Western Australia): “Proclaiming the Rights and Titles Deeds” of Rock Art: Case Studies from Southern Africa and Northern Australia 15:30-16:30 *Kathy Hermes* (History): "Once Numerous and Powerful": Indigenous Jurispractice in the North American Northeast *Day 2: 24 October* 09:30-10:30 *Jessica Russ-Smith*, Wiradyuri Wambuul woman (Social Work, Australian Catholic University): Bloodlines of Buyaa (law): How Wiradyuri Buyaa Challenges Western Constructions of Indigenous Law (online) 10:45-11:45 *Uahikea Maile* (Indigenous Studies, U. of Chicago): Indigenous Property in Hawaiʻi: Possession, Dispossession, and Counterdispossession in Honolulu at the Turn of the 20th Century 12:00-13:00 Lunch 13:00-14:00 *Matthew Fletcher* (Law, U. of Michigan): The Rise and Fall of the Ogemakaan 14:15-15:15 *Amanda Kearney* (Anthropology, San Diego): NARNU-YUWA - Yanyuwa Lawfulness: Creative appraisals of Indigenous Law’s expression, purpose and place in northern Australia 15:30-16:30 *Saliha Belmessous* (History, Oxford): Treaties Beyond European Boundaries: Rethinking Form, Function, and Obligation All are welcome and lunch will be provided, but booking is required.
On October 23-24, 2025, the University of Oxford, will host the IX Workshop on Migration, Health, and Well-Being, following the success of the previous editions. The workshop’ focus is broad, covering empirical economic research on the topics of immigration, health economics, economics of migration and wellbeing. Spanning two days, the event will feature a select number of hour-long research presentations, fostering in-depth discussions. The workshop aims to strengthen connections among scholars with shared interests in these fields.
Do you want to make sure your work is ‘REFable’ per the new REF open access requirements? In this focused online briefing, we will: step you through the changes and new requirements; provide links to further REF information and guidance; let you know where to find help at Oxford; and answer as many questions as we can. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
Would you like to contribute to the discovery of new research materials in the Bodleian’s manuscript collections? And to learn something about editing early modern letters and approaches to digital humanities along the way? Then please sign up for our Bodleian Student Editions editing workshops. In this day-long workshop you will learn the skills to handle some of the Bodleian's special collections and to read seventeenth- and eighteenth-century handwriting. No experience in history or historical texts is needed - we'll teach you all you need to handle, read and transcribe these fascinating letters. Registration is required. Open to University of Oxford students only. Level – open to complete beginners and students from any subject, undergraduate or graduate.
This workshop offers DPhil students a space to reflect, share challenges, and explore emotional wellbeing during their doctoral journey. Through guided discussion and facilitator input, participants gain insight into common issues and learn strategies to manage stress, work-life balance, and transitions throughout their DPhil.
Many citizens of once stable democracies have become tolerant of oligarchy and autocracy because they feel betrayed by conventional political elites and disempowered by established political institutions. If we want to produce better leaders and create institutions truly conducive to the flourishing of democracies and their citizens, we must rebuild what I call deep trust in the human capacity for self-governance. Democratic deep trust demands, first, what Lawrence Becker calls noncognitive security regarding the motives of others. But it also requires , second, that most citizens have cognitive self-trust in their capacities to contribute constructively to political debate and decision. Rebuilding deep democratic trust is critical to strengthening hope for the survival of democracy and enabling pursuit of John Dewey’s ideal of democracy as a “freer and more humane experience in which all share and to which all contribute.”
Our vision is to transform research and healthcare in dementia. Dementia Research Oxford, led by Professors Masud Husain and Cornelia van Duijn, brings together researchers and clinicians across the University, our hospitals, patients, and industry partners to translate our growing insights in the basic molecular origin disease into effective treatment and prevention. We aim to take science further from drug target to treatment, from molecular pathology to early diagnosis and prognosis and from early intervention to prevention.
In collaboration with Dr Ruth Ezra and Dr Francesca Borgo (Art History, University of St Andrews), this seminar hosts early career researchers to present creative methodological approaches to studying waste materials from the archive to the field: Aishwarya Mukhopadhyay (Anthropology, Oxford). Following the Dustbin: Stories of Waste and Governance in Siliguri, India. The “social life of materials” offers a powerful lens, yet studying waste through it quickly falters: waste is too dispersed, multiple, and unruly for a single trajectory to be traced by a lone researcher. I turn instead to the dustbin as an anchor—an object meant to discipline urban life yet constantly escaping its script. In Siliguri, India, state-issued bins spiral into improvisation: repurposed for storage, ignored, or withheld altogether. Following the dustbin makes visible a unique methodology—stories of waste that expose not only material lives but also the limits of governing them through aesthetics, bureaucracy, and fragile infrastructures. Dr. Eiko Soga (Fine Art, Oxford). Traditional Ainu Cooking Among More-Than-Human World in Samani in Hokkaido, Japan. Focusing on indigenous Ainu food culture among more-than-human world in Japan, I will discuss Ainu foraging and cooking processes that respect animals, insects, and whole natural environment. Through this I will discuss an ecological world that embodies waste free approach to life. Based on my time in Samani in Hokkaido, Japan, I will share wisdoms and lived memories that I learn from the Ainu community there. Mwangi Mwaura (Geography, Oxford). Sales Dairies: Mathematics of Harm, Evidence of Planetary/Environmental Stewardship. Through sales diaries by traders of second-hand clothes at Gikomba Market, Nairobi, I will share methodological insights learnt from ongoing sell-along ethnography. In this research on second-hand clothes in Nairobi and the UK, I have come to appreciate the records traders keep as calculations of items they get in bales from the West. In these calculations, one can follow the harm that is discarded into countries in the Global South, such as Kenya, while also seeing the Planetary/Environmental Stewardship these traders enact when they sort things, including into the lowest value. The sorting determines what happens to the commodity, including how it will be reintroduced into a value chain. Dr Martha Swift (English, Oxford). Rubbish, Recycling and Regeneration: Chinese Science Fiction and Creating with Waste. My recent work on waste thinks about its ontological instability and creative potential. In my talk, I will give a short overview of my research on waste in contemporary Chinese science fiction and the ways in which award-winning texts like Waste Tide and Folding Beijing destabilise the theoretical concepts of codification and recycling. These and other texts introduce ‘regeneration’ as an alternative theoretical—and possibly creative—approach to waste. I have been thinking about how to explore this creative potential beyond academic argument, and I will outline some of the waste-based, collaborative land-art and public performance initiatives that I have been engaged in over the last year.
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
Following the very successful seminars series on J. R. R. Tolkien in 2023 and 2024 (for recordings see: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/fantasy-literature) we are pleased to announce a new round of presentations by Oxford academics on fantasy literature to run this Michaelmas Term (2025). These talks are aimed at students and members of the public and act as introductions to a range of writers and texts in the field of fantasy literature/weird fiction. The series is organised by the Faculty of English and hosted by Exeter College. All talks will be held in the Fitzhugh Lecture Theatre, Cohen Quad, Walton Street, Oxford (Exeter College’s annex), and run 1.00-2.00pm. Attendance is free of charge but we ask you to register using the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/seminar-series-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-4530103
This is a hybrid seminar. To join via Zoom, please register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ggRrYYPrT_Skwuo_bo-yDw After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Do you plan to apply for job roles beyond academia? There is lots to think about from optimising your CV, researching roles and organisations, networking effectively and preparing yourself for interviews. This workshop will outline the key building blocks of a CV structured for careers outside of academia. CVs are read very quickly (think seconds!). Creating a strong CV that conveys your fit for industry roles is crucial for progressing to the interview stage. We will share examples to help with formatting, language and translating your research skills and experience for an industry audience so that you can apply them to crafting your own winning CV. We will also touch on guidance for job fairs (how to prepare for these in advance – i.e. CV/ research company) and how to prepare for interviews. If you'd like to attend this workshop for post-doctoral researchers, please register your interest via the link below by 17 October. Priority will be given to post-doctoral researchers working with industry. https://forms.office.com/e/WMe4fPRx8S
The Healthcare Data Science Centre for Doctoral Training (EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Healthcare Data Science — Oxford Big Data Institute) at the University of Oxford would like to invite you to our Open Day, where you will be able to learn more about the programme, application procedures and its research (Healthcare Data Science (EPSRC CDT) | University of Oxford) Mode: Online When: Thursday 23 October 2025, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm And Tuesday 11 November 2025, 2:00 – 4:00 pm Agenda Welcome talks, including an overview of the CDT and a guide to application procedures A Q&A session with existing students Short talks from Big Data Institute researchers who work with the CDT How: If you would like to join us, please register using the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/kp6mPpQcnB?origin=lprLink The link will be shared nearer the time.
This book analyses claims to belonging that are rooted in different legal contexts (citizenship and local belonging) and territorial frameworks (the local, regional, national, international, and transnational) in the border region between Ghana and Togo. Based on archival research, interviews, oral tradition as well as newspaper analysis, it looks at the making or remaking of political communities. It demonstrates that belonging claims are based on legitimating narratives of indigeneity/autochthony at each geographical level of different kinds of political communities (smaller than the state or located across the border). Similarly to a palimpsest, political communities are laid across each other which stimulates the simultaneous making of political communities and political belonging across different scales. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach (politics, history, anthropology), this book connects contemporary power struggles with the history of the region and with contemporary issues of belonging and citizenship in anthropology. From local belonging to the electoral debate on cross-border voting in 2016 and to disputes between Ghanaian and Togolese heads of state in the 1990s, the border region and the narratives that justify belonging are mobilised by different actors and have far-reaching consequences in modern configurations of power in the region since the turn of the twentieth century.
US-based historians Colin Johnson (Indiana University) and Anthea Butler (University of Pennsylvania) will be in conversation with our own Professor Sarah Knott (Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair of Women’s History, Oxford). Expect a wide-ranging conversation about public and private universities, Republican and Democratic states, and developments past and present to do with sexuality, gender, race, and religion and more.
Marco Carbone (MD, PhD) is an Associate Professor of Hepatology at the University of Milano-Bicocca and Honorary Consultant Hepatologist at the Niguarda Liver Transplant Centre, Milan. His research focuses on disease mechanisms in autoimmune and cholestatic liver diseases. He leads a program integrating molecular, histological, and radiological data to generate insights that inform mechanistic understanding, guide healthcare decisions, and support the design of innovative clinical trials. He developed the UK-PBC risk score and the UDCA response score to advance stratified medicine in PBC. In 2021, he received the Rising Star in Gastroenterology award from United European Gastroenterology (UEG). He founded and co-chairs the Italian Registry of PBC and PSC, serves on the steering committee of the Global PBC Study Group, and is Vice-Chair of the PBC Foundation Medical Advisory Board. He currently chairs the EASL–AASLD Consensus on surrogate endpoints and real-world evidence in PBC to support drug development.
Regional Financial Arrangements (RFAs) in East Asia emerged in response to the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) of 1997–1998, which revealed significant vulnerabilities in the region’s financial safety nets. In 2000, the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI) was launched, establishing a network of bilateral swap arrangements (BSAs) among ASEAN+3 member economies (China, Japan, and South Korea). While this arrangement represented a pioneering step toward regional financial cooperation, its design was limited by the absence of a dedicated economic surveillance mechanism and a lack of institutional capacity. Drawing lessons from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008–2009, regional policymakers—ministries of finance and central banks—pursued institutional enhancements to strengthen the resilience and credibility of East Asia’s RFAs. This presentation examines these enhancements, the principal challenges and strategic imperatives confronting East Asian RFAs in the contemporary global financial order, and the interaction between regional mechanisms and broader shifts in the international political economy, including the prospective reorientation of US economic policy toward East Asia.
The memory of the Nanjing Massacre, a cornerstone of Chinese identity, has been debated around the ‘nationalism vs cosmopolitanism’, ‘victimhood vs victory’, and ‘state discourse vs local agency’ theses. Which theses stand out in China today, and why? What factors shape Chinese historical memories? By studying a state memorial and a civilian memorial on the Nanjing Massacre, this research argues that 1) the increasing visibility of the victory discourse has not undermined the ‘nationalism–victimhood’ nexus, 2) the state memorial, surprisingly, exhibits greater agency and more cosmopolitan elements, and 3) the civilian museum shows less agency than expected, and all the above can be explained by the organizational mechanisms of ‘legitimacy appropriation’ and ‘resource acquisition’. Based on these findings, this study calls for an epistemological shift: memories are not only ‘representations’ but also products of organizations. This study contributes to Chinese memory studies by demystifying the memory production process and extending beyond traditional discourse analysis. Licheng Qian received his PhD from the University of Virginia and is currently a Lecturer in Sociology at Birmingham City University. Previously, he taught as an Assistant Professor at Zhejiang University and the University of Macau. His research interests lie at the intersection of culture, politics, and collective memory, including the study of national, transnational, and postcolonial identities. His articles have appeared in both social science and China studies journals such as the Journal of Contemporary China, Nations and Nationalism, Cultural Sociology, and Memory Studies. He also serves as a council member of the British Association for Chinese Studies.
The Cretan poet Mesomedes, who sang his compositions while accompanying himself on a stringed instrument, was a great success in his lifetime. He is said to have been a close friend of the emperor Hadrian, and three of his poems have been transmitted with musical notation, probably because they were used to teach music in later antiquity and Byzantium. They and the other 10 poems attributed to Mesomedes are valuable records of the nature of the poetry sung to the lyre or to the cithara by some of the most highly rewarded category of musicians in the high Roman empire - metrically simple, but not always simple in thought or expression. The lecture will explore Mesomedes' origins and poetic choices and assess his impact.
Mary Astell, _Reflections on Marriage_ (1706), preface; Mary Wollstonecraft, _Vindication of the Rights of Women_ (1792 etc), chapters 1-5.
To join online, please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KbVXDl5TQWCP1I0nKS1TiQ
This seminar is cross listed with Postcolonial Research Seminar. It may be of interest to participants of the ModCon seminar'
Join us for the launch of Mara Gold's debut book Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men on its publication release day on 23 October. Homemaker, Virgin. Femme Fatale. Warrior. Witch. Madwoman. Monster. Rediscover legendary tales from Ancient Mythology, centred around the stories of women. Perfect for fans of Mythos, Circe, Pandora and Clytemnestra, this beautifully illustrated, bold feminist retelling brings ancient mythological stories to life. Discover the women and gender non-conforming characters who shaped and subverted womanhood from the very beginning and whose stories still resonate today. From the stories of the virgin goddesses Athena and Artemis, the contrasting depictions of wifely duty in Clytemnestra and Penelope, the ecstatic frenzies of the Maenads, Echidna - the so-called mother of all monsters - and the misunderstood Medusa, Ancient Myths and Legends Without Men reveals a world where powerful women were both worshipped and feared, and what they can teach us about gender today. Join Mara Gold, an expert and scholar of Classical representations of gender, sexuality and feminism, for an evening of insight into the lives of these remarkable women. Mara will read an excerpt and give a short talk about her methods for researching and writing the book, developed directly from her work on the Beyond the Binary project at the Pitt Rivers Museum. There will also be a unique opportunity to engage with the objects at the museum that inspired content in the book, up close! Attendees who purchase a book ticket will also receive an exclusive book-themed gift. Drinks reception included for all tickets.
Almost Nothing But Blue Ground is a performative lecture by artists Tom Pope and Matthew Benington. Weaving together storytelling, cyanotype prints, and archival discoveries, the lecture traces the life and legacy of Anna Atkins — the trailblazing botanist and photographer who published _Cyanotypes of British Algae_ (1843), the first book to be photographically printed and illustrated. Tom and Matthew’s research into Atkins’ pioneering work unearthed themes of botany, land ownership, and the colonial roots of Victorian plant collecting. Inspired by these discoveries, the artists undertook a weeklong walk from Atkins’ former home in Tonbridge to the coast of Hastings. Along the way, they created a new body of cyanotype photographs which are presented alongside their research in this performance.
Almost Nothing But Blue Ground is a performative lecture by artists Tom Pope and Matthew Benington. Weaving together storytelling, cyanotype prints, and archival discoveries, the lecture traces the life and legacy of Anna Atkins — the trailblazing botanist and photographer who published Cyanotypes of British Algae (1843), the first book to be photographically printed and illustrated. Tom and Matthew’s research into Atkins' pioneering work unearthed themes of botany, land ownership, and the colonial roots of Victorian plant collecting. Inspired by these discoveries, the artists undertook a weeklong walk from Atkins’ former home in Tonbridge to the coast of Hastings. Along the way, they created a new body of cyanotype photographs which are presented alongside their research in this performance.
Dr Paul Kenrick is principal researcher in paleobotany at the Natural History Museum. The story of plants on land stretches back over half a billion years, with the fossil record offering a window into this deep past. This lecture traces that history in reverse—beginning today and travelling more than 380 million years back to the world’s first forests, a milestone that reshaped Earth. Fossils across the UK reveal earlier, simpler plants, many lacking leaves or roots, offering clues to how such structures first evolved. The Rhynie Chert in Scotland preserves extraordinary detail, from the rise of vascular tissues to the earliest plant–fungus partnerships. These discoveries illuminate the origins of our green world, yet key questions remain—most notably, what was the last common ancestor of all land plants?
Title to be announced The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
In person at the Big Data Institute, Seminar room 0 Alternatively, join on Zoom https://aarhusuniversity.zoom.us/j/61873306999 Meeting ID: 618 7330 6999 Abstract Type 2 diabetes is a clinically and biologically heterogeneous disease driven by diverse genetic, molecular, and environmental factors. Understanding this heterogeneity is essential to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches and toward precision prevention and treatment strategies. In this talk, I will highlight recent work from my group and collaborators that dissects the genetic and molecular subtypes of T2D. I will discuss how these insights can help us refine disease classification, improve risk prediction, and inform individualized interventions. Finally, I will outline opportunities and challenges for translating this knowledge into precision health applications aimed at optimizing diabetes prevention and care. Bio I lead the Genomics and Precision Medicine research group at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research at the University of Copenhagen. The group focuses on understanding the molecular and clinical heterogeneity underlying diabetes and related metabolic diseases by integrating multi-omics profiling and deep phenotype data from wearable devices. These efforts have shed light on how molecular processes and behavioral factors influence diverse clinical trajectories, responses to therapeutic interventions, and varying propensities for developing cardiovascular complications, contributing to the field of precision medicine.
Formatting your in text citations, footnotes and bibliography correctly for your thesis or publication is crucial. Reference management tools make this easier and save you time. This classroom-based session comprises a 30-minute presentation, which gives an overview of reference management tools. The rest of the session is dedicated to practical exercises at the computers, giving you the opportunity to try out four tools (RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley), so that you can work out which one is best for you. Library staff will be there to help and guide you, and answer any questions you might have. You can leave at any point once you have tried out the tools you want, and do not have to stay until the end. At the end of the session you will be able to: understand how reference management works; understand the advantages and disadvantages of a range of reference management tools; add, edit and organise references using a number of different tools; add references to documents and create bibliographies using a number of different tools; and make an informed decision about which reference management tool works best for you. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Join us for a one-day workshop dedicated to the powerful synergy between neutron techniques and computational simulations in the field of catalysis. This event is designed for both newcomers and experienced researchers interested in how neutron scattering methods—such as inelastic and quasielastic neutron scattering, neutron diffraction, and spectroscopy—can be complemented and enhanced by computational approaches like Density Functional Theory (DFT), QM/MM, and molecular dynamics. Through a series of talks, discussions, and networking opportunities, we will explore: How neutron techniques provide unique insights into catalytic structure, dynamics, and mechanisms. The role of simulations in interpreting neutron data and predicting catalytic behaviour. Case studies demonstrating the integration of experimental and computational methods. Opportunities for collaboration and access to facilities and resources. Speakers include: Dr. Maciej Bartkowiak, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Prof. Richard Catlow, Cardiff/UCL Dr. Arunabhiram Chutia, Lincoln Dr. Marta Falkowska, University of Manchester Dr. Adam Jackson, STFC Scientific Computing Prof. Tom Keal, STFC Scientific Computing Dr. Alexander O'Malley, Bath Dr. Sarah Rogers, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Dr. Ian Silverwood, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Lewis Waller, Southampton Whether you're looking to expand your toolkit or deepen your understanding of these complementary approaches, this workshop offers a valuable platform to connect, learn, and innovate.
Extra-chromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is a genetic error found in more than 30% of tumour samples across various cancer types. It is a key driver of oncogene amplification promoting tumour progression and therapeutic resistance, and is correlated to the worse clinical outcomes. Different from chromosomal DNA where genetic materials are on average equally divided to daughter cells controlled by centromeres during mitosis, the segregation of ecDNA copies is random partition and leads to a fast accumulation of cell-to-cell heterogeneity in copy numbers. I will present our analytical and computational modeling of ecDNA dynamics under random segregation, examining the impact of copy-number-dependent versus -independent fitness, as well as the maintenance and de-mixing of multiple ecDNA species or variants within single cells. By integrating experimental and clinical data, our results demonstrate that ecDNA is not merely a by-product but a driving force in tumor progression. Intra-tumor heterogeneity exists not only in copy number but also in genetic and phenotypic diversity. Furthermore, ecDNA fitness can be copy-number dependent, which has significant implications for treatment.
Join us for the next session in our Venture Bites online series, hosted by the Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre. Fundraising mechanics 101, best practices, and common pitfalls. Fundraising is more than just about selling a vision to investors. It’s about running a disciplined process, much like building a sales pipeline. In this session, Iynna Halilou (GP at the MBA Fund) will demystify the mechanics of raising venture capital. Drawing on lessons from multiple market cycles, she will break down what founders need to know going into a raise: - Fundraising Mechanics 101: what goes into a raise, the “hidden rules” of venture capital, and the must-haves that move deals forward. - Common Mistakes founders make when approaching VCs. - Timing & Momentum: how to engineer urgency in a round. Whether raising a first institutional capital or planning for future rounds, this guest lecture will equip founders with practical tools, a sharper sense of timing, and the confidence to drive their process effectively. Founded in 2018, the MBA Fund is an early-stage venture capital firm, investing in founders from top startup ecosystems, starting at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and Berkeley. Iynna Halilou is a General Partner at the MBA Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm backing founders from Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and Berkeley. Previously, she was an investor at Moxxie Ventures, a San Francisco-based fund led by former Twitter executives, where she focused on AI, climate tech, and digital health.
Do place-based interventions that raise visibility and economic activity affect far-right voting? We study the Tour de France (TdF) as a case of brief but highly visible exposure that combines economic activity with symbolic recognition. Using variation in the annual TdF route between 2002 and 2022, we show that exposed municipalities experience declines in far-right support of 0.03–0.04 standard deviations. The effect exceeds 0.1 standard deviations in recent elections and is strongest in poorer areas and in towns with high prior far-right support. We find evidence consistent with the symbolic mechanism and mixed evidence for the economic one. TdF exposure increases local GDP per capita, effects on voting are larger when French riders win stages, and a two-wave survey around the 2025 TdF provides suggestive evidence that residents in exposed towns report greater pride and recognition. These results contribute to research on geographic inequalities, symbolic politics, and the electoral consequences of place-based interventions.
Many emerging markets face high borrowing costs and exposure to natural disasters. How will fiscal constraints affect the adaptation to, and therefore the losses from, climate change in such economies? A sovereign default model augmented with natural disasters and endogenous adaptation predicts that i) climate change increases borrowing costs, ii) adaptation reduces borrowing costs, and iii) default risk constrains adaptation. These economies suffer from an `adaptation trap': high borrowing costs restrict adaptation, leading to higher losses from disasters and higher borrowing costs in the future. To test these predictions I construct a novel measure of adaptation using text analysis to identify adaptation expenditures in government budgets. Consistent with the model, I document a robust positive relationship between sovereign ratings and adaptation as well as a positive causal effect of cyclone strikes on default risk that is attenuated by adaptation. The sovereign risk- adaptation channel is quantitatively important in the estimated model. In the Caribbean $10\%$ of GDP losses from cyclones are due to default risk. This loss increases with climate change but can be mitigated by debt relief policies.
Mitochondria are increasingly recognized as dynamic, cell type–specific regulators of brain function and behavior. I will present recent work dissecting how mitochondrial features in distinct neuronal populations of the nucleus accumbens shape anxiety and motivation, highlighting findings from rodent models implicating mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics. Beyond neurons, emerging evidence from our unpublished studies identifies astrocytic mitochondria as key modulators of blood–brain barrier properties with behavioral consequences, and transcriptomic profiling reveals microglial mitochondrial signatures associated with anxiety phenotypes. Integrating results across neuronal, astrocytic, and microglial compartments, I will discuss how mitochondrial diversity at the cellular and circuit levels contributes to individual differences in stress responsiveness, anxiety, and motivation, and how these insights may inform strategies to promote resilience. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Carmen Sandi is Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), where she leads the Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics. She has made seminal contributions to understanding how stress affects brain function and behavior, identifying glucocorticoid signaling and cell adhesion molecules as key modulators of stress-induced neural and behavioral adaptations. Her current research focuses on how brain metabolism, particularly mitochondrial function, shapes the structure and function of neural circuits involved in motivation, emotion regulation, and decision-making. Using integrative approaches in rodents and humans, her work has revealed how mitochondrial processes contribute to individual differences in behavior and vulnerability to psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. Carmen carried out her PhD research in Neuroscience at the Cajal Institute in Madrid, followed by postdoctoral training in Bordeaux and at the UK Open University before joining EPFL. She served as Director of the EPFL Brain Mind Institute from 2012 to 2019. Carmen has published over 280 research articles and contributed to various books. She has held major leadership roles in the neuroscience community, including as President of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), the European Brain and Behaviour Society (EBBS), and the Cajal Advanced Neuroscience Training Programme. She is the founder and current President of the Swiss Stress Network and the Global Stress and Resilience Network, and also founded the ALBA Network for Diversity and Inclusion in Brain Sciences.
This paper provides a framework in which a multiproduct ecosystem competes with many single-product firms in both price and innovation. The ecosystem is able to use data collected on one product to improve the quality of its other products. We study the impact of data regulation which either restricts the ecosystem's cross-product data usage, or which requires it to share data with small firms. Each policy induces small firms to innovate more and set higher prices; it also dampens data spillovers within the ecosystem, reduces the ecosystem's incentive to collect data and innovate, and potentially increases its prices. As a result, data regulation has an ambiguous impact on consumers, and is more likely to benefit consumers when small firms are relatively more efficient in innovation. A data cooperative among small firms, which helps them to share data with each other, does not necessarily benefit small firms and can even harm consumers.
This paper discusses identification, estimation, and inference on dynamic local average treatment effects (LATEs) in instrumental variables (IVs) settings. First, we show that compliers—observations whose treatment status is affected by the instrument—can be identified individually in time series data using smoothness assumptions and local comparisons of treatment assignments. Second, we show that this result enables not only better interpretability of IV estimates but also direct testing of the exclusion restriction by comparing outcomes among identified non-compliers across instrument values. Third, we document pervasive weak identification in applied work using IVs with time series data by surveying recent publications in leading economics journals. However, we find that strong identification often holds in large subsamples for which the instrument induces changes in the treatment. Motivated by this, we introduce a method based on dynamic programming to detect the most strongly-identified subsample and show how to use this subsample to improve estimation and inference. We also develop new identification-robust inference procedures that focus on the most strongly-identified subsample, offering efficiency gains relative to existing full sample identification-robust inference when identification fails over parts of the sample. Finally, we apply our results to heteroskedasticity-based identification of monetary policy effects. We find that about 75% of observations are compliers (i.e., cases where the variance of the policy shifts up on FOMC announcement days), and we fail to reject the exclusion restriction. Estimation using the most strongly-identified subsample helps reconcile conflicting IV and GMM estimates in the literature.
Please join us for a distinguished lecture by Stephen Wolfram on 24 October 2025 at 15:00 in the Bill Roscoe Lecture Theatre at the Department of Computer Science. Stephen Wolfram is the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram|Alpha and the Wolfram Language; the author of A New Kind of Science; and the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research.
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapter 2 Supplementary: Le Guin, ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’ (1973); Le Guin, ‘The Day Before the Revolution’ (1974)
Seminar followed by Q&A, drinks and book signing - all welcome - join in person or online Abstract: For nearly four billion years, life on Earth has found new ways to adapt, reproduce and thrive, taking on new forms to meet the environment of the moment. Human impacts on the planet, and the potentially devastating threat of climate change, have stressed that adaptability as never before. Yet life still finds a way. In the midst of an extinction crisis, many animals, plants and insects are still adapting, even in our rapidly transforming environment. In their example we may just find ways that we too can adapt, ways to stop the destruction we're causing to the planet. In Nature's Genius David Farrier explores what nature's capacity to change can reveal about our own potential to live differently. The ways animals adjust to the urban landscape can help us design sustainable cities. Examining other intelligences can help us remake our economies. Learning from PCB-resistant fish may help solve our waste problem. Synthetic biology could rescue animals from the brink of extinction. Thinking in timescales of the natural world could help us choose a better future. Biography: David Farrier is Professor of Literature and the Environment at the University of Edinburgh. David’s first book, Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils, looked at the marks we are leaving on the planet and how these might appear in the fossil record in the deep future. It was named by both The Times and Telegraph as a book of the year, earned praise from Robert Macfarlane and Margaret Atwood, and has been translated into ten other languages. He has had pieces published in the Atlantic, BBC Future, Emergence, Prospect, Daily Telegraph, Orion and Washington Post. He has spoken at numerous online events, has given an invited lecture at the Royal Geographical Society, and has appeared on radio and podcasts such as BBC Free Thinking and Little Atoms. Nature's Genius is his second book and was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Conservation Writing.
In this talk, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, former head of the Tibetan administration in exile and a prominent scholar of international law and democracy, explores the challenges faced by exiled democratic movements in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. Drawing on his own experience, Dr. Sangay will reflect on how Europe can engage with and support democratic governance beyond its borders, balancing values, diplomacy, and strategic interests. The discussion will touch upon questions of legitimacy, resilience, and Europe’s moral and political responsibility in defending democratic ideals worldwide.
In this talk, Professor Dirk Oschmann (University of Leipzig) will discuss the two different beginnings of Kafka's last novel Das Schloss (The Castle). Professor Oschmann is a best-selling author and President of the German Kafka Society.
Jesus College Oxford invites you to join us for a special screening of the powerful documentary Sudan, Remember Us (Sudan, Remember Us — T A P E), as part of our programme to mark Black History Month 2025. Sudan, Remember Us (2024), written and directed by Hind Meddeb, is an important tribute to the courage of Sudanese activists in the face of an authoritarian regime and to the power of poetry, art and music in bolstering the fight for freedom. The screening will take place from 19:30-21.00 in our Digital Hub, with complimentary teas and coffees served from 19.00. All costs are covered by Jesus College, with proceeds going directly to the filmmakers. We will also be collecting optional donations for Unicef’s Sudan Fund during the evening. Suitable for 18+ More information about the film: In 2019, documentary filmmaker Hind Meddab flew to Sudan to film a sit-in protest at the Army headquarters in Khartoum. The people of Sudan were assembling, demanding reform after decades of military dictatorship. There she met a selection of young activists that she would continue to film over the course of 4 years, from the swell of hope and accomplishment following dictator Omar al-Bashir’s fall to the oppression of the military crackdown and subsequent civil war, which today, leaves Sudan in ruins. Standing in front of a powerful army, how could the civilian movement find the strength to persist? In conversations, in demonstrations, on walls, it emerges how the Sudanese tradition for poetry becomes a powerful tool for activism. Art, music and poetry bolster every stage of the Sudanese fight for freedom. ‘Sudan, Remember Us’ bears witness to a lost revolution and within it unearths a tribute to the power of creativity as a tool of survival and resistance.
Research students and staff planning to attend the "Science, Engineering and Technology Fair":https://oxford.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=22684&service=Careers%20Service, are invited to book this pre-fair event. This is an opportunity to talk informally with a careers adviser about options for researchers. Our discussion will be led by participant interests and may cover reasons why companies see value in a doctorate and/or academic research experience, and how you can identify, translate and/or build your skillset in ways that will appeal strongly to recruiters. We will also consider how to get the most from the fair, e.g. how to ask insightful questions and build relationships with organisations that interest you. Time permitting, we will discuss any questions you may have about job search strategies, networking or applications. All Oxford University research students and research staff are welcome.
Join us for a day of presentations from various speakers, some will be online and others will be with us in person at Oxford. All are welcome. If you can't attend in-person, you can register to join through ZOOM. For the full programme of talks, please see The Sudanese Programme's website. We look forward to you being with us. Speakers: Dr Harry Cross, From a Siege Economy to a War Economy: The Legacy of Debt and Sanctions Daniel Hupet, Peace on our Lips in South Sudan Bosco Mario, Building a Better Future: The role of Human Capital and Leadership in Sustainable Development Betty Angasi, The Current Status of South Sudan Economy, Challenges, Opportunities and Moving Forward Dr Abraham Kuol, Politics of Youth Engagement and Economic Opportunities for Peace in Sudan and South Sudan: Harnessing Formative Years Potential to Building a Prosperous Future Dr Hisae Kato, Categorical Violent: Labour, inequality and the fragility of peace
The Science, Engineering and Technology Fair offers you the opportunity to find out about a variety of different career options across the science, engineering and technology sectors. This is your chance to to explore internships and graduate roles with organisations from a variety of technical areas including energy, engineering consultancy, science R&D, patent work, IT, transport, and many others. Organisations attending range from leading global companies to specialist technology firms. Oxford University careers advisers will also be on hand to answer your questions. The Science, Engineering and Technology Fair is aimed at all students, particularly those studying science, engineering, computing or maths including undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers. The fair booklet will be available one week prior to the fair. Note that this event is only open to Oxford University students, researchers, and alumni. *Please bring your University card with you on the day to access the fair.*
LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of the session, participants will have: Developed an awareness of what makes a presentation effective. Understood why planning and practice are crucial to the success of a presentation. The confidence to choose and use a variety of techniques to engage the audience. Practiced delivering a short presentation and gained constructive feedback. INTENDED FOR PGR and Research Staff with limited experience of giving presentations.
Public Discussion event as part of our ‘What about Exclusion?’ series, on Censorship and Self-Censorship. Join us to hear from speakers spanning the Humanities at Oxford, who will reflect upon their learnings and research into the implications of censorship and the perceived needs for self-censorship, both historically and in today’s technological world. The ‘What About Exclusion’ series is coordinated by ANTITHESES, a multidisciplinary Wellcome Discovery Research Platform at the University of Oxford. ANTITHESES addresses an urgent need for research that can engage meaningfully with the radical value disagreements, polarisation, and informational uncertainty characteristic of contemporary medical science, practice, and policy. This event is free and everyone is welcome!
T cell metabolism shapes immune function, but how CD8+ T cell flexibility relates to immunotherapy response is unclear. Using spatial proteomics, we map a metabolic continuum of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells defined by differential fermentative and oxidative engagement. These states display distinct immune interactomes and metabolic niches, reflecting lineage-transcending regulator patterns. Metabolic flexibility, such as lactate utilization, characterized responder tumors and correlated with enriched memory and progenitor-exhausted signatures in transcriptomic datasets. Machine learning integration of metabolic and immunological profiles predicted checkpoint blockade response. Our findings position metabolic flexibility, not abundance, as central to durable antitumor immunity.
Qualtrics has become one of the most widely adopted platforms for survey design, distribution, and data management in educational research. For quantitative researchers, it offers a straightforward interface, the capacity to embed flexible question types, and the option to use Qualtrics’ own participant database to recruit potential participants. Despite these strengths, challenges remain. Survey construction in Qualtrics requires careful attention to validity, reliability, and sampling. Moreover, use of Qualtrics’ recruitment database can bring challenges regarding the authenticity of participant responses. Using a study of Australian teachers, this presentation introduces students to both the benefits and pitfalls of using Qualtrics, highlighting practical strategies to maximize its potential while maintaining methodological rigor in quantitative educational research. Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
Migrant networks increase individuals’ motivation and capability to migrate, but less attention has been paid to their effects on emigration rates at the population level. This study investigates the macro-level implications of migrant networks by developing a microsimulation model to estimate migration rates over time under different network scenarios. Focusing on Colombian migration to Spain (1962–2008), we use longitudinal data from the Latin American Migration Project combined with macro-level data on economic and policy conditions at origin and destination. Results show that network effects were essential to reproduce observed migration dynamics: without them, migration rates dropped sharply. However, networks alone were not sufficient—macro-level conditions such as GDP growth, employment demand, and border stringency played a critical role. Community networks, rather than family ties, drove most of the observed aggregate effects. Our findings demonstrate the importance of integrating micro-level behaviour and macro-level context to explain international migration dynamics. Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm. Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
Environmental and societal challenges are complex, interconnected, and ever-evolving, requiring more than isolated or siloed interventions to be addressed effectively. This talk introduces systems thinking as a framework for understanding the feedback loops, delays, and non-linearities that characterize these challenges. Drawing on examples from interdisciplinary research projects, the presentation explores how systems thinking and modeling tools can help negotiate a shared understanding of a challenge, highlight unintended consequences of interventions, identify leverage points, and support more resilient and adaptive policy design. The talk discusses various ways in which systems thinking and modeling can support the science-policy-society interface while recognizing the pitfalls and limitations of this approach. About the speaker: Birgit Kopainsky is professor in System Dynamics at the University of Bergen and the director of the System Dynamics Group. She holds a PhD in agricultural economics from ETH Zurich and a master’s degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from the University of Zurich. Her research explores the role that system dynamics can play in facilitating transformation processes in social-ecological systems such as the transformation towards sustainable and resilient agri-food systems. She uses system dynamics simulation models to explore economic, social and environmental outcomes of resource use and to assess the effectiveness of proposed management and policy actions. She also facilitates participatory modeling processes that help integrate science-based knowledge and local knowledge so that stakeholders at different levels are better able to continuously test, learn about, and develop knowledge and understanding in order to cope with change and uncertainty. She conducts and supervises research both in Europe and in the Global South and works with diverse stakeholders at local, national and international level. She has been the PI or co-PI in large interdisciplinary projects that have received funding from a broad range of sources.
In this talk, we study how varying environmental conditions influence the evolution of seed banks in plants. Our model is a modification of the Wright–Fisher model with finite-age seed bank, introduced by Kaj, Krone and Lascoux. We distinguish between wild type individuals, producing only nondormant seeds, and mutants, producing seeds with finite dormancy. To understand how environments shape the establishment of seed banks, we analyse the process under diffusive scaling. The results support the biological insight that seed banks are favoured under adverse and fluctuating environments. Mathematically, our analysis reduces to a stochastic dynamical system forced onto a manifold by a large drift, which converges under scaling to a diffusion on the manifold. By projecting the system onto its linear counterpart, we derive an explicit formula for the limiting diffusion coefficients. This provides a general framework for deriving diffusion approximations in models with strong drift and nonlinear constraints. This is a joint work with Alison Etheridge.
Need a burst of focused time to get words flowing on the page? Join OCCT for our new series of Shut Up and Write (or Translate) sessions this term. These dedicated afternoons are a chance to step away from distractions, sit alongside fellow writers and translators, and make real progress on whatever project matters most to you. We’ll gather from 2–5pm on three Mondays this term in a supportive, low-pressure environment designed to boost productivity and creativity alike. Bring along your laptop, notebooks, or translation drafts - anything you’d like to work on. After a quick check-in, we’ll dive into quiet writing or translating sprints, with breaks for coffee (which will be supplied) and conversation in between. Whether you’re polishing a chapter, drafting an article, working on a translation, or simply hoping to carve out space for your own work, these sessions are for you. Come for one, two, or all three afternoons, and leave with words on the page and renewed momentum for your projects.
Widely used in medicine, systematic reviews are increasingly being adopted in other scientific disciplines. Systematic reviews can provide a reliable evidence base for future research and policy makers. This session introduces systematic reviews in the context of non-medical research.
I study the implications of climate change on housing markets, mortgage credit, and private adaptation. Households are exposed to physical climate risks that damage housing and degrade land, which is inelastically supplied. While the exposure to climate risk weakens housing demand, I show that the materialization of climate change raises house prices over time, as habitable land becomes increasingly scarcer. In frictionless markets, price signals support efficient adaptation. However, credit-constrained households have weaker incentives to adapt to climate change, indicating that pricing alone may be insufficient. Unequal adaptation reinforces wealth inequality and contributes to further habitat loss. As this tightening credit constraints for future generations, the private adaptation gap widens over time. I show that a shift from constrained homeownership to a rental model with unconstrained owners can lead to more efficient adaptation.
At the turn of the first millennium in Fatimid Egypt, Ismāʿīlī and Sunnī schools of law governed public life. Their legal regulations included enforcing laws for the Coptic dhimmi class. During the reign of al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh (r. 996-1021), Coptic autonomy was further eroded through policies that resulted in the destruction of churches, the murder of Coptic leaders, and forced conversions, among other actions. Living under the capricious Islamic legal authority of this era was one well-regarded former Muslim who had converted to the Coptic Church named Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ. He had become a monk in the desert of Scetis and composed an extensive 30-chapter rejection of Islamic theological and legal claims. Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ composed The Truthful Exposer (Kitāb al-wāḍiḥ bi-l-ḥaqq) to help Coptic Christians navigate this environment of persecution, elaborating on how Coptic Christian political identity could be developed through specific forms of resistance to Fatimid rule. This presentation will examine how Ibn Rajāʾ’s The Truthful Exposer made resistance to Islamic rule into a marker of Coptic political identity. Having studied with important traditionists in Fatimid Cairo, both Sunnī and Ismāʿīlī, Ibn Rajāʾ amassed a variegated collection of material on the Qur’an, the biography of Muhammad, the commentary traditions, and Islamic legal regulations. Through these sources, Ibn Rajāʾ articulated a fourfold identity of political resistance to Fatimid rule: 1) Intellectual Resistance; 2) Spiritual Resistance; 3) Covert Resistance; 4) Communal Resistance; and 5) Martyrdom as Resistance. The presentation will utilize examples from The Truthful Exposer to elucidate each of these four points of Coptic political identity vis-à-vis Fatimid law. Ibn Rajāʾ employs intellectual resistance through polemical critiques of the Qur’an, Muhammad, and Islamic law as contradictory and illegitimate, challenging their political authority for Christians. Spiritual resistance is explained through Ibn Rajāʾ’s emphasis on the Bible as the true lamp and guide, stressing the loyalty of Christ and his followers in contrast to the lack of unity found among Muslims in Islamic history and sources. Ibn Rajāʾ explains covert resistance through his accounts of crypto-Christians, who converted publicly to conform to Muslim rule but maintained their Christian faith privately. For communal resistance, he asserts that communal autonomy for Copts is paramount in their struggle, but he implicitly accepts Fatimid political power rather than embracing open confrontation. Finally, Ibn Rajāʾ acknowledges martyrdom as a form of resistance, explaining his own personal struggles with persecution after converting to Christianity, and he adds stories about other Coptic martyrs, arguing that true loyalty belongs to God in defiance of oppressive Fatimid rulers. Identifying these five modes of resistance to the legitimacy of Fatimid rule as constructed by Būluṣ ibn Rajāʾ gives us a better understanding of Coptic political identity in Egypt around the year 1000.
During this talk I will present a series of studies designed to explore the effects of threat on cognition and emotion in complex environments. Some of these studies examine real world experience, including phenomenological analyses of life-threatening events and longitudinal studies on military leadership training programmes. Other studies involve lab-based experiments in which we use virtual reality and computational modelling to understand the cognitive underpinnings of complex decision-making under threat. Together this body of work sheds light on how dangerous environments change the way we cope with complexity and suggests ways in which training can prepare us to do so.
What happens when contemporary space exploration outgrows Space Age modernity? In this volume, a collective of social scientists and humanities scholars provides an introduction to the emerging field of outer space studies. This is done by means of "otherwhere ethnography," richly detailed accounts of how space research and space enterprises are being rethought in an age where extraterrestrial exploration is no longer the monopoly of a handful of superpowers. While many off-Earth endeavours remain embedded within characteristically modern forms of thought—scientism, productivism, extractivism, (neo-)colonialism—there is also an emerging trend to move away from such ingrained conceptual frameworks. If one looks beyond the much-hyped projects of billionaire space gurus and their coterie of rocket-obsessed followers, one notices that Space Age modernity can also be thought otherwise, and that the very idea of "exploration" has already mutated into something else. Outer space studies can be envisaged as the antenna that seeks to capture this momentous, ongoing mutation. Please note that a wine reception will follow this event.
Over the course of the twentieth century, medical schools became bureaucratically-complex, research-oriented institutions with demanding admission requirements and accredited curricula that favoured, explicitly or implicitly, applicants who identified socially as male, white, Protestant, English-speaking, and straight. This developing research project examines how new regulatory procedures and educational ideals, perpetuated by a network of influential actors in organised medicine, encouraged exclusion and/or assimilation of medical students who did not possess this particular cluster of social identifiers. *Susan Lamb* is the Jason A Hannah Chair in History of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Based in the Faculty of Medicine and cross-appointed to History, Dr Lamb’s current research examines developments in Anglo-American medical education in the twentieth century, particularly around who can and cannot become a physician, why, and who says so. They are co-editor of a new volume of histories of medical education (_Transforming Medical Education: Historical Case Studies of Teaching, Learning, and Belonging_) and author of _Pathologist of the Mind: Adolf Meyer and the Origins of American Psychiatry_ (2014).
An ageing society absorbing an ever-larger proportion of taxpayer funds; a climate that demands costly adaptation even as immediate cost of living pressures squeeze households; deep-rooted regional inequalities but where every choice on redistribution carries sharp trade-offs. These are not problems requiring policy tweaks but seemingly intractable national conundrums that demand collective imagination, big ideas, shared choices and long horizons. In this lecture, Lucy Smith, Heywood Fellow at the School, will explore what reforms are needed for the UK to practise long-term national strategy-making: to confront the biggest challenges, contest real options, and hold to collective decisions across political cycles. This lecture launches the National Strategy Playbook, a radically practical framework to enable government, politics, business and society to act together on the nation’s future. The lecture is followed by a Q&A moderated by Ciaran Martin, Professor of Practice in the Management of Public Organisations. A drinks reception will follow the event.
Since compassion is often perceived to be a spontaneous humane response to the suffering of another, it may be assumed that compassion ought to be central to healthcare and, indeed, affect both the quality of care and the patient’s wellbeing. Lack of compassion, conversely, may negatively impact patients, weakening resilience and increasing vulnerability. However, overly compassionate care may demand too much of caregivers, resulting in distress and even burnout, usually referred to as "compassion fatigue". In my talk, I will argue that compassion is more than an emotional response resulting from closeness to a patient, or even internalization of that patient’s suffering. Rather, compassion is related to more general ideas of human dignity and solidarity, and functions as a core ethical value in healthcare. The talk will therefore suggest why, on the one hand, compassion is often not fully exercised in healthcare, and why, on the other hand, it is nonetheless of great importance to healthcare professionals. The presentation will be followed by discussion and drinks. The event is free. Registration required via the website. This event will take place in accordance with the framework developed by a number of Oxford colleges, including Worcester College, to promote free speech at Oxford. Details of this framework and 'tips' for productive discussion of difficult topics are to be found at: www.worc.ox.ac.uk/fos. By attending this event, attendees agree to adhere to these guidelines and the terms and conditions of the event which uphold Worcester College's commitment to freedom of speech: www.worc.ox.ac.uk/fos/massada-2025
This event is organised in partnership with the British Association of Former United Nations Civil Servants, the Oxford United Nations Association, and the Department of Politics and International Relations and builds on the success of previous years’ events. If you’re interested in a career with the United Nations, or elsewhere in international affairs, this is a great event to learn first-hand about the work, challenges, and opportunities in diplomacy, development and humanitarian sectors. Please register with the link provided. You will hear from our esteemed panel of speakers: Stephen Rudgard, who has held senior roles at the UN food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Tomoko Nishimoto who has held senior roles across multiple UN agencies in Asia and Africa, and Jeff Crisp, former Head of Policy Development at UNHCR and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House. About Our Speakers: Stephen Rudgard retired from full-time employment with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in June 2020, and has since fulfilled a range of short-term roles with FAO. He served as FAO Representative to Indonesia and to Timor Leste from April 2018 until retirement. Before moving to Jakarta, Stephen was FAO Representative to Lao PDR for four years from 2014. From 2000 to 2014, Stephen worked in FAO Headquarters, latterly as Chief, Knowledge and Capacity for Development, which also established FAO’s e-learning programme. Prior to FAO, he worked for 10 years for the intergovernmental agency CAB International based in the UK Headquarters, and before that for the Interamerican Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture. Tomoko Nishimoto was born and raised in Osaka, Japan. She has extensive executive experience in Africa and Asia as a senior official working at four United Nations organizations and at Nutrition International, an international NGO. Her UN career spanned more than 30 years, starting with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Programme Officer, progressing to Deputy Resident Representative and then Country Director. She moved mid-career to UNICEF as Programme Coordinator and Deputy Representative for Zambia. Later in her career, she also worked with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as Director of the Division of Regional Cooperation, and her final UN role was Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific for the International Labour Organization (ILO). She is married and has two children. Jeff Crisp has held senior positions with UNHCR (Head of Policy Development and Evaluation), Refugees International (Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy) and the Global Commission on International Migration (Director of Policy and Research). He has also worked for the Independent Commission on International Humanitarian Issues, the British Refugee Council and Coventry University. Jeff has first-hand experience of humanitarian operations throughout the world and has published and lectured widely on refugee and migration issues. He has a Masters degree and PhD in African Studies from the University of Birmingham. He is currently an Associate Fellow in International Law at Chatham House.
The National Health Service of the UK is a totemic institution, much loved by the British public, and which has faced one of its greatest challenges during the COVID pandemic and Brexit. But it faces wider challenges as well. Can it keep up with constant innovation and rising expectations? In this seminar, we will look at how the NHS came into being and how it compares with other models of health system. We will consider the challenges the NHS faces, and what policymakers can do to address them. And we will look towards the future to ask – can we keep the NHS?
Are you an early career/fixed term researcher, or doctoral student trying to get some writing done? Do you research on a topic related to health, medicine, the body, or mind using Humanities or Social Sciences approaches? The Medical Humanities Writing Group is an inclusive, interdisciplinary and casual gathering, encouraging writing as well as meeting others: all DPhil and FTR/ECR members of the collegiate university community are welcome. We have timed writing blocks and coffee/tea/light refreshments, and are focused on setting writing goals and getting work done in a positive and supportive environment. Attendance is free and you are welcome to join us for anything from a single session, to a few, or even the whole term. Writing Group sessions in MT2025: Wednesday 15 October 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Wednesday 22 October 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 28 October 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 11 November 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 18 November 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Tuesday 25 November 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 56 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities Wednesday 3 December 2025 09.00 – 12.30 Seminar Room 63 Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
For our next talk, in the BDI/CHG (gen)omics Seminar series, we will be hearing from Professor Philip Awadalla, Professor of Molecular Genetics, University of Oxford and National Scientifics Director, CanPath. We’re delighted to host Philip in what promises to be a great talk! Date: Tuesday 28 October Time: 9:30 – 10:30 Talk title: Integrating Multi-omics, Single-cell Interrogations and Population Cohorts to Capture the Earliest Determinants of Cancer and Aging Location: BDI/OxPop seminar room 0 Biography Philip Awadalla is the Professor of Molecular Genetics at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, as well as the Big Data Institute at the University of Oxford. Philip also serves as the National Scientific Director of CanPath (Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health). Previously, he was a Professor at the University of Toronto, and the University of Montreal Ste Justine Children’s Hospital where he was Director of the CARTaGENE cohort in Quebec. Philip and his team have expertise in population genomics, computational biology, and epidemiology. The research focus of his team is on healthy aging, early cancer detection, and the evolution of somatic mutations. Abstract The earliest molecular events that drive disease and aging often remain hidden until clinical onset, yet these processes leave detectable traces across the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome. In this talk, I will present our integrative research program that combines multi-omic profiling (genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data), single-cell and spatial interrogation of tissues, and large-scale population cohorts to identify early signatures of disease and biological aging. Drawing on resources such as CanPath, the Ontario Health Study, and UK Biobank, we are linking blood-based and tissue-based molecular signatures with environmental exposures, ancestry, and longitudinal health outcomes. I will highlight examples including the use of cell-free DNA and clonal hematopoiesis as early biomarkers of somatic evolution, and single-cell multi-omics to resolve transcriptional states underlying early tumorigenesis. Together, these approaches illustrate how integrating deep molecular profiling with population-based cohorts provides a unique opportunity to uncover the earliest determinants of disease, define mechanisms of resilience, and inform strategies for precision prevention and healthy aging. ———————————————————————————————————————— All members of the University are welcome to join, please let reception at BDI know you’re here for the seminar and sign-in. We hope you can join us! We also now have a mailing list – To be added, ping genomics_bdi_whg-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk (with any message), you should get a bounce-back with three options to confirm your subscription. Follow any of those options, and with a bit of luck you should be signed up! As a reminder, the (gen)omics seminar series runs every other Tuesday morning and is intended to increase interaction between individuals working in genomics across Oxford. We encourage in-person attendance where possible. There is time for discussion over, tea, coffee and pastries after the talks. Hybrid Option: Please note that these meetings are closed meetings and only open to members of the University of Oxford to encourage sharing of new and unpublished data. Please respect our speakers and do not share the link with anyone outside of the university. Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 323 578 354 925 3 Passcode: mo9K7Vk3 ——————————————————————————————————— If you wish to know more or receive information related to trainings and events at BDI, please subscribe by emailing bdi-announce-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk. You’ll then receive an email from SYMPA and once you reply you’ll be on the list!
This interactive session will show you how to construct effective search queries, from simple to complex, using tools unique to Scopus. These features can help with filtering for open access content, combining complex searches, and analysing the results of your search.
Get ready to understand the stages of your literature review search process by using your own research questions to build a successful search and apply it to a range of library resources. By the end of the session you will be able to: build a successful search strategy; use a range of bibliographic databases and search tools in the social sciences; source highly cited papers relevant to your research; and set up alerts for newly-published papers on your topic. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Parkinson’s disease is one of the most frequent neurodegenerative diseases. While the root cause and molecular mechanisms underlying Parkinson’s disease remain incompletely understood, lysosomes are critically disturbed, which contributes to the accumulation of misfolded proteins and defective mitochondria. Our lab is specialized in the study of endo-/lysosomal polyamine transporters, such as ATP13A2, which has been genetically linked with Parkinson’s disease (PARK9 locus). Our research revealed that ATP13A2 transports polyamines out of the lysosome, contributing to lysosomal and mitochondrial health. The M.J. Fox Foundation has prioritized ATP13A2 as a new target for Parkinson’s disease, and our molecular insights into the regulation of ATP13A2 have offered new therapeutic strategies, which we actively pursue. Our work in the Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s program demonstrated that a disturbed polyamine homeostasis affects Parkinson’s disease symptoms and that polyamines modulate Parkinson’s disease pathways. Using preclinical mouse models we evaluate the potential of polyamine modulation strategies to rescue the consequences of ATP13A2 deficiency, and are assembling a patient cohort with ATP13A2 carriers. Finally, we study the interconnections between ATP13A2 and closely related polyamine transporters ATP13A3 and ATP13A4, which remain virtually unexplored but are emerging as new drug targets.
On the Life and Work of Vincent Gillespie With contributions by Mishtooni Bose (U of Oxford), Denis Renevey (U of Lausanne), Raphaela Rohrhofer (U of St Andrews), Annie Sutherland (U of Oxford) and Nicholas Watson (Harvard U) Followed by a free buffet lunch
Bullying is a public health priority that affects ~30% of children and young children in mainstream schools and up to 69% of children with special educational needs. This talk will consider what we know about bullying involvement and impact in both mainstream and special schools for pupils aged 4-16, but also what we don’t know. It will discuss two UK-based RCTs, the healthy-context paradox, peer network analysis, parent and staff involvement in a revised bullying definition and the introduction of a new term ‘count-connecting’. Throughout, we will discover the power of peers to reduce victimisation and improve mental health. This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar Series. Join in-person or online on Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
Democratic backsliding occurs incrementally, but the empirical study of how citizens respond to undemocratic politicians has been predominantly static. I formulate and test predictions about how different sequences of backsliding shape accountability. Using a novel preregistered experiment (N = 4,234) capturing the reality that democratic transgressions are committed by elected officials incrementally, I find that a majority of American respondents—against the backdrop of partisan and policy interests—are willing to electorally remove the incumbent as episodes of democratic backsliding unfold. Moreover, incumbents who incrementally decrease the severity of democratic transgressions are held accountable in a more timely manner than incumbents who incrementally increase the severity. By establishing a new experimental framework to study democratic backsliding, my dynamic approach not only paints a more nuanced picture of Americans’ willingness to defend democracy, but also demonstrates that sequence matters in shaping voter behavior amid incremental transgressions of democracy.
Academic careers are diverse, with the ability to conduct research, deliver teaching, and increasingly support innovation and knowledge exchange. In this first instalment of the insight into Academia series, join us for an introduction to the variety of options available and see that that there is no ‘one route’ to follow in an academic career. Intended for students considering embarking on an academic career, this session will outline the diverse roles and pathways within academic careers within a range of higher education and research institutions. We will cover: · The core academic functions: Research, Teaching and Knowledge exchange/Impact and innovation · The range of role types that currently exist with a focus on the UK landscape and the diversity of institutions that exist. · Skills and competencies, entry points and early career stages · Mobility and International considerations We will also share tools resources and next steps to advance your career thinking in this area. This series accompanies the "Academia and Higher Education sector briefing":https://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/academia available on the Careers Service website. Other sessions in the series: · Insight into Academia: Positioning for Academic Progression (6-Nov-25) · Insight into Academia: Myths and Realities of Academic Careers Panel Event (13-Nov-25) · Insight into Academia: Academic Application Materials (17-Nov-25)
How do you ensure that your research is credible, to yourself and others? Preregistration means specifying in advance your hypotheses, methods, and/or analyses for a study, in a time-stamped file that others can access. Many fields, including behavioural and medical sciences, are increasingly using preregistration or Registered Reports (where a journal accepts your study at preregistration phase, and guarantees to publish the results if you follow the registered plan). If you've never preregistered a study before (or even if you have!) it can be complicated and hard to do well. In this workshop, we will go over the 'what,' 'why,' and 'how' of preregistration, and after some practice exercises, you will start drafting your own preregistration. We will also discuss some of the common challenges of preregistration, and its limitations. After the course, you will be able to: describe what preregistration and Registered Reports are (and how they differ); explain the benefits (and drawbacks) of preregistration and Registered Reports; identify what types of research are most suited for preregistration and Registered Reports; recognise the common pitfalls in writing a preregistration; identify the logistics of preregistering: which format and platform to use; and demonstrate the ability to write an effective preregistration, with an appropriate balance of specificity and concision. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
Bob Seely MBE is a Conservative Party politician who served as the MP for the Isle of Wight from 2017 until 2024. He is a former journalist and soldier. From 1990 to 1995, he worked as a foreign correspondent in the USSR and in post-Soviet states. From 2008 to 2017, he served in the British Armed Forces on the Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and ISIS campaigns.
Looking for time and space to focus on your writing? Come to our regular writing group meetings. This group is designed for scholars who engage with humour in their research, whether through literature, performance, media, history, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies, or other. We provide structured time for focused writing, support each other’s accountability, and offer a community for those who share an interest in the study of humour. Snacks, tea, and coffee will be provided.
Good research data management is a vital component of academic practice. Part of this is the principle that the data used to develop the arguments and outcomes of your research should be effectively stored and managed during a project, preserved for the future and - where possible - shared with other academics. This session introduces the University’s research data policy and outlines the practical impact this will have on your work. The services available at Oxford to assist you will be outlined. This session is not only essential during your current studies but will be invaluable if you plan to continue in research as a career. Topics to be covered include: common dangers and pitfalls of digital data; key principles of RDM and organising your data effectively; producing a data management plan; institutional, funder and publisher requirements; issues around preserving data and cybersecurity; ORA-Data, GitHub and other preservation services; sharing thoughts and insights about the potential of data management in your own field; and accessing Oxford based tools for research data management. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student; Staff
Worldwide, only around 7% of refugees attend university, despite the financial, psychological, social, and career benefits it offers. Recognising these benefits, UNHCR has set a target of 15% of refugees accessing higher education (HE) by 2030. Drawing on interviews with participants from refugee backgrounds, universities, Further Education colleges, NGOs and local authorities, this research explores the barriers and possibilities for refugees’ access to HE in the UK, with a focus on the south-west region. Findings highlight how increasingly hostile immigration policies, rigid academic systems, and resource shortages combine to restrict access to HE, while also documenting the growing expertise and support offered within some sectors. It calls for coordinated, transformative action to remove systemic barriers and build a socially just, refugee-centred approach, including enhanced financial support, alternative entry pathways, and transparent institutional accountability.
Beyond the Mountains: Social and Political Imaginaries in Gilgit-Baltistan (Raachi, 2024) is a multilingual, indigenous volume and collaborative research endeavor with the aim of decolonizing knowledge. This talk will focus on the politics of race and anthropology historically in Gilgit-Baltistan, the necessity of local knowledges, and rethinking publishing and the academy in this historical conjuncture. Dr. Nosheen Ali is a sociologist and co-founder of the independent press, Raachi. Her research is focused on state-making and border lives in Gilgit-Baltistan, Muslim poetic thought, and ecological futures in South Asia. She is the author of Delusional States: Feeling Rule and Development in Pakistan’s Northern Frontier (Cambridge University Press, 2019).
This talk explores the notion of obligation towards others at the intersection of Jewish feminist thought and the lived religious practices of Sephardi women in Israel. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and her involvement in Arevot — the only Sephardi feminist beit midrash in Israel — Dr Cohen examines how women who engage in practices of blessing, healing, and intercessory prayer construct a moral and spiritual authority grounded in caregiving, vulnerability, and responsibility for others. Focusing on figures such as Tamar, Menuja, and Shoshi — women of Moroccan, Bukharan, and mixed Mizrahi backgrounds — she argues that their everyday religious actions constitute a form of ‘domesticated religion’ (Lévy & Lévy), often overlooked by normative Judaism, yet central to the ethical imagination of Mizrahi feminist thought. These women’s rituals challenge the dichotomy between public and private, legal and affective, tradition and innovation. Dr Angy Cohen is a Ramón y Cajal research fellow at the Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). She holds a PhD from the Autonomous University of Madrid and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and has held academic positions at Tel Aviv University, Concordia University (Canada), and the University of Calgary (Canada). Her research focuses on Sephardi and Mizrahi communities in Israel and in the diaspora—particularly in Argentina—with special attention to migration memories and experiences, women's religiosity, Sephardi feminism, and the everyday moral experiences of Sephardi women. She combines ethnographic fieldwork with feminist theory and Jewish thought to explore questions of tradition, care, and ethics and subjectivity.
Abstract In this talk I explore the hypothesis that we are entering, or have entered, an “age of health”. I begin by identifying some suggestive pieces of evidence: the handing-over of social issues to the medical profession (e.g. concerning end of life); the growth of scope of “health” (e.g. to include mental health and planetary health); the increasing power of public health (e.g. lockdowns; health-related taxes); and the growth of health-related academic work, such as this talk. I then try to formulate the hypothesis more precisely. I develop the idea that this is not merely a sociological change, but a conceptual one: health has come to operate as a master-value, incorporating matters that used to be treated as belonging to separate social, legal, political, personal, ethical, or spiritual domains. I contrast this idea with existing work on related themes, such as medicalisation and biopolitics. I go on to consider what the implications are if the hypothesis is true. If we live in an age of health, what does that mean for science, politics, and medicine? Finally, I consider what evidence might tell for or against the hypothesis, or whether it might lead us to a better one. This will be a hybrid seminar in BDI LG Seminar Room 0 and on Zoom (https://medsci.zoom.us/j/99220276812)
In the DPhil chapter that I will present, I examine how state absence affects the daily lives of residents in Unity State, South Sudan’s oldest oil-producing region. Based on my fieldwork in Rubkona County, I argue that absence is not simply the result of weak institutions or a governance vacuum. Rather, echoing Ferguson’s (1990) and Gupta’s (2012) insights, I treat absence as a productive force – one that generates its own social, economic, and political effects. Through ethnographic encounters exemplified by dilapidated social services and a retreating corporate social responsibility (CSR), I show how institutions persist in form but are hollowed out in function. This hollowing out allows the state to extract oil wealth while practising what I term as a ‘governance through non-distribution.’ Such a mode of governance systematically limits the flow of rents back to oil-producing peripheries. The chapter thus moves beyond the classic rentier debates about redistribution and macro-fiscal outcomes. It highlights how non- distribution transforms local economies, shifts service provision into private and informal spheres, and provokes acts of local agency – expressed protests, negotiations, and collective coping strategies. These tensions, I argue, reveal both the fragility and resilience of both the oil-producing communities and their respective institutions.
Compulsive behavior is a hallmark of substance use disorder and other addictive disorders. My lab models compulsive behavior in mice using a reinforcement training paradigm (RI60) that leads to habitual and punishment-resistant reward-seeking. By using fiber photometry and optogenetics to measure and manipulate dopamine signals in vivo as compulsive behavior emerges, we are revealing how dopamine contributes to this addiction-relevant process. I will present published and unpublished work identifying the specific spatiotemporal features of dopamine signaling that drive compulsion, including evidence that adolescent stress – an important risk factor for addiction – reshapes key features of dopamine engagement in compulsion. These findings highlight the synaptic- and circuit-level mechanisms by which developmental experiences alter vulnerability to addiction and suggest new avenues for personalized treatment strategies.
Children from low-income families face persistent educational and economic disadvantages that contribute to long-run earnings gaps. This paper studies Communities in Schools (CIS), a program that places coordinators in high-poverty schools to connect struggling students with individualized support. CIS is the largest program of its kind in the U.S., serving nearly 2 million students annually. We find that CIS improves test scores, attendance, and behaviour for struggling students, and that these gains persist, leading to higher rates of high school graduation, college attendance, and adult earnings. These long-run effects can be closely forecast from changes in short-run outcomes, with non-cognitive measures playing a central role. CIS delivers returns that compare favourably to other major education interventions, such as class-size reductions. Our results suggest that programs like CIS—combining traditional school resources with mentorship and social capital—can produce lasting improvements in education and economic mobility for disadvantaged students.
As the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) industry accelerates alongside renewable energy adoption, advanced battery management is becoming essential. While traditional Battery Management Systems (BMS) provide critical safety and operational control, they often lack precision in State of Charge (SoC) estimates and offer limited insight into long-term battery health. Predictive analytics fills these gaps by leveraging real-world data to uncover manufacturing deficiencies and enhance accuracy in SoC and State of Health (SoH) metrics. This presentation explores how predictive analytics can drive smarter, more reliable energy storage, thus empowering stakeholders to optimize battery performance in a rapidly evolving, data-driven energy landscape.
Join OCLW for an evening with Lucy Hughes-Hallett in conversation with Hermione Lee. How do we make a life live on the page? What happens when sources conflict—when legend shadows fact, and chronology must be balanced with interior life? Lucy Hughes-Hallett will discuss the narrative strategies that shape her books. She will explain how she adapts her approach to the sources available and how shifts in point of view can open—or complicate—a subject. She will consider how to balance a clear chronology of events with the exploration of interior life, and how, in life-writing, to distinguish legend from fact. She will draw on the life-stories she has told—from Cleopatra, through Gabriele d’Annunzio, to her most recent subject, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham: the beautiful young favourite of James I who rose to extraordinary power before his assassination at thirty-six. Speaker Details: Lucy Hughes-Hallett is a cultural historian, biographer and novelist. Her books include The Pike: Gabriele d’Annunzio, which won the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Costa Biography of the Year Award, the Duff Cooper Prize, and the Political Biography of the Year Award and was described in The Sunday Times as “the biography of the decade”. This year, she received the Biographers’ Club Award for an Exceptional Contribution to Biography. Her latest book, The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham, won the BIO Plutarch Award and the Randy Shilts Award for Non-fiction. She is a widely read critic and reviewer; in 2020, she chaired the judges of the International Booker Prize, and this year, she is a judge of the Baillie Gifford Prize. Hermione Lee was President of Wolfson College from 2008 to 2017 and is Emeritus Professor of English Literature in the English Faculty at Oxford University. She is a biographer and critic whose work includes biographies of Virginia Woolf (1996), Edith Wharton (2006), Penelope Fitzgerald (2013), and Tom Stoppard (2020). She has also written books on Elizabeth Bowen, Philip Roth, and Willa Cather, an OUP Very Short Introduction to Biography, and a collection of essays on life-writing, Body Parts. She was awarded the Biographers’ Club Prize for Exceptional Contribution to Biography in 2018. From 1998 to 2008, she was the Goldsmiths’ Professor of English Literature at Oxford. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2023, she was made GBE for services to English Literature. She founded OCLW at Wolfson College in 2011. She has just completed a biography of the novelist and art historian Anita Brookner, which will be published in 2026. Further Details and Contacts: After the event, join us for a complimentary wine reception. This event is free and open to all; however, registration is recommended. This is an in-person event, but it will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 14:30 on 28 October 2025. Any queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
Ignacio Arana Araya (www.ignacioarana.org) is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He specializes in the study of political elites by analyzing how the personality traits and other individual differences of heads of government impact executive governance. His research also examines the impact of political institutional variation across countries, with an emphasis on Latin America. His first book, Presidential Personalities and Constitutional Power Grabs in Latin America, 1945-2021, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. He is currently writing the book The Psychology of Presidents, under contract with Cambridge University Press. His work has been published in leading journals such as The American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, Political Psychology, Democratization, Journal of Legislative Studies, Latin American Politics and Society, Journal of Law and Courts, Latin American Perspectives, América Latina Hoy, Revista de Ciencia Política, Estudios Internacionales, Bolivian Studies Journal, and Política. He has also contributed book chapters published by Springer, FLACSO, and Oxford University Press.
Professor Don Kalb (University of Bergen) will speak on his new book Value and Worthlessness: The Rise of the Populist Right and Other Disruptions in the Anthropology of Capitalism (Berghahn Books). He is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen, Norway, and Academic Director of the GRIP program on global inequality (UiB/International Science Council, Paris). He is the Founding Editor of Focaal – Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology.
Join us for an insightful webinar designed for all healthcare professionals involved in the treatment and assessment of inflammatory diseases in both adults and children. This session is also highly relevant for those involved in designing clinical trials across the NHS, academia, and industry.
Professor Don Kalb (University of Bergen) will speak on his new book Value and Worthlessness: The Rise of the Populist Right and Other Disruptions in the Anthropology of Capitalism (Berghahn Books). He is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Bergen, Norway, and Academic Director of the GRIP program on global inequality (UiB/International Science Council, Paris). He is the Founding Editor of Focaal – Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology.
On most measures income inequality in the UK has barely changed in 35 years. Indeed, it has fallen since the financial crisis. Yet public concern about inequality is higher than ever. In this talk Paul Johnson will draw on the IFS Deaton review of inequalities to help understand this conundrum, and will also look at the sorts of areas - beyond tax and welfare - that policymakers ought to be exploring. He will show that, while income inequality may not be increasing, a combination of stagnant incomes, growing importance of wealth, increased intergenerational inequalities, and labour market inequalities which go well beyond inequalities in headline earnings, are all crucial to understanding inequalities as a whole. He will look at what this analysis might tell us about principles for action. The Omar Azfar Lecture is an annual lecture series established in 2015 to honour the memory of Omar Azfar, who came to Balliol in 1987 to read PPE. Omar became an economist and specialised in the field of crime and corruption. He was strongly committed to the ideal of social justice, and passed away in 2009. The lectures are funded thanks to generous benefactions from Old Members and friends, including Omar’s parents, Kamal (Balliol 1958, Literae Humaniores) and Naheed Azfar, and his close College friends, most notably Jeremy Burchardt (Balliol 1988, Modern History). Paul started as Provost of The Queen’s College Oxford in August 2025. Before that he was director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies for 15 years, following periods as chief economist at the Department for Education and director of public spending at HM Treasury. He is a columnist for The Times, and is a regular contributor to other broadcast and print media. He is a visiting professor at UCL and at York University. Paul published the Sunday Times bestseller “Follow the Money” in 2023. He was for 11 years a member of the UK Climate Change Committee, and has served on the council of the ESRC and of the Royal Economic Society. Paul has also for the last five years been helping to lead the IFS Deaton review of inequalities, and will be lead author of a book based on this study which is due to be published early in 2026.
Britain’s role in the negotiations of the Helsinki Final Act (1975) has been understudied and understated. This book rectifies this shortcoming by tracing London’s important contribution to East-West diplomacy with a special focus on the negotiations of the Helsinki Final Act (1972–75). The Final Act was the product of almost three years of intense bargaining in the context of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Along with 34 other states, the UK negotiated core aspects of European international relations, including the political, territorial, and normative order of the divided continent. Taking full advantage of its new role as a member of the European Community and its traditional part in NATO, British negotiators skilfully navigated the opportunities and pitfalls of multilateral diplomacy. Their success in hammering out several of the most contested and most innovative provisions of the Helsinki Accord earned them the moniker of ‘Fathers of the Final Act’. Based on extensive archival research in eleven countries on three continents, this book traces the evolution of the negotiations, providing a compelling bottom-up account of how diplomacy works in practice against the backdrop of inter-state conflict and unequal power.
About the book: ‘Safe Corridor’ is a bold, unforgettable novel of war, imagination, and survival. Thirteen-year-old Kamiran is fleeing the collapse of Syria when his body begins to harden—literally—turning to chalk. As his transformation unfolds, he pours his memories, secrets, and darkly funny confessions into a piece of chalk he stole at school. Through the eyes of this precocious, resilient boy, Safe Corridor explores what it means to survive the unthinkable—with tenderness, fury, and imagination. Written by acclaimed Kurdish-Syrian novelist Jan Dost and translated by Marilyn Booth—winner of the 2019 International Booker Prize—'Safe Corridor' is a searing, surreal journey through displacement, coming of age, and the cost of war. Winner of the 2024 Bait AlGhasham DarArab International Translation Prize.
Why do Agatha Christie’s novels continue to inspire each generation? The answer is the quality and range of her puzzles: her rich and varied structures of deception. Christie broke the mould of detective fiction and rewrote the implicit rules of the whodunnit. In the sheer variety and profusion of her whodunnit puzzles Christie is without peer. In this talk, Tony and Sally Hope will bring into the open what Christie so cleverly kept hidden: the many ways she helps us solve her puzzles whilst, at the same time, deceiving us. Sally and Tony Hope are authors of Agatha Christie: Plots, Clues and Misdirections which examines Christie’s skills as a whodunnit writer. It analyses her methods in setting her puzzles. It shows how she uses a combination of diverse plots, cunning clues and subtle misdirections. Sally and Tony have also written on each of Christie’s sixty six crime novels. There will be a drinks reception following the talk to which everyone is welcome. If you'd like to attend this event, please register at: https://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/event/agatha-christie-plots-clues-and-misdirections-with-professor-tony-hope
Our third edition of the Rights in Crisis series will discuss the state's approach towards unpaid domestic labour and the recent focus on direct cash transfer schemes for women. Prof Prabha Kotiswaran will be in conversation with Prof. Sandra Fredman and Dr Aradhana CV will moderate the discussion. Prof. Prabha Kotiswaran is a Professor of Law and Social Justice at King's College London and previously taught at SOAS. She received her undergraduate law degree in India from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore and then an LLM and SJD (doctorate) from Harvard Law School. She also practiced law at the New York law firm of Debevoise and Plimpton. Her main areas of research include criminal law, transnational criminal law, feminist legal studies and sociology of law. Prof Sandra Fredman is the Professor of the Laws of the British Commonwealth and the USA at Oxford University, and the Director of the Oxford Human Rights Hub. She was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2005 and became a QC (honoris causa) in 2012. She has written and published widely on anti-discrimination law, human rights law and labour law, including numerous peer-reviewed articles.
Freidlin-Wentzell theory grants powerful tools to study the behaviour of dynamical systems perturbed by small noise. It applies naturally to ecological processes modelling large populations, as demographic noise scales as the inverse of the population size. This entails asymptotic estimates for the expected time to extinction, the typical path to extinction and the quasi-stationary distribution conditioned on non-extinction, formulated as large deviations results.
We shall discuss the critical point for the upper exponential bound on the space of graphons, and under an appropriate topology, to characterize the limiting behavior of a general model of inhomogeneous dense random graphs embedded in space with conditionally independent edges. Joint work with Wolfgang König.
This workshop will cover the basics of copyright as they apply to lecturers and tutors at the University of Oxford. It will explain the different types of copyright work that are used or generated in teaching and the rights and responsibilities for teaching staff and students. By attending this session you will have the opportunity to: identify copyright works and usages in teaching contexts; compare different types of licence available for teaching – proprietary and open; follow the requirements of the CLA licence; and apply risk management principles to the use of copyright exceptions for teaching. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
Jonathan Chatwin's book, The Southern Tour: Deng Xiaoping and the Fight for China’s Future, explores Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 Southern Tour and the mythology around it. Drawing on archival sources, contemporary reportage, and Dr Chatwin's own retracing of the journey in 2019, it offers a narrative history of this pivotal political moment ‒ and reflects more broadly on the tension between ideological control and market liberalisation in the post-Mao era.
Professor Julie E Cohen: Both in the U.S. and in Europe, initiatives for AI governance have focused principally on identifying and mitigating the risks created by AI models and their downstream uses rather than on those created by the datasets on which the models are trained. However, some of the most intractable dysfunctions of generative AI systems involve datasets. In particular, the very large datasets amassed by dominant providers of generative AI and related services are rapidly taking on infrastructural characteristics and importance. Effective AI governance therefore requires an infrastructural turn in thinking about data. After explaining the significance of the infrastructure lens, the lecture will sketch some of the distinctive implications of data infrastructures, in particular, for governance of networked digital processes and the social and economic activities that they facilitate. Next, it will explore two interrelated problems manifesting within generative AI systems—simulation and sociopathy—that illustrate the extent to which the project of AI governance is, unavoidably, a data governance project. In brief, generative AI models trained on mass content from the open internet are also trained on data infrastructures that have been developed for behaviorist, extractive purposes and that encourage the production and spread of particular kinds of content and particular styles of communication. Finally, it will outline some needed directions for an infrastructural turn in AI governance.
Although Christianity has spread widely across sub-Saharan Africa, traditional religious beliefs remain central to social, economic, and political life. Scholarship and first-hand experiences suggest that Christianity’s belief in a universal god – meaning the same god and path to salvation for everyone in the world – has contributed to the stigmatization of traditional African religions. We examine this empirically in northern DRC. A census of churches and sermons shows that traditional religion is frequently mentioned and almost always negatively. Lab-in-the-field experiments reveal that individuals identified as traditional believers are treated less prosocially. This behavior is supported by antisocial norms and negative stereotypes specific to traditional religion. These antisocial consequences are unique to traditional religion, are present in all segments of our sample, and intensify with better economic development. Using survey data from across Africa we find results consistent with our experimental findings from the DRC. Finally, in both our DRC experiments and in our cross-Africa surveys, we find that the effects we uncover are systematically stronger in areas with more early Christian missionary activity. Together, the findings demonstrate how adopting a universal religion like Christianity can foster prejudice and mistreatment toward adherents of traditional beliefs. Written with Etienne Le Rossignol and Nathan Nunn
In this session we will cover how to locate and interpret journal level metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF). We will examine the tools you can use to locate journal level metrics, such as Journal Citation Reports and Scopus Sources. We will also consider the uses, limitations and pitfalls inherent in these metrics and how they can be used responsibly. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: the major journal metrics and how these are calculated; accessing journal citation data using Journal Citation Reports and Scopus Sources; using JIF, CiteScore and SJR journal metrics to rank journals; and the limitations of different metrics, including how journal metrics may be skewed or distorted. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
The aerospace sector provides unique and irreplaceable services but produces outsized environmental impacts which extend far beyond the carbon released by burning jet fuel. As the industry continues to grow exponentially, a robust and nuanced understanding of its full climate and air quality footprint is essential. This lecture will explore the challenging methodological problems inherent in quantifying these impacts, what we can do to improve our understanding, and possible near-term strategies to achieve clean aviation. Through a combination of atmospheric simulation and analysis of observational data, we will delve into four specific areas: using deep learning to enable automated detection of condensation trails (contrails); the challenge of predicting and addressing contrail climate impacts; the global air quality burden of cruise-altitude emissions; and the nascent field of launch vehicle emissions. These are not just scientific challenges, but opportunities for rigorous analysis to advance our understanding of the sector's overall environmental footprint. This talk will also discuss how these insights can be leveraged to inform individual choices, empowering people to reduce their personal environmental footprints, while also highlighting the coordinated actions required to drive meaningful change across the entire sector. The goal is to show that while this is a profoundly challenging problem, it is one where scientific rigor and innovation are making real progress. Bio: Sebastian Eastham is the Associate Professor of Sustainable Aviation at Imperial College London, and a member of the Brahmal Vasudevan Institute for Sustainable Aviation. His research focuses on developing and applying quantitative models to better understand the environmental effects of the aerospace sector and to evaluate strategies for a more sustainable future. With a background in atmospheric science and engineering, his work provides insights into the complexities of the sector's total environmental footprint, going beyond simple carbon emissions to include factors such as contrails and nitrogen oxides. Prior to joining Imperial in 2024 he was Principal Research Scientist in MIT's Center for Global Change Science, and Associate Director of the MIT Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment.
Capitalizing on College shows how tuition-driven colleges and universities have been forced to innovate and adopt market-driven financial strategies. These institutions have long-standing commitments to offer access and opportunity to marginalized students, but the promise of improved educational outcomes stemming from federal policy changes aimed at increasing market competition has not materialized. Instead, because of demographic shifts and the privatization of higher education, these colleges had to adopt new strategies to attract students from uncharted peripheral markets to offset losses stemming from their “legitimizing” residential campus experience. Capitalizing on College reveals how three of the strategies—growing a traditional endowment, pioneering a periphery market, and even creating a network of multiple markets—were initially successful, but ultimately fell short of raising enough revenue to support the operation of a residential campus. Only a fourth “accelerated” strategy of going to scale raised the necessary funds—but undercut the schools’ mission by leading them to view students as dollars. Through a vivid and compelling narrative that weaves together candid interviews with over 150 university leaders, Capitalizing on College reveals the untold story of “the missing middle”—what market competition has brought on higher education from the inside vantage point of the colleges themselves. It shows how the unanticipated consequences of federal policy changes have ultimately distorted the values of mission-driven schools. Capitalizing on College offers a timely and fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the changes shaking up higher education and what the future holds for colleges and universities in this new financial climate.
A 2024 collection of articles in the Bulletin of the AMS asked "Will machines change mathematics?", suggesting that "Pure mathematicians are used to enjoying a great degree of research autonomy and intellectual freedom, a fragile and precious heritage that might be swept aside by a mindless use of machines." and challenging readers to "decide upon our subject’s future direction.” This was a response to growing awareness of the mathematical capabilities of emerging technologies, alone or in combination. These techniques include software such as LEAN for providing formal proofs; use of LLMs to produce credible, if derivative, research papers with expert human guidance; specialist algorithms such as AlphaGeometry; and sophisticated use of machine learning to search for examples. Their development (at huge cost in compute power and energy) has been accompanied by an unfamiliar and exuberant level of hype from well-funded start-ups claiming to “solve mathematics” and the like. To try and understand what’s going on we look at the factors, whether technical, social or economic, leading to the ongoing adoption and impact, or otherwise, of previous computational interventions in mathematical practice. As an example we consider key decisions made in the early days of computational group theory.
The talk is part of a draft chapter of a book manuscript on human rights elites at the United Nations, which follows the biographical trajectories of UN experts in special human rights missions. It will focus on Felix Ermacora, an Austrian human rights expert, international lawyer and delegate to the UN Human Rights Commission, who was part of the first cohort of independent human rights experts at the UN. For 27 years, he served on various human rights fact-finding missions at the UN: the first one on apartheid in South Africa, followed by the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Chile and Afghanistan. He established himself as Austria’s leading human rights expert in the 1950s through his academic work and passionate advocacy for the rights of the German-speaking minority in South Tyrol. The chapter builds on his travelogues, interviews with his widow and a former student, as well as archival sources from the UN and in Innsbruck. It highlights the tensions between state diplomacy and experts, headquarters and encounters in the field with dissidents, refugees and politicians, bureaucracy and adventure, and a sense of futility and deep belief in the cause – laying the foundations for today’s UN special procedures system. Dr Alvina Hoffmann is a lecturer in Diplomatic Studies and Deputy Director of the Centre of International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London. Her research and teaching interests are in human rights and humanitarianism, the sociology of elites and experts, transnational professionals, socio-legal studies and the UN. Currently, she is working on her first monograph titled Speaking for the Universal: Human Rights Elites in World Politics. Her research has recently appeared in the Review of International Studies, European Journal of International Relations, and Global Studies Quarterly. She won the Best Article in the European Journal of International Relations in 2024 prize, the International Studies Association Theory Section Best Article in 2024, and the Best Dissertation prize of the German United Nations Association in 2023. She holds a PhD in International Relations from King’s College London, a Master’s in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from Sciences Po Paris and an MSc in International Relations from LSE. The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall. Registration not required. All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk.
This lecture explores a work by Gustav Klimt in a new context: the period of King Leopold II’s “Congo Free State” (1885-1908)—a distant, resource rich entity of extraction that remade Belgium into a global powerhouse. Gustav Klimt achieved what he considered the highpoint of his experiments with ornament not in Vienna, but in Brussels, where he designed, with unlimited budget, a large-scale frieze of gold and bejeweled mosaics to wrap the dining room walls for the Palais Stoclet (1905-1911). This remarkable work revitalized Klimt’s career and changed his style. The Stoclet project also concentrates myriad and unrecognized connections to Africa. Klimt became enmeshed in a web of links that tied his patron and circles of Brussels elites to the Congo and to Egypt. These shape not only the circumstances of his commission but the stylistic forms, raw materials, and figural compositions that he devised for it. Vienna, golden style, is reborn in the gold rush of Belgian empire. By restoring imperialism to the center of the story, the lecture identifies two coordinates for our analytic field. First, the stylistic development of Klimt’s “golden style,” offering new evidence for his reliance on Egyptian tomb art for his Brussels project. Here a new link emerges between ancient Egyptian archaeology and Belgian occupation of the Congo as conduits of modernist primitivism. Second, the Stoclet house is reconceptualized as an imperial _Gesamtkunstwerk_, embodying not only a resplendent unity of all the arts but a voracious entitlement to global bounty, exemplified in Klimt’s patron, the triumphant Brussels banker-engineer Adolphe Stoclet. By close focus on this work of Gustav Klimt and his patron, a missing history is made visible: the facts, artifacts, sources, resources—both financial and cultural—and raw materials that are inextricably linked to European expansionism in Africa. *Debora Silverman* is Distinguished Professor Emerita of History and Art History at UCLA, where she holds the University of California Presidential Chair in Modern European History, Art and Culture. Her books include _Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Search for Sacred Art_ (Farrar, Straus & Gireux, 2000).
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Professor Catriona Kennedy (York) will discuss her new book, _Women, Politics, and the Irish Public Sphere in the Age of Revolution_ with Maria Luddy (Emeritus Professor, Warwick) and Ian McBride (Oxford).
*Exploring the relationship between written and spoken language, how to turn academic research into radio, and how to forge a career in audio.* Geoff Bird is one of the most prolific and acclaimed producers of literary radio, working today. He has made award-winning shows about writers like D.H. Lawrence, W. H. Auden, James Joyce, and a recent Radio 4 programme to mark the anniversary of _The Great Gatsby_ with Oxford’s Anil Gomes and Nick Gaskell. He’s also made landmark radio about women in electronica music, _The Woman-Machine_, has written and presented his own shows about packing up the family home and taking his kids to university, and is currently making a podcast co-hosted by AI. After more than twenty-five years on the airwaves, he remains at the cutting edge of radio. In this talk, followed by a Q&A with the audience, he’ll be discussing his own route to making radio, his thoughts on how to get academic research on air, and how to kick-start a career in the fast-shifting terrain of digital, and AI influenced audio production.
The idea of the lifeworld seems especially well-suited to capturing the sense of life as it is lived. After looking at theories of the lifeworld in Schutz and Habermas, I turn to The Door, a prize-winning novel by Magda Szabo about the ties of love, anger, and misunderstanding that bind a novelist and her housekeeper. How might Szabo’s novel enrich existing theories of everyday life? And how are intellectuals seen by those who cook their meals and sweep their floors?
Legal, moral, ethical and political debate on the abolition of slavery has traditionally been understood to have been initiated by Europeans in the eighteenth century – figures such as William Wilberforce, Thomas Buxton, Thomas Clarkson, Granville Sharp, and David Livingstone. To the extent that Africans are recognised as having played any role in ending slavery, especially in the seventeenth century, their efforts are typically confined to sporadic and impulsive cases of resistance, involving ‘shipboard revolts’, ‘maroon communities’, ‘individual fugitive slaves’ and ‘household revolts’. This lecture explores how Lourenço da Silva Mendonça, an African Prince and the historical actors with whom he was involved – such as Black Christians from confraternities in Angola, Brazil, Caribbean, Portugal and Spain – argued for the complete abolition of the Atlantic slave trade 147 years before Wilberforce and his generation of abolitionists.
Join us for our annual Black History Month lecture to be given by Dr José Lingna Nafafé. Legal, moral, ethical and political debate on the abolition of slavery has traditionally been understood to have been initiated by Europeans in the eighteenth century – figures such as William Wilberforce, Thomas Buxton, Thomas Clarkson, Granville Sharp, and David Livingstone. To the extent that Africans are recognised as having played any role in ending slavery, especially in the seventeenth century, their efforts are typically confined to sporadic and impulsive cases of resistance, involving ‘shipboard revolts’, ‘maroon communities’, ‘individual fugitive slaves’ and ‘household revolts’. This lecture explores how Lourenço da Silva Mendonça, an African Prince and the historical actors with whom he was involved – such as Black Christians from confraternities in Angola, Brazil, Caribbean, Portugal and Spain – argued for the complete abolition of the Atlantic slave trade 147 years before Wilberforce and his generation of abolitionists. Speaker biography: Dr José Lingna Nafafé is an Associate Professor of African and Atlantic History, Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, University of Bristol, and was the first Director of the MA in Black Humanities. He is an expert on the Lusophone Atlantic, with inter-related areas, linked by the overarching themes of: Lusophone Atlantic African diaspora, Black Atlantic Abolitionists movement seventeenth, reparations and eighteenth century Portuguese and Brazilian history; slavery and wage-labour, 1792-1850; race, religion and ethnicity; Luso-African migrants; ‘Europe in Africa’ and ‘Africa in Europe’. He was awarded a British Academy Small Grant to undertake a research project on the integration of African migrants in Northern and Southern Europe, and held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship on “Freedom and Lusophone African Diaspora in the Atlantic”. He was Co-Investigator for an awarded ERC Advanced Grant project “Modern Marronage? The Pursuit and Practice of Freedom in the Contemporary World”. Dr Lingna Nafafé’ s second monograph Lourenço da Silva Mendonça, and the Black Atlantic Abolitionist Movement in the 17th Century, was published by Cambridge University Press in August 2022. It was awarded the best book of the year prize by the African Studies Association of the UK, 2024. It is also one of BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year 2022 and one of the five best books written on ‘The History of Angola’ (pre-20th century), History books’ African History, 2023. Dr Lingna Nafafé’ s is currently writing a third monograph on: Beyond Wilberforce’s Experiment in Abolitionism: Yellow Fever Epidemic, Unfree Labour and the Market, 1792-1870. This lecture is free and open to all. Refreshments will be served from 5 pm. The talk will be followed by a drinks reception.
Legal, moral, ethical and political debate on the abolition of slavery has traditionally been understood to have been initiated by Europeans in the eighteenth century – figures such as William Wilberforce, Thomas Buxton, Thomas Clarkson, Granville Sharp, and David Livingstone. To the extent that Africans are recognised as having played any role in ending slavery, especially in the seventeenth century, their efforts are typically confined to sporadic and impulsive cases of resistance, involving ‘shipboard revolts’, ‘maroon communities’, ‘individual fugitive slaves’ and ‘household revolts’. This lecture explores how Lourenço da Silva Mendonça, an African Prince and the historical actors with whom he was involved – such as Black Christians from confraternities in Angola, Brazil, Caribbean, Portugal and Spain – argued for the complete abolition of the Atlantic slave trade 147 years before Wilberforce and his generation of abolitionists. *Dr José Lingna Nafafé* is an Associate Professor of African and Atlantic History, Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, University of Bristol, and was the first Director of the MA in Black Humanities. He is an expert on the Lusophone Atlantic, with inter-related areas, linked by the overarching themes of: Lusophone Atlantic African diaspora, Black Atlantic Abolitionists movement seventeenth, reparations and eighteenth century Portuguese and Brazilian history; slavery and wage-labour, 1792-1850; race, religion and ethnicity; Luso-African migrants; ‘Europe in Africa’ and ‘Africa in Europe’. He was awarded a British Academy Small Grant to undertake a research project on the integration of African migrants in Northern and Southern Europe, and held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship on “Freedom and Lusophone African Diaspora in the Atlantic”. He was Co-Investigator for an awarded ERC Advanced Grant project “Modern Marronage? The Pursuit and Practice of Freedom in the Contemporary World”. Dr Lingna Nafafé’ s second monograph _Lourenço da Silva Mendonça, and the Black Atlantic Abolitionist Movement in the 17th Century_, was published by Cambridge University Press in August 2022. It was awarded the best book of the year prize by the African Studies Association of the UK, 2024. It is also one of BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year 2022 and one of the five best books written on ‘The History of Angola’ (pre-20th century), History books’ African History, 2023. Dr Lingna Nafafé’ s is currently writing a third monograph on: _Beyond Wilberforce’s Experiment in Abolitionism: Yellow Fever Epidemic, Unfree Labour and the Market, 1792-1870_. *Refreshments will be served from 17:00 and the talk will be followed by a drinks reception*. If you are unable to attend after booking to attend in person, please email events@kellogg.ox.ac.uk.
This paper explores how solitude in early modern Britain was understood in gendered ways, focusing especially on women’s experiences of solitude. There has been much historical work on community and on networks, relationships, and friendships at all levels of early modern society. But in privileging these communal aspects of daily life, there has been a tendency to neglect those quieter and more transient moments that are often silenced and hidden from the historical record. What women did when they were out of company remains an overlooked topic. In most commentaries from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, women were not believed to be capable of engaging in the types of productive and meaningful solitude connected to wider masculine ideals of creative genius. Yet women from the middling and upper ranks of society spent large periods of their lives alone, often distanced from friends and social relations or engaging in solitary tasks. Through examining women’s life writings, correspondence, and other personal papers, this paper explores how solitude defined different stages in women’s lives. It shows how time spent alone, as much as time spent in company, had important consequences for how women identified themselves in relation to the society that surrounded them.
Since launching as a spin-out from the University of Oxford, Brainomix has developed award-winning, AI-powered imaging biomarkers and software solutions, assisting physicians across the world to make better life-saving decisions.
Wooden posts have been a critical element of Andean architecture within the Jequetepeque valley on the North Coast of Peru, particularly in the Moche site of Huaca Colorada (650-850 CE). However, wooden posts have frequently been interpreted in the archaeological canon as architectural features with little connection to ritual procedures except in their inclusion as an inert element of ritual architecture. Utilizing new analyses of wooden posts made from the algarrobo tree (Neltuma pallida), this paper identifies trends in the use and recycling of wooden posts at Huaca Colorada during the Middle Horizon, shedding light on the role of the algarrobo tree as more than a simple resource by examining how the algarrobo tree may have participated in the ritual, political, and social structures at Huaca Colorada as revered ancestor within the local ontology. This research explores the use and perception of algarrobo trees within the complex of Huaca Colorada and the role of trees in establishing or promoting culturally specific perceptions of place, ancestry, and memory.
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
One of the great human achievements over the last half century is that advances in food production have largely kept pace with demand on a global basis. Today, around 7 billion people are not hungry, up from about 3 billion 50 years ago. But we should not be complacent: despite these successes, over 800 million people are still hungry, perhaps 3 billion more lack sufficient nutrients, and at least 2.5 billion people consume excess calories for their physiological needs. Stunting and wasting due to insufficient nutrients and calories, and especially in early years, have lasting impacts on an individual’s potential. There are also significant, and growing, impacts of our food system on the climate and natural resource base upon which our food security ultimately depends. The 30 minute presentation will introduce how adopting a food systems approach helps to identify how and where the food system is a driver of global change. This draws on an understanding of the wide range of food system activities from consuming food through to primary production (a ‘fork-to-farm’ approach), the actors involved, and the drivers that influence their decisions. In addition to considering the consequences of these activities on the range of environmental and socioeconomic outcomes, the presentation will highlight how, in turn, these outcomes need to be better balanced given the inherent trade-offs within the ‘diets-health-climate’ discourse. This will be considered against the need to better manage – i.e., not just continuing to strive to meet – food demand. To this end, the presentation will also unpack the notion of ‘food system transformation’, the respective roles that food system actors and public and private policy makers need to play, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Summary Bio: Dr John Ingram (https://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/person/dr-john-ingram) is an Associate Professor and a Senior Research Fellow at Somerville College, University of Oxford, and Associate Professors at Stellenbosch University, South Africa and the University of Birmingham, UK. His interests are in the conceptual framing of food systems; the interactions among the many food system actors and their varied activities, and the outcomes of their activities for nutrition and other aspects of food security, livelihoods, enterprise and business, and environment; scenario analysis; and food system resilience. Having established the Food Systems Transformation Research Group within Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute, he led the multi-university post-graduate ‘Interdisciplinary Food Systems Teaching and Learning’ (IFSTAL) and the TUKFS BeanMeals programmes, and co-leads the Foresight4Food (F4F) and Food System Impact Valuation (FoodSIVI) programmes, and a number of Eu-Horizon projects. He also coordinated the Global Food Security 2016-2021 £15m programme ‘Resilience of the UK Food System’.
COURSE DETAILS Engagement describes the ways in which we can share our research and its value by interacting with wider public audiences, generating mutual benefit. In this introductory session tailored to those new to engagement, we look at what public engagement is and some of the reasons why you might want to do it. We’ll highlight the multitude of different approaches you can take, and provide tips on getting started and where to get support. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of the session, participants will have: The ability to reflect on individual strengths and areas for growth in public engagement. An increased and reinforced understanding of what public engagement with research is. An increased awareness of what makes effective engagement. An increased awareness of the range of opportunities available locally & nationally, and who to contact. INTENDED FOR DPhil, Research Staff, MSD & MPLS
Explore internships, graduate opportunities and full time jobs with top employers in the IT and computing sector. Oxford's undergraduate and postgraduate students achieve exemplary employment outcomes. Yet the process of making informed career choices and navigating the available opportunities can be challenging. Given that organisations across various sectors are keen to recruit individuals with computer science expertise, we designed this event to provide a valuable opportunity for students to meet potential employers and explore a wide range of career ideas. Oxford University careers advisers will also be on hand to answer your questions. Oxford University students from any degree discipline are welcome to attend this fair, as well as researchers and alumni. The fair booklet will be available one week prior to the fair. In the meantime you can "Download the 2024 event booklet for information about the recruiters who attended last year's Careers in Computing Fair (PDF).":https://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/careers-in-computing-fair-booklet-2024.pdf Note that this event is only open to Oxford University students, researchers, and alumni. *Please bring your University card with you on the day to access the fair.*
What does it mean for a place to be welcoming? Cities in particular, as sites of migration and arrival, are often a focal point for integration, and in some cases are seen as places where national-level hostility to migration might be replaced by a welcoming approach, with some cities adopting proactive policies of sanctuary or welcome. If migration governance is understood predominantly as a national government competence, then welcoming is predominantly oriented at the local level. How do these levels of government interact, and how can we know this multi-level governance of migration and welcoming? More broadly, how does this work function in practice? Should it be best considered through an integration lens, focusing on access to the labour market, education, and social networks, or through a more spatial approach, focusing on the role of arrival infrastructure in supporting newcomer communities through social infrastructure and the built environment (Wessendorf, 2024). Is the role of the state (at the national or local level) central, or should we instead focus on grassroots urban solidarity movements that have inspired new practices in urban citizenship (Humphris, 2025). Cities are not homogeneous spaces and are not uniformly proactive in this space, facing different challenges and levels of demographic change. How do cities understand their role in welcoming, and how do Mayors and other actors define their leadership and convening roles? This introductory panel aims to tackle these questions of welcoming, arrival, integration and inclusion in cities – from both a municipal and civic perspective, looking from the perspective of both the UK and Germany.
Due to a combination of wars, political unrest, geopolitical crises, and climate change, there are now more asylum seekers than ever before. Shortages of suitable accommodation and a backlog of applications mean that asylum seekers in the UK have increasingly been housed in hotels, which are currently the focal point of intense debate and a wave of protests. So-called asylum hotels can be highly problematic in terms of privacy, overcrowding, hygiene, and food. The quality, quantity and safety of food provided are the subject of fervent concern for campaigners and advocates. A qualitative study of asylum seekers experiences of contingency accommodation catering and food bank provision was carried out in a London-based food bank. Twenty-two participants with current or recent experience of the asylum system were interviewed across three focus groups (with translators). In addition, five food bank staff participated in online semi-structured interviews. Our findings suggest that some hotel food provision is characterised by rigid mealtimes, and inadequate and low-quality catering, including accounts of unsafe, inedible and inappropriate food being served. This is exacerbated by the pressures of living for months and sometimes years in accommodation without any facilities for residents to prepare or store food for themselves. Participants reported having to engage in harmful coping strategies. They explained how they considered health challenges such as obesity, malnutrition, delayed puberty, and depression to be a direct result of their limited and inadequate diet. In order to supplement, or even mitigate, hotel food provision, residents often engaged in long-term food bank use. The true extend of the dietary inequalities for asylum seekers is difficult to assess in the UK because poor diet and malnutrition may go unnoticed in hotel settings. Asylum seekers can experience a combination of inadequate hotel food provision, the inability to work or claim benefits, and reliance on food banks. Collectively, these can be understood as a form of institutionalised food insecurity.
Professor Devries will discuss research she has conducted over her career, including producing the first estimates on the global prevalence of intimate partner violence against women, conducting randomised trials of interventions to prevent violence against women and children, and the challenges inherent in conducting this research in a safe and ethical way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Karen Devries is a professor of social epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She leads the Child Protection Research Group and uses epidemiological methods to understand violence against children, adolescents, women, and child protection. She currently collaborates with international partners in Uganda, Tanzania, Latvia, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries, and she has published widely in international journals. Her work has been cited more than 50,000 times and has informed global policy, including WHO violence prevention guidance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
5 years after the Black Lives Matter movement, Prof Atuire will revisit the role of monuments as barriers towards achieving EDI goals. This seminar is part of a series during Black History Month, organised by the Henry Wellcome Buildings EDI Committee. Prof Atuire is a Professor of Global Health Ethics, the President of the International Association of Bioethics, and the Co-Associate Director of Oxford Global Health. "Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Oxford and in many other institutions is taking steps towards increasing access to persons from underrepresented groups. Alongside this positive step, I suggest an internal interrogation about what barriers exist to prevent some groups from accessing institutions. Among these possible barriers are the built environment that celebrates mostly a certain type of person. So, should we be taking a closer look at the monuments that surround us?" Open to all. Talk and informal chat with refreshments.
We are delighted to welcome Professor Charlotte Deane, Professor of Structural Bioinformatics at the University of Oxford, to talk on ‘AI for antibody design - going beyond the static’. The seminar will be chaired by Dr Matthew Raybould and will take place on 30 October, from 16:00 to 17:00, in the lecture theatre of the Richard Doll Building. Abstract The ability of proteins to adapt their shape can be fundamental to their function. Whilst we can now computationally predict a single, static protein structure with high accuracy, we are not yet able to reliably predict structural flexibility. A major factor limiting such predictions is the scarcity of suitable training data. Professor Deane will present novel tools and databases that help to overcome this. Biography Charlotte Deane MBE is a Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of Oxford, Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Co-Founder of Dalton Tx. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she served on SAGE, the UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and acted as UK Research and Innovation’s COVID-19 Response Director.
Puzzled by PICO? Daunted by databases? Baffled by Boolean? This one-hour online introductory class will offer top tips and advice on how to find literature to answer a research question. No prior experience necessary! Together, we will break down a question into the PICO format, put together a structured search, and try it out in PubMed. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what structured searching is, and when to use it; break your research question down into searchable concepts; and make use of Boolean operators (ANDs/ORs) in your structured searches. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
In this paper, I draw upon the original ending of Native Son, in which Bigger Thomas describes his fatal experience in the electric chair, to reread the novel in light of Richard Wright’s rich engagement with energy. From his early days gleaning coal refuse to his later fascination with petro-power in the Global South, the American writer understood Black life and death as inseparable from the politics of fossil fuel. Native Son often makes this preoccupation manifest in critical terms. Bigger thus refuses to accept that only affluent whites should fly planes or enjoy efficient heating systems. Yet at several moment in the novel’s prison section, Wright moves beyond a Marxist critique of energy hegemony to have Bigger dream of a universal energy source—whether electrical or solar--that might inspire human connection across lines of race and class. This utopian vision haunts the uncorrected manuscript’s depiction of the execution, an almost abstract account of heat and light, but, as I demonstrate, the dream also informs the novel’s extant conclusion. Even as he sends Bigger to the electric chair, Wright refuses to disavow an Afro-futurist investment in energy solidarity.
Drawing on fieldwork, this presentation analyses the transformation of filial anxiety through the lens of Chinese popular religious storytelling. It focuses specifically on Ming-Qing baojuan 宝卷 (precious scrolls) and their associated performative contexts to reconstruct the ritual repertoire of these narratives. By juxtaposing literary analysis of paradoxical unfilial children who achieve ultimate filial piety (e.g., Mulian目连, Miaoshan妙善) in baojuan narratives with field observations of contemporary live baojuan performances in Wu-dialect-speaking areas, Professor Xiaosu Sun’s research reveals that baojuan storytelling transcends its traditional identity as a vehicle for religious preaching or folk entertainment. Instead, it operates as a dynamic ritual mechanism wherein audiences actively navigate and resolve the filial debt dramatized in the stories ‒ a debt that resonates deeply with their own lived experiences ‒ through their participatory engagement in the performance. Xiaosu Sun 孙晓苏 is a Visiting Scholar of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford University. She is Associate Professor of Chinese Literature and Director of the Research Center for Chinese Culture and International Communication at Nanjing Normal University, China. She received her PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University and has served as a Visiting Scholar of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences at Nanjing University. She specializes in pre-modern Chinese vernacular literature, with a particular emphasis on popular religious storytelling, ritual opera, and ritual soundscapes. She held a Loeb Fellowship, received a Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Fund, and has been awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences, among other awards.
Steve Mentz, _Shipwreck Modernity: Ecologies of Globalization_, 1550-1719 (2015); Serpil Opperman, ‘Storied Seas and Living Metaphors in the Blue Humanities’, _Configurations_, 27 (2019), 443-61; Richard J. Blakemore, ‘Singing the Sea: Seafarers and the Maritime Environment in Early Modern Balladry’, in Angela McShane and Tim Reinke-Williams, eds, _From the Margins to the Centre in Seventeenth-Century England_ (2024), 105-31
Join Professor Dame Henrietta L. Moore and Arthur Kay for a provocative discussion on how our dependence on cars has shaped not only our cities and infrastructure, but our economies, health, and freedoms. Based on the ideas explored in their new work, this talk will interrogate the hidden costs of car-centric development and propose bold, systems-level alternatives to rethink how we move, live, and thrive in a climate-constrained world. For more than a century, the car has been a symbol of freedom and progress. But what if that promise has come at a cost we can no longer afford? In this Oxford Martin School event, clean tech entrepreneur Arthur Kay and global prosperity theorist Professor Dame Henrietta L. Moore explore how our relationship with the car has distorted everything from land use and energy systems to public health and economic equity. Drawing on their collaborative research, they argue that confronting car dependency isn’t just about transport, it’s about rethinking the very structure of modern life. The authors will be joined in conversation by Professor Tim Schwanen, Director of the Transport Studies Unit, University of Oxford, and Prof Sir Charles Godfray, Director of the Oxford Martin School.
Winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2025 for Literary and Art Criticism, Dr Said Laouadi, will be in conversation with Professor Michael Willis and Professor Eugene Rogan on his book 'الطعام والكلام: حفريات بلاغية ثقافية في التراث العربي' / 'Food and Language: Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritage’ (2023). Translation from Arabic to English will be provided by Taj Kandoura. About the book: Published in 2023, this work offers a critique of the complex relation between rhetoric and food in Arab heritage, analysing literary texts from poetry to proverbs and stories from a broad cultural perspective. With its in-depth analysis and broad scope, his research enriches rhetorical studies with new, unconventional approaches. About the author: Said Laouadi is a Moroccan academic and professor of rhetoric and discourse analysis at the Faculty of Arabic Language at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, where he also serves as Vice Dean for Scientific Research and International Cooperation and heads the Laboratory for Methodological Integration in Discourse Analysis. Laouadi oversees the ‘Academic Picks’ programme, which hosts leading Arab researchers in critical and linguistic studies. Laouadi serves as a member of judging panels for several Arab and Moroccan literary awards, while also contributing to various specialised academic journals as an editor and reviewer. His research explores the intersection of rhetoric and culture, with notable publications such as ‘The Kitchen of the Novel: Food in Fiction from Visuality to Weaving’ (2024) and ‘Food and Language: Cultural Excavations in Arab Heritage’ (2023), along with studies on literature, imagery, and aesthetics in poetic discourse”.
We are thrilled to welcome The Lord Woolley of Woodford to St John's for this year's Black History Month Lecture. Lord Woolley's lecture is entitled, 'In a climate of fear of "the other", new leaders must emerge'. Drawing on his extensive experience tackling racial inequalities in politics and industry, Lord Woolley will reflect on what, if anything, has changed in the five years since the historic race equality protests of 2020, and consider how improving representation in leadership roles might better serve under-represented communities. It will ask what effective leadership means in a political climate in which diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes are increasingly under attack.
To join online, please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KbVXDl5TQWCP1I0nKS1TiQ
Japan has long been known for its commitment to a pacifist foreign policy as stipulated in Article 9 of the post-World War II constitution. Despite some opposition, for much of Japan’s postwar history there has been a mainstream foreign policy consensus to maintain a security treaty with the United States and limit rearmament. In the years since the end of the Cold War, however, there has been a concerted movement urging constitutional revision in order to legalize militarisation. This project has been driven by younger, more radical conservatives at odds with the moderate conservative establishment. This talk examines the rise of a hawkish foreign policy ideology, and its intellectual underpinnings in the (re)emergence of a reactionary and culturally traditionalist conservatism which styled itself as the ‘New Right’ (Shin-Uyoku) at the height of Japan’s postwar economic power. It demonstrates that the arguments for state power, sovereignty, and rearmament are entrenched in a culturally particularistic logic, and identifies the alliances and divergence among varying ideological factions and their interlocutors that make up the politics of rearmament on the Japanese Right.
A reception will follow the seminar.
In this 60-minute online workshop you will be introduced to the methodologies and principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other evidence reviews. The session will cover: formulating a focused research question; preparing a protocol; developing a search strategy to address that research question; choosing appropriate databases and search engines; searching for grey literature and ongoing studies; storing and managing references; and documenting and reporting your search. Intended audience: Medicine and NHS; Researcher and research student
Join us for a dynamic and collaborative sandpit-style workshop jointly hosted by the UK Catalysis Hub and the Solar Chemicals Network. This one-day event is designed to bring together researchers across disciplines to explore new frontiers in solar-driven and sustainable catalytic processes. Through a series of short talks and interactive breakout discussions, we aim to spark collaborations and develop project concepts around shared research challenges. Discussion themes include: Photosynthesis: Natural to Artificial – Overview of the biological and synthetic landscape. State-of-the-Art Electrocatalysis – Designed for non-electrochemists to discover new approaches. Translating electrocatalysts in solar driven devices. Bridging Research Communities – Integration of photoelectrochemical, electrocatalytic, organic, and plasmonic science. Covering topics including: Water oxidation – translating active catalysts in solar driven materials. Light driven N2 reduction – Sustainable strategies and current challenges. Photo- and electrocatalysts for waste to value products – including biomass, pollutants. Speakers include: Prof. Alexander Cowen, Liverpool Prof. Erwin Reisner, Cambridge Prof. Ludmilla Steier, Oxford Prof. Ifan Stephens, Imperial College London Dr. Jenny Zhang, Cambridge
Motivated by pattern formations and cell movements, many evolution equations incorporating spatial convolution with suitable integral kernel have been proposed. Numerical simulations of these nonlocal evolution equations can reproduce various patterns depending on the shape and form of integral kernel.The solutions to nonlocal evolution equations are similar to the patterns obtained by reaction-diffusion system and Keller-Segel system models. In this talk, we classify nonlocal interactions into two types, and investigate their relationship with reaction-diffusion systems and Keller-Segel systems, respectively. In these partial differential equation systems, we introduce multiple auxiliary diffusive substances and consider the singular limit of the quasi-steady state to approximate nonlocal interactions. In particular, we introduce how the parameters of the partial differential equation system are determined by the given integral kernel. These analyses demonstrate that, under certain conditions, nonlocal interactions and partial differential equation systems can be treated within a unified framework. This talk is based on collaborations with Hiroshi Ishii of Hokkaido University and Hideki Murakawa of Ryukoku University.
One of the world’s premier research institutions, the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has a hidden history of its own. In addition to housing the papers of luminaries like James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, and Malcolm X, contained within its walls are the voices of my grandparents, my aunt, my uncle, and my mother. In this talk I will outline the early stages of researching and writing about the library’s caretaker family, my family, and the lives they lived nearly 100 years ago. The 135th St Branch, as it was then known, has occupied a central cultural and community role in Harlem since the 1920s and continues to this day. My family, however, knew the library better than anyone. In this workshop I will share some of what my initial research has revealed and the silences which remain.
The UK Government’s latest measures to strengthen further education, skills and ‘higher technical education’ follow a widely trailed international pattern mapped out by the OECD and international bodies, which emphasises industrial skill requirements. Yet successful forms of vocational education have either sought to complement skills development through broader educational understandings and practices, or to embed these within the vocational. This seminar takes as its starting point the contradiction between the global myth of German dual apprenticeship and Germany’s critical tradition of vocational education, recognising student personhood and constructing theoretical foundations around vocational subjects. Building on these and related international traditions, our work theorises the possibility of moving beyond a binary academic-vocational distinction, arguing for more critical attention to the practices and forces that can give rise to a more socially just vocational education. Bill Esmond's work examines the policies, structures, institutions and discourses that shape education, work and their boundaries internationally. His recent publications discuss the stratification of vocational education and training (VET) and its theoretical traditions in different countries. He is Professor of Professional Education and Training at the University of Derby, following a career that has spanned education, training and industry.
This paper studies how the generality of knowledge—its applicability across technologies and industries—shapes firms’ innovation strategies, market structure, and aggregate growth. I build an endogenous growth model in which firms decide between general and firm-specific R\&D while competing for market leadership. General innovations strengthen firms’ ability to absorb and apply outside knowledge, creating spillovers both across and within industries, whereas firm-specific innovations primarily benefit the innovating firm. The model predicts—and the data confirms—that leaders tilt toward firm-specific R\&D, while followers rely on general innovations to catch up, and that the gap in innovation generality between them follows a U-shaped relationship with market concentration. Leveraging variation in the enforceability of non-compete agreements across states, I provide evidence consistent with the model’s spillover mechanisms. The findings highlight the importance of policies that encourage general R\&D—particularly among leading firms—for sustaining long-run growth.
I studied for my PhD at Imperial College London, where I was working on the regulation of cell-cell adhesion by small GTPases. My work explored how nutrient starvation impacted the spatio-temporal activity of these proteins, an area which I have continued to focus on throughout my career. My postdoctoral work at Newcastle University and now, as a Wellcome-funded Research Fellow in the School of Biochemistry at University of Bristol, is focused on understanding the molecular cell biology of the nutrient-responsive mTORC1-autophagy axis. The pro-growth mTORC1 pathway and the degradative autophagy-lysosome pathway control the dynamic balance between biosynthesis, degradation and recycling to maintain cellular proteostasis and homeostasis. We are studying the mechanisms controlling the spatial regulation and activity of these processes and how rewiring of this equilibrium contributes to cellular senescence (a tumour suppressor mechanism of cell cycle arrest).
Public policies are expected to vary across regime types. However, the association between regime type and policy remains inconclusive. Efforts to solve this inconclusiveness by further differentiating across types of authoritarian regimes have been insufficient. Focusing on the theoretical mechanisms behind the expected associations between regime type and policy, I propose a novel framework to analyse policymaking and outcomes across regimes. I claim that policymaking in any regime will depend on the characteristics of the policy under consideration and the space for contestation over policy. I support this claim by an in-depth historical comparative analysis of policymaking and outputs in three Latin American military-led regimes. I show that, despite these regimes sharing a type, facing similar policy challenges and having comparable explicit goals, they exhibit differences in their policymaking process and resulting urban leases policies that can be explained by differences in their space for contestation.
Are you a graduate student or ECR working on any aspect of the body or embodiment? Struggling with a particular question or topic, or looking to develop your ideas in a friendly setting? Join us for our ‘Talks + Troubleshooting’ lunch, a chance to present on your research for 5 minutes before workshopping with the group. Please email "$":mailto:bihn@history.ox.ac.uk *by 28th October* if you’re interested in presenting.
As was the case across the world, HIV and AIDS devastated communities across Australia in the 1980s and 1990s. In the midst of this profound health crisis, nurses provided crucial care to those living with and dying from the virus. They negotiated homophobia and complex family dynamics and defended the rights of their patients. Yet, as new generations of HIV treatment have transformed the treatment and prevention of the virus, the contribution of nurses and their unions in the crisis years have slipped out of historical view. Drawing on oral history testimony and archival evidence, this talk centres nurses as caregivers and political agents who worked alongside communities affected by HIV to shape Australia’s response to the virus and remake the medical system. Speaker Details: Dr Geraldine Fela is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Humanities at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Her research and teaching traverses histories of gender and sexuality, labour, social movements and medicine. Her work examining the role of nurses during Australia’s HIV and AIDS crisis and has appeared in both scholarly and popular outlets. Her first book, Critical Care: Nurses on the Frontline of Australia’s AIDS Crisis, was published by UNSW Press in July 2024. In October 2025, Critical Care was awarded the prestigious Prime Minister’s Literary Award.
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapters 3 & 4 Supplementary: ‘A Report for the People of Anarres from Planet Earth’ (2016); Murray Bookchin, ‘Spontaneity and Utopia’ (1968)
Seminar followed by Q&A and drinks - all welcome - join in person or online Killing for conservation is contentious. Researching this book has been a challenge, requiring me to dip toes into unfamiliar waters - speaking to people I do not normally spend time with, such as philosophers and game keepers! The plot spoiler is that there are no simple answers. But the process of writing this book has, I hope, encouraged me to think better … the talk will dig into some of that thinking, illustrated by case studies. Hugh Warwick is an author and ecologist with a particular passion for hedgehogs. Currently writing his 12th book, he has tended to spend time either digging into conservation issues, such as killing for conservation or habitat fragmentation, or enjoying popular science monographs on British mammals. He is the spokesperson for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and a regular commentator on ecological issues.
Errollyn Wallen CBE, the Master of the King's Music, discusses her life and career with Christ Church alumna, former Junior Research Fellow and former postdoctoral researcher Dr Leah Broad. This event takes place in Christ Church's beautiful Upper Library. This event is part of the Christ Church festival of Five Centuries of Music which runs until 24 November 2025. Music has played a central role in the life of Christ Church throughout its history, not least thanks to the work of its world-famous choir established in 1526 with John Taverner as the first Organist and Master of the Choristers. Our festival celebrates the music and musicians who have played and continue to play a role in the life of the College, Cathedral, City and beyond.
Curious about using AI to find research papers? Not sure how to properly reference GenAI and avoid plagiarism? This beginner-friendly workshop introduces three GenAI tools (ChatGPT, Elicit, and Research Rabbit), showing how they can support information discovery and analysis. Designed for those new to AI, this practical session will allow you to independently experiment with these tools and participate in group discussions to explore their strengths, limitations, and suitability for different tasks. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what AI means and some key terms; differentiate between several categories of AI tools; describe how some GenAI tools can be used to discover information, including their strengths, limitations, and best practices; critique GenAI tools and their outputs at an introductory level using evaluative criteria; and state the University’s policies on AI, and avoid plagiarism by creating citations for AI-generated content. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Convened by Ernesto Ruiz-Eldredge Molina (Université de Poitiers, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin) & Isolda Mac Liam (Sussex University & Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin) The term ‘natural history’ fell into disuse with the emergence of specialised scientific disciplines, such as biology and geology in the late nineteenth century. Notably, however, it was revived in twentieth-century German critical theory, where it served as a central conceptual tool. Thinkers within this tradition employed this concept as a means to overcome the conventional philosophical dichotomy between nature and history, and to explore the complex ways in which they are mutually constituted. In light of the escalating social and ecological crises of the present, two opposing philosophical trends have emerged: one advocates a return to nature as a foundation for political renewal, while the other places confidence in technological progress as a driver of social transformation. The classical conceptual opposition between nature and civilisation, or also between nature and history, appears inadequate for examining either theoretical tendency, since both unification and mere juxtaposition fail to explain in their specificity either the natural world or human phenomena. Instead, it can be argued that in this way something of the historical and social is projected onto the natural, and vice versa. The complexities of the intertwining of nature and history thus require a dialectical approach. The concept of “natural history” (Naturgeschichte), dear to the tradition of critical theory, was forged in an attempt to propose a perspective that is up to this theoretical challenge. Rather than engaging in a debate concerning the dialectical character of nature, or the necessity of a non-human nature for the resurgence of politics, the focus shifted to the objective presence of the natural in society: natural legality, wrote Adorno, “is real as a law of motion for the unconscious society”. In its broadest form, the concept of natural history addresses the reciprocal movement of the naturalisation of conditions that have a historical index, on one side, and the way in which what is natural is constantly reposited, on the other. The Frankfurt School tendency to read this as a dialectic between society and individual, in which social constitution never properly erases the moment of nature even as it shapes it, provides a useful heuristic for analysing phenomena such as the resurgence of regressive fascist desires, insofar as it permits a cross-reading with the Freudian idea of history as the history of repression and the notion of the “domination of nature”. However, the concept of nature-history remains under-explored when the relation in question is not that of individuals to society but expanded to the scale of world history, which is to say to reflect the role of the world market in connecting diverse economies. To ask a perhaps naive question: if the world market is the core condition of world history, to what would the nature in the natural-history dialectic correspond at this level? To heterochronous modes of life not fully absorbed but reconstituted by the world market? Also, how do these relate to the more psychoanalytical dimension of the natural-history dialectic? And, more generally, is it possible (and necessary) to imagine a configuration of the relation to nature completely freed of its domination? Behind this are various methodological questions, for instance about the way in which the Hegelian conceptual framework that subtends much of the Frankfurt School’s inquiry, such as that of ‘totality’, can be repurposed to explore real global phenomena such as colonialism, hegemonic structures, etc., or whether those concepts are bound to falter when confronted with contemporary problems beyond those of the society and the era in which they were born. Addressing both scholars and a general audience, the conference aims to reexamine the concept of Naturgeschichte, seeking to elaborate on its continued significance for the present moment, both in its traditional application and broadened framework. This event is funded with the generous participation of Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin, CHASE (Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK), and Maison Française d’Oxford.
The Symposium will highlight areas of stem cell research with trajectories towards treatments of diseases including metabolic disorders, neurodegeneration, vascular diseases, heart failure, cancer and new bioengineering strategies.
Bent Jakobsen is a pioneer of T-cell receptor therapy for cancer with over two decades of experience establishing and providing scientific direction to leading T-cell receptor companies such as Adaptimmune Therapeutics and Immunocore (both now listed on NASDAQ). In his academic career, Bent was Head of the Immune Receptor Group at the Oxford Institute of Molecular Medicine (1993 to 2000) and before this worked for the Danish Natural Research Council and at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Accession Therapeutic Ltd. and holds non-executive director positions in several Biotechnology companies.
Despite its prominence in the Widening Participation (WP) agenda as a key indicator of educational disadvantage, the status of being ‘first in family’ (FiF) to attend university is relatively underexplored. FiF students—those whose parents did not attend university but who themselves go on to obtain a degree—embody a critical form of intergenerational educational mobility. Yet, we know relatively little about how this group navigates higher education and transitions into the labour market. Furthermore, there is limited understanding of how FiF status intersects with other forms of social disadvantage and individual characteristics. As higher education policy increasingly seeks to promote social mobility and address educational inequalities, examining the experiences and outcomes of FiF students is important for assessing the effectiveness of these efforts and for understanding the broader dynamics of intergenerational change. Using a large longitudinal cohort study, ‘Next Steps’, this presentation outlines the characteristics of ‘first in family’ students in England from a generation born in 1989/90, including prior education attainment, other measures of family background, ethnicity and non-cognitive skills. It will also document how the first in family students fare while at university compared to those students whose parents have a degree: including an examination of subject studied, institution type attended and whether they complete their degree or not. Lastly, the presentation will explore how first in family graduates fare in the labour market compared to non-first in family graduates. Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm. Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
Studies show that children who have poor language skills at school entry are at an increased risk of a whole host of negative outcomes in terms of educational attainment, life satisfaction and mental health. However, such outcomes are not inevitable. Our research combines genetic and behavioural modelling in large population samples to try and understand mechanisms of resilience in children with developmental language disorders. In this session, I will introduce some of the genetic modelling methods that we use and discuss how these can be incorporated into behavioural models to answer questions about developmental trajectories. Dianne is a genomic scientist at the Centre for Human Genetics and a visiting Professor at Oxford Brookes University. Her research is funded by the ESRC, Sir Halley Stewart Trust and Nuffield Foundation. Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
Tim is a Clinical Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance. He is associated with the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College London and a core team member within the Fleming Initiative. He is also an Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Tim will discuss “using digital technologies to optimise antibiotic use” focusing on experiences of using routine healthcare data, machine learning, and biosensors to optimise antibiotic prescribing. He will discuss current challenges and future directions for the field.
We document how the Black Death of 1348 interacted with political competition to drive a major divergence in development. We leverage the interaction between the timing of the exogenous labor supply shock and a sharp boundary between the politically concentrated, low competition East and the politically fragmented, high competition West of Europe. Using novel panel data 1200-1800, we find that after the shock, urban construction and the development of city institutions fell by one-third and remained depressed where political competition was low ex ante. This holds (1) comparing neighboring and otherwise similar cities on either side of the boundary, (2) comparing cities subject to the same ruler within states spanning the boundary, and (3) using dynastic shocks as an IV for local political concentration. We show this urban divergence shifted outside options in labor markets and predicts the subsequent institutionalization of serfdom and the spread of farms using labor coercion.
Are you preparing a poster presentation for an upcoming conference, meeting or symposium? This interactive session, or ‘poster clinic’, will include a group discussion of different examples of poster presentations, as well as an opportunity to present your own draft of your poster presentation to your fellow attendees. It is expected that the small group of peers in attendance will provide feedback and respectful comments on each other’s work. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to: evaluate the effectiveness of your poster presentation and others; and summarise the content of your poster concisely in preparation for a conference. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student.
This follow-up to Part 1 builds on foundational skills for conducting non-medical systematic reviews. Participants deepen their understanding of protocol development, literature searching, screening, and synthesis techniques, with practical guidance tailored to non-clinical disciplines. Ideal for researchers refining their review methodology and aiming for publication-quality outputs.
This paper explores the interaction between market power and the energy transition in the global upstream oil industry. To align with the Paris Agreement's global warming target, a significant portion of world oil reserves needs to remain untapped. At the same time, the OPEC cartel in the global crude oil market exercises market power by strategically slowing down production to inflate prices. Using detailed micro-level data on global oil production, costs and reserves, I build and estimate a dynamic structural model of global oil production in a cartel-fringe setting, capturing the trade-off faced by the cartel between exercising market power by slowing production and accelerating production to avoid future devaluation of oil. My findings reveal that (i) OPEC exerted market power during the 1990 - 2019 period, although the cartel only partly exploited the full potential gains; (ii) increasing carbon taxes can accelerate production and emissions—a green paradox—causing a reallocation of production under imperfect competition; (iii) well-designed carbon taxes can significantly erode market power incentives.
The paper focuses on the so-called History of the Patriarchs of the East, transmitted in the encyclopedic work Kitāb al-Majdal by ʿAmr ibn Maṭṭā. While the original compilation dates to the early 11th century, it was updated through subsequent redactions up to the mid-12th century. Spanning the period from the apostolic origins of the Church to the era of Seljuq rule, the History of the Patriarchs provides an invaluable source for understanding the institutional interactions between the caliphal court and the Church of the East. The image this source projects at the heart of Islamic political power is marked by notable ambiguities. While the caliphs and the de facto rulers of the Buyid and Seljuq periods are generally depicted in positive terms—as protectors of Christianity—the portrayal of other influential court figures, particularly Christian physicians, is considerably more negative. They are often presented as sources of conflict and as challengers to the authority of the Catholicoi. Building on these observations, the paper seeks to explore how this historiographical text constructs an ideal discourse of political authority in order to legitimize the Catholicate as the sole Christian interlocutor with Islamic power. As I aim to demonstrate, the History of the Patriarchs pursues this goal by drawing on Roman history—especially the story of Constantine—and on the canonical tradition established by the early councils, a tradition that continued within the canonical heritage of the Church of the East.
In June 1825, Mrs Greenwood, housekeeper at the Royal Institution (Ri), London's leading institution for "diffusing" science to the public, was asked to provide tea and coffee for members and their friends on Friday evenings. A few months later, at Christmas, the Ri Managers decided children needed their own, adapted scientific lecture series. From these humble beginnings, the Friday Evening Discourses and Christmas Lectures have become the Ri's flagship lectures, still delivered at 21 Albemarle Street. Yet they have met dramatically different fates: one commands global television audiences, while the other has become largely unknown beyond specialist circles. This paper sketches the series’ origins in the nineteenth century, before focusing on the twentieth century, when they both underwent significant transformations. It will explore the Ri’s decisions surrounding new broadcasting technologies and examine how this shaped its future audiences. Similarly, how did laboratory science's growing complexity affect stageable demonstrations for adults and children alike? And what impact did the Ri’s decision to cultivate nostalgia for the nineteenth century have on both series? By exploring their trajectories in parallel, we see how each series has developed and transformed, and what it can tell us about the changing relationships between science and its publics today. *Dr Katy Duncan* is the Postdoctoral Freer Fellow at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. She completed her PhD in History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge in 2024, exploring the problem of Fair Weather Electricity across the long nineteenth century. Dr Duncan is currently Plumer Visiting Fellow at St Anne's College, Oxford, and Byrne-Bussey Marconi Visiting Fellow at the Bodleian Library for Michaelmas Term.
The British Raj formally ended on 15 August 1947. In the years following the bifurcation of British India into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, between 11 and 18 million people migrated to escape sectarian pogroms at the hands of the majority population. By 1950, many South Asian – specifically Bengali – refugees were radically critiquing decolonization. Theorizing from their experiences of proletarianization, East Bengali refugees argued that decolonization had been incomplete. The postcolonial Indian state was a neocolonial state allied to Western imperialism. Refugees imagined themselves as part of a worldwide struggle between Anglo-American imperialism and Sino-Soviet-led socialist anti-imperialism. Refugees assembled in hundreds and thousands across the Indian state of West Bengal to overthrow regimes of big private property. They condemned the operations of money economy. They aimed to overcome capitalism. Inspired by Chinese communists, they built a vast confederal democracy uniting refugee camps and colonies – a ‘refugee polis’. This talk offers a socially-contextualized intellectual history of this epic transformation, which delegitimized the postcolonial Indian state and dramatically drew the country, through struggles waged by refugees, into the tumult of the Cold War. It prompts us to visualize the subaltern origins of the Cold War in India. Dr Milinda Banerjee is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, United Kingdom. He specializes in History of Modern Political Thought and Political Theory, and is Programme Director for the MLitt in Global Social and Political Thought. He is the author of The Mortal God: Imagining the Sovereign in Colonial India (Cambridge University Press, 2018), and co-author (with Jelle Wouters) of Subaltern Studies 2.0: Being against the Capitalocene (Prickly Paradigm, 2022). He has co-edited the volume, Transnational Histories of the ‘Royal Nation’ (Palgrave, 2017); the forum ‘Law, Empire, and Global Intellectual History’, in the journal Modern Intellectual History (Cambridge University Press, 2020); the special issue ‘The Modern Invention of ‘Dynasty’: A Global Intellectual History, 1500-2000’, in the journal Global Intellectual History (Routledge, 2022); the special issue ‘Political Theology and Democracy: Perspectives from South Asia, West Asia, and North Africa’, in the journal Political Theology (Routledge, 2022); the special issue ‘Forced Migration and Refugee Resettlement in the Long 1940s: A Connected and Global History’, in the journal Itinerario: Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions (Cambridge University Press, 2022); the volume The Mahabharata in Global Political and Social Thought (Cambridge University Press, 2024); and the special issue ‘The Refugee Political in the Age of Imperial Crisis, Decolonization, and Cold War, 1930s-1950s’ in The Historical Journal (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Banerjee has published two other monographs and several articles on the intersections of Indian and global intellectual history and political theory. He is a founder-editor of the series ‘South Asian Intellectual History’ with Cambridge University Press, a founder-editor of two series with De Gruyter, ‘Critical Readings in Global Intellectual History’, and ‘Transregional Practices of Power’, and Special Projects Editor of the journal Political Theology (Routledge). He is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and Member of the Editorial Board of the Royal Historical Society’s book series ‘New Historical Perspectives’.
Attention and working memory are well characterized in simplified tasks, but natural reading and speech unfold rapidly and impose stricter temporal demands. I will present human MEG studies probing these mechanisms during naturalistic reading and language comprehension. When listening to language, working memory supports dependencies across embedded structures. We have identified multivariate and representationally specific signatures, along with temporal dynamics, associated with the maintenance of linguistic content and its reactivation when required later in a sentence. In reading, spatial attention is allocated to upcoming parafoveal targets. We conducted a series of studies demonstrating that readers extract orthographic, phonological, and semantic information from the next saccade target within ~100 ms of fixating the current word. Saccade timing is phase-locked to ongoing alpha (~10 Hz) oscillations involving the frontal-eye field, suggesting that alpha rhythms gate visuo-motor coordination during natural reading. I will make explicit how these findings constrain mechanistic models supporting working memory and spatial attention. In future work, we will use OPM-MEG to uncover when these mechanisms emerge in children acquiring language and reading abilities.
Jenkinson Memorial Lecture Professor James Sharpe (EMBL, Barcelona) will present a Jenkinson Lecture entitled "Out on a limb: how and why computer modelling helps unravel the beautiful complexity of organogenesis”. All welcome. No booking needed but spaces limited.
Beyond the headlines and the daily churn of crises, what is happening that escapes our notice? What risks are gathering in the corners of our vision? Which “elephants in the room” remain unspoken, and what blind spots may only become obvious to future generations? In this provocative, forward-looking discussion, an expert panel convenes with the Emerging Threats community to examine the issues that fall outside today’s policy spotlight but may define tomorrow’s security landscape. We ask: What lies beyond the obvious? From unexplored domains like neurotechnology and brain–computer interfaces, to pop-up crises in critical minerals and fragile supply chains, to under-addressed risks in outer space governance, AI-enabled influence operations, and biosecurity, the panel will bring to light the forces reshaping geopolitics and defence in ways that are often overlooked. Join us for an evening of debate that challenges conventional wisdom and maps the hidden frontiers of global security with: Speaker Bios: Latika M Bourke is The Nightly’s Writer-at-Large in London, specialising in geopolitics. She is a moderator, MC and Expert Associate at the Australian National University’s National Security College. She spent eight years in the Canberra press gallery and previously worked for The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC and 2UE. Latika hosts Latika Takes: The Podcast and regularly appears on the BBC, Sky UK, Monocle and Times Radio. Dr. Sebastian Seidel is Senior Manager at BwConsulting, advising the German Armed Forces on strategic foresight, emerging security challenges, and technology implications. He teaches scenario planning at the Hertie School and has published on strategic challenges in defense and public sector transformation. Jutta Doberstein trained as a photographer and cinematographer in Cologne and London, then worked as an interpreter, curator, writer and director for film and theatre in Berlin. After two decades of documentary work, she now produces fiction and scenario work, including the acclaimed television film Ökozid (Ecocide) and the Whose Future? theatre project, featured in the New York Times. Taylor El Hage is a Security Manager at International SOS, a global private security assistance company, leading crisis management, applied geopolitical risk, and strategic intelligence for clients across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Taylor established and now oversees International SOS’s global crisis response desk, which monitors real-time threats and emerging long-term risks such as climate change and the impact of technological change on conflict. He regularly represents the company in the media, most recently providing commentary for Sky News. Before his current role, he worked in UK politics on two successful election campaigns and spent several years as a published writer and composer. An alumnus of the Oxford Scenarios Programme, he has delivered strategic foresight consultancy for organisations including the European Space Agency, the .au domain authority, and a Russell Group university. The session is hosted by Dr. Matt Finch, an Associate Fellow of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, adviser to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Future Generations, and member of the Futures Council at Australia’s National Security College.
Join Anthony V. Capildeo, one of the most exciting and influential poets of our time, and Dr Will Ghosh as they discuss their shared interest in Caribbean and South Asian writing. The Trinidadian–Scottish poet Professor Anthony Vahni Capildeo FRSL is a former English and DPhil student and now Honorary Student at Christ Church. They were awarded the prestigious Windham–Campbell Prize earlier this year. Dr Will Ghosh is a Tutor in English at Christ Church whose research focuses on post-1800 literature from Britain, the Caribbean, and South Asia.
While people commonly view generative AI as an idea generator, one of its greatest strengths is its exceptional language capabilities that can transform how we communicate across linguistic boundaries. Kelly Webb Davies Drawing from her experience in linguistics and academic English teaching, Kelly Webb-Davies, who is a Lead Business Technologist at the AI and ML Competency Centre, will show how AI can be used to develop ideas authentically in a person’s natural voice – whether informal, multilingual, or spoken – and then effectively translate these into formal academic and professional styles. This “digital translanguaging” approach creates inclusive educational environments where diverse linguistic identities are valued rather than suppressed. It is part of a vision where learning assessments in the classroom can focus on students’ abilities to develop ideas, instead of enforcing rigid language standards. Educators can also use AI to efficiently create tailored resources for varied linguistic and neurodiverse needs, harnessing AI’s linguistic potential, not to replace authentic expression, but to enhance and deepen it. The event will start with tea, coffee and biscuits from 5pm, followed by the talk from 5.30. About Kelly Kelly Webb-Davies is a Lead Business Technologist at the AI and ML Competency Centre, and her academic background is in linguistics, with degrees from the University of Western Australia and the University of Melbourne. Before joining Oxford, she lectured on phonetics and phonology at the University of Bangor and was a Trinity DipTESOL-qualified English for Academic Purposes tutor and Technology Enhanced Learning and Language Lead at Bangor University International College, where working with international students and responding to their specific needs informed her practice of integrating AI productively to assist with their academic and linguistic proficiency. Her focus is thoughtfully integrating AI into higher education in ways that enhance communication, reduce bias, and expand access to knowledge. She is particularly interested in how AI can be used to address the unique challenges of groups facing linguistic barriers and neurodivergence, creating more inclusive and accessible educational environments. She advocates for a balanced approach that maintains human involvement and fosters critical thinking alongside AI implementation and her work explores innovative ways to incorporate this philosophy into pedagogical and assessment design, ensuring that AI tools complement and enrich education.
Social prescribing is a major new innovation already underway in over 40 countries around the world. A type of personalised care, social prescribing connects individuals with non-clinical supports and services including arts, heritage, exercise, volunteering, social groups, job training, and financial and housing support. In the UK alone, there have been an estimated 7 million referrals since the national roll-out in 2019. As the new National Centre for Social Prescribing Data and Analysis, UCL is working at the forefront of new developments in social prescribing in the UK. This presentation will present new approaches to data that enable us to capture the impact of social prescribing in novel ways, reveal the latest findings from large-scale clinical trials underway, and consider how social prescribing is evolving from a Link Worker service to a Social Finance Model and being reconceptualised as part of the new NHW 10 Year Plan. This seminar is hosted in person at the Department of Psychiatry. To join online, please use the Zoom details below: https://zoom.us/j/94567124781?pwd=sVxXabbSWibdU8A9W2clQlG9neRGbQ.1 Meeting ID: 945 6712 4781 Passcode: 470970
So, you’ve got a great idea for a research study – but what approvals do you need before you can start? Who do you apply to? And how do you go about doing this? Join an online presentation through Microsoft Teams for an overview of: • how research is governed in the UK • which approval bodies are involved • a step-by-step guide on how to apply for approval • handling amendments to your study
This seminar is cross listed with Medieval research seminar. It may be of interest to participants of the ModCon seminars
Tuesdays, 12.15 The Margaret Thatcher Centre, Somerville College Followed by a free buffet lunch
All welcome
The European Union must confront global risks to its security, including a U.S. withdrawal from security guarantees and a potential ceasefire in Ukraine favorable to Russia (Global Risks to the EU Project, 2025). The mechanisms through which the EU can meet such challenges – typically ascribed to statecraft and nation-state power dynamics – are not straightforward. Academics and policymakers often argue that the EU is hamstrung in foreign policy because it lacks a single, unified voice and a coherent grand strategy. Kissinger’s famous quip – “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?” – still resonates. But the question is misplaced. Rather than imagining what the EU could do as the state it isn’t, we can start by theorising geopolitics for the EU we actually have. This lecture advances a “relational geopolitics” approach to statecraft that goes beyond great-power competition: a hybrid framework that blends the self-interested pursuit of power with attention to spatial complexity, local agency, and the co-production of order (Anghel, 2025). The policy implications build on the legacy of Robert Keohane and Elinor Ostrom, proposing a common-pool resource governance approach to an immaterial common-pool resource such as security (Anghel and Jones, 2025).
Selecting valid and reliable methods is one of the most critical yet complex aspects of research, particularly when working across under-researched contexts. This seminar reflects on the methodological journey of my PhD, which examined the social-emotional and academic development of 650 preschool-aged children in Karachi, Pakistan. I will discuss the challenges of identifying tools that are both psychometrically sound and culturally relevant, navigating trade-offs between global comparability and local validity, and working within the practical constraints of schools and classrooms. Particular attention will be given to issues of measurement, such as adapting existing instruments, balancing breadth and depth of constructs, and addressing limitations in cultural fit, as well as the challenges of applying advanced statistical approaches like multilevel and structural equation modelling with relatively small and clustered samples. Drawing on lessons learnt, I will share reflections on how researchers can make informed methodological choices, the value of piloting and stakeholder consultation, and strategies for maintaining rigour while remaining contextually sensitive. The seminar aims to open up discussion on the realities of doing high-quality quantitative research in low- and middle-income country settings. This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar Series. Join in-person or online: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
We uncover a close link between outside options and risk attitude: when a decision-maker gains access to an outside option, her behaviour becomes less risk-averse, and conversely, any observed decrease of risk-aversion can be explained by an outside option having been made available. We characterise the comparative statics of risk-aversion, delineating how effective risk attitude (i.e. actual choice among risky prospects) varies with the outside option and with the decision-maker’s ‘true’ risk attitude. We prove that outside options are special: among transformations of a decision problem, those that amount to adding an outside option are the only ones that always reduce risk-aversion.
In light of the expanding global demand for Arabic as an additional language (AL2) instruction and the pedagogical challenges resulting from the complex linguistic and socio-linguistic nature of the language, there is a critical need to understand appropriate approaches for teaching AL2. Research into AL2 can make a crucial contribution to debates concerning effective policy and pedagogy. As a first step towards this goal, we conducted a systematic scoping review, providing a clear picture of existing research into the learning and teaching of AL2. This provides an overview of: the extent and nature of available research evidence; where it can be found; which topics and learning contexts have been studied; which methodological approaches have been used; and where there are gaps in the literature. In the first part of our talk, we will share findings of this scoping review. Building on this, we next conducted a series in-depth systematic reviews on the learning and teaching of AL2 speaking, reading, writing and listening. We focused on experimental and quasi-experimental studies which are designed to assess causal relationships between variables - for example, the effect of a particular pedagogical intervention on a given outcome variable. In the second part of this talk, we provide an overview of these findings, focusing in-depth on phonology-related studies. Many of these studies had serious limitations when then judged against the 'gold standard' of large scale RCTs. However, we argue that rigorous small-scale classroom-based research can still be valuable, provided that the scope of the claims are warranted by the evidence gathered. Bio: Robert Woore is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics at University of Oxford Department of Education. Formerly a secondary school Modern Languages teacher, his research interests include the learning and teaching of additional languages (particularly Languages Other than English) in schools. Anna-Maria Ramezanzadeh is a Departmental Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, a language researcher and a curriculum developer. Her research areas include Arabic applied linguistics, language learning motivation, and individual and group differences in second language acquisition. Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3aM_SoBsI8nakThXNUxEguh57-GSvT6JopDdhFnEBgr3I1%40thread.tacv2/1759499608058?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e0e2c03d-d313-4dab-bd7c-afbd83792648%22%7d
Derek Bucks
Welfare policies and direct benefit transfers have been at the heart of India’s political marketplace for several decades but the longer-term history of welfare in India is surprisingly little known. Louise Tillin’s new book Making India Work: The Development of Welfare in a Multi-Level Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2025) recovers a history that is crucial for understanding the current juncture of welfare politics and political economy in India. Traversing more than a century of welfare development from the late colonial period to the present-day, the book asks why India has ended up with a small protected formal sector workforce shielded by social security and protection against retrenchment, and a much larger population that labours informally and does not enjoy such protections. It examines why India’s model of industrialisation failed to provide an engine for mass employment or welfare state development, and why the focus of policy efforts has shifted over the last fifty years from employment generation to the rise of ‘direct benefits’ which subsidise precarious livelihoods. Louise Tillin is Professor of Politics at King’s India Institute, King’s College London. She is the author of numerous books including Deconstructing India’s Democracy: Essays in Honour of James Manor (Orient Blackswan, 2025) edited with Rob Jenkins; The Politics of Poverty Reduction in India: The UPA Government from 2004 to 2014 (Orient Blackswan, 2020) co-authored with James Chiriyankandath, Diego Maiorano and James Manor; Indian Federalism (Oxford University Press, 2019), Politics of Welfare: Comparisons across States (Oxford University Press, 2015), edited with Rajeshwari Deshpande and KK Kailash; Remapping India: New States and their Political Origins (Hurst & Co/Oxford University Press, 2013) and has published in many academic journals. Since 2013, she has been the co-organiser of a series of conferences on India’s Political Economy. She holds degrees from the University of Cambridge, University of Pennsylvania and Institute of Development Studies, Sussex.
We use population-wide administrative data from Denmark and an event-study design spanning nearly two decades to examine the impact of parental dementia on adult children’s labor market, physical health, and mental health outcomes. We find no meaningful effects on labor supply, earnings, or physical-health-related care. In contrast, mental health care use increases substantially, especially among daughters, beginning years before a parent’s death, peaking around the time of death, and converging to the counterfactual trend over about seven years. Results suggest that robust long-term care and leave policies can largely insulate adult children from economic disruptions of ADRD, while mental health spillovers remain significant. Chair: Andrea Tilstra
Many prominent social scientists have advocated for random-draw lotteries as a solution to the “problem” of college admissions. They argue that lotteries will be fair and equitable, eliminate corruption, reduce student anxiety, restore democratic ideals, and end debates over race-conscious admissions. In response, we simulate potential lottery effects on U.S. student enrollment by race, gender, and income, using robust simulation methods. If we went to a lottery system, what would happen to student diversity? And how could this change the built relationship between students and selective colleges?
A workshop outlining some of the key principles to bear in mind when working with sensitive or restricted research; whether collected yourself or obtained from a third-party source such as a data archive. Issues of confidentiality, informed consent, cybersecurity and data management will be covered. Examples of scenarios or concerns drawn from the research of participants are particularly welcome. The role of support services at Oxford will also be outlined and in particular the role of the Bodleian Data Librarian who will lead the session. Follow up consultations with the Data librarian or other subject consultants are also offered. Topics to be covered include: key best practice principles when working with sensitive or restricted research data; issues around creating original data; informed consent agreements; maximising the usage potential of data during and after a project; strengths and weaknesses of anonymisation, data blurring and similar techniques; key strategies for protecting data including encryption, embargoes, future vetting and access restrictions; and obligation put on researchers by legislation and research partners. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student; Staff
In this presentation, Professor Yacobi aims to discuss settler colonial urbanism(s) in Palestine/Israel, while exploring the different spatial and political typologies developed during the last few decades. He will discuss how colonial planning has been used as a tool of social, demographic, and spatial control and how Palestinian claims for the right to the city are meaningful political forms of protest. The presentation will refer to Palestinian cities (such as Lydda) that were transformed into ‘Jewish-Arab mixed cities’, to new ‘Jewish cities’ that are going through a process of ‘Arabisation’, to Jerusalem as a neo-apartheid city, and to the current spatiocide of Gaza. The argument to be articulated in this talk is that moving from the paradigm of separation into a shared homeland is the only sustainable approach which will lead to a shared future. Haim Yacobi is a Professor of Development Planning at the Bartlett Development Planning Unit. With a background in architecture he specialised in critical urban studies and urban health. Between 2006-2007 he was a Fulbright Post-doctorate fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley, and then joined the Department of Politics and Government at BGU. For the years 2010-2012 he received a Marie Curie Grant which has enabled him to work at Cambridge University, where he conducted a research project that dealt with contested cities. The main issues that stand in the center of his research interest in relation to the urban space are social justice, the politics of identity, urban health, and colonial planning. In 1999 he formulated the idea of establishing ‘Bimkom – Planning in Human Rights’ an NGO that deals with human rights and planning in Israel/Palestine and was its co-founder. Currently he holds (together with Prof Omar Dajani) a UKRI ESRC grant: ‘The Shared Homeland Paradigm: Reimagining Space, Rights and Partnership in Palestine-Israel’.
This paper studies the ideology of government officials by examining the Indian Affairs office and systematically exploring the detailed reports of bureaucrats charged with administering federal policy. The Office of Indian Affairs offers a powerful lens through which to study state ideology, given its long-standing authority over land, education, and legal governance of Indigenous populations in the U.S. We digitize the agency's archival records and use computational tools to conduct large-scale analysis on the strength of support for the organization's assimilationist policies and goals among members of its workforce during the 19th and early 20th centuries. We document major shifts in ideological commitments that coincide with the entry---and eventual exit---of social reformers nominated for high-level agency positions by religious organizations. We find that ideology within the bureaucracy appears to moderate around the turn of the century despite the organization's overall continued pursuit of major assimilation policies, such as the promotion of farming and coerced enrolment in off-reservation Indian boarding schools. To examine performance implications of ideology within the bureaucracy, we conclude with an analysis of land allotment policy after the passage of the Dawes Act. We provide evidence showing that the agencies with local staff who express greater past commitment to assimilationist goals carried out more land allotment immediately after Dawes became law.
My doctoral research examines transnational bonds of solidarity between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the African National Congress (ANC), and the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during the 1969-1991 period of the Global Cold War. These case studies were chosen for the clear synergies between these three self-determination struggles, their convergent evolution from armed resistance to diplomatic engagement along remarkably parallel timelines, and the enduring salience of their solidarity in modern political discourse–South Africa’s December 2023 complaint against Israel at the ICJ and Ireland’s May 2024 recognition of the state of Palestine are two amongst many recent examples. The project builds on my MPhil research, which found that the ANC-PLO bond involved exchanges of paramilitary training and financial support, mutual diplomatic advocacy at international forums such as the United Nations, collaboration between civil society organisations in the post-Mandela period, and other modes of cooperation. My doctoral research incorporates the IRA's role in this transnational network, exploring whether these three movements constituted a trilateral alliance within the broader Third World, nonaligned, and anti-colonial revolutionary community. I am also interested in uncovering the role of state actors—particularly Muammar Qaddafi's Libyan Jamahiriya and Fidel Castro's Cuban regime—in fostering this revolutionary network.
The first United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP1) was held in 1995 in Berlin, thirty years ago. Since then, the scale and attention paid to this annual conference has expanded, along with goals for, and expectations of it. The conference has seen many landmark negotiations and agreements, and, as evidence about the drivers and impact of climate change has grown, the discussions in this space have evolved. But has this evolution progressed in an effective direction? And what about food? How have food systems been integrated (or excluded) from these climate-focused discussions over time? In this TABLE event, we will look back on what has been achieved in advancing sustainable food systems over the last thirty years, and what role COP discussions have played here, in raising food’s profile or in incentivising actual progress. As for the present and the future, what needs to be achieved this year at COP30? And where do we hope we will be in 30 years’ time? How might we get there, and what can future COPs do to help make this happen? Join our panel of thinkers and doers at this TABLE event, who bring their expertise and reflections to bear on the history, present and future of these international climate negotiations and the evolving food system landscape. Confirmed panelists: - Jess Fanzo (Food for Humanity Initiative, Columbia University) - Oliver Camp (GAIN) - Matheus Alves Zanella (Global Alliance for the Future of Food)
Reading: Birgit Tremml-Werner and Dorothee Goetze, ‘A Multitude of Actors in Early Modern Diplomacy’, _Journal of Early Modern History_, 23/5 (2019), 407-22 Maurits Ebben and Louis Sicking, ‘Introduction’, in Maurits Ebben and Louis Sicking (eds.), _Beyond Ambassadors: Consuls, Missionaries, and Spies in Early Modern Diplomacy_ (2021), 1-16.
As global power dynamics shift and Europe faces mounting geopolitical challenges, questions about the EU’s capacity to act as a credible security actor have become increasingly urgent. Coenraad Reumer, Political Advisor to the Director General of the EU Military Staff (EUMS), will provide an insider’s perspective on how the EU’s defence structures operate, how the Strategic Compass is shaping European military cooperation, and how the EU balances political ambition with practical capability. The talk will explore the intersection of policy and strategy, offering rare insight into the political dynamics, coordination challenges, and evolving vision behind the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
On 4th November 2025, 5:00 – 6:30pm, CBS will be hosting an in-person book launch and panel discussion for David Gregory’s book ‘Divine Windows: Seeing God through the lens of science’, published by BRF. This event will be held in the Collier Room and will include responses from Bethany Sollereder, and Rob Ellis as well as a drinks reception. Registration is free via TicketSource.
Nathalia Passarinho is an editor at BBC Americas, part of the BBC World Service. She coordinates a visual journalism team and leads editorial initiatives and investigative reporting focused on Latin America. Nathalia joined the BBC in London in 2017 after completing an MSc in Latin American Studies at the University of Oxford. At BBC Brasil, she oversaw coverage of the 2022 presidential election and produced a documentary exploring why evangelical women voted for Jair Bolsonaro. Prior to joining the BBC, Nathalia spent eight years as a political correspondent in Brasília for G1/TV Globo, covering the Presidency, the National Congress, and the Supreme Court. Her international reporting includes coverage of the UN General Assembly in New York, G20 summits in South Korea and Japan, COP26 and COP27 in Glasgow and Sharm El Sheikh. In 2019, she received the Roche Health Journalism Award for her investigation into DIY abortion in WhatsApp groups.
TBC
In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSMs), the word ‘indifference’ is often used to describe emotional and social disengagement or the lack of self-concern and sensory reactions. The psychiatric diagnoses that frame the ill conditions cast indifference as part of the symptoms against therapeutic achievements. Today, most community mental health organisations in England work alongside this assessment. Their case studies of recovery are often about individuals who are not indifferent – those who actively engage with the service and demonstrate increasing awareness and persistent efforts to improve their conditions. The reporting of these cases is possibly due to the pressure to demonstrate outcomes according to the funders’ emphasis on the medical models. This talk does not aim to overturn the mainstream assessment of mental health recovery. However, it discusses the moral and therapeutic significance of some exceptional circumstances - often more common than the celebrated cases of service engagement. Based on my fieldwork at Restore, an Oxfordshire mental health charity, I look at service users who were not always engaging with the recovery activities or group interactions. I suggest that these examples present diverse perceptions and effects of indifference, showing that it is not always opposed to mental health improvements. I then propose extending the evidence that may validate therapeutic effectiveness in community mental health evaluations. *Commentator: Dr Lovro Savic (Philosophy, Ethox Centre)* The seminar will be followed by a drinks reception at St Cross College
With the rapid development of AI and biotechnologies (including those relating to germline gene editing, brain-computer Interfaces, life extension, etc.) come vast powers to reshape ourselves and the natural world. As technological advances grant us new powers, so do they blur some boundaries between humans, animals, and machines, prodding us to ask the question: what does it mean to be human? Drawing upon readings in the humanities (including philosophy, theology, literature, etc.) and the sciences, this group will attempt to bridge the existential and empirical study of human identity - and within that context, ask if and how such reflections might help chart a path forward in relation to the right uses of new and potent technologies. We will focus in particular on questions of human purpose, place, and flourishing within the natural order. Under the umbrella of TORCH Medical Humanities, this will be a casual reading and discussion group. The readings for each session will be introduced by a different participant - and the readings for each session will take a total of roughly 1 hour to complete.
Mina Fazel is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at the Oxford Children’s Hospital. Her research focuses on improving mental health support for vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, with a particular interest in school-based supports as well as refugee mental health. She leads the OxWell Student Survey, one of the largest school-based mental health surveys in the UK, which has collected responses from over 100,000 students. She will be sharing recent research and insights from this work, carried out with a committed team of researchers working closely with practitioners and policy-makers, all dedicated to understanding the mental health needs of young people, their help-seeking behaviours, and service preferences.
With the rapid development of AI and biotechnologies (including those relating to germline gene editing, brain-computer Interfaces, life extension, etc.) come vast powers to reshape ourselves and the natural world. As technological advances grant us new powers, so do they blur some boundaries between humans, animals, and machines, prodding us to ask the question: what does it mean to be human? Drawing upon readings in the humanities (including philosophy, theology, literature, etc.) and the sciences, this group will attempt to bridge the existential and empirical study of human identity - and within that context, ask if and how such reflections might help chart a path forward in relation to the right uses of new and potent technologies. We will focus in particular on questions of human purpose, place, and flourishing within the natural order. Under the umbrella of TORCH Medical Humanities, this will be a casual reading and discussion group. The readings for each session will be introduced by a different participant - and the readings for each session will take a total of roughly 1 hour to complete.
Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability. It is often thought of as something that happens only at older ages. But more and more, we see young adults in their 20s, 30s, 40s suffering from stroke. Why is this happening? Are strokes really becoming more common at younger ages, or are we just getting better at detecting them? More importantly, what can we do reduce the risk and improve prevention? In this Oxford Biomedical Research Centre talk, Linxin Li, a Clinical Research Fellow in the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, will explore the recent increase in strokes at younger ages, discuss what might be driving it and assess if there is any easy solution in primary care. FREE entry, no booking required. Refreshments from 5.40, for a 6pm start.
COURSE DETAILS This session looks at the way in which we can have useful conversations in career development reviews. It examines the blockages to such conversations and how we can overcome them using active listening and coaching techniques. There will be an opportunity to discuss the policy and process surrounding CDRS. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will have an understanding of: The Career context and support for CDRs. How coaching and active listening can enable positive CDR conversations. An opportunity to practice relevant skills.
This 90-minute session will cover some more advanced techniques for finding medical literature to answer a research question. We will recap some basics, then demonstrate searching in several medical databases, including using subject headings (MeSH) and the differences between platforms. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what subject headings are, and how to use them; search for words that appear near to other words; take a search from one database into another; and save a search and document it. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student
TBA
This talk builds on the oral historical trajectory of Abou Shapsugh, a Circassian arms trafficker in the turn of the century Jolan, to reconstruct the sectarian economy of arms trafficking and settler capitalism in the late Ottoman Empire. I first discuss the concurrent settlement and armament of Circassian refugees in Syria. The arrival of Circassian refugees in the region marked an expansion of the imperial settlement policy in 1878. From thereon, growing refugee settlements constituted a social experiment that pitted them against the ahali-i kadime, or, the native inhabitants of the region. The settlers instituted and expanded a new regime of private property and agrarian production. The exclusivity and inviolability of settlers’ property engendered conflict within and outside of the community proper, as inter- and intra-communal relations were brutalised by the state-led introduction, circulation, and distribution of arms. I then reflect on how the circulation of arms shapes how violence is socially and politically distributed. I analyse the moments when armed violence becomes a constitutive aspect of social relations based on inequity, inequality, and difference. I look at two foundational moments in the distribution of arms and the making of social hierarchies in the Golan Heights: the Circassian-Druze War of 1895, and the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. I contend that these two events came to crystallise the sectarian and racial tensions that exist between settlers/natives, and masters/slaves, in the late Ottoman Jolan. I further argue that the Ottoman government only intervened in and reconstituted these violent intimacies between settlers and natives, masters and slaves, to serve the ends of a securitarian order based on the primacy of private property.
As China’s flagship platform for cultural diplomacy, the global expansion of Confucius Institutes has been shadowed by mounting controversy ‒ particularly in the West. Allegations have cast them as vehicles of propaganda, geopolitical influence, espionage, and even as threats to academic freedom or instruments of surveillance over Chinese students abroad. Are these claims justified? How do Confucius Institutes actually operate? Drawing on his unique experience as both a Chinese national and UK-based director, as well as a scholar of Chinese politics, the multi-volume project Memoirs of a Confucius Institute Director offers a rare insider’s perspective on this contested institution. This talk focuses on Volume I, which chronicles his directorship at Lancaster University Confucius Institute (2019–2025), tracing how the institute grew into an award-winning organisation while grappling with existential and structural challenges ‒ from the disruptions of COVID-19 to the dissolution of Confucius Institute Headquarters, and the Tory campaign to ban the institutes. Through this lived experience, the talk critically engages with the core allegations against Confucius Institutes, showing how Western media and political narratives often amplify genuine concerns yet oversimplify complexities ‒ misrepresenting the realities on the ground. Professor Jinghan Zeng joined the City University of Hong Kong in April 2025, following a 13-year academic career in the UK. He is the author of Artificial Intelligence with Chinese Characteristics: National Strategy, Security and Authoritarian Governance (2022), Slogan Politics: Understanding Chinese Foreign Policy Concepts (2020), The Chinese Communist Party's Capacity to Rule: Ideology, Legitimacy and Party Cohesion (2015), as well as over thirty refereed articles on Chinese politics. Prior to moving to Hong Kong, Professor Zeng held the position of Professor of China and International Studies at Lancaster University and served as Director of its Confucius Institute for six years.
In this session, Dr Brent Ryan will invite Dr Adam Packer, former DPAG Group Leader, to share his reflections on his career in Academia to one of the most well-known tech companies in the world: Meta. They will discuss the pros and cons of moving to industry, the opportunities it can bring, and the challenges. We want you to get the most from this session and questions will be welcome throughout. If you prefer, please submit your questions in advance and we will try to cover as many as possible.
Discover how your research could become a deeptech startup. Join Conception X for an online session introducing their venture programme for STEM researchers. Learn about Startup X and Project X tracks, funding opportunities, and how to join Cohort 9. Open to all researchers interested in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Written with Gharad Bryan, Tigabu Getahun, and Sarah Winton
If you are new to the University of Oxford and want to find out more about the University’s network of libraries or have been at the University a while and would like a refresher, join us for this online introduction to understanding and accessing the libraries, their services and resources. By the end of the session, you will: be familiar with the network of Oxford libraries; know the logins needed to access Bodleian Libraries services; be able to conduct a search in SOLO (the University’s resource discovery tool), filter results and access online and print resources; and know how to manage your library account including loans and requests. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Join our authors for conversations about climate, history, ecology and geopolitics.
This session is aimed at researchers and will cover: Why share your research? Why not? What makes a good story? The ins and outs of a press release Media interviews Other ways to share your research Who can support you?
The Oxford Ministry for the Future cordially invite you to attend The Arctic at the Crossroads event where Bathsheba Demuth (of Floating Coast), Laline Paull (of The Ice), Joanna Kavenna (of The Ice Museum) and Oxford Academics will all be engaging in conversations about Climate, History, Ecology and Geopolitics.
Part of the 2025-2026 series ‘How can we respond to this systemic crisis?’. A series of master classes, seminars, workshops and talks with Professor Laura Rival, research collaborators and colleagues. Michaelmas Term series titled: ‘In Latin America, by greening the state at the top and from below’. To be followed by refreshments.
In this session we will examine article level metrics. We will discuss how citation counting can help identify influential papers in particular fields and how altmetrics provide a different perspective on research output. Using tools such as Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus you will learn how to locate different article metrics. The session will also allow you to appreciate the limitations of different metrics and the importance of their cautious interpretation. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: using Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar to track and count citations to papers and individual researchers; measuring impact using altmetrics; understanding how to contextualise metrics against other, similar papers in a field; and the limitations of different metrics. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
This talk explores the exhibition, _Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie_ - https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/monstrous-beauty-a-feminist-revision-of-chinoiserie - (24 March-17 August 2025, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), which reimagined the story of European porcelain through a feminist lens. When porcelain arrived in early modern Europe from China, it led to the rise of Chinoiserie, a decorative style that encompassed Europe’s fantasies of the East and fixations on the exotic, along with new ideas about women, sexuality, and race. The exhibition explored how this fragile material shaped both European women’s identities and racial and cultural stereotypes around Asian women. Shattering the illusion of chinoiserie as a neutral, harmless fantasy, _Monstrous Beauty_ adopts a critical glance at the historical style and its afterlives, recasting negative terms through a lens of female empowerment. The talk will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the curatorial process, its hits and misses, while also discussing the stakes of this exhibition and how it contributed new approaches to the study of European decorative arts today. *Iris Moon* is Associate Curator for European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Her books include _Melancholy Wedgwood_ (MIT Press, 2024).
What experiences constitute ‘girlhood’? What personal and social pathways are available to girls in contemporary American fiction? These questions lie at the heart of this talk, which will explore how emancipatory new representations of girlhood have emerged in novels published between 1990-2020, in response to the social and cultural transformations that have been catalysed by the girl-centric agendas of contemporary feminism. This talk will thus question how contemporary fiction asks readers to view girlhood anew by reimagining the personal, narrative, and social possibilities of American girlhood.
With the impacts of climate change becoming ever more evident and challenging – can we “transition away from fossil fuels”, and create a new energy system which meets the many and divergent needs of the global population? Although progress towards a new, lower carbon energy system is significant – the current pace is not enough to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Accord in an orderly fashion. The pace will not accelerate sufficiently without intervention and international cooperation. We should spend less time on debating the right path to Net Zero and devote our efforts to actions which immediately reduce the carbon intensity of energy consumed and which ultimately halt the net increase in man-made atmospheric CO2 in the required timeframe. These efforts will require collaboration across the world and throughout the system of energy production and consumption.
Join us for a conversation with Rachel Ellehuus, Director-General of RUSI, as part of the Calleva–Airey Neave Global Security Seminar Series. In this lecture, the Director-General of RUSI Rachel Ellehuus explores the major security and defence challenges facing Europe, the transatlantic alliance and the wider international order, drawing on her extensive experience in NATO, the US Department of Defense, and the UK Ministry of Defence. This seminar series is funded by the Calleva Centre for Evolution and Human Science and the Airey Neave Trust.
Join online via Microsoft Teams by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3hfr23
Why do some individuals choose to betray their country, engage in espionage, or commit acts of terrorism? From Kim Philby to Edward Snowden and from agencies to academia, history is full of figures who have willfully jeopardized national security. What compels people to “cross the line”—and can such dangers be detected in time? In Treason, Terrorism, and Betrayal: Why Individuals Cross the Line, William Costanza employs an interdisciplinary lens to explore the psychological, ideological, and situational factors behind acts of betrayal. This fireside chat will unpack Costanza’s findings under Chatham House Rules, with ample audience Q&A. Attendees may purchase the book directly from the publisher. Speaker Bios: William Costanza teaches at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies (CSS). Prior to academia, Costanza served more than two decades as an operations officer in the Central Intelligence Agency. His research and teaching at Georgetown focus on the psychological, ideological, and situational pathways that drive individuals toward betrayal, espionage, and radicalization.
Africa faces an annual financing gap of over $200 billion to meet its infrastructure and growth ambitions. Bridging this gap requires not only capital, but the right frameworks to channel it effectively. In this high-level conversation, H.E. Javier Niño Pérez, EU Ambassador to the African Union, and Distinguished Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, Chair of Nigeria’s Senate Finance Committee, will explore how Europe and Africa can jointly unlock sustainable investment at scale.
Lea Ypi reads from her new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined and reflects on the enduring legacies of migration, displacement, and forced removal. Beginning with the story of her grandmother in the aftermath of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, she explores how past experiences of exile and resettlement help us confront the moral and political challenges of migration in our own time. Lea Ypi (FBA, FAE) is Ralph Miliband Professor in Politics and Philosophy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is the author of Indignity: A Life Reimagined and Free: Coming of Age at the end of History, both published by Penguin Press as well as Global Justice and Avant-Garde Political Agency, The Meaning of Partisanship (with Jonathan White), and The Architectonic of Reason, published by Oxford University Press. Her work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages and won numerous prizes, including the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, the Slightly Foxed First Biography Award, the British Academy Prize for Excellence in Political Science and a Leverhulme Prize for Outstanding Research Achievement. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception ending at 7pm. Please register to attend
How can art historians explore, understand, or even ‘feel’ the material evidence of the past? How can we approach the problem of historical distance, of our anachronistic nostalgia and our intellectual desire for pre-modern periods and artefacts? Can we inhabit the time of past artworks, or do artworks constantly re-construct their own times? And what role do contemporary concerns play in our interpretations of the ancient, medieval, and early modern periods? Numerous recent publications have explored the study of the past through different lenses. They have complicated the idea of ‘historical contexts’ by showing the ability of artworks to simultaneously refer to various time periods. They have also encouraged cross-temporal and sometimes ahistorical interpretations of premodern artefacts in the light of modern theories and concerns. This conference will bridge the ‘historicist’ and ‘anachronist’ camp in an attempt to theorise the thorny issue of time which sits at the core of both history and art history. The conference is organised in celebration of the scholarship of Professor Gervase Rosser and in honour of his retirement from the University of Oxford. One aspect of Rosser’s career that we particularly want to celebrate is his prominence as both historian and art historian, and his inspirational interrogation of both disciplines. Speakers include: Armin Bergmeier (University of Leipzig); Saida Bondini (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz); Donal Cooper (University of Cambridge); Heiko Droste (Stockholm University); Jas Elsner (University of Oxford); Michael Ann Holly (Clark Institute); Maria Loh (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton); Keith Moxey (Barnard College); Susie Nash (The Courtauld Institute of Art); Caspar Pearson (The Warburg Institute); Hannah Skoda (University of Oxford); Nancy Thebaut (University of Oxford); Ben Thomas (Trinity College Dublin). The conference is organised by Costanza Beltrami (Stockholm University), Lia Costiner (Utrecht University), Elena Lichmanova (University of Oxford/British Library) and Michael W Kwakkelstein (NIKI/Utrecht University). View the programme here: https://www.niki-florence.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/HistoricalDistance_BrochureRev5.pdf Register for online attendance here: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/d1b5a80a-1602-45de-9990-5ea8d491aaf0@d72758a0-a446-4e0f-a0aa-4bf95a4a10e7
Join Chris Morrison (Copyright & Licensing Specialist) and Georgina Kiddy (Digital Services Librarian) to play Copyright the Card Game. This interactive, games-based session introduces you to the key concepts of copyright law and allows you to apply them in practice. No prior knowledge is required, and the session caters for all whatever their level of experience with copyright. At the end of the session participants will be able to: explore how copyright really works in practice; interpret the legislation and apply the relevant legal concepts to their own work; practice using the exceptions and licences in sector-specific examples; and discuss the role of risk management in making decisions about the ethical creation and use of copyright material. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
Enhance your critical thinking and research skills in this practical workshop designed for undergraduate students. Learn to question assumptions, analyse sources critically, and develop information discovery and search strategies that will set you apart in your academic studies. By the end of this session, you will be able to: describe what critical thinking is; understand a critical thinking method; apply the method to your academic work; and explain the fundamentals of conducting research, including how to evaluate information sources in SOLO. Intended audience: Taught student
Sharpen your grant-winning skills in an interactive session delivered by Dr Justin Hutchence. Learn what funders expect, how to structure compelling proposals, avoid common pitfalls, and review applications effectively. Tailored for research staff seeking external funding, you'll leave with practical guidance and confidence to plan, write, and submit stronger bids that win.
This session provides doctoral students in the third year and above with information about the viva, guidance on planning a proactive approach to it, and opportunities to practise. COURSE DETAILS The course will look at the rules and expectations of the viva exam and identify and practise practical ways to prepare. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of the session participants will be able to: Develop their awareness and understanding of the rules and expectations of the viva exam. Use tools and strategies to prepare for the exam. Develop an awareness of the examiner's perspective. Know what to expect of the exam.
COURSE DETAILS Discover what elements of storytelling and narrative can be used to enhance a profession in the sciences. Craft compelling and moving stories from your experiences as a scientist using these key story elements: character, conflict, structure, metaphor and description. Apply these storytelling and narrative skills to working in the sciences: communicating research to a range of audiences (including publics, media and funding bodies); enhancing presentation skills; telling scientific stories across a range of media. LEARNING OUTCOMES The aim of the course is: To increase understanding of the essential elements of a compelling narrative. To increase understanding of how to draw an audience into a story and keep them involved. To increase understanding of how to use narrative skills to make an effective ‘pitch’.
In this 60-minute online workshop you will be introduced to the methodologies and principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other evidence reviews. The session will cover: formulating a focused research question; preparing a protocol; developing a search strategy to address that research question; choosing appropriate databases and search engines; searching for grey literature and ongoing studies; storing and managing references; and documenting and reporting your search. Intended audience: Medicine and NHS; Researcher and research student
The event organised by Dana Jalobeanu (Technische Universität Nürnberg), Daniel Garber (Princeton University), Mogens Laerke (CNRS, IHRIM/MFO) and Alan Stewart (Columbia University) as part of the NOTCOM activities programme. The workshop focuses on key-questions relating to the idols of the mind, Bacon's new sciences, the organisation of knowledge and the new methods of inquiry proposed in the De augmentis scientiarum. November 6 11.00-11.30. Introduction: Stéphane van Damme, Dana Jalobeanu, Mogens Lærke 11.30-13.00. Richard Serjeantson (Cambridge), Francis Bacon and John Case on defending, supporting, and reforming universities Chair: Niall Dilucia (CNRS, MFO) 13.00-14.00. Lunch 14.00-16.00. Alan Stewart (Columbia), On translating De augmentis scientiarum: Challenges and discoveries Chair : Miklos Redei (UTN, Nuremberg/ LSE, London) 16.00-16.30. Coffee 16.30-18.00. Round-table discussion moderated by Claudia Dumitru (Yale), De augmentis scientiarum and the ‘world of sciences’ November 7 9.30-11.00. Dana Jalobeanu (UTN, Nuremberg/University of Bucharest), Poetics, mythography and philosophy according to the parables in De augmentis scientiarum Chair: Robert Illife (Linacre, Oxford) 11.00-11.30. Coffee 11.30-12.30. Louis Rouquayrol (CNRS, IHRIM), Bacon, Descartes, and the Duty to Know Chair : Michael Jaworcyn (CNRS, MFO) 12.30-14.00. Lunch 14.00-16.00. Daniel Garber (Princeton), De augmentis scientiarum, method and historia literata Chair: Susan Paul (Princeton) 16.00-16.30. Coffee 16.30-18.00. Round-table discussion moderated by Mogens Laerke (CNRS, IHRIM/MFO).
Since its nineteenth-century rediscovery, the _Très Riches Heures_ has been endowed with mythic status, its cultural capital facilitated by serial reproductions. A 2025 exhibition in Chantilly, publicized as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to see the manuscript in person, contributed further to this proliferation of replications and to the book’s attendant aura. One image looms especially large in this procession of fragmentary simulacra: the opening miniature, representing January, which has become a totem for the entire book. Queering this page, by suggesting that (for example) it encodes homoerotic meanings, effectively entails that the _Très Riches Heures_ itself be queered. Inspired by a 2001 article by Michael Camille on the manuscript’s medieval patron, Jean de Berry—his contribution to a volume on queer collecting—this talk follows Camille in interpreting the January page as containing a Ganymede allusion. Focusing on the implications of representing dogs as witnesses to the youth’s abduction in this context, I also turn in conclusion to another modern effort to queer an icon of European premodernity, namely Shakespeare, through the reworking of the January page via one of its countless reproductions. This serves to highlight intersections between queering as an interpretive tactic and wider efforts to subvert cultural icons.
This talk blends history, ecology, and personal experience to explore the long relationship between people, sled dogs, and salmon along the Yukon River watershed in Alaska and western Canada. As dogsledding and fishing have long been deeply intertwined parts of living close to the land, this talk looks at the stakes of a changing environment and climate—changes that could alter where we live and the animals we live with and the rivers that are their home. Bathsheba Demuth is the Dean’s Associate Professor of History and Environment and Society, and the Director of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Brown University. Author of the award-winning Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait (2019), she is an environmental historian, specializing in the lands and seas of the Russian and North American Arctic. From the archive to the dog sled, she is interested in the how the histories of people, ideas, places, and non-human species intersect.
Following the very successful seminars series on J. R. R. Tolkien in 2023 and 2024 (for recordings see: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/fantasy-literature) we are pleased to announce a new round of presentations by Oxford academics on fantasy literature to run this Michaelmas Term (2025). These talks are aimed at students and members of the public and act as introductions to a range of writers and texts in the field of fantasy literature/weird fiction. The series is organised by the Faculty of English and hosted by Exeter College. All talks will be held in the Fitzhugh Lecture Theatre, Cohen Quad, Walton Street, Oxford (Exeter College’s annex), and run 1.00-2.00pm. Attendance is free of charge but we ask you to register using the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/seminar-series-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-4530103
esson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
Building a career in academia involves more than research and teaching; it requires deliberate positioning, and an understanding of how academic advancement is assessed and achieved. In this second instalment of the Insight into Academia series, we will focus on how to develop and demonstrate the profile needed to move forward in an academic career. Intended for Masters and Doctoral researchers considering academic pathways, this session will explore how individuals can prepare for academic roles and begin to position themselves for future progression — even at the early stages of their career. We will cover: * How academic progression typically works in the UK (from postdoc to professor) * Common expectations and indicators of academic potential * Building your academic identity and track record across research, teaching, and engagement * The importance of visibility, networks, and strategic choices for positioning and reflection on the academic job market * We will also offer practical tools and reflective prompts to help you identify development areas and take action to strengthen your positioning. This series accompanies the "Academia and Higher Education sector briefing":https://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/academia available on the Careers Service website. Other sessions in the series: Insight into Academia: Myths and Realities of Academic Careers Panel Event (13-Nov-25) Insight into Academia: Academic Application Materials (17-Nov-25)
Recent theoretical and empirical advances in neuroscience suggest that geometries of neural population codes can implement simultaneous generalization and differentiation. That is, they can allow brains to represent both the general features of categories and, at the same time, maintain a separate representation, as would be needed for category membership. I will explore how these principles can help resolve three outstanding issues in neuroeconomics. First, the need to compute abstract values during evaluation. Second, the need to flexibly bind values with actions during choice. Third, the need to flexibly bind outcomes and the choices that produced them. I will argue that these principles are even more important in naturalistic choices, such as those characterized by continuous and interactive decisions. In particular, I will examine relevance of coding geometry for the context of prey-pursuit problems. Bio: Benjamin Y. Hayden is Professor of Neurosurgery (and McNair Scholar) at Baylor College of Medicine. His lab investigates neural mechanisms of reward, decision-making, executive control, and flexibility, often in naturalistic contexts and with human intracranial recordings; he also examines how these neural processes relate to psychiatric disorders (e.g. depression, anxiety, addiction).
Using detailed microdata, we document that households often use "stimulus'' checks to pay down debt, especially those with low net wealth-to-income ratios. To rationalize these patterns, we introduce an empirically plausible borrowing price schedule into an otherwise standard incomplete markets model. Because interest rates rise with debt, borrowers have increasingly larger incentives to use an additional dollar to reduce debt service payments rather than consume. Using our calibrated model, we then study whether and how this marginal propensity to repay debt (MPRD) alters the aggregate implications of fiscal transfers. We uncover a trade-off between stimulus and insurance, as high--debt individuals gain considerably from transfers, but consume relatively little immediately. This mechanism lowers the immediate stimulus effect of fiscal transfers, but sustains aggregate consumption for longer.
Are you baffled by open, confused by embargoes? Does the mention of the colour gold or green catapult you into a realm of perplexed irritation? Come to this session, where we’ll break down open access and all its many jargon terms, confusing publishing structures and hint at the advantages you can reap by publishing open. The session will cover: what is open access? Key terms – Gold, Green, Article Processing Charges; where to get more information and help; where to look for open access material; and useful tools to assist you in publishing open access. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
In order to survive and reproduce animals need to acquire and respond to information from their environment. The ability of organisms to learn, represent and use temporal information is critical for most major cognitive processes and for adaptive behaviour. Examples of these are the ability to detect contingency between events, which is essential to exploit the relation between cause and effect or knowing when to select and perform the right set of actions at the appropriate time. In a series of example studies with mammals, birds and fish I will show how offering animals choices, under systematic variations of their environment’s temporal contingencies, while looking at their responses and/or movement profiles, can provide unexplored opportunities to investigate behaviour and tap into animals’ cognitive capabilities.
Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This online session will introduce you to EndNote, a subscription software programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily. On completing the workshop you will be able to: understand the main features and benefits of EndNote; set up an EndNote account; import references from different sources into EndNote; organise your references in EndNote; insert citations into documents; and create a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
Ethnic stacking, or recruiting and promoting soldiers based on shared identity, is a prolific form of coup proofing in autocratic regimes. Leaders attempt to ensure the loyalty of security institutions through a triple bind of ethnic affinity, ethnically-based patronage, and publicly tied fates. Yet, the process of building a coethnic army can backfire as it both discriminates against existing out-group officers and provokes tensions between sub-groups—igniting preemptive coups and competition for control over security institutions. This article leverages new data on ethnic stacking practices in Africa to conduct the first large-N analysis of how ascriptive coup proofing impacts leader tenure. I find that ethnically restructuring the armed forces does indeed create a strong backlash, with coup risk increasing in autocracies by nearly 200% over the first three years of such efforts. However, ethnic stacking still significantly extends leader tenure (by around 65%), in part by decreasing the long-term risk of coup attempts (by over 30%). Thus, if autocratic leaders can survive the process of building an ethnic army, they can obviate threats emanating from within the military and deeply entrench their rule.
Critical Reflections on Social Mixing Strategies and Their Relevance for Migrants' Access to Housing. This seminar is hybrid. Join us in person at Berliner Institut für empirische Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (BIM), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, or participate online via Zoom by registering here: https://hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/0n3Ek7B7TYOZSIud3r8i3g
In this seminar Professor Devakumar will describe how racism and xenophobia affect health across the world. The talk will describe some of the historical and political roots, health outcomes and a systems approach to interventions. He will draw on the Lancet Commission on Migration and Health and The Lancet series on Racism, Xenophobia, Discrimination and Health, and will also include information from the upcoming Lancet Commission on Global Racisms and Child Health. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Delan Devakumar is a Professor of Global Child Health in University College London. He is a public health consultant with clinical experience in paediatrics and in humanitarian contexts. He is Director of the UCL Centre for the Health of Women, Children and Adolescents and the UCL Race & Health group. Delan is chair of the Lancet Commission on Racism and Child Health. He led the Lancet Series on ‘racism, xenophobia, discrimination and health’ and was a commissioner and steering group member of the UCL-Lancet Commission on Migration. He has held many committee positions in the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Faculty of Public Health in global health and in advocacy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
2025 Annual Uehiro Lectures: Reproductive Rights (Lecture 1/3) Lecture 1: Male Reproductive Dependency Abstract TBC Lecture followed by a drinks reception
We’re a day too late for Mr. Fawkes, but plenty of sparks still flying tonight. Join us, on the one-year anniversary of Suzuki Izumi’s most recent anglophone rebirth, as we delve into the process of translating emotions and psyches through words and movement. Alice Baldock and Helen O’Horan will be in conversation about the avant-garde in 1970s–1980s Japan, bodies and gender across languages, working with modern classics, Japanese sci-fi, and speculative “fiction.” And trashy dating shows! The session will also be a chance to hear about the practicalities of professional translation in a range of creative and technical fields.
Alanna Skuse, _Surgery and Selfhood in Early Modern England_ (2021), ch. 4 ‘Acting the Part: Prosthetic Limbs’, 81-108; David Turner and Alan Withey, 'Technologies of the Body', _History_ 99 (2014), 775-96
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the emergence of bacterial strains that survive antibiotic treatments, is a major global public health concern, causing more than 1.2 million deaths each year and threatening a return to a pre-antibiotic era. Tackling AMR is a multi-faceted problem that involves actions and interventions from the understanding of AMR mechanisms to the development of new antibiotics and diagnostic tests. A panel of AMR specialists will discuss the problem and the action that is needed to slow down this "silent epidemic". DISCUSSION PANEL MEMBERS: Professor Achilles Kapanidis, Professor of Biological Physics, University of Oxford (CHAIR) Professor Timothy Walsh OBE, Director of Biology, Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research Professor Hermine Mkrtchyan, Director of the Centre for Innovation in Genomics and Microbiome Sciences, University of West London Professor William Gaze, Professor of Microbiology, University of Exeter Professor Nicole Stoesser, Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases, University of Oxford and Consultant Clinician at John Radcliffe Hospital Dr Michael Dawson, Oxford Drug Design There will be a drinks reception following the talk to which everyone is welcome. If you'd like to attend this event, please register at: https://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/event/discussion-panel-on-novel-perspectives-on-how-to-combat-antimicrobial-resistance-with-professo Everyone is very welcome.
The T J Clark Seminar at Keble Poems about paintings have long been part of literary tradition, and many such poems go on being written. Why? What is hoped for from them? What is involved in the passage from picture to word? This seminar series will look at particular poems and paintings, ancient and modern, with such questions in mind. Professor Timothy Clark is one of the world’s most renowned art historians. He taught for many years at the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author of several books, including The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and his Followers (1985), Farewell to an Idea: Episodes from a History of Modernism (1999), The Sight of Death: An Experiment in Art Writing (2006), Picasso and Truth: From Cubism to Guernica (2013), Heaven on Earth: Painting and the Life to Come (2018), and If These Apples Should Fall: Cézanne and the Present (2022). The Poetry & Painting seminars will take place three times a year. There are no sign-up lists or reserved places (free entry, and all are welcome). A few weeks in advance of each seminar a handout will be made available via a downloadable link which will feature the poetry and painting to be discussed. At the seminar Clark will introduce the material and lead the discussion. Questions to be explored will include: Is this poem ‘about’ the picture it says it is about? What does ‘about’ mean in this case? Is it clear what, in or about the picture, provoked the poem? Why write a poem about a picture? Or, is writing a poem about a picture different from writing one about, say, the scene or situation that the picture is ‘of’? Does the poem we’re reading propose an answer to these questions? What would failure in a poem about a picture be like? And success? Is there a moment in the poem when you sense the resistance of the ‘visual’ or ‘pictorial’ to poetic translation producing poetry (or the opposite)? How many of these questions are reversible? That is, do we have strong cases of pictures that are, or claim to be, about poems? Does this poem, whether or not we think it successful in describing or evoking the picture it says it’s about, make a difference to our understanding of the picture? Does it alter our seeing of it? How much does this poet care about painting (or sculpting etc.)? Does it matter if the answer is ‘not much’? i.e. does it matter to the poetry? How do we approach poems that are clearly homages to painting, even to particular paintings, but seem deliberately to refuse a one-to-one (descriptive) ‘aboutness’? How indirect can a poem about a painting be before the painting disappears? Or is ‘disappearance’ necessary (to poetry)? The next seminar, entitled Poems About Cezanne, will take place in the Pusey Room at 5.30 pm on 6 November. Professor Clark writes: “Not for the first time in this series, the word ‘about’ in my title will be a matter for discussion. Are the poems I’ve chosen about Cézanne? If so, how? These questions fold into a further one: What are Cézanne’s paintings about? In particular the paintings of his last years, when death was imminent. (That might have meant ‘death’ was the last thing his art would be about. [Read that sentence whichever way you like.] But death seems to figure largely in writing about him.) Wordplay aside – and it’s striking that Cezanne’s art does bring on wordplay – I for one need help deciding on the relation of several of the poems chosen to Cézanne. The Charles Wright ‘Homage’ is the central, difficult case. But so is the Gertrude Stein ‘Cézanne’, and even the Carlos Williams. Which raises the question: Why do poems about Cézanne tend to put ‘aboutness’ so markedly in question? I have included a poem of my own, which will inevitably seem pedestrian, not to say naïve, alongside the others. I stand by the poem; but it may well suggest to many of you why poems ‘about Cézanne’ don’t go in for the kind of description mine does. Cézanne seems to provoke poetry in English not French. This is strange. As compensation, I add a tremendous poem by René Char on Courbet’s Stonebreakers, which Samuel Beckett proved to be untranslatable.” A link to the handout is available below. Free entry, all welcome, no tickets or booking required. Enquiries: please contact Matthew Bevis.
Join Worcester College Provost, David Isaac CBE, as he interviews leading role models about their lives and careers. Trailblazing sport and media executive Dawn Airey CBE joins us in conversation with David Isaac. Chancellor of Edge Hill University since 2023, Dawn has built an international career in the broadcast and media industries. She has served as CEO of Channel 4, Channel 5 and Getty Images and has worked at the highest levels within ITV, Sky and Yahoo. Dawn ‘came out’ in the 2000s and since then has championed the LGBTQ+ community and mentored other queer women. Dawn is Chair of Women’s Super League Football and, during her tenure, women’s football has been watched live by a record number of viewers thanks to a landmark broadcast deal with the BBC and Sky. She also Chairs the National Youth Theatre and Digital Theatre+. In 2024, Dawn was appointed a CBE for services to theatre and charity. She is a Fellow and Vice President of the Royal Television Society and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Edge Hill University in 2018 for her outstanding contribution to the media industry. Join us at Worcester College to hear Dawn in conversation. All are welcome to join for drinks after the event. Please note that entry to the venue is via the Worcester College Porters’ Lodge on Walton Street.
Artist Talk by Emma Coleman-Jones on her exhibtion at Wolfson College, Oxford, Dispatches from the Floods - drawings from the Thames & Cherwell
Cicero, like other Romans of his class, owned numerous slaves. His attitude to and relationship with his slaves and ex-slaves have come under scrutiny in some recent studies. Others have offered important insights into ideas of freedom and slavery in the Roman political sphere more generally – and in Cicero’s work in particular. This lecture aims to probe the relationship between Cicero’s experiences as a slaver and the figure of slavery in his political thinking. Cicero was well aware that the power exercised by Rome over its subject territories might be figured as slavery. In his letters, Cicero terms his own position vis-à-vis Pompey, Caesar and Crassus a kind of enslavement. The figure of slavery is one he invokes with still greater frequency in coming to terms with Julius Caesar’s dictatorship – and, after the Ides of March, in attacking Mark Antony. The power Antony exercised over his fellow Romans was worse than that of Caesar, according to Cicero, for his own character was that of a slave. The lecture will explore the slippery ways in which Cicero’s reflections on the political sphere interact with, reinforce or challenge the brutal realities of literal enslavement.
Dr James Clark is prize fellow and lecturer at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath. Deep in geological time, certain algae began the process of terrestrialisation and a new lineage arose: the land plants. This fundamentally shaped the Earth's own evolution and resulted in the formation of a terrestrial biosphere. Our understanding of this event relies on our ability to retrace the evolution of plants from those alive today all the way back to their earliest ancestors. This is no small task and underpinning it is the "tree of life" that describes how the major groups of plants are related to each other, from flowering plants to diminuitive mosses. James will discuss how insights from the genomics revolution, new scientific approaches and the earliest plant fossils have fundamentally shifted our view of plant evolution all the way back to the first plants.
Title to be announced Peter’s surgical career has been centred on surgical oncology, initially in breast cancer and latterly in gastro-oesophageal cancer. He graduated from Aberdeen University and trained in surgery and did his doctoral research in Glasgow before becoming a Senior lecturer at Liverpool University. He moved to Oxford in 2004 and was appointed Professor of Surgical Science & Practice in 2013. He is an NIHR Senior Investigator and runs two research groups within NDS. His Quality, Reliability, Safety and Teamwork Unit (QRSTU) evaluates methods for improving the quality and safety of surgical interventions, and is currently running a 24 hospital randomised trial (RESPOND) of a Human Factors intervention to improve rescue efforts for patients with serious postoperative complications. Peter founded the IDEAL Collaboration in 2009 to promote the use of better methodology in the scientific evaluation of surgery and other complex healthcare interventions. The group has developed recommendations for an integrated evaluation pathway for surgical studies throughout the life cycle of an operation, and more recently has applied the same principles to guidance for the evaluation of therapeutic devices and of AI in healthcare. They published their paper on evaluation of surgical robots in Nature Medicine in January this year. The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. Chair: To be announced All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
The ability to program and design ad hoc cellular and biological processes offers exciting opportunities in basic research, in the biotechnology industry and in the clinic. Difficulties in engineering cellular phenotypes robust to changes and perturbations, as well as the lack of established tools to design biological functions across scales, still represent major roadblocks. In this talk I will start discussing our recent research that leverages feedback control to engineer robust cellular phenotypes. I will show results obtained using intracellular, external or multicellular controllers in both bacterial and mammalian cells, and new applications of cybergenetics methodologies we are currently exploring. I will also mention a complementary approach aimed at rational and computer-aided cell design via whole-cell models (WCMs), which are mathematical models designed to capture the function of all genes and multiscale processes within a cell. The design of minimal bacterial genomes will be used as a proof-of-concept; I will also show how machine learning can support WCMs’ output interpretation and solve their computational burden challenge. Our tools and results should make the design and control of complex cellular phenotypes and laboratory engineering a step closer.
The pituitary and adrenal glands are central to our ability to grow, reproduce, and respond to stress. Their activity depends on remarkable adaptability — yet the mechanisms that allow these organs to adjust hormone production across life remain poorly understood. Traditionally, stem cells in these glands were viewed as a backup reserve. Our research from the pituitary gland reveals a different story: stem cells act as active organisers, sending signals that stimulate growth, guide cell maturation, and even fine-tune hormone secretion. This principle is extended to the adrenal medulla, where we identify a population of postnatal stem cells with similar properties. Emerging findings indicate that dysregulated stem cell activity may drive tumours of the adrenal lineage. This talk will explore a new framework for endocrine plasticity, with implications for regenerative therapies and endocrine cancer. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY I am a Professor of Stem Cell Biology at the Centre for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology at King’s College London (UK), as well as a Principal Investigator at the Department of Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), part of the KCL-TUD TransCampus initiative. My main research focus is on endocrine stem cells and their roles during development, homeostasis and disease. I am particularly interested in paracrine secretion from stem cells, how paracrine stem cell actions control behaviour in their committed descendants and how paracrine activities change with physiological feedback. My background is in developmental biology, with specific training and expertise in the development and stem cell biology of the brain and pituitary gland. My basic and translational research combines molecular, -omic and genetic approaches. This has led to the demonstration of the existence of pituitary stem cells in vivo, identification of novel functions and mechanisms of regulation, as well demonstration of stem cell contribution to the pathogenesis of paediatric pituitary tumours. Research by my team has generated several mouse models of human pituitary disease, including of benign and aggressive pituitary tumours, Rathke’s cleft cyst and pituitary stalk anomalies. Highlights of my research include the demonstration that stem cells can drive pituitary tumour formation both cell autonomously and cell non-autonomously, and the identification that normal pituitary stem cells are necessary throughout life to promote proliferation of committed progenitors through secretion of WNT ligands. My research extends into the effects of stress and metabolic disorders on stem cells of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the study of adrenal stem cells. More recently, my team identified and characterised a population of stem cells of the postnatal adrenal medulla and are exploring their involvement in normal physiology and in the pathogenesis of the rare neuroendocrine tumours pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas.
Standard methods for estimating production functions in the Olley and Pakes (1996) tradition require assumptions on input choices. We introduce a new method that exploits (increasingly available) data on a firm’s expectations of its future output and inputs that allows us to obtain consistent production function parameter estimates while relaxing these input demand assumptions. In contrast to dynamic panel methods, our proposed estimator can be implemented on very short panels (including a single cross-section), and Monte Carlo simulations show it outperforms alternative estimators when firms’ material input choices are subject to optimization error. Implementing a range of production function estimators on UK data, we find our proposed estimator yields results that are either similar to or more credible than commonly-used alternatives. These differences are larger in industries where material inputs appear harder to optimize.
In this online workshop you will be shown the functionality of Zotero, which is a free-to-use software programme used to manage references and create bibliographies. Zotero will be demonstrated on a Windows PC but users of MacOS or Linux computers will be able to follow the demonstration. The workshop will cover: understanding the main features and benefits of Zotero; setting up a Zotero account; importing references from different sources into Zotero; organising your references in Zotero; inserting citations into documents; and creating a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapter 5 Supplementary: George Woodcock, ‘The Tyranny of the Clock’ (1944); Le Guin, ‘Hymn to Time’ in Late in the Day: Poems 2010-2014 (2015)
Seminar followed by Q&A and drinks - all welcome - join in person or online Story creates agency for the climate and nature crises. It is a common feeling for people to feel anxiety and fear, helplessness too, in the face of the global climate and nature crises. Yet story can act like tricksters of old who set us on new paths through the dark forest ahead. Organisations often find themselves facing their own crises, sometimes existential. All have their own tried and tested ways of talking about themselves: foundation myths, measures of success, mission statements, brand architecture and tales of enemy competitors. But these are not stories. Good story is always about engagement with the public: audiences, readers, listeners, members, students. An organisation succeeds when it tells a story not about itself, but how it is helping people make the world a better place. It talks about how it is improving lives. This talk is based on the 2025 paper by Pretty, Milner-Gulland and 27 co-authors: “How the Concept of “Regenerative Good Growth” Could Help Increase Public and Policy Engagement and Speed Transitions to Net Zero and Nature Recovery” (Sustainability 17(3), 849). Jules Pretty is Emeritus Professor of Environment and Society at the University of Essex. His sole-authored books include The Low-Carbon Good Life (2023), Sea Sagas of the North (2022), The East Country (2017), The Edge of Extinction (2014), This Luminous Coast (2011), The Earth Only Endures (2007), Agri-Culture (2002), The Living Land (1998), and Regenerating Agriculture (1995). He is former Deputy-Chair of the UK government’s Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, and has served on advisory committees for UK research councils and the Royal Society. He was appointed A D White Professor-at-Large by Cornell University from 2001, and was Founding Editor of the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. He received an OBE in 2006 for services to sustainable agriculture, an honorary degree from Ohio State University, and the British Science Association Presidential Medal (Agriculture and Food) in 2015. He was appointed President of Essex Wildlife Trust in 2019, is Chair of the Essex Climate Action Commission, was also a trustee for WWF-UK, and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Essex in 2023. This Luminous Coast was winner of New Angle Prize for Literature, and The East Country was winner of the East Anglian book of the year. He is host of 80 podcasts and films (in the series Louder Than Words and Brighter Futures) and writes the series The Climate Chronicles at www.julespretty.com.
"European welfare states are under pressure: increasing defence spending adds to budgetary pressures confronting many European governments, whilst new social and health-related challenges require new reform efforts (such as the growing number of citizens living with incapacity benefits). In this lecture, I will return to fundamental questions that shaped social policy in European welfare states and the EU over the last 40 years, notably the issue of ‘personal responsibility’ versus ‘solidarity’ and ‘moral hazard’ as a limit to the organization of solidarity. These questions apply both to interpersonal relations between citizens in a welfare state and to relations between political entities, such as the EU and its member states. I will highlight long-term trends and swings in the ideational debate on welfare state solidarity, personal responsibility and moral hazard. On that backdrop, the question is: what is an adequate conception of personal responsibility and solidarity that answers the challenges of contemporary welfare states and allows a robust defence of welfare state solidarity. The reference to ‘responsibility’ in the lecture’s title also refers to my own role: having been both a policy-maker and politician and an academic, the question is also one about pragmatism in political action: how can one reconcile, in the realm of social policy, one’s own understanding of social justice and solidarity with the dominant political realities of our time?” -------------------- Speaker bio: Frank Vandenbroucke was born in 1955 and studied economics in Leuven and Cambridge, UK, and received his D.Phil. in Oxford in 1999. He was Minister for Social Security, Health Insurance, Pensions and Employment in the Belgian Federal Government (1999-2004), and Minister for Education and Employment in the Flemish Regional Government (2004-2009). In that period, he played a key role in the ‘activation turn’ in Belgian employment policy. Vandenbroucke was closely involved with the launching of the EU’s Lisbon Strategy in 2000, notably with the development of its social dimension. He was a member of the High Level Group on Social Investment Policies set up by the European Commission (2011-2014). He was the chair of the Belgian Commission on Pension Reform (2013-2014). Frank Vandenbroucke was full-time engaged in politics until 2011, and then returned to academic research at the Universities of Leuven, Antwerp (in association with the Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy) and Amsterdam. He published on the role of the EU in the development of social policy, patterns of household employment and poverty, social investment, the architecture of the welfare state and the problem of ‘institutional moral hazard’, pension policy, public attitudes on risk-sharing, and child poverty. His publications are available at www.frankvandenbroucke.be. In 2020, Vandenbroucke returned to politics, to become Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health in the Belgium Federal Government during the Covid 19 pandemic. He currently plays a prominent role in debates on EU health policy. He was re-appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health in January 2025.
In the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, understanding the ideological drivers of Moscow’s aggression has become more crucial than ever. In this talk, Anton Shekhovtsov, a leading expert on the European far right and Russian political influence, explores how the Kremlin’s pursuit of “civilizational immortality” fuels its expansionist ambitions and shapes its confrontation with the West. Drawing on his extensive research into Russian propaganda, nationalism, and transnational networks, Shekhovtsov will unpack how these narratives threaten Europe’s security and what they reveal about the regime’s worldview and future trajectory.
In this talk, philosopher Aaron Schuster will discuss his critically acclaimed book How to Research Like a Dog: Kafka’s New Science, inspired by Kafka's story ‘Investigations of a Dog.’
This OxPeace annual Day-Conference explores developments in peacebuilding at all levels, and in particular in the involvement of women, in the 25 years since UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the 30 years since the 1995 Beijing Declaration on the rights of women. Examples will be explored, and several speakers will present fresh research. Further details nearer the time. You are invited to reflect on this significant and growing field with fellow students, academics, practitioners, and policy-makers.
In a world often defined by scarcity – of resources, opportunities, and vision – this year’s edition of the Rhodes Forum on Technology & Society invites us to reimagine abundance on a global scale. How can society move beyond zero-sum thinking to create a future where prosperity, sustainability, and human potential are not constrained but expanded? Building on last year’s conversations on envisioning the future through a more positive lens, this convening will bring together thought leaders, technologists, policymakers, and change-makers from across the globe to explore the conditions that enable abundance – and the barriers that prevent it. But, what is Abundance? At its core, abundance is the belief that we can build a world where there is enough housing, healthcare, clean energy, infrastructure, and opportunity for everyone to lead better lives. It is the state in which there is enough of what we need to create lives better than what we have had. This framing asks us to move beyond scarcity-driven thinking, where caution, bureaucracy, and limited resources shape our collective choices, and instead imagine a future centred on bold action, inclusive innovation, and societal well-being. These ideas have emerged primarily from American contexts, recently gaining traction through the work of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Can such a vision be meaningfully extended to the rest of the world? What would abundance look like in developing economies or in communities where systemic inequalities persist? And perhaps most importantly: Is abundance even the right goal? At the 2025 Rhodes Forum on Technology & Society, we invite you to grapple with these questions. This is your space to think critically, challenge prevailing assumptions, and shape your own vision of the future!
We are delighted to welcome a range of writers and academics to our celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th anniversary, and to invite you to join us! Our keynote speaker, Professor Kathryn Sutherland, shows how closely linked the College is to Austen, and the day will explore the novelist’s significance both at Somerville and more widely, and to do this we are joined by a range of expert alumnae and guests. As the day focuses both on literary critical work and on Austen’s inspiration for later writers, we are very pleased to welcome novelist Salley Vickers, whose work will be known already to many. Somerville alumna and former lecturer at King’s College, London, Dr Jane Darcy, will begin the day with a bracing talk about Austen and seabathing, before Kathryn Sutherland explores the wide connections between Somerville and Austen. In this special year, there are many new publications. Professor Sutherland’s own contribution is the fascinating Jane Austen in 41 Objects. As the Patron of Jane Austen’s House Museum, our keynote speaker presents Austen’s life through a perceptive reading of objects associated with her. Edward Whatley‘s latest book, Jane Austen and George Eliot: the Lady and the Radical, examines the surprising connections between two authors who, on the surface, appear to be very different. He will be in conversation with Somerville Fellow, Professor Fiona Stafford, Austen editor and writer of the 2017 biographical work, Jane Austen: A Brief Life. The programme of the day is below. Programme 10.00 am Arrival and tea/coffee 10.15 am Dr Jane Darcy 11.15 am Tea/coffee 11.30 am Prof. Kathryn Sutherland 1.00 pm Lunch 2.00 pm Salley Vickers 3.00 pm Tea/coffee 3.15 pm A conversation between Edward Whitley and Prof. Fiona Stafford 4.15 pm Finish
Across eight hours of interactive workshops, you'll apply AI tools to real academic contexts through hands-on exercises, guided practice, and peer discussion. Whether you're drafting your first piece of work at Oxford or revising your DPhil thesis, this course will help you use AI responsibly and efficiently to enhance the clarity, precision, and rigour of your academic research.
Children’s differences in learning are evident even before they start formal education. Interventions that seek to improve children’s learning and thus, chances for educational success, often target children’s early life environments. Yet, the extent to which these early life environments cause, rather than merely co-occur with children’s differences in learning and education is unknown. Here, I will review genetically sensitive study designs that strengthen causal interpretations of associations in observational data between – putatively – environmental exposures and children’s developmental outcomes. Findings from these genetically sensitive studies suggest that causal effects of early life environments on child development are mostly small or even very small. This has implications for the design and effectiveness of interventions that target children’s early life experiences to improve their educational outcomes. Sophie von Stumm is Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of York, where she directs the Hungry Mind Lab (www.hungrymindlab.com). Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of children’s differences in learning. She integrates theories and methods across the disciplines psychology, education science and genomics to elucidate how family background, early life experiences, and education opportunities inform children’s development. Her research is funded by the British Academy, Nuffield Foundation, and the Jacobs Foundation. Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
Those who seek to increase electoral participation appear to face a dilemma. Prior work finds that Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) interventions are more effective on individuals with ex-ante higher voting propensities and might hence deepen turnout inequality. In this paper, we formalise the link between differential mobilisation effects and turnout inequality, introduce a novel Gini-based turnout inequality measure, and comprehensively answer if and when GOTV interventions increase or decrease turnout inequality. We formally prove that, where electorates are stratified, interventions resulting in constant treatment effects, or even in larger effects among higher voting propensity groups, can reduce turnout inequality. To test the effects of GOTV on turnout inequality empirically, we collect the largest individual-level experimental dataset for political science meta-analysis, and estimate treatment effects within voting propensity bins. We find that GOTV interventions are most effective on intermediate-propensity voters. We then show that by reducing the over-representation of high-propensity voters, GOTV reduces the turnout inequality Gini, especially in high inequality contexts. These findings revise established knowledge on the link between voter mobilisation and turnout inequality, and have powerful implications for democracy and the ethics of political science experimentation. Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm. Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
Individuals with chronic lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis and COPD are particularly vulnerable to bacterial infections. Clinically, these infections are challenging to manage and often persist for years, leading to chronic, difficult-to-treat infections. Over time, the bacteria diversify and adapt to the lung environment and the antibiotics used in treatment. In this talk, I will present our work using metagenomics and spatial transcriptomics to unravel bacterial adaptation and host-pathogen interactions. Our findings are transforming our fundamental understanding of chronic lung infections.
Above the Dust (2024) is a poignant family drama that premiered to critical acclaim at the Berlinale. Set against the backdrop of rural China, the film delves into the life of ten-year old Wo Tu (沃土), whose desire for a water pistol intertwines with his dying grandfather's promise to grant it from beyond the grave. Blurring the lines between dream and reality, past and present, the film unfolds as a magical realist fable that explores intergenerational bonds, the enduring love for one’s land, and the quiet struggles of a disappearing rural landscape amidst China's rapid modernisation. This thought-provoking narrative offers a unique lens through the profound shifts in contemporary Chinese society, making it a compelling watch for anyone interested in China, film and beyond. The Director, Wang Xiaoshuai（王小帅）, is a pivotal figure in contemporary Chinese cinema, recognised as a leading voice of the 'Sixth Generation' of filmmakers. Having graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, his career spans over three decades, marked by a consistently incisive and humanistic approach to storytelling. Wang's films often explore the profound impact of societal changes on individual lives, earning him numerous accolades at prestigious international festivals including Cannes and Berlinale. His works, such as Beijing Bicycle （十七岁的单车）, Shanghai Dreams（青红）, and the critically acclaimed So Long, My Son (地久天长), are celebrated for their deeply emotional and vivid scenes, depicting the daily life of Chinese citizens across some of the most critical eras of China’s history. This screening offers a unique opportunity to engage with the latest work from a mastermind whose cinematic vision continues to shape our understanding of modern China.
Policies to support the transition to a carbon-neutral economy are high on the policy agenda. Their effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions and their distributional consequences are actively debated. One key reason for the ongoing debate is that quantitative answers regarding the reduction-redistribution trade-offs of such policies remain limited. Looking at the emissions of household consumption, this paper makes two contributions to the discussion. First, we empirically show that infrequently adjusted consumption goods, i.e. consumption commitment goods such as cars or heating systems, together with their complementary consumption (gas, oil), account for more than 35 percent of household carbon emissions. Second, we develop a quantitative life-cycle model with heterogeneous adoption rates of carbon-neutral commitment goods by income to quantify the reduction-redistribution trade-off of different policy mixes. Our results for the reduction-redistribution trade-off show that a percentage subsidy for carbon-neutral consumption effectively reduces emissions by targeting high-income households. If the subsidy is financed by a progressive income tax, it yields a policy mix that leads to rapid emission reductions and a majority of households supporting its distributional effects.
The True Religion Apology as Counter-Political Theology in Syriac: This paper examines the so-called “true religion apology”, a popular motif in Islamicate Christian literature, as a form of counter-political theology, focusing on four West-Syriac authors who wrote in Syriac: Giwargis of Bʿeltan (d. 790), Dionysius of Tell-Maḥrē (d. 845), Jacob bar Shakkō (d. 1241), and Gregory bar ʿEbrōyō (d. 1286). Across their works, the true religion motif follows a common structure: positively, it affirms Christianity as the true faith, based on fulfilled prophecy and miracles performed by Christ and his followers; negatively, it explains the acceptance and spread of religions other than the true one —most notably Islam—by appealing to all-too-human worldly motives such as coercion, material gain, ethnic or tribal solidarity, preference for easy teachings, or moral laxity. Writing in the context of the Islamic empire, all four authors adapted this apologetic model to different intellectual and social settings. Giwargis of Bʿeltan deploys the “true religion” argument in biblical exegesis to confront early Muslim criticisms of the scriptural integrity of the Gospel. Dionysius of Tell-Maḥrē integrates the motif into his historical narrative, offering a counter-history of the rise of Islam. Jacob bar Shakkō embeds the apology within a systematic theological framework that rationalizes Christian belief against Islamic objections. Finally, Gregory bar ʿEbrōyō, writing in a scholastic register, presents a more irenic yet theologically firm version of the argument. Taken together, these texts illustrate how the true religion apology functioned as a durable and flexible discourse through which Syriac Christians responded to the dominant religio-political order. Far from being a static polemical form, it operated as a counter-political theology: affirming the legitimacy of the Christian faith while critically engaging with the Islamic empire’s theological claims and imperial ideology, and at the same time explaining Christian political marginality.
Are you planning to present a poster at an upcoming conference, meeting or symposium? This introductory session will provide you with some top tips on how to create a poster presentation which will help you to communicate your research project and data effectively. There will be guidance on formatting, layout, content, use of text, references and images, as well as advice on printing and presenting your poster. This session will also provide help with locating resources such as templates, free-to-use images and poster guidelines. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to: evaluate the effectiveness of templates, formatting, text and images; and plan, prepare and present your poster. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student.
The newest Large Language Models (LLMs) engage in conversations through the use of prompts, and produce amazingly human-like output. Empirical studies have shown that people cannot reliably distinguish texts produced by chatbots from texts produced by humans. In some applications, they even find the chatbot output to be better than human output. LLMs seem to pass the Turing Test — does this mean are they intelligent? Should we worry that AI is on the verge of becoming more intelligent than we are? This talk will make a case that the Turing Test is a weak test of intelligence, failing to probe in depth how humans acquire, deploy, and adapt their remarkably large mental lexicons. During the great vocabulary spurt of toddlerhood, toddlers learn some six to eight words a day. The ability to create and understand new words continues throughout adulthood, making the lexical system the most plastic aspect of language. Experimental and computational studies show that these feats are achieved using avenues of abstraction that LLMs simply lack. These capabilities for abstraction provide efficiency and power in the acquisition and use of language by humans. Biosketch: Janet B. Pierrehumbert is the Professor of Language Modelling in the University of Oxford Engineering Science Department. She holds degrees in Linguistics from Harvard and MIT. Much of her Ph.D thesis work was done in the Department of Linguistics and AI Research at AT&T Bell Labs, where she also served as a Member of Technical staff until 1989. She then took up a faculty position in Linguistics at Northwestern University, establishing an interdisciplinary research effort in experimental and computational linguistics. She is known for her research on prosody and intonation, as well as her work on how people acquire and use lexical systems that combine general abstract knowledge of word forms with detailed phonetic knowledge about individual words. In 2015, Pierrehumbert moved to her present position in the the Oxford e-Research Centre at Oxford, where she also holds a courtesy appointment in the Faculty of Linguistics, Phonetics, and Philology. Her lab group currently focusses on Natural Language Processing, emphasizing questions about the robustness and interpretability of language models and the dynamics of language in communities. She is a fellow of the LSA, the Cognitive Science Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2019, She was awarded the Medal for Scientific Achievement from the ISCA (the International Speech Communication Association) in 2020, and was elected as a member of the Academia Europaea in 2024.
This paper explores how biological interactions between species shape human knowledge. Between 1919 and 1936 the Rockefeller-funded Jamaica Hookworm Commission toured Jamaica, attempting to tackle hookworm disease. Their aims, campaign head Benjamin Washburn always said, were 'educational as well as curative': they aimed to use hookworm as an educational tool to spread knowledge about 'living well' and create sanitary citizens out of the Jamaican labouring classes. Most Jamaicans did not know about hookworm (_Ancylostoma & Necator_ spp.), but they were familiar with what they called the 'greedy worm' (roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides), which they treated with wormweed (_Chenopodium ambrisoides_). This paper discusses how folk medical knowledge of one parasitic worm helped a biomedical disease control programme construct knowledge of a different parasite, and how this was underpinned by the biological relationships between the two worms. *Jonathan David Roberts* is a historian and biologist. Following an undergraduate degree in Combined Honours Biological Sciences and History at the University of Leeds and an MSc in the History of Science, Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford, he has recently completed a PhD at the University of Leeds. His PhD drew together biological and historical methods to explore the interactions of people, parasites and environments through comparative studies of hookworm in Jamaica, the Windward Islands and Cornwall between 1900 and 1936. He has also published on guinea worm, and particularly the guinea worm eradication programme of 1986-present.
In a democracy, trust cannot be commanded – it must be earned by government and freely granted by citizens. Yet the latest OECD Survey of Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions shows that 4 out of 10 people in 30 OECD countries have low or no trust in government. Of equal concern are findings from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills which show that 20% of adults struggle to read simple texts and underscore the strong correlation between skills levels and political self-efficacy. The significant share of adults who lack the skills to navigate complex digital information landscapes and who feel unable to influence political decisions is a major concern for modern democracies. Equally, governments’ inability to engage effectively with low skilled adults through citizen participation processes limits the evidence base on which public policies are designed. Bridging this gap will require concerted action on several fronts. The good news is that skills for citizen participation can be learned and that citizen participation in policy making itself builds valuable skills. Drawing on insights from OECD comparative data, the seminar will invite participants to explore ways we can help people build skills for citizen participation in schools, at work and in their communities – as an essential element of democratic resilience and renewal. Register for in-person: https://forms.office.com/e/mqFYx5PmX0 Register for online: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/862282bf-1bf6-426f-aa0d-8f0d2d63b05a@cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91
From meeting elephants in mountain gorilla habitat, and making the first study of elephants underground, in the caves of Mount Elgon, Kenya, to lobbying for apes and elephants at the UN, Ian Redmond has been an elephant advocate for half a century. Why? Elephants are keystone species in the natural habitats of 50 countries – 37 in Africa and 13 in Asia – and yet their numbers have fallen from tens of millions to under half a million in Africa and a tenth of that in Asia. The conservation of elephants and their habitat is essential for climate stability and healthy, biodiverse ecosystems; this could be financed by payment for ecosystem services attributable to these mega-gardeners of the forest and savannah. Speaker biography: Ian Redmond is an independent wildlife biologist and conservationist, renowned for his work with apes and elephants. He serves as the Born Free Foundation’s representative in FSC, was an Ambassador for the UN’s Convention on Migratory Species 2010-2024, is Head of Conservation for www.Ecoflix.com and a co-founder of www.Rebalance.Earth As well as research into gorilla parasites and underground elephants, Ian has led anti-poacher patrols, guided film crews and special interest tours into close encounters with apes, elephants and erupting volcanoes. His focus now is on the role animals play as #GardenersoftheForest, helping to fight climate change and biodiversity-loss, and lifting neighbouring communities out of poverty through payment for ecosystem services of animals (PESA).
Obesity is the fifth leading cause of death globally and one of the leading causes of disability. While the general medical impacts of obesity, including cerebrovascular complications, are relatively well-recognized, the less obvious effects on brain health are often overlooked. Obesity is frequently linked with brain cortical thinning, subcortical atrophy, accelerated brain aging, cognitive impairments, and an increased risk of dementia, even in absence of additional cardiovascular risk factors. This is particularly concerning in people with severe mental illness (SMI), where the rates of obesity are high and the brain effects of obesity and psychiatric disorders may interact. Indeed, we and others have demonstrated that obesity adds to brain gray and white matter alterations in SMIs. Variations in extent of obesity contribute to variations in extent of brain alterations in people with bipolar disorders or schizophrenia. Importantly, obesity related brain changes explain part of the cognitive impairment already in people with first episode of psychosis. Moreover, baseline weight or weight gain predict future acceleration of brain aging and hippocampal atrophy across SMIs. These brain effects could explain why obesity in SMI is associated with worse psychiatric outcomes, including greater psychiatric morbidity, chronicity, disability, functional decline, and worse responses to psychiatric medications. Monitoring weight and body composition thus becomes relevant for managing psychiatric, cognitive and brain health. Future research should investigate if prevention or treatment of obesity, i.e. with GLP1 agonists, could prevent or improve neurostructural changes and related psychiatric outcomes, including cognitive impairment.
awaited
Would you like to contribute to the discovery of new research materials in the Bodleian’s manuscript collections? And to learn something about editing early modern letters and approaches to digital humanities along the way? Then please sign up for our Bodleian Student Editions editing workshops. In this day-long workshop you will learn the skills to handle some of the Bodleian’s special collections and to read seventeenth- and eighteenth-century handwriting. No experience in history or historical texts is needed – we’ll teach you all you need to handle, read and transcribe these fascinating letters. Registration is required. Open to University of Oxford students only. Level – open to complete beginners and students from any subject, undergraduate or graduate.
This workshop will introduce participants to the key catalogues and finding aids for post-1800 archives and manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries. In particular the session will focus on Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts, the online catalogue for post-1800 archives and manuscripts. The session will also briefly introduce some of the major UK online gateways for discovering archives. The topics covered include: how to use the Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts online catalogue; other printed archive catalogues in the Bodleian Libraries; major subject areas covered in Bodleian archives and modern manuscripts; and national archive gateways. The workshop will include a question and answer session with Bodleian archivists. This session does not cover: Pre-1800 manuscripts (Medieval and Early Modern periods); or Manuscripts in Middle Eastern, Semitic, and Asian languages. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Open access publication of monographs and other longform works is an emerging movement, offering many opportunities to scholars looking to publish their research. With several major funding agencies now requiring longform open access publication, the impact of this is only set to grow. However, for those looking to publish their monograph open access, the novelty of this can present a challenge. What do funders require? What are the different publishing models? This webinar will cover the basics of this emerging field, including benefits, funder requirements, publication models and tools and resources. At the end of the session participants will be able to: explore the benefits of open access publication for longform works; consider the more challenging aspects of open monograph publication that that may not arise in traditional monograph publishing; follow the open access requirements of major funders for longform works; and understand the range of open access publication models offered by publishers. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
This talk explores why financial and economic literacy matter for citizens and why even highly educated people often struggle to make sense of policy, politics, and personal finance. Drawing on new research, Professor Michael McMahon will show that households rely on diverse mental models of the economy that differ sharply from those of experts. Encouragingly, even modest teaching interventions can align public understanding with economists’ views, improving forecasts and boosting trust in institutions. At the same time, evidence from central bank communication reveals that while policymakers have simplified their language, the underlying conceptual complexity of their messages remains high, making them hard to follow. Building on the 'three Es' of communication — Explanation, Engagement, and Education — the talk argues that better teaching, clearer communication, and genuine dialogue can help people think more like economists and engage more effectively in today’s complex economic environment. This talk is sponsored by EBC Financial Group.
Tuesday 11 November (week 5) Hosted jointly with the Medieval French Seminar What is an English Book? French Scribes, Scripts and Texts in England Julia Mattison (U of Georgia) Followed by a free buffet lunch
This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar Series. Join in-person or online: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
Differences in savings behavior between households with different incomes are key for wealth inequality. We propose differences in asset market access as a novel explanation for these differences. Decomposing household wealth into its main portfolio components, we document three new facts about the US wealth distribution: (i) wealth gaps are primarily driven by differences in asset market participation rather than investment amounts; (ii) participation heterogeneity mirrors differences in observed market access; and (iii) most wealth is accumulated through financial products with contractual savings flows, such as mortgage payments and retirement contributions. Motivated by these findings, we develop a life-cycle model of financial lifetime decisions: buying a home, starting a retirement plan, and becoming an entrepreneur. In the model, income-dependent access to mortgages and retirement plans shape household participation decisions, while financial contracts govern wealth accumulation of participants. The calibrated model closely matches observed participation and wealth accumulation patterns. Equalizing initially heterogeneous access increases wealth for the bottom half of the income distribution by 32%. With access heterogeneity, top-decile households realize five times more capital gains than those in the bottom quintile. Expanding access to retirement plans fosters broad-based wealth accumulation, a prediction supported by historical data.
Looking for time and space to focus on your writing? Come to our regular writing group meetings. This group is designed for scholars who engage with humour in their research, whether through literature, performance, media, history, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies, or other. We provide structured time for focused writing, support each other’s accountability, and offer a community for those who share an interest in the study of humour. Snacks, tea, and coffee will be provided.
American foreign and defence policy is in the throes of change. A new national defence strategy points to a reduced focus on Europe and a heightened emphasis on the western hemisphere in general and the American homeland in particular. Military action against Iran and alleged drug cartels offers preliminary evidence of how the president thinks about the use of force. But there are larger unanswered questions over the administration's approach to nuclear strategy, competition with China and the proper balance of forces between different theatres. To what extent can we identify coherent elements of a Trump doctrine? Shashank Joshi is Defence Editor at The Economist, where he covers a wide range of military and security issues. He is also a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Department of War Studies at King's College London. Prior to joining The Economist in 2018, he served as Senior Research Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). He was also a Research Associate at Oxford University’s Changing Character of War Programme. He has published books on Iran’s nuclear programme and India’s armed forces and holds degrees from Cambridge and Harvard, where he served as a Kennedy Scholar from Britain to the United States. He has given evidence to the House of Commons’ foreign and defence committees and to the House of Lords’ international relations and defence committee, as well as lecturing regularly to the UK Defence Academy. At The Economist he has reported extensively on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and his special reports have covered military technology, lessons from Ukraine and the future of intelligence.
This hands-on workshop is designed to help researchers strengthen their ability to communicate effectively with policy professionals. Across two 90-minute sessions, participants will develop a clearer understanding of how policy writing differs from academic writing, and why accessibility, clarity, and relevance are essential for impact. The first session sets the scene, exploring how research informs policy, why effective communication matters, and what makes writing resonate with non-academic audiences. Insights from researchers with direct experience of influencing policy will ground the discussion in real-world practice. The second session shifts to application. Through practical exercises and peer feedback, participants will learn how to plan, structure, and refine written outputs such as policy briefs, op-eds, and written evidence. Intended audience: Researchers, DPhil Students, and Professional Services Staff
Newspapers are a valuable resource for researching not only news but also many other aspects of political, economic, social and cultural life. In this session we will introduce key online sources of news and how to make best use of them. The focus will be on historical and contemporary newspapers from the 17th century across most countries of the world. After the session participants will understand: the value of newspapers in research; the difficulties of using newspapers in research and effective search techniques, and be able to use a range of sources for searching and reading including: historical newspapers; contemporary newspapers; and historical audio-visual news sources. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
What sort of space is the gallery under contemporary conditions of political authoritarianism and “too late” capitalism? In this paper, I use the profusion of engaged and politically committed art practices on display in galleries across Bangladesh to think critically about what happens to progressive and socially engaged aesthetic forms, their communities of practice, and sites of display, when the infrastructural, financial, and technological transformations of the 21st century realign the relationship between politics and aesthetics so that they leave behind their familiar 20th century articulations. By tracing the working conditions, formal qualities and digital extensions that mark contemporary aesthetic practice in Bangladesh, I suggest that the reconvening of forms and communities associated with the left in the expanded gallery is a consequence of our contemporary media and infrastructural conditions. These transitions are not unique to Bangladesh but part of 21st century reconfigurations of the relationship between politics and aesthetics. Lotte Hoek is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh. She is a media anthropologist whose ethnographic explorations of the moving image are situated at the intersection of anthropology and film studies and are grounded in theoretical debates emerging from South Asian contexts. She is the author of Cut-Pieces: Celluloid Obscenity and Popular Cinema in Bangladesh (Columbia University Press, 2014) and co-editor of Forms of the Left in Postcolonial South Asia: Aesthetics, Networks and Connected Histories (Bloomsbury, 2021). She is one of the editors of the journal BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies.
This lecture explores how digital academic education is being reshaped by the fusion of emotional governance and technological design. Drawing on 20 in-depth interviews with learning designers working in Israeli EdTech companies, I examine how these professionals—positioned between private platforms and public universities—construct educational environments that are simultaneously affective and algorithmic. At the center of this analysis is the concept of “supervised autonomy”, which captures a core paradox: students are imagined as autonomous, self-regulating learners, yet also as emotionally vulnerable subjects in need of constant technological oversight. Surveillance technologies such as learning analytics dashboards are reframed by designers as tools of emotional care and personalized support. This dual logic extends to the role of professors, who are reimagined as both emotional caregivers and performative presenters—expected to maintain engagement, deliver emotional connection, and respond to behavioral data. In this new emotional-technological architecture, autonomy becomes not a withdrawal from control, but a condition shaped and sustained through ongoing algorithmic monitoring and therapeutic discourse. The lecture argues that the digitalization of academic life cannot be understood solely through the lens of market rationality. Rather, it reflects a deeper cultural reordering—where emotional expectations are embedded into digital infrastructures, and educational roles are redefined through a convergence of care, performance, and control.
In this seminar, Susan Kahn draws upon her acclaimed biography, Canine Pioneer: The Extraordinary Life of Rudolphina Menzel, to discuss the long and complex life and legacy of Rudolphina Menzel (née Waltuch, 1891-1973). Kahn’s is the first biography of Rudolphina Menzel, a Viennese-born Jewish scientist. Menzel’s pioneering research on canine psychology, development, and behaviour fundamentally shaped the ways dogs came to be trained, cared for, and understood. Her research had far‑reaching impacts not only on German police and military dog‑training tactics, but also on the Zionist project. About Rudolphina Menzel: Between the world wars, Menzel was known all over Europe as one of the foremost researchers on canine cognition as well as among the most famous breeders and trainers of police dogs. Throughout the 1920s and until the Nazis seized power in 1933, she was a sought-after consultant at Kummersdorf, the German military dog training institute near Berlin. Menzel was also a devout Zionist who worked tirelessly to convince the leaders of the Yishuv that dogs could help build and protect the nascent Jewish state. In fact, teaching Jews to like dogs and training dogs to serve Jews became Menzel's unique kind of Zionist mission. In 1938, Menzel escaped Nazi-occupied Austria and moved to Palestine, where she launched a series of ambitious canine initiatives: she published the first dog-training manual in Hebrew, founded the Palestine Kennel Club, established the Palestine Research Institute for Canine Psychology and Training, and organised dog handling courses for the Haganah; hundreds of her trained dogs served alongside Jewish forces in the 1948 war, detecting mines, carrying messages, and pursuing enemies. In the 1950s, she created the first guide-dog institute in the Middle East and invented Israel’s national dog breed, the Canaan dog. In 1962 at the age of 71, she was appointed associate professor of animal psychology at Tel Aviv University. Speaker Details: Susan Kahn is Associate Director of the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at Harvard Law School. She received a PhD in Anthropology and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University. From 2003-2015, she served as Associate Director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard, Director of the Master’s Program in Middle Eastern Studies, and Lecturer in Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations; she received 14 Certificates of Excellence and Distinction in Teaching and was nominated for the Everett Mendelsohn Excellence in Mentoring Award. Her latest book, Canine Pioneer: The Extraordinary Life of Rudolphina Menzel, was published by Brandeis University Press in 2022. Her previous book Reproducing Jews: A Cultural Account of Assisted Conception in Israel (Duke 2000) won a National Jewish Book Award, the Eileen Basker Prize for Outstanding Research in Gender and Health from the American Anthropological Association, and the Musher Publication Prize, awarded biennially by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture for the outstanding dissertation on Jewish life in Israel or America. She teaches a course on “The History of the Jewish People” at Harvard Extension School. About the Programme: Jewish Women's Voices is a collaborative initiative by Dr Kate Kennedy, Director of the ‘Oxford Centre for Life-Writing’, and Dr Vera Fine-Grodzinski, a scholar of Jewish social and cultural history. The Programme is the first of its kind at any UK academic institution. Launched in October 2023, the Programme celebrates the life-writing of Jewish women often underrepresented in mainstream history accounts. The Programme is a three-term seminar series dedicated to exploring the diverse experiences of Jewish women across centuries, countries, and cultures. Further information about the Programme can be found here. Further Details and Contacts: This hybrid event is free and open to all. Registration is recommended for in-person attendance and required for hybrid attendance. The seminar will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 10:30 on 11 November 2025. Any queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
In this lecture, Dr Fischer presents Religious Zionism, the right-wing religious nationalist movement, which despite representing 12-16% of Israel’s population, has a prominent and influential place in the current ‘fully’ right-wing government. In contradistinction to previous research, he argues that this movement, which initiated and led the settlement movement in the West Bank and the Golan Heights, is best understood not as a fundamentalist movement, but as a religious romantic nationalist enterprise that at its philosophical core emphasises modern notions, such as self-expression and self-realisation. Thus, not only does it adopt important components of the modern cultural programme, it also presents a religious theory of modernity. He briefly examines how opposing religious Zionist sub-streams developed in response to the political and cultural challenges that the broader Israeli society and government posed. Finally, Dr Fischer discusses the impact of recent developments: 1) the increasing acceptance of religious nationalism among the general Israeli public; and 2) the extensive Religious Zionist participation (and sacrifice) in the prosecution of the Israel-Hamas war. Dr Shlomo Fischer is a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem. Until his retirement, he taught sociology in the School of Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has published extensively on religious Zionism and the Shas movement. His research interests include religion in Israel and its intersections with politics and class, the American Jewish community, and the relations of religious and civic education. His book, 'Expressivist Religious Zionism: Modernity and the Sacred in a Nationalist Movement' was published in December 2024.
In this session we will examine metrics for individual researchers. Using tools such as Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus you will learn about the researcher h-index and its limitations. You will be introduced to additional metrics tools such as author beamplots which help to contextualise a researcher’s output over time. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: accessing citation data for specific researchers on Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar; understanding how the h-index is calculated and its inherent limitations; creating an ORCID number to help track all your own research outputs; and the importance of research outputs beyond journal and conference papers when assessing a researcher’s impact. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Questions of class consciousness and of cultural belief and practice have dominated historiography on rural society’s responses to the socialist revolution in Mozambique, undertaken by the liberation front and governing party Frelimo shortly after independence in 1975. Frelimo uprooted rural people from dispersed, familial homesteads into new communal villages, with collective settlement and agriculture. Representations of villagers as ‘class’ or ‘cultural’ subjects have treated their social and political behaviour as undifferentiated within families, and de-emphasised strategies and choices amidst rapid political change. My interest is in the history and legacies of villagisation to consider the villages as spaces that were transformative of institutional and familial authority, and in which we can find how the state embroiled in struggles over land within the family. I draw on fieldwork in Gaza Province among women who were young at independence. Family elders and senior wives historically mediated land allocation in Gaza. Generational conflict between relatives influenced young women’s responses to reforms and harsh realities of villages in surprising ways. They created new relations of farming and exchanged land plots, as sanctioned by local party officials. Gendering our viewpoints reveals how villagisation constructed the Frelimo state as an instrument of social transformation, which allowed a generation of women, for the first time in their lineage, to access land, if precariously, independently of kin.
This paper introduces a method to study the impact of policy events on equilibrium selection in settings where strong complementarities may lead to multiple equilibria and coordination failures. Many industrial policies are rooted in the idea of coordination failures and big-push' theories, yet empirical evidence on their effectiveness remains limited, since distinguishing equilibrium shifts from direct changes in fundamentals is challenging. Leveraging tools from industrial organization and algebraic geometry, I develop an approach to study coordination effects without imposing strong assumptions on the distribution or responsiveness of economic fundamentals. The method identifies the `types' of factual and counterfactual equilibria through a three-step procedure: model estimation and inversion, equilibrium enumeration, and type assignment. Types of factual equilibria may be used to examine how events, like urban infrastructure, subsidy drives, or trade liberalization, affect equilibrium selection. Types of counterfactual equilibria further allow decomposition of observed effects into fundamentals- versus coordination-driven. I apply this method to study industrial zones in India. Using a newly assembled dataset, I find that municipalities receiving an industrial zone see a 60% increase in non-farm employment over 15 years, with significant spill overs to non-targeted sectors and municipalities. Combining the methodology with event study designs, I find that industrial zones increase the probability of escaping a low-industrialization equilibrium by 38%, with coordination effects explaining roughly one-third of the observed change in outcomes.
This is a special Seminar Series hosted by the Brazilian Studies Programme. Tim Power is a comparative political scientist with a deep commitment to interdisciplinary area studies. Currently Head of the Social Sciences Division, Tim arrived in Oxford in 2005 to take up a joint appointment in Area Studies and the Department of Politics. From 2008 to 2012 he directed the Latin American Centre, and he became Head of the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) in 2018. Tim's research concerns democratization and political institutions (parties, legislatures, and elections) in modern Latin America, especially Brazil. With Cesar Zucco (Fundacao Getulio Vargas), and also co-directs the Brazilian Legislative Surveys, which have recorded the opinions of Brazilian politicians in every parliament elected since 1990. Tim has been working with several colleagues on the challenges of coalition government in presidential systems. Andreza de Souza Santos is Associate Professor and Director of the Brazil Institute at King’s College London. She is a leading political anthropologist whose research bridges urban studies, political economy, and development. She completed her PhD in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews and holds a master’s degree in Social Sciences jointly awarded by the Universities of Freiburg, Jawaharlal Nehru (Delhi), and KwaZulu-Natal (Durban). Before joining King’s College London, she was Director of the Brazilian Studies Programme at the University of Oxford, where she also served as Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher in the ESRC Urban Transformations portfolio. She has authored The Politics of Memory: Urban Cultural Heritage in Brazil and several edited volumes on subnational governance and urban transformation. Her research has appeared in leading journals such as The Lancet, Nature Human Behaviour, and Scientific Data. Andreza is also a Trustee of the IJURR Foundation. Malu Gatto is Associate Professor of Latin American Politics at the Institute of the Americas at University College London (UCL), where she also serves as Deputy Head of Department and Vice-Dean for Advancement & Alumni for the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences. Her work explores questions about political behaviour, representation, policymaking, and gender and politics with a regional focus on Latin America, especially Brazil, and has been published in various outlets, including Comparative Political Studies, the British Journal of Political Science, Party Politics and Politics & Gender. She is the author of Resistance to Gender Quotas in Latin America, published in 2025 by Oxford University Press. She has a DPhil from the University of Oxford and has previously been a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich, a Visiting Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. Saul Tourinho Leal is a preeminent Brazilian constitutional lawyer, who has also advised the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the Supreme Court of Israel. He holds a PhD in Constitutional Law from The Humboldt University of Berlin.
Kairos, Occasio, and Fortuna are complex facets of the same deity of luck, but at a certain moment in time a troubling, schizophrenic iconography came into being, which cast Lady Luck as a distinctively female force, both a capricious agent controlling the Wheel of Fortune and also as a body that could be either violently seized or wildly adored. This lecture will explore the uneasy sexualization of Fortuna in some early modern images such as an engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi in the Metropolitan Museum that bears the descriptive title _A Naked Man Holding Fortune by the Hair and Whipping Her_. Rather than simply cancelling an image as such, I would like to take the opportunity to reflect upon the ideological work that such artworks accomplished in their own time and to push us to think about how we can make sense of them as twenty-first-century viewers. *Maria H Loh* is Professor of Art History at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Previously she taught at UCL and CUNY Hunter College. She is the author of three books: Titian Remade. Repetition and the Transformation of Early Modern Italian Art_ (2007); _Still Lives. Death, Desire, and the Portrait of the Old Master_ (2015); and _Titian’s Touch. Art, Magic, & Philosophy_ (2019). She is currently working on two books: _Liquid Sky (On Visual Representations of the Early Modern Sky)_ and _Critical Fortune: Early Modern Lessons for the Twenty-First Century_.
*Eliga Gould* is the 2025-26 Harmsworth Professor of American History.
*Eliga Gould* is the 2025-26 Harmsworth Professor of American History.
All Welcome. The seminar will be followed by a drinks reception
In this talk, Prof. Jesus Lizana will present the latest research from the ZERO Institute at the University of Oxford on zero-carbon heating and cooling. The talk will examine the role of the building sector in achieving net-zero targets by 2050, drawing on new evidence from citizen-powered climate observations and projections to understand future shifts in heating and cooling demand. It will also showcase Oxford’s recent innovations in materials, software, and technologies to accelerate heating decarbonisation, alongside advances in sustainable cooling to support global climate adaptation. The presentation will discuss the key steps required to deliver resilient, net-zero building services worldwide.
In the fall of 1920, the Egyptian police found seventeen female corpses buried under the floor of five houses in the working-class district of Labban, Alexandria. Several men and women were charged with the mass killing, yet two sisters among them – Rayyā and Sakīna – came to be remembered as its main perpetrators. This paper interrogates the genealogy of such representation. It seeks to show how, months before the trial and with no police evidence, the Egyptian press presented Rayyā and Sakīna as the masterminds of the crimes and Rayyā, in particular, as the boss of the gang. The violation of domesticity, at a time when the home was seen as a unit of the national project, will emerge as a key element. In parallel, the representation of disempowered male criminals under a powerful female boss elicited social panic. Both the press and the first theatrical play on the case, in 1921, sought to reverse the perspective of the “woman on top”.
The past decade has witnessed a fundamental reconfiguration of Spain’s party system. What was once a stable two-party structure has evolved into a more fragmented and polarized multiparty landscape. This presentation examines the political, institutional, and societal causes and consequences of this transformation. It situates the fragmentation of the Spanish party system within a broader context of democratic stress and highlights key developments such as the secessionist challenge in Catalonia, the emergence of coalition governance at the national level, and the rise of a radical right party for the first time in democratic Spain. The analysis explores how these changes have reshaped patterns of party competition and political polarization, and reflects on the implications of Spain’s experience for understanding the dynamics of party system change and representative democracy in contemporary Europe.
Join OCLW for an evening with scholar and biographer Zachary Leader in conversation with Hermione Lee. ‘a case study, in effect, for the stakes of thinking about biography as an art.’ —Michelle Taylor, The Nation Richard Ellmann’s James Joyce, published in 1959, was hailed by Anthony Burgess as ‘the greatest literary biography of the twentieth century’. Frank Kermode thought the book would ‘fix Joyce’s image for a generation’, a prediction that was if anything too cautious. The biography won the National Book Award and durably secured Joyce’s standing as a preeminent modernist. Ellmann’s Joyce provides the biography of the biography, exploring how Ellmann came to his subject, gained the cooperation of Joyce’s family and estate, shrewdly, doggedly collected vital papers and interviews, placated publishers, thwarted competitors, and carefully balanced narrative with literary analysis. Ellmann’s Joyce also removes the veil from the biographer—richly rewarded in public, admirable in private life, but also possessed of a startling secret life. The book constructs a powerful argument not only in support of Ellmann’s intellectual and artistic claims but also on behalf of literary biography generally. 'I have always been grateful to Ellmann for taking such a democratising approach to this most despotic of authors, just as I am now to Leader for following suit […] what Zachary Leader gives us is a richly researched, nuanced portrait of the earlier life and working processes of a writer who not only shone light into one of the great literary minds of the twentieth century, but, in the process, became one in his own right.' —Eimear McBride, Times Literary Supplement Speaker Details: Zachary Leader is an Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Roehampton. He is the author or editor of a dozen books on modern British and American literature, among them biographies of Kingsley Amis and Saul Bellow. He is the General Editor of The Oxford History of Life-Writing, a seven-volume series, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Hermione Lee was President of Wolfson College from 2008 to 2017 and is Emeritus Professor of English Literature in the English Faculty at Oxford University. She is a biographer and critic whose work includes biographies of Virginia Woolf (1996), Edith Wharton (2006), Penelope Fitzgerald (2013), and Tom Stoppard (2020). She has also written books on Elizabeth Bowen, Philip Roth, and Willa Cather, an OUP Very Short Introduction to Biography, and a collection of essays on life-writing, Body Parts. She was awarded the Biographers’ Club Prize for Exceptional Contribution to Biography in 2018. From 1998 to 2008, she was the Goldsmiths’ Professor of English Literature at Oxford. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society of Literature and a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2023, she was made GBE for services to English Literature. She founded OCLW at Wolfson College in 2011. She has just completed a biography of the novelist and art historian Anita Brookner, which will be published in 2026. Further Details and Contacts: This in-person event is free and open to all. Registration is recommended. The event will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 1430 on 11/11/2025. Queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
In today's world of profound uncertainty, traditional decision-making frameworks fall short. Where appropriate, we can assess and evaluate probabilities for well-defined events. But when facing "deep" uncertainty, where we cannot even imagine all the possible futures, conventional methods become impractical. This talk by eminent statistician David Spiegelhalter explores some essential qualities for navigating our uncertain age. By cultivating imagination, humility and resilience, we can better face an unpredictable future—not by eliminating uncertainty, but by developing the capacity to adapt and recover when the unexpected inevitably occurs.
COURSE DETAILS During the course you will have the opportunity to manage a project. You will be able to apply the techniques you learn to a project that you bring along. Topics covered: project initiation, managing stakeholders and risk, time estimation, planning. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand more about: The importance of planning. The tools to make project management succeed. How to estimate the time a project will take realistically. The skills you need to be a good project manager.
TBA
Professor Sir Richard Peto will join members of the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences Oxford Tobacco Addiction Group (OxTAG) for an engaging lecture and discussion on the evolving landscape of tobacco use and cessation. Professor Sir Aziz Sheikh, Head of NDPCHS, will be chairing the lecture and closing remarks will be given by Professor Prabhat Jha, Head of the Nuffield Department of Population Health. Professor Sir Richard Peto is one of the world’s leading epidemiologists. His research on the current effects of smoking in various populations and his predictions of the future worldwide health effects of current smoking patterns have clarified the importance of smoking as a cause of premature death. This has influenced national policies and contributed to the large decreases in tobacco-attributed mortality in recent decades in some, though not all, major countries. The OxTAG session will explore new evidence from the department on e-cigarettes for quitting smoking and interventions for stopping vaping, early findings from the TRIDENT programme in mental health settings, and the team’s research stream focused on reducing health inequalities caused by smoking.
Can women influence household decisions through effective communication when they lack decision rights? We conduct a field experiment in India to test whether a communication training for married women impacts female labour supply, an important decision households make and a frequent source of intra-household disagreement. The treatment shifted women’s communication styles towards the techniques taught in the training. We find positive effects on labour supply and earnings but, consistent with theory, only for women who were more interested than their husbands in the women working. These effects last at least one year post-treatment and represent a 53% increase in earnings over this period. Mechanisms analyses suggest the labour supply effects come from women changing their husbands’ references rather than shifts in bargaining power. A back-of-the-envelope calculation estimates this treatment to be highly cost-effective at raising female employment relative to public vocational training. Written with Namrata Kala, MIT Sloan School of Management https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LgQtwvTMExxf49YvnkgWugxhffJ2rqlF/view
The world’s population is expected to increase by more than 20% in the coming decades, with this growth primarily occurring in urban areas and concentrated in specific regions. In the years ahead, we anticipate that metropolitan areas will continue to expand at a rapid rate, with some reaching populations of over 50 million. Simultaneously, other cities will contract due to low fertility, ageing populations, and demographic decline. In the upcoming years, cities will face the dual challenges of managing both expansion and contraction, while striving to become more livable and sustainable. In this talk, Rafael Prieto-Curiel will explore the challenges of making cities work for everyone. About the speaker Dr Rafael Prieto-Curiel is a Faculty Member at CSH Vienna, where he works on topics including violence, mobility, migration, and urban dynamics. He works for the OECD and the World Bank, where he conducts spatial and demographic analyses of cities. He is also Scientific Advisor at Aleph. Previously, Rafael worked on urban dynamics as part of the Peak Urban project at the University of Oxford's Mathematical Institute. Prior to this, he was employed by the Police Department and the Emergency Attention Centre in Mexico City (C5) as Director of Strategic Analysis where his work focused on crime forecasting, police and resource allocation. Rafael was awarded the “Science Breakthrough” award by the Falling Walls Foundation in 2024.
Join us for the inaugural Oxford Global Health Summit. An internal event to connect, celebrate, reflect, and shape Oxford’s collective engagement in global health. This event brings people together — to listen, share, and spark new conversations about Oxford’s role in global health. We’ll explore bold questions: • What should Oxford be doing in global health — today and tomorrow? • How can we respond most effectively to the real needs of people around the world? • How can we collaborate more meaningfully across disciplines and with partners in the Global South? We want to hear from you — your ideas for what the Oxford Global Health initiative should be doing. Event Highlights • Welcome from Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor • Presentation of Oxford Global Health’s strategic direction • Interactive panel – shape a shared vision for the future • Keynote address offering a grounded perspective on global health • Networking reception and visual exhibition 🎟️ ️ Registration required: https://forms.office.com/e/EYfAWJeaNd 📩 Questions? Contact the Oxford Global Health team at enquiries@globalheath.ox.ac.uk Read more about the Oxford Global Health initiative: https://www.globalhealth.ox.ac.uk/
The Adam Phillips Seminar at Keble The New Yorker has described Adam Phillips as ‘Britain’s foremost psychoanalytic writer’, and John Banville has praised him as ‘one of the finest prose stylists at work in the language, an Emerson of our time.’ He has been a regular writer for The London Review of Books, the Observer, and the New York Times for many years, and is the author of several books, including On Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored (1994), On Flirtation (1995), The Beast in the Nursery (1998), Darwin’s Worms (1999), Houdini’s Box (2001), Going Sane (2005), Side Effects (2006), On Balance (2010), Missing Out (2012), and Becoming Freud (2014). ‘The Poet’s Essay’ seminars take place three times a year. Each seminar lasts around one and a half to two hours. The series is free and open to all who wish to attend. There are no sign-up lists or reserved places, although there will be a small amount of required reading in advance of each seminar. Seminars focus primarily on American poetry of the twentieth century. A few weeks before each seminar, a handout will be made available via a downloadable link on this page, and at the meeting Phillips will introduce the material and lead the discussion. The series will pursue a wide range of ideas and issues, but recurring questions may include: Pragmatically, what is the problem the essay is trying to solve, or clarify that the poems can’t? What, if anything, about the poet’s future practice is being intimated or broached by the essay? What, if anything, does the poet’s essay add to or detract from our reading of the poems? Does the essay spoil, in any way, our reading of the poems? What is the poet’s essay persuading us not to do? Given the essay interrupts and continues an already ongoing cultural conversation, in what direction is the essay pushing the conversation? How is the poet in her essay persuading us, if at all, to read her poetry? What, if anything, is the poet’s essay telling us about how his readers might have failed him? What, if anything, is the poet’s essay telling us about his preferred reader of his poems? What, if anything, is the poet’s essay telling us about he mistrusts, or is unconvinced by his own poetry? How does the poet want our lives to be different after reading her essay? If we hadn’t read the poet’s essay what, if anything, might we have missed about her poems? Why might we prefer not having read the essay? Where, if anywhere in the essay, do we get a sense of the poet’s real enjoyment? Next Seminar The next seminar, on Kenneth Koch, will take place on Wednesday 12th November at 4.30 pm, Pusey Room. No tickets, free entry, all welcome. Reading material will be available via pdf link below. Enquiries: please contact Matthew Bevis.
Between about 1920 and 1955, especially in the USA and Britain, pictures began to be used in a variety of 'projective tests', which became influential in medicine, education, industry, and government. Some tested for 'intelligence', personality factors, and 'unconscious' mental inclinations; some were used in psychodiagnostic contexts (e.g., in identifying schizophrenia); and some were used in psychotherapy. The most well known, the Thematic Apperception Test, used photographs from magazines and other sources as well as well-known works of European and American art (especially in Symbolist and Expressionist traditions) and/or specially commissioned artworks. Subjects usually provided a 'story' for the pictures, which was then interpreted or even 'scored' by a clinician, often in quasi-psychoanalytic terms. The lecture considers the contexts and stakes of this enterprise, comparing and contrasting art-historical approaches to the interpretation of (the very same) pictures by projective test procedures. What were the theoretical bases of projective testing, including aesthetic ideologies? What can art and cultural historians learn from projective tests--and vice versa? *Whitney Davis* is Pardee Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History & Theory of Ancient & Modern Art and Professor in the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley.
Displacement is a key driving force of urbanisation and development in the world. It is structural, pervasive, and generational. Displacement drives development, land speculation, urbanisation and imperialism, pushing people off land, be that urban or rural. It feeds on inequality and social abandonment as much as it exacerbates it. Thus, some are subject to continuous rounds of displacement from spaces that they attempt to occupy and secure. For many then, displacement becomes part of their lives and their identities. The displaceability of subjects ultimately highlights their social and political marginalisation, their relegation to the edges of nations and cities. What does it mean to offer refuge in this age of displacement? To whom is this unstable protection offered and under what logics? These are particularly salient questions to explore within southern contexts, but also globally as we see the rise of anti-immigrant and anti-asylum politics. This talk explores some aspects of these questions, unpacking the ways in which displacement comes to shape southern urbanism drawing urban poverty, informality and forced migration scholarship into conversation with each other. About the speaker Romola Sanyal is Associate Professor of Urban Geography at the London School of Economics. Her work has appeared in a number of journals including Urban Studies, Political Geography, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Geoforum, Urban Geography, and Refugee Survey Quarterly. She is also co-editor of Urbanizing Citizenship: Contested Spaces in Indian Cities (with Dr Renu Desai, Sage Publishers, India) and Displacement: Global Conversations on Refuge (with Dr Silvia Pasquetti, Manchester University Press). The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall. Registration not required. All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk
Join online via Microsoft Teams by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3hfr23
We welcome the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Lord Hague, who will give this year's James Martin Memorial Lecture on the occasion of the School's 20th anniversary. We are living in an era of profound geopolitical and technological change. William Hague will outline how far today’s age of instability is a departure from the Cold War period and the optimistic decades that followed, and what today’s new era of danger and excitement means for the environment, health, society and economics. The Chancellor will go on to discuss how countries, institutions and individuals can cultivate resilience and embrace reinvention in order to succeed in this new era of instability.
Most well-known for mixing comics and health sciences librarianship, Matthew is an author/co-author of several book chapters, a scoping review on graphic medicine, and wrote the foreword for the Eisner-nominated comic Ripple Effects. He was the 2021-2022 President of the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table of the American Library Association, is the Treasurer for the Graphic Medicine International Collective. If there is one person the world who really should be talking to us about graphic medicine - it's him.
Join us for the Lester B. Pearson Inaugural Lecture, marking the appointment of Professor Krzysztof Pelc to this highly prestigious position. Professor Pelc will deliver his lecture on 'Passions, Preferences, and the Politics of Self-Binding'. Further information about the lecture: We make plans and then sabotage them—and so do governments. For people, this inner clash takes familiar forms: passions like anger, lust, gluttony, or the pull of distraction thwart our long-term goals. Yet governments are just as prone to temptation. Leaders give in to political passions when they attempt to preserve power at a cost to future welfare—by printing money ahead of an election, imposing distortionary tariffs to please domestic lobbies, or stoking majority sentiment against minority groups. What can the study of politics teach us about managing these competing impulses? When are self-imposed constraints a source of greater freedom, and when do they become a form of domination? Tackling these questions can help us design institutions that balance prudence and passion—and perhaps teach us to do the same for ourselves. More about Professor Krzysztof Pelc: Krzysztof Pelc is the Lester B. Pearson Professor in International Relations in the Department of Politics and International Relations. Prior to Oxford, he taught for over a decade at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada. His research lies at the intersection of international political economy and public international law, focusing on how the design of global rules shapes cooperation between states. He has written widely on international adjudication, the design of escape clauses, how societies compensate workers left behind by globalization and technological change, as well as the intellectual history of trade. His most recent book is “Beyond Self-Interest: Why the Market Rewards Those Who Reject It” (Bloomsbury). His current work examines preference formation—how we come to want what we want, and the implications for individual and collective welfare. The lecture will take place in South School, 17:30-18:30, followed by a drinks reception in North School, 18:30-19:30.
Muzium Pahang and the Contemporary Islamic Studies programme at St Antony's College Oxford present a two-day workshop to explore the fascinating maritime history of the Malay world. The workshop, ‘Pahang and the Sea’ will explore the maritime history of Pahang, Malaysia and its connections with the Islamic world, China and Europe. We have a fantastic line up of experts in the field from the US, UK, Europe and Malaysia who will be sharing their knowledge and research with us. Join us for a unique opportunity to network, exchange and learn about the maritime history of Southeast Asia. We look forward to welcoming you this 13-14 November 2025 at Oxford.
Who do you need to engage with in the policy world to achieve impact? In this workshop, we will help answer this and other questions by equipping Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) researchers, DPhil students, and professional services staff to identify and map the people and groups who influence or are impacted by their research, when it comes to policy engagement. Using stakeholder analysis frameworks and interactive exercises, participants will learn to identify and categorize their relevant audiences across government agencies and other pertinent policy actors. Learning outcomes: - A greater ability to identify, evaluate, and prioritise those in the policymaking community who may have an interest in policy-relevant research - A better understanding of: (i) the value of systematic stakeholder analysis; (ii) the guidance and resources available to support stakeholder analysis
Please join us for our first AI drop-in session with Dr Lei Clifton, Programme Director of the MSc in Applied Digital Health, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. Dr Anshul Thakur, Departmental Lecturer, Computational Health Informatics (CHI) Lab, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. Joshua Fieggen and Edward Phillips, DPhil Candidates, CHI Lab, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. Date: Thursday 13 November Where: BDI/OxPop Seminar room 1 Time: 11:00 – 12:00 Registration: https://forms.office.com/e/aaSwNhMNX9?origin=lprLink Do you have an AI-related question you would like to raise with the wider AI community? Submit your question in advance and join the drop-in session, where Dr Lei Clifton and her team will address your query. If you are keen to be part of the discussion but do not have a specific question, you are still very welcome to attend in person and follow the conversation. This is a valuable opportunity to engage with peers and exchange ideas. The session will be informal and conversational, encouraging participants to share perspectives on AI. There will be no fixed agenda or predefined topics; instead, the discussion will evolve organically based on the questions and interests brought forward on the day. Attendees are free to drop in, ask questions, and contribute to an open exchange of ideas. While the session will not feature presentations or detailed technical analysis, general advice will be shared, with an emphasis on applying AI thinking to real-world problems rather than exploring set topics in depth. 👉 Please note: this is an in-person event only.
Each year, White Storks (_Ciconia ciconia_) migrate north to breeding grounds in Europe and back south to their wintering grounds, as far afield as sub-Saharan Africa. These long-distance migrants are large, unmistakable in plumage and behavior, and synanthropic, living near humans and benefitting from anthropogenic environments. How did medieval communities in proximity to stork breeding colonies interpret the comings and goings of these birds? This talk presents preliminary findings on the development of interspecies, place-based temporalities between people and storks in northern France and the Low Countries. This region was a growing population center for the species and produced some of the liveliest renderings of storks in manuscripts c. 1250 to 1515. Focusing on depictions of storks in calendars and psalters produced around the Upper Rhine and drawing upon both zooarchaeological and written records of White Storks, I examine the possibility that depictions of storks’ arrival, departure, breeding, and behavioral choices may have acted as pictorial gauges for a combination of environmental, temporal, and climatic variables, calibrating formulaic occupational and liturgical schedules for seasonal variability by synchronizing them with the rhythm of the avian annual cycle.
Academic careers are often surrounded by persistent myths and assumptions about what success looks like, how to ‘make it’, and what working in academia is really like. In this third instalment of the Insight into Academia series, join us for a candid panel discussion exploring the lived realities of academic careers. This session brings together a diverse panel of academics to share honest insights into the challenges, choices, and opportunities they’ve encountered on their career journeys. Intended for aspiring academics, this event will help you build a more nuanced understanding of what working in academia entails — beyond the job title or CV. We will explore: * Career pathways that defy the "linear” model of academic progression * The pressures and pleasures of research, teaching, and academic service * Navigating precarity, imposter feelings, and sector change * What panellists wish they’d known earlier in their academic journey * You’ll have the chance to ask questions and hear directly from academics working in different contexts, fields, and roles. This series accompanies the "Academia and Higher Education sector briefing":https://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/academia available on the Careers Service website. Other sessions in the series: Insight into Academia: Academic Application Materials (17-Nov-25)
A key database for those researching the social sciences, medical sciences and physical and life sciences, Scopus encompasses more than 94 million records from 5000 publishers. This interactive session will cover basic and advanced searching, highlighting features unique to Scopus and recent updates to the database. Attendees will be encouraged to practice the tips explained during the session. This will be useful for those new to databases and a good refresher for experienced users. By the end of the session you will be able to: construct simple and complex searches; navigate filters; understand effective search query techniques; save and export results; and extract further information from your results. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
Following the very successful seminars series on J. R. R. Tolkien in 2023 and 2024 (for recordings see: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/fantasy-literature) we are pleased to announce a new round of presentations by Oxford academics on fantasy literature to run this Michaelmas Term (2025). These talks are aimed at students and members of the public and act as introductions to a range of writers and texts in the field of fantasy literature/weird fiction. The series is organised by the Faculty of English and hosted by Exeter College. All talks will be held in the Fitzhugh Lecture Theatre, Cohen Quad, Walton Street, Oxford (Exeter College’s annex), and run 1.00-2.00pm. Attendance is free of charge but we ask you to register using the link: https://english.web.ox.ac.uk/seminar-series-weird-and-wonderful
Every strongman national leader from Mussolini to MAGA has used pronatalism to stoke their political movements, with calls to embrace traditional family structures and nostalgia for patriarchal norms. But despite some short-term results they have not succeeded in reversing fertility decline. So why do they persist? I use Pyrrhic Defeat theory, drawn from criminology and the “war on crime” – which describes elite windfalls achieved through policy failures – to explain this pattern. Authoritarians today are riding a wave of popular panic over falling birth rates, and Great Replacement fears of immigration, so pronatalism serves their political needs even if the policies fail to raise birth rates. I discuss implications for liberal pronatalism as well. Chair: Jennifer Dowd
Phenotypic variation among individuals is thought to be caused by differences in genes and/or environmental conditions. Therefore, if these sources of variation are removed, individuals are predicted to develop similar phenotypes lacking individual variation. In sharp contrast to these predictions, we find substantial individual variation in behaviour among genetically identical individuals of the clonal fish, Poecilia formosa, that were isolated directly after birth into highly standardized environments. In order to study both causes and consequences of these individual differences, we developed a biomimetic robot - the so-called Robofish - that is able to integrate itself interactively into groups of fish. I will thus showcase my research on free-living Sulphur mollies (Poecilia sulphuraria) in Mexico that indeed use several mechanisms found in laboratory experiments to perform astonishing collective behaviors when faced with real predators in their natural habitats.
The aim of this presentation is two-fold: In the first part, Sophie Hinger will present results from a study on local negotiations around asylum accommodation. In particular, she will elucidate the decision- and sense-making processes of local governmental actors regarding the placement in and transfer between different types of accommodations in Germany. Conceptualising asylum accommodation as part of governmental arrival infrastructures, she will argue that asylum-seeking newcomers are channelled through urban space selectively and in a step-wise manner, producing differential arrival trajectories. In the second part of the presentation, Francina Guggenberger and Sophie Hinger will share reflections from an ongoing research project on the production of (knowledge on) urban spaces of migration in German cities, in which notions such as “arrival infrastructures” or “welcoming cities” are not used as analytical concepts, but are studied concerning their production, usage and circulation – notably between municipalities and research. Our analysis seeks to provide insights into how these concepts are (not) used to govern (forced) migration in and through the city. This (self-)reflexive turn enables us to examine the transfer or translation of knowledge between science and administrative practice, and to highlight and reflect on the role of researchers in the local production of urban spaces of migration. This seminar is hybrid. Join us in person at Berliner Institut für empirische Integrations- und Migrationsforschung (BIM), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, or participate online via Zoom by registering here: https://hu-berlin.zoom-x.de/meeting/register/-gKR4DPDTYyGjjDNcfym-g
While much effort has gone into developing mental health interventions for delivery in the Global South, the integration of evidence-based interventions into existing services is highly limited. Many factors contribute to this outcome, one of which is the lack of partnership with those who would receive and deliver interventions in their design. Through her UKRI Future Leader's Fellow award, Dr Salisbury has focused on the co-design of an adolescent perinatal mental health intervention in Kenya and Mozambique. During her talk, she will share her experience of working with adolescents and their communities and what she has learnt about using co-design techniques in the Global South. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Dr Tatiana Taylor Salisbury is Reader in Global Mental Health and Design at King’s College London (KCL). She is Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health at KCL and Co-Director of the Centre for Global Mental Health. She is a UKRI Future Leader's Fellow and trustee of the Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health. Her work blends human-centred design, systems thinking and implementation science to develop development of scalable and sustainable solutions to improve mental health. Tatiana's other interests include integrating mental health into physical health services, operationalising good quality mental health care, and engaging communities in intervention development and service delivery. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
In this talk, Oxford Martin School Visiting Fellow Cleo Verkuijl will present key insights from a 2023 UNEP assessment on the environmental, health, social, and animal welfare implications of alternative proteins, which she co-led alongside former IPCC and IPBES Chair, Bob Watson. The talk will also examine the technical, social, and political hurdles facing the alternative protein transition - including questions of equity and justice - and consider the opportunities for scaling alternative proteins in ways that support sustainable, healthy, and inclusive food systems.
2025 Annual Uehiro Lectures Lecture 2: Societal and Specific Dependency
Louise Michel journeyed far beyond France—enduring forced exile in New Caledonia and chosen exile in London; touring Europe in the early 1880s; and voyaging to Algeria in 1904, in the final months of her life. But unlike comrades such as Peter Kropotkin (and Mikhail Bakunin before him), she never visited America, as plans for her much-anticipated US lecture tour were scrapped in 1897 under intense U.S. government pressure. Yet even from afar, this celebrated—and infamous—anarchist orator, educational activist, and former Communarde made her presence felt across the United States both during and long after her lifetime. My forthcoming book Louise Michel in America uncovers her expansive influence on late-nineteenth-century American radicals—especially Emma Goldman, Voltairine de Cleyre, and Lucy Parsons—and her outsized presence in US culture at large. That Michel once mattered so much to so many reveals, I argue, not only nineteenth-century US radicals’ internationalist circuits of affiliation, but also how national borders—and her demarcation as French—continue to obscure the importance of those cross-national ties, despite decades of transnational scholarship and recent work tracing the Commune’s global ripples. As historian Constance Bantman notes, virtually no work has explored Michel’s legacy outside France or the activist networks she helped build in exile. Louise Michel in America recovers that riveting and untold story—and in doing so, helps us reframe both the Commune and nineteenth-century radicalism “on the move,” highlighting radicalism’s surprisingly prominent place in US print culture and what Kristin Ross calls the Commune’s enduring “centrifugal effects.” The talk I’ll be giving for this ALRS seminar session is drawn from my second chapter, “Epistolary Activism: Re-tracing Louise Michel’s US Radical Networks,” which recovers Michel’s under-appreciated footprint in US radical periodicals by way of her essays and speeches, but so too her unexpectedly broad circuits of affiliation with English, Italian, German and French-speaking radical circles through the letters she exchanged with US radicals. I argue this altogether overlooked epistolary archive helps to adumbrate not just how US radicals heard or read about Michel, but how they came to think with and be moved by her.
In this talk, Prof. Dr. Miriam Rürup will discuss the challenges of writing a history of the experience of statelessness. At the center of her research are the “victims” of the development of strong nation-states — those who experienced a fundamental loss of rights and security through the loss of their citizenship. The focus will, however, not only lie on the experience of loss, but also on those who translated their displacement into the creation of a diasporic community bound by their shared experiences of exile and trauma, as well as by a common cultural heritage. In her project, Prof. Dr. Rürup addresses German-Jewish migration history, embedding the story of refugees from Germany within the context of the massive population movements and migratory streams after 1933. How the question of belonging is played out in the experience of losing and regaining citizenship, or in phases of in-betweenness and statelessness, will be the central case study around which she explores the German-Jewish diaspora. The book will show to what extent they maintained their German-Jewish culture, and how this was reflected not only culturally but also in their continued ties to their country of origin — for example, through questions surrounding uncertain citizenship status, the experience of denaturalization, and the issue of regaining (or not) German citizenship after the war.
Universalism has become one of the most disputed aspects of the Enlightenment heritage. Some see in eighteenth-century thought a defence against relativism and particularism. Others, however, reproach the Enlightenment for having fostered thinking that is Eurocentric, colonialist, even racist. This lecture adopts a different starting-point. At the heart of the Enlightenment, we find no single theory of universalism but rather competing languages of the universal. There is a cosmopolitan universalism, based on the right of individuals; a progressive universalism, founded on the history of civilisation; and a critical universalism, that denounces the Europeans’ overweening pretentions. It is important to identify these multiple languages of universalism to properly understand the modern relevance of the Enlightenment.
This presentation is based on a collaborative research project with Tadashi Iwami (Hokkaido University) and Marc Barcelos (Aarhus University), exploring how Japan’s longest-serving prime minister Abe Shinzō strategically used emotional rhetoric to garner international support for his Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision. The study introduces an innovative methodology using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), a machine learning model capable of detecting and analysing syntax-sensitive emotional expressions in texts. Alongside presenting key findings, the talk offers a critical reflection on the opportunities and limitations of AI-based approaches to discourse analysis of Japanese texts, highlighting the important role Japan Studies can play in shaping scholarly engagement with digital transformation and computational methods in the humanities and social sciences.
John Morrill, ‘A glorious resolution’, in _The Nature of the English Revolution_ (1993), ch. 19; Blair Worden, _The English Civil Wars, 1640-1660_ (2010), chs. 4–5
The 2025 Thomas Harriot Lecture will be given by *Sylvia Sumira* on ‘Globes in the time of Thomas Harriot‘. Sumira is an independent conservator specialising in globes. After graduating in History of Art from Leicester University, she gained a post-graduate diploma in Conservation of Fine Art on Paper. She worked in globe conservation at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich for several years. Since setting up her own studio she has carried out extensive work for many clients including museums, libraries and other public institutions in Britain and abroad, as well as for private owners of globes. She is an accredited member of the UK Institute of Conservation and a Fellow of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Followed at 18:00 by an informal drinks reception to which all are invited. If you have any queries please contact: Professor Robert Fox "$":mailto:robert.fox@history.ox.ac.uk, or Mrs Rebecca Bricklebank "$":mailto:rebecca bricklebank@oriel.ox.ac.uk
The concept 'Knowing hands' captures how pre-modern people used their hands to think through things, such as macro-microcosm relationships, and to think with, as in cognitive processing. It also captures hand-based interventions. In medical care, these include pulse taking, needling, massage, and ritual healing as these methods also required one’s mind to be at one’s fingertips. This research lecture will cover the two dimensions of what is meant by 'knowing hands' specified in the subtitle; namely, 1) hand-memory techniques – how humans use hands to aid their cognitive processing – and 2) handy knowledge – what knowledge is grasped corporeally and conceptually with hands and so considered 'handy' enough to be embodied. To illustrate this two-part distinction between 'knowing hands', this lecture uses a range of examples from daily-use encyclopedias published during the Ming dynasty. These examples differ from the kind of hand-memory techniques and handy knowledge written about and illustrated in other types of sources in the previous Tang-Song period. This lecture will first lay out an approach to how to read for the history of 'knowing hands' in Chinese culture. It will then introduce the earliest examples of hand-memory techniques from the Tang-Song period. Then it will focus on the Ming-era daily-use encyclopedias as providing a new lens into wider uses of 'knowing hands'. Hand-based knowledge became new significantly in these encyclopedias. Everyday knowledge included how to use one’s hands to make calculations and do divinations as well as to learn, for example, how to play music, do martial arts, and use a bow and arrow. This lecture both introduces the new Knowing Hands project Dr Hanson runs with anthropologist Dr Stéphanie Homola (CNRS, Paris) and encourages others to consider integrating the history of hands into their research in other dimensions of the Chinese history of science, technology, and medicine. Marta Hanson publishes widely on the history of medicine in China, early modern Sino-European medical exchanges, and public health in East Asia. She has a PhD from the Department of the History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania. She was Assistant Professor of late imperial Chinese history at UCSD (1997-2004) and then Associate Professor of East Asian medical history at Johns Hopkins University (2004-2021). She is currently the German PI, with Stéphanie Homola as the French PI, for an ANR-DFG funded three-year project on ‘Knowing Hands: Chinese Hand-memory techniques and handy knowledge in situ, comparison, and contact’ (2025-2028). Her book is Speaking of Epidemics in Chinese Medicine: Disease and the Geographic Imagination in Late Imperial China (Routledge, 2011). She was senior co-editor of Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity (2011-2016), President of the International Society for the History of East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine (2015-2019), and is currently Vice President of the International Society for the Critical Study of Divination (2023-present). As part of the ‘Knowing Hands’ project, her current book manuscript, Grasping Heaven and Earth: The Mind in Hand in Chinese Medicine, examines how Chinese healers used their hands to think with, prognosticate, and heal.
This talk introduces Dr. Hiba Salem’s forthcoming monograph, which shares the stories of Syrian young people who have grown up in displacement. Drawing on life story interviews with Syrian refugee youth across nine contexts, the talk explores how they navigate life and aspirations amid hostile immigration policies and arrangements that enforce uncertainty. It reveals the disjuncture between the universal promise of education and the lived realities of displacement, situating their experiences within a dialogue between the fields of education and forced migration studies. By centring young people’s voices and their strategies of hope, their stories highlight the need to reconstruct narratives on forced migration by foregrounding the everyday struggles people face in exercising their universal rights to education, to work, and to build meaningful lives.
Developing an interpretable foundation AI model capable of generating and analyzing cloud structures and their behavior in novel aerosol-cloud interactions and climate feedback scenarios. Leveraging recent breakthroughs in conditional generative AI, such as those used for biological structure prediction and video generation, the model will integrate multi-modal, high-resolution satellite data. The resulting model will generate and reconstruct cloud structures under varying environmental conditions, significantly reducing uncertainties in climate prediction and facilitating the detection and quantification of cloud feedbacks across the satellite record.
Title to be announced The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
The MEMRN Committee are delighted to announce the return of the Winter Conference after the huge success of last year’s inaugural in-person event in Norwich. The MEMRN Winter Conference 2025 will be held from the 13-16 November 2025 at the University of East Anglia. Please find the provisional programme for our conference event here: https://memrnchase.wordpress.com/memrn-winter-conference-2025/. You can register to attend the conference panels virtually via Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1559240072029?aff=oddtdtcreator. Online registrations for the final few in-person spaces here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/chase-memrn-winter-conference-2025-tickets-1559240533409?aff=oddtdtcreator We hope to see you there!
The day will bring together leading academics, early career researchers and students across the Oxford Water Network whose research focuses on diverse facets of the global water security challenge. Partners in government, industry and utilities will also join the discussions to address the challenge of managing water in an increasingly water-stressed world, exploring how to build resilience and tap into water adaptation potential amidst a looming climate crisis. Oxford Water Day will include presentations from early career researchers, career networking, posters, and a keynote presentation. Lunch and refreshments will be provided, and optional drinks reception will be taking place at the end of the day. Register your interest here: https://forms.office.com/e/sej1i0HUpj Check out the call for abstracts here: https://forms.gle/41U8yVEdnGTXNMwY8 If you are based in Oxford or in close proximity or are planning to stop by, save the date in your calendar and stay tuned for more details.
Cell and tissue movement during development, immune response, and cancer invasion depends on chemical or mechanical guidance cues. In many systems, this guidance arises not from long-range, pre-patterned cues but from self-generated gradients locally shaped by cells. However, how heterogeneous cell mixtures coordinate their migration by self-generated gradients remains largely unexplored. In this talk, I will first summarize our recent discovery that immune cells steer their long-range migration using self-generated chemotactic cues (Alanko et al., 2023). I will then introduce a multi-component Keller-Segel model that describes migration and patterning strategies of heterogeneous cell populations (Ucar et al., 2025). Our model predicts that the relative chemotactic sensitivities of different cell populations determine the shape and speed of traveling density waves, while boundary conditions such as external cell and attractant reservoirs substantially influence the migration dynamics. We quantitatively corroborate these predictions with in vitro experiments on co-migrating immune cell mixtures. Interestingly, immune cell co-migration occurs near the optimal parameter regime predicted by theory for coupled and colocalized migration. Finally, I will discuss the role of mechanical interactions, revealing a non-trivial interplay between chemotactic and mechanical non-reciprocity in driving collective migration.
TBC
Zotero is a reference management tool that helps you build libraries of references and add citations and bibliographies to word processed documents using your chosen citation style. This classroom-based session covers the main features of Zotero and comprises a 45-minute presentation followed by practical exercises at the computers. You can leave at any point once you have tried out the software, and do not have to stay until the end. The learning outcomes for this classroom-based session are to: create a Zotero library and add references to it; edit and organise references in your Zotero library; add in-text citations and/or footnotes to your word-processed document; create bibliographies; understand how to sync your Zotero library across multiple computers; and understand how to share your Zotero library of references. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
What does ‘datafication’ mean for our bodies? In this reading group we will discuss self-tracking, self-surveillance, and the transformation of the body into data using technologies as diverse as the BMI scale and the Smart Watch. While the reading is focussed on contemporary technology, we will also consider the historical precedents for self-tracking such as religious practices and healthcare. Reading: Lupton, D. (2016). 'An Optimal Human Being' in _The Quantified Self_ and Crawford, K., Lingel, J., & Karppi, T. (2015). 'Our metrics, ourselves: A hundred years of self-tracking from the weight scale to the wrist wearable device’.
Using measures of monetary policy surprises identified from the Overnight Indexed Swap market in India, this paper documents heterogeneity in the effects of monetary policy surprises on scheduled and unscheduled announcement dates. Higher interest rates on scheduled announcement dates lower stock prices, reduce forecasted and actual output as well as inflation. In contrast, monetary policy surprises on unscheduled announcement dates are predictable by past macroeconomic conditions, frequently coincide with macroeconomic data releases, raise stock prices, output and inflation on impact. These results are consistent with less precise identification of exogenous changes in monetary policy on unscheduled announcement dates compared to scheduled announcement dates. Monetary policy transmission in India, identified using monetary policy surprises from scheduled announcement dates, is found to be significantly stronger than previously documented.
We study a seller's choice between offering a finished or unfinished product. Finishing the product is costly and fully reveals its value to prospective buyers, while selling it unfinished introduces uncertainty about the product's value and requires buyers to complete development themselves. Under symmetric information—i.e., when the seller also observes the value of a finished product—it is optimal to offer a finished product whenever development costs are low. Under asymmetric information, however, finishing the product introduces informational frictions. We characterize the conditions under which the product is offered finished despite these frictions, in order to discourage consumer search.
Puzzled by PICO? Daunted by databases? Baffled by Boolean? This one-hour online introductory class will offer top tips and advice on how to find literature to answer a research question. No prior experience necessary! Together, we will break down a question into the PICO format, put together a structured search, and try it out in PubMed. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what structured searching is, and when to use it; break your research question down into searchable concepts; and make use of Boolean operators (ANDs/ORs) in your structured searches. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapters 6 & 7 Supplementary: Peter Kropotkin, ‘The Spirit of Revolution’ (1880); Jo Freeman, ‘The Tyranny of Structurelessness’ (1972)
Intraspecific variability is a fundamental component of biodiversity, playing a crucial role in both adaptation and speciation. Yet it remains largely overlooked in studies examining species’ sensitivity to habitat change. Most research in this area has focused on species-level traits – such as morphology or behaviour – as predictors of vulnerability to deforestation. In this talk, I challenge this prevailing approach by presenting evidence that intraspecific variation in response to habitat change rivals, or even exceeds, interspecific differences. I will also discuss recently published and ongoing work exploring the ecological drivers of this variation, and highlight its implications for biodiversity conservation strategies. Biography Cristina Banks-Leite is Professor of Biodiversity Change in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. Her research focuses on measuring, understanding, and mitigating biodiversity loss across tropical and urban ecosystems. She integrates technologies such as bioacoustics, AI, and molecular tools to monitor biodiversity in novel ways. Cristina leads long-term collaborations with organisations including reforestation companies in Brazil and the City of London Corporation, applying her expertise to real-world conservation challenges. Her work has influenced policy in multiple countries, including legislation in Brazil and infrastructure planning in Costa Rica, and has been cited in over 40 policy documents worldwide. She has received multiple awards and was named one of 15 influential female researchers in the UK. Cristina has served as trustee for BES and INTECOL, and on editorial boards of three international journals. She is currently the academic lead for gender equality in her department, having coordinated the successful submission of an Athena Swan Silver Award. Seminar followed by Q&A and drinks - all welcome - join in person or online
As global powers compete for influence across Africa, Europe faces a complex challenge: how to safeguard its southern neighbourhood while supporting African-led peace, security, and development. In this talk, Charlie Stuart, Senior Diplomat and Chief Peace & Security Advisor on Africa at the European External Action Service (EEAS), will examine the evolving dynamics of Europe-Africa relations, from security partnerships and migration management to strategic competition with China and Russia. Drawing on his extensive diplomatic experience, Stuart will offer an insider’s view on how the EU seeks to balance values, interests, and geopolitical realities in protecting Europe’s southern flank.
The English Civil War caused unprecedented casualties and suffering, deeply dividing communities and leaving a lasting legacy that parallels modern conflicts. Research has mainly focused on the Civil Wars' effects on victims, rarely addressing those who perpetrated acts of violence, many of which exceeded the limits of what was acceptable to contemporary society. This period was marked not only by violence but also by the early codification and enforcement of laws of war, with a variety of legal proceedings used to address breaches of conduct. Examining the interaction between perpetrators and justice processes highlights how individuals narrated their actions for public audiences, how legal mechanisms are developed to bring them to justice, and how these dynamics affected reintegration, collective memory, and post-conflict reconciliation. This talk will explore these themes by using a case study drawn from the New Model Army’s occupation of Dundee during the 1650s. *Ismini Pells* is a Lecturer at the University of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education. She is an historian of the early modern period, specialising the British Civil Wars. She is the author of _Philip Skippon, Philip Skippon and the British Civil Wars: The "Christian Centurion"_ and has published articles and chapters on various military and medical topics relating to the Civil Wars. She was Project Manager of the Civil War Petitions project (https://www.civilwarpetitions.ac.uk). Ismini is President of the Cromwell Association, a trustee of the Battlefields Trust, sits on the Council of the Army Records Society and is a judge for the Society for Army Historical Research’s Templer Medal. Please use the booking link below to register for in-person and remote attendance.
Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This online session will introduce you to EndNote, a subscription software programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily. On completing the workshop you will be able to: understand the main features and benefits of EndNote; set up an EndNote account; import references from different sources into EndNote; organise your references in EndNote; insert citations into documents; and create a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
How can I make my job application stand out from the crowd? Whether it is for a PhD, postdoc, lectureship, or fellowship, a strong CV and supporting materials are vital to unlocking the next stage of the application process. During this session we will share examples to explore the key building blocks of a strong academic CV and cover letter, and work through how best to present your skills and experience. This session will focus on application materials for academic research and teaching positions only. By attending, you’ll: • Understand the typical structure and content of academic CVs • Explore the variety, structure and content of academic personal statements, statements of purpose, and other related academic application materials • Gain access to resources including template academic CVs and Cover Letters To get the most out of this workshop we strongly encourage you to look at the "'Academic Applications' page":https://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/academic-applications of our website before you attend.
We have identified that WNK1 kinase is required for both T cell activation and migration. In kidney epithelial cells, in response to hyperosmolarity, WNK1 phosphorylates and activates the OXSR1 and STK39 kinases. These phosphorylate the SLC12A-family of ion transporters, resulting in influx of Na+, K+ and Cl- ions, and subsequent water entry by osmosis. Unexpectedly, we show that TCR stimulation in CD4+ T cells leads to WNK1 activation and subsequent WNK1 signalling results in water influx through Aquaporin 3 (AQP3). This water influx is required for early TCR signalling in and for entry into cell cycle. Furthermore, we show that CCR7 chemokine receptor signalling leads to activation of WNK1 at the leading edge of migrating CD4+ T cells, resulting in ion influx and consequent water entry by osmosis through AQP3. This water entry swells the membrane at the leading edge, generating space into which actin filaments can polymerize, thereby facilitating forward movement of the cell. Thus, WNK1-regulated ion and water influx play critical roles in T cell activation and migration. This requirement may extend to many other immune and non-immune cell types.
Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm. Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
Success in collaborative learning tasks requires socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL). SSRL involves learners working together to understand the task, set common goals, plan and implement strategies to achieve those goals, and adapt their understanding and strategies if their progress is not on track. SSRL is particularly important in collaborative inquiry tasks, where students need to discover knowledge that is new to them. However, collaborative inquiry tasks may pose various obstacles that can trigger the need for SSRL, such as difficulties in making sense of the task or understanding complex science concepts. To provide real-time support for SSRL, recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled new approaches to detecting these SSRL triggers. In this seminar, I will introduce our metacognitive AI agent (MAI), which augments SSRL by raising students’ metacognitive awareness of these SSRL triggers in authentic secondary school science inquiry classrooms. Based on our empirical insights, I will discuss the challenges and opportunities of leveraging human-AI interactions to empower agentic students in collaborative inquiry tasks. Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
This talk will explore the development of next-generation diagnostic technologies for infectious diseases, with a particular emphasis on point-of-care applications and deployment in low- and middle-income countries. It will discuss the integration of molecular biology, engineering, and data-driven approaches to create rapid, affordable, and scalable tools for both clinical and field settings. Drawing on recent work within the Fleming Initiative, the Wellcome Trust–funded CAMO-Net, and the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Digital Diagnostics for African Health Systems, the talk will highlight efforts to translate cutting-edge research into real-world impact, addressing critical challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, outbreak preparedness, and equitable access to diagnostics. The presentation will also reflect on the translational pathway from academia to industry. Dr Jesus Rodriguez Manzano is an Associate Professor (Reader) in Diagnostic Technologies and Deputy Director of the Centre for Antimicrobial Optimisation at Imperial College London. His research bridges molecular diagnostics, data science, and clinical translation, focusing on technologies to tackle antimicrobial resistance and emerging infectious diseases. He is an Expert Advisor to the Fleming Initiative and serves as Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of ProtonDx, an Imperial College London spin-out company delivering rapid molecular diagnostic tools from bench to field. https://profiles.imperial.ac.uk/j.rodriguez-manzano
Denunciations are prevalent in authoritarian regimes. Citizens turn against each other to report suspicious behaviour to the police state. But citizens may also have incentives to spread false information about their peers. In this context, can denunciations ever be informative? And, if so, what factors impede or facilitate the informativeness of denunciations? We design a formal model of denunciations in a large society. We show that denunciations are informative despite the certainty that some denunciations are false. \red{Future works will} highlight the complementarities between using informants and relying on denunciations for the secret police. We will also study how the regime can encourage denunciations and what it gains and potentially loses from incentivizing people to inform on one another.
HDRUK Oxford Monthly Meetup, Monday 17 November 2025, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Speakers: 1) Professor Jennifer Quint, Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology, Imperial College London 2) Dr Hannah Whittaker, Research Fellow, Imperial College London Mode: Hybrid In person venue: St Luke's Chapel, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG To attend online – please register (link below) Short Bio: 1) Professor Quint is a Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology in the School of Public Health at Imperial College London. She is an Honorary Consultant Physician in Respiratory Medicine at both the Royal Brompton Hospital and Imperial College London NHS Trust. She leads the Respiratory Electronic Health Record group, a clinical epidemiology research group whose interests centre on using various sources of de-identified, routinely collected electronic healthcare records to study a number of respiratory diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, interstitial lung disease, bronchiectasis and most recently COVID-19. Work centres on maximising the quality, linkage and usage of these data for clinical and research purposes. Research topics include understanding the relationship between cardiovascular and respiratory disease, respiratory disease prevention, diagnosis, natural history and management. Many of the outputs are used for informing policy, and in the planning and allocation of resources. 2) Dr Whittaker is a HDR UK funded early career research fellow in electronic healthcare records at the School of Public Health. Her work focuses on investigating inequalities in the burden of chronic respiratory diseases using electronic healthcare records. Hannah obtained her PhD in Epidemiology at NHLI, Imperial College London, which focused on characteristics associated with lung function decline in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease patients using electronic healthcare records. She obtained an MSc in Social Epidemiology from University College London and has a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences (Pharmacology) from the University of Edinburgh.
This session will cover some more advanced techniques for finding medical literature to answer a research question. We will recap some basics, then demonstrate searching in several medical databases, including using subject headings (MeSH) and the differences between platforms. After the main 90-minute workshop, one of the Bodleian Health Care Libraries Outreach Librarians will be available for another 30 minutes to answer questions about your own searches, so feel free to bring along what you are working on. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what subject headings are, and how to use them; search for words that appear near to other words; take a search from one database into another; and save a search and document it. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student
Al-Qānūn al-Muqaddas (‘The Holy Canon’), preserved solely in MS árabe 1623 of the Royal Library in El Escorial, is the only extant corpus of Christian-Arabic canon law surviving from al-Andalus. Copied in 1050, it is a translation and unique variant of the Iberian compilation of conciliar acts and papal decretals known as the Collectio Hispana. The Arabic canons of al-Qānūn al-Muqaddas, revised and paraphrased during its translation, are an invaluable source for the internal governance, legal affairs, and theopolitical beliefs of Andalusi Christians. Recent reassessments have tied the collection to the wider history of canon-legal translations taking place across the Islamicate world, positing shared influences and preoccupations. In turn, this source has opened new avenues to assess the impact of Islamic institutions on the evolution of the Andalusi church. In this vein, this paper examines the Arabic terminology that Andalusi Christians employed to define clerical authority in al-Qānūn al-Muqaddas. Though rooted in the Latin source and culture at its base, the collection evinces the profound penetration of Islamic political and religious ideas into the governance of the church in al-Andalus. While the use of words such as sulṭān and mulk to define a bishop’s potestas suggests a familiarity with a common cache of Arabic terms for worldly authority shared with Eastern coreligionists, the rendition of Latin ordinatio as tawliya (the bestowal of wilāya) reveals a deeper engagement with Islamic notions of theopolitical leadership. Each is tightly imbricated within an internal discourse on the character of clerical authority in al-Qānūn al-Muqaddas. The centrality of wilāya (and its verbal root w-l-y) in this discourse, I argue, is the result of a careful negotiation between the joint religious and political associations inherent to both Latin ordinatio and Arabic wilāya. Crucially, Muslim thinkers of distinct traditions (Sunni, Shi‘a, Ismaili, Sufi, etc.) cultivated the Qur’anic concept of wilāya over the course of the 7th-11th centuries. Intimately tied to notions of legitimate political rulership and the social institution of patronage (walā’), the theological doctrine of wilāya became firmly attached to Islamic beliefs surrounding sainthood, the imamate, and proximity to God. Distinct categories (walāyat Allah) and hierarchies (awliyā’ Allah) of spiritual leadership developed at the same time as Islamic political theory itself developed. Consequently, in al-Qānūn al-Muqaddas, the canons on clerical ordination provided a space to ponder the nature of the authority conferred onto clerics in the process. The terminology of wilāya created a new conception of the clerical hierarchy as bishops were labeled walī-s (awliyā’) and the ordained mawlā.As this paper argues, the Qānūn’s translators employed the Islamic concept of wilāya (and its Qur’anic, theological, and political associations) to redefine the priesthood and Christian leadership under Muslim rule. In so doing, Andalusi Christians partook in a Mediterranean-wide discourse on the nature of holy authority that served to fortify their own ecclesiastical institutions against the challenge of Islam
*_This seminar is co-organised with the research project NOTCOM (https://mfo.web.ox.ac.uk/erc-project-notcom-common-notion-science-and-consensus-seventeenth-century), at the Maison Française d’Oxford_* Book II of the _Novum organum_ begins as follows: “The work and aim of human power is to generate and superinduce a new nature or new natures on a given body.” (NO II.1) The transformation of bodies is thus central for Baconian science, as it is for the alchemist. In the _Novum organum_, Bacon suggests that there are two strategies for the transformation of bodies. The one regards bodies as collections of simple natures, and goes by discovering the form of each of the simple natures and imposing it on a body. The other goes by observing how bodies are transformed in nature (the latent process) and imitating it in the laboratory. (NO II.5) The much-discussed illustration of the method in the _Novum organum_ is exclusively of the first kind. (NO II.10-21). This is what most commentators mean when they talk about Baconian method. But in the _Sylva Sylvarum_, Bacon illustrates the second strategy. Using the example of transforming a body into gold, I will discuss Bacon’s second method, and contrast it with the first. I will suggest that its employment in the _Sylva_ may represent a change in his views on what the method of inquiry should be. *Daniel Garber* is the A Watson Armour III University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. Garber's principal interests are the relations between philosophy, science, religion and society in the period of the Scientific Revolution. Garber is the author of _Descartes' Metaphysical Physics_ (1992), _Descartes Embodied_ (2001), and _Leibniz: Body, Substance, Monad_ (2009) and is co-editor with Michael Ayers of the _Cambridge History of Seventeenth-Century Philosophy_ (1998), the editor of a number of collections, and author of numerous articles.
Youth can play a central role in promoting positive intergroup relations and advancing constructive engagement in conflict and divided societies. Their potential as agents of change, however, remains relatively under-explored in the research literature on prejudice reduction and collective action within social psychology. Drawing on theoretical models, including the empathy-attitudes-action model, social identity theory and intergroup contact theory, I present an ongoing programme of research that examines the factors that influence youth intergroup relations in divided societies and explores how, when, and why youth engage in or demonstrate positive intentions towards constructive action- at the interpersonal, collective, and structural levels. In doing so, I consider the interplay of individual and contextual influences in promoting positive intergroup attitudes and societal engagement among youth, and reflect on the implications of this research for current scientific understanding and practice.
The charismatic film pioneer Himansu Rai (1892–1940) is best remembered as the founder of Bombay Talkies, a studio practically synonymous with early Indian cinema. That his successful career in India followed an extended stint in Germany is widely known, but the significance of those years within Rai’s wider artistic and business trajectory remains understudied. Working with the German director Franz Osten, Rai acted in and produced three silent films – Die Leuchte Asiens (1925), Das Grabmal einer großen Liebe (1928), and Schicksalswürfel (1929) – that would dramatize Indian history and mythology and garner enthusiastic responses from German audiences. This study uses Rai’s personal papers and underutilized German newspapers to explore those films and the publicity around them, locating Rai himself as a critical factor in their success. It argues that Rai cultivated distinct on- and off-screen personas that worked together to satisfy Orientalist visions of India on the one hand and expectations for an intellectual in Europe on the other. Rai – who was equally at home performing maharajas in films and granting interviews in suits – responded to these pressures by turning them into a career-making opportunity, marketing himself as the embodiment of his country and its ethos. Andrew Halladay is a cultural historian of South Asia with a particular interest in late colonial North India. Currently an assistant professor in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, he holds a doctoral degree in History and South Asian Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago and was previously a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. His work has appeared in Modern Asian Studies and The Historical Journal and has received support from the Fulbright-Nehru Program and the American Institute of Indian Studies. His first book project, A Distant Throne: The British Sovereign in the Mirror of Indian Nationalism, explores popular responses to the figures of George V (r. 1910–36) and Edward VIII (r. 1936) in colonial India.
Around the world, we are facing major economic, social, and environmental challenges that cannot be solved without collaborative global leadership. At the same time, paradigm-shifting advances in technology are reshaping how we live and work, creating new opportunities while challenging long-standing practices and assumptions. Leaders across business, government, and civil society all have a role to play. What has changed in leadership, which principles endure, and how will tomorrow’s leaders need to adapt? Join us on 17 November, when Muhtar Kent will share insights from his remarkable 41-year career at The Coca-Cola Company, culminating in his service as CEO and Chairman. Speaker bio: Muhtar Kent is a member of the Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company. From 2009-2017, he served as the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Previously, he was President and Chief Executive Officer and earlier, President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Kent joined The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1978, holding a variety of marketing and operations leadership positions over the course of his career. In 1985, he became General Manager of Coca-Cola Turkey and Central Asia. Beginning in 1989, he served as President of the Company’s East Central Europe Division and Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola International, with responsibility for 23 countries. Active in the global business community, Mr. Kent is a member of the board and past Co-Chair of The Consumer Goods Forum, past Chairman of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, a board member and past Chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council, a past board member of the National Committee on US-China Relations, and past Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. ASEAN Business Council. He serves on the boards of 3M, Special Olympics International, Catalyst, Cambridge China Development Trust and Emory University.
Large Language Models represent an entirely new paradigm of semantic information processing. They are the first time a computer can process the meaning of text without mark-up. Their ability to “understand” text is at the same time familiarly human and completely alien. Dominik Lukes at a conference They can write poems and extract subtle clues from opaque texts but at the same time they fail at seemingly trivial tasks like counting words in a sentence. They seem to possess deep knowledge of the world yet fall for the most trivial of spatial puzzles. They can write code that will emulate a calculator but not multiply numbers. Based on casual use in a seemingly similar context, two people can easily come to the conclusion, that the models are practically infallible or entirely useless. This talk, presented by Dominik Lukeš, a Lead Business Technologist at the AI and ML Competency Centre, will outline how Large Language Models “read” and “understand” text, and how they generate their response. This contrasts with how humans perform the same tasks (which is not always the same as how they perceive them). The talk will explore how humans deploy attention, working memory and external tools to deal with complex text in contrast to the models which only use a form of attention. The event will start with tea, coffee and biscuits from 5pm, followed by the talk from 5.30. About Dominik Dominik Lukeš has run workshops on AI in education since 2019, focusing on generative AI since ChatGPT’s introduction in 2022. He authored “Beyond ChatGPT: The state of generative AI in academic practice” and contributed to “Transforming Higher Education: How we can harness AI in teaching and assessments.” Dominik also publishes a LinkedIn newsletter on AI in academia and has spoken at international conferences, including AHEAD by BETT 2023 and the European Educational Publishers Group. Dominik serves on advisory boards for MacGraw Hill and Bett UK. He has also been a guest on a number of podcasts discussing generative AI in education. Previously, he founded the Reading and Writing Innovation Lab at the Centre for Teaching and Learning Lab. His academic interests include linguistics, language education, and discourse analysis, and he has published and translated extensively in these areas.
Since the turn of the millennium, digital and computational methodologies have become increasingly prolific at the cutting edge of language and humanities research. Utilising digital techniques from other disciplines has allowed historically qualitative fields to rethink key questions, bring new understandings to foundational sources, increase information accessibility, and lead to previously unexplored cross-disciplinary research. This conference brings together researchers who are using digital methods to rethink established fields, explore new applications for conventional digital methods, and look at how digital methodologies are being translated in the cross-disciplinary space. Presentations will capture a wide range of subject areas across the many communities of scholars utilising digital methods – both from novices and expert practitioners. Keynotes include Glenn Roe (Professor of Digital Scholarship and French Literature & Senior Research Fellow at Jesus College, University of Oxford) and Ruth Ahnert (Professor of Literary History & Digital Humanities, Queen Mary University of London). The event is part of the Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub Programme with support from the Voltaire Foundation, Digital Scholarship@Oxford and Jesus College Oxford. Tickets include lunch, tea breaks and a wine reception.
Computational psychiatry attempts to translate advances in computational neuroscience and machine learning into improved outcomes for patients. Here, I describe recent work on mechanistic approaches to support the correct assignment of psychotherapeutic interventions to individuals. Psychotherapies are one of the core treatment options available for depression. However, despite an extensive theoretical basis for interventions, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms mediating treatment response remains poor. Here, I will describe work suggesting that a combination of computational models and cognitive tasks may enable the measurement of the cognitive processes engaged in therapies. Critically, for the case of cognitive behavioural therapy for depression, we find a double dissociation, with effort-reward tradeoffs engaged preferentially altered by behavioural activation, and learning about attributions preferentially altered by cognitive restructuring. Furthermore, improvement in symptoms in a realistic treatment setting is related, and possibly mediated, by changes in pavlovian biases measuring using a task and a computational model. Finally, the cognitive measurement process enables us to design novel training interventions. This seminar is hosted in person in the Department of Psychiatry, to join online, please use the joining link below: https://zoom.us/j/94567124781?pwd=sVxXabbSWibdU8A9W2clQlG9neRGbQ.1 Meeting ID: 945 6712 4781 Passcode: 470970
The second in a duo of courses (attendees should attend the Fundamentals course prior to Logistics) that will cover the logistics of researching, publishing, and locating open scholarship resources and tools at the University of Oxford. Subjects include: what is the Oxford University Research Archive?; depositing work into ORA via Symplectic Elements; depositing data into ORA-data; applying for one of Oxford’s APC block grants; registering or connecting your ORCID; how to be included in the rights retention pilot; and locating and checking funder policies. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
In this online workshop you will be shown the functionality of Zotero, which is a free-to-use software programme used to manage references and create bibliographies. Zotero will be demonstrated on a Windows PC but users of MacOS or Linux computers will be able to follow the demonstration. The workshop will cover: understanding the main features and benefits of Zotero; setting up a Zotero account; importing references from different sources into Zotero; organising your references in Zotero; inserting citations into documents; and creating a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
Tuesdays, 12.15 The Margaret Thatcher Centre, Somerville College Followed by a free buffet lunch
Does public sector employment make graduates less likely to join anti-regime protests? Recent scholarship argues yes, with implications for bottom-up democratization in late-developing economies with expansive public and higher education sectors. This paper examines how that thesis travels to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a region marked by segmented labor markets, developed tertiary education, and persistent authoritarianism. We find that well-educated public sector employees were more likely to join anti-regime protests in Algeria and Egypt, while estimating null effects for state dependency in Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, and Tunisia. Supplementary analyses demonstrate that for educated public sector employees who protested in Algeria -- a critical case for the state dependency argument -- a desire for political rights and freedoms outweighed economic considerations. Crucially, preference falsification in the pre-protest period helped obscure these attitudes. The findings caution against linking authoritarianism in the MENA to a protest-shy state middle class.
Despite the large literature linking emotion regulation with diverse mental health outcomes, relatively little attention has been given to what leads adolescents to engage in emotion regulation in the first place. This is a simple yet crucial component of the emotion regulation process that has, to date, been relatively overlooked. Recent research suggests that emotion controllability beliefs—the beliefs individuals hold about the extent to which emotions can be controlled—can influence both the degree to which and the ways in which they regulate emotions. In other words, individuals who believe emotions are relatively controllable are more likely to attempt to regulate their emotions and to persist in these efforts, with subsequent improvements in their mental health. This talk presents current theoretical models and empirical data linking these emotion beliefs to emotion regulation and adolescent mental health, as well as our collaborative work with secondary school students, through which we co-designed, implemented, and evaluated a novel emotion-focused intervention aimed at improving adolescent mental-health outcomes. This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar Series. Join in-person or online: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
Are you looking to learn about the ways in which to transmit scientific ideas and make your research accessible to a non-specialist audience through a variety of mediums? This session will serve as an introduction to science communication and how it can be successfully incorporated into our roles. By the end of this session you will be able to: define science communication and provide a list of examples; explain why science communication is important for both our CPD and the public; and list ways in which we can all get involved in science communication. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
For several years now, critical perspectives on the development and current orientation of internationalisation have emerged, expressing concern about the risk of reproducing already uneven global hierarchies through mainstream internationalisation activities, particularly in institutions of the Global North and Western/ised higher education. Scholars and practitioners caution that as institutions grow more interconnected, without a redistribution of power or a reimagining of dominant relationships, longstanding inequalities may be further entrenched. There is increasing concern that prevailing approaches to internationalisation risk reinforcing colonialist, capitalist global relations and sustaining Eurocentric knowledge regimes. Drawing on eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork across the UK, Denmark, and Germany, I examine how international student mobility is embedded in wider struggles over knowledge, legitimacy, and global inequality. The research traces how dominant hierarchies are reproduced or unsettled through everyday practices within universities, as well as in broader policy, institutional, and social spaces. Attending to both structural conditions and lived experiences, the study explores how spatial associations of knowledge and global power relations are articulated through everyday interactions, educational practices, and ways of knowing. It ultimately argues for a more ethically engaged and politically reflexive approach to internationalisation - one that takes seriously the call for cognitive justice in global higher education.
Despite its name, the Open Science Framework (OSF) is an online tool for managing academic projects in any discipline. Rather than trying to reinvent tools and systems that scholars already use, OSF integrates with a growing list of existing services and provides a single place where researchers can see and manage all the components that make up their project - including files, software, data and publications. This course will introduce you to the Open Science Framework at Oxford. It will explain how to get access to OSF using your Oxford SSO, give an overview of what it can and cannot do, and provide some examples of how it can be used with other research services. Intended audience: Researcher and research student; Staff
A critical examination of ‘post-colonial capitalism’ must begin by tracing the genealogy of the concept to debates about the late colonialism that post colonial capital is post. After the first decades of independent development, the study of post-colonial capital has been joined – and for many replaced - by ‘subaltern studies’, ‘Saidian post-colonial studies’, and the theses of Sanyal. In the light of this genealogy we can ask further questions: 1) whether the study of contemporary capitalism in India needs the concept of ‘post-colonial’ at all; and 2) whether what is needed is not rather the study of Indian capital in transition to a US-managed neo-colonial regime. Barbara Harriss-White: Emeritus Professor of Development Studies and Fellow of Wolfson College. Committed to fieldwork, she has been studying India’s up-country development since driving from Cambridge there in 1969 – in retirement: the economy as a waste-producing system. (Co) producer of 41 books and as many doctoral students. Former director of QEH/ODID and involved with Oxford’s M Phil in Development Studies and MSc in Contemporary India. ‘Her book ‘Rural Commercial Capital won the Edgar Graham prize for originality in development studies. Her most recent book is ‘Gold in India’ (CUP).
This study explores the mechanisms underlying the paradox of marginality experienced by middle-class Palestinian professional women in the Israeli labour market through an intersectional analysis of their everyday professional lives. It demonstrates that this paradox—characterised by their marginalisation despite possessing high educational capital comparable to that of highly educated Jewish (both men and women) and Palestinian male professionals—is perpetuated through biopolitical modes of power. The findings reveal that when their professional capital intersects with other axes of power such as ethnicity/racism, gender, religious norms, and tribal affiliations, it fails to receive recognition or legitimacy from colleagues and clients, thereby reinforcing intersectional inequalities. Professor Sarab Abu Rabia-Queder is an Associate Professor at the school of Education at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In her studies, she focuses on the mechanisms of control, racialisation and marginalisation of minority groups in the fields of higher education, employment and the family. She has published many papers in journals such as Sociology, British Journal of Sociology and Current Sociology and the winner of several competitive grants and prizes, such as the Toronto Prize for Excellent Young Academic Scholars, Businesses for Peace, and has chosen as the sociologist of the month (July) for Current Sociology journal (2019). In May 2024, she received an honorary doctorate from Weizman Institute of Science for promoting epistemic justice for minority groups. Alongside her academic pursuits, Professor Abu-Rabia-Queder is also a feminist activist. She serves as a board member in several NGO’s and academic committees. Her main activity focuses on issues central to Palestinian women's agenda such as access to education, combating polygamy, and improving employment opportunities.
In this online interactive workshop, you will learn how to create an effective search query and have the opportunity to try out a range of tools that you can use to search for scholarly materials to support your research. You will: learn how to find books and other scholarly items in Oxford libraries using SOLO; search for journal articles using subject databases and scholarly search engines; and be signposted towards learning materials you can use if you are interested in searching for conference proceedings, theses and dissertations. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student.
RisingWISE equips women* in STEM early career research positions to reframe their skills, realise their individual potential, broaden their mindsets, expand their professional networks and explore new career avenues. Rather than feeding into the competitive nature of advanced professional careers, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have developed this innovative, collaborative programme that works closely with enterprising women in industry. Together, we build mutual relationships that benefit women in STEM researching at Oxford, Cambridge and across STEM industries. *We also welcome nonbinary people who are comfortable in a space that uses women-focused language to discuss women-focused experiences.
The Jobs for Mathematicians careers fair offers you the opportunity to find out about careers using maths and start planning your next career steps or focus your search. Join the fair to meet recruiters in person and explore the opportunities available. You can also chat to careers advisers and ask questions to help your decision making. The fair is open to all Oxford University students, including undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers, as well as Oxford alumni. Note that this event is only open to Oxford University students, researchers, and alumni. Please bring your University card with you on the day to access the fair. The fair booklet will be available one week prior to the event, in the meantime, you can browse last year's exhibitor details here: "download the Jobs for Mathematicians Fair booklet 2024 (PDF)":https://www.careers.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/jobs-for-mathematicians-fair-booklet-2024.pdf
Many countries seek to promote exports by subsidizing market access, but evidence on such efforts has been mixed. We present the first randomized evaluation of a government financial-support program explicitly targeting exports, the Tasdir+ program in Tunisia. The program offered matching grants for fixed market-access costs but not variable costs. Tracking outcomes in administrative data, we find positive effects on exports on average. We find limited impacts on the number of destinations or exported products, which were stated policy targets. The finding that the fixed-cost subsidies expanded exports on the intensive margin but not the extensive margins of destinations or products stands in contrast to the predictions of several workhorse trade models.
Interested in gaining the essential non-clinical skills, knowledge, and insight for a successful clinical career? Then join our upcoming webinar. The University of Oxford’s MSc in Surgical Science and Practice and PGCert in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement are flexible programmes designed to develop working healthcare professionals into well-rounded practitioners and leaders. The courses are scheduled to allow you to study alongside your professional and personal commitments. This Programme Information Event will describe core features of both programmes and will provide tips for a high quality application. Speakers: Tom Revington - Tom is the Course Director for the MSc in Surgical Science and Practice and the PGCert in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement. His career has spanned immunologist, diplomat, management consultant, and educator. Pippa Teves MD FRCSC - Pippa is Clinical Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Calgary, Canada and the the Medical Director Women's Health, Acute Care Alberta, Canada. She completed the PGCert in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement in 2022.
This paper explains Egypt’s foreign policy stagnation, with a novel argument building on role and identity theories. Egypt’s foreign policy exhibits a case where its regional leadership role has changed (and declined), but its identity emphasising Egyptian leadership persists, thus leading to foreign policy that is widely seen as ineffective. This paper examines the theoretical link — and distinction — between national roles and identities. Drawing on previous role research, we argue that, compared to identities, roles are more behaviourally prescriptive, necessarily relational, and are dependent on others’ expectations and acceptance of them. We also discuss the distinct sources of role change and identity change, setting up the possibility that one may change while the other remains stable. We examine the implications of when roles and identities become out of sync with the case of Egypt’s role decay. While Egypt’s leadership role at the regional role has retreated, the leadership identity persists. For Egyptians, Egypt is a ‘natural’ leader of the Arab world and a pivotal state in regional affairs. Herein, we argue, lays the explanations for why Egypt’s foreign policy has suffered from contradictions and ineffectiveness. Empirically, this paper draws upon historical evidence, official statements, memoirs of Egyptian foreign policy makers, and observation of public debates in Egypt’s public sphere.
Promises that sovereignty would be regained, immigration and asylum controlled, and national identity reasserted were central to the Brexit referendum campaign of 2016 and the ultimate decision to leave the EU. In debates on EU membership, protection, labour, and other forms of migration were frequently conflated and portrayed as being ‘out of control’. Post-Brexit, these issues remain at the centre of political debate and legal change, both in the UK and in European states. In this seminar, we trace pre- and post-Brexit legal developments in UK and EU asylum and migration law, mapping change and analysing developments.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has triggered what German leaders call a Zeitenwende, a historic turning point in European security and politics. Yet beyond rhetoric, what does this transformation mean for Europe’s long-term survival as a geopolitical actor? In this talk, Johannes Volkmann, a Member of the German Bundestag (CDU) and former chief of staff in the European Parliament, examines the implications of the Zeitenwende. Drawing on his work in constitutional and trade policy, as well as applied policy experience, Volkmann will explore how Europe can safeguard its survival amid growing external pressures, internal division, and the need for institutional renewal. The talk will also consider whether the current moment marks lasting transformation or risks becoming rhetoric without action.
We are delighted to welcome John Drake, a Regents Professor of Ecology at the Odum School of Ecology and Director of the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases (CEID) at the University of Georgia. Professor Drake is a Visiting Fellow at the PSI and the Oxford Martin School. In his seminar on 'Globalization, Global Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases’, he will trace the historical record of major twentieth- and twenty-first-century pandemics, presenting a perspective that highlights how global forces such as economic integration, urbanisation and climate disruption shape the emergence and spread of novel pathogens. The seminar, hosted jointly by PSI and the Oxford Martin School, will be chaired by Luca Ferretti and will take place on Tuesday 18 November, from 17:00 to 18:00, in the Oxford Martin School lecture theatre, University of Oxford. Following the seminar, there will be a drinks reception and an opportunity to network with all attendees. Abstract Emerging infectious diseases are not random shocks to human societies, but recurrent features of a world increasingly shaped by globalization and global change. Over the past century, pandemics such as influenza, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19 have revealed how economic integration, rapid urbanization, climate disruption, and ecological transformation create structural conditions for novel pathogens to appear and spread. This lecture traces the historical record of major twentieth- and twenty-first-century pandemics to document not just the immediate health impacts of emerging diseases, but also their social and economic consequences. Building on this evidence, I introduce the “globalization grid,” a framework that maps the flows of goods and services, capital, people, and ideas across political, economic, and cultural domains. This perspective highlights the multiple, interacting pathways through which globalization influences disease emergence, from deforestation and agricultural intensification to global supply chains, labor mobility, and international governance. By situating pandemics within these broader systemic processes, we can better understand why certain pathogens achieve global reach and why their impacts are so unevenly distributed. The challenge for the future is to design institutions and interventions that anticipate these dynamics, strengthening resilience before the next pandemic emerges. Biography John Drake is a Regents Professor of Ecology at the Odum School of Ecology and Director of the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases (CEID) at the University of Georgia. His research combines mathematical modeling and data analysis to study the dynamics of zoonotic diseases, the macroecology of emerging infections, and the interdisciplinary integration of social, natural, and mathematical sciences. He has applied spatial interaction and compartmental models to a wide range of systems, including the spread of White-nose syndrome in North American bats, the 2013 - 2015 West African Ebola epidemic, the evolutionary dynamics of influenza, and the early transmission patterns of COVID-19. His current research focuses on understanding the global forces driving disease emergence and advancing infectious disease intelligence, leveraging real-time data to inform decision-making for individuals, institutions, and policymakers during outbreaks of emerging pathogens.
Digitalisation is often described as an enabler of sustainability transitions, though concerns about rebound effects remain. To truly support these transitions, however, it must not only foster sustainability elsewhere but also embody it within its own development. This talk explores the future footprint of digital infrastructures, focusing on data centres at the global scale. On the energy side, it projects demand, associated greenhouse gas emissions, and the role of renewable energy. On the material side, it examines resource requirements and circular economy strategies under scenarios driven by different mechanisms. It models how digitalisation may evolve and what this could mean for energy systems, resource use, and climate outcomes. The purpose is not to predict the future, but to prepare for what it may become and to inform strategies.
All welcome
What does it mean to care for objects that are sacred to others? How do museums confront histories of empire and extraction? And how can they become spaces of inclusion, relevance and repair as audiences change in their demographics and how they approach museum spaces and collections? Two leading museum directors explore the tensions between traditional collecting practices and the urgent need to engage new, often marginalised, audiences. Dr Gus Casely-Hayford OBE is the founding Director of V&A East, a museum and collection centre. He was previously the Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art; he is a curator and cultural historian who writes, lectures and broadcasts widely on culture. Professor Laura van Broekhoven is Director of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum and Professor of Museum Studies, Ethics and Material Culture at the University of Oxford and a leading expert on museum ethics and on finding new, more inclusive ways for ethnographic museums to work.
Science and technology have been recognized for more than a century as pervasive forces in modern life, profoundly shaping how we as individuals and societies understand the limits of our capacities and the horizons of what we can become. By contrast, law remains for most people the repository of the shared values and instruments with which we govern our lives. On this widely accepted account, facts and artifacts come first and norms afterwards. Whether formal or informal, law tells us how we should behave only in the light of what science makes known and how technologies enable us to act. Law therefore is seen as a follower, not a leader, and its power to make norms is often seen as lagging behind more rapid advances in science and technology. Over the past half-century, the field of science and technology studies (STS) has demonstrated that this relationship between is and ought is largely an artifact of social thought and it profoundly misrepresents the relations between science, technology and law in modernity. Law no less than science creates the conditions within which we understand the nature of our existence and articulate the purposes of our being. This co-productionist view of law, science and technology as jointly constituting what is stable and desirable in both nature and society provides the theoretical framework for these lectures.
COURSE DETAILS Topics will include presenting your CV, how to approach employers, writing covering letters and interview skills. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand: How to improve your CV. How to approach employers. How to write a covering letter. How to plan for an interview. How to interview well.
This is a hybrid seminar: To join via Zoom, please register in advance: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/LWouoef4SAO2PbCNh2imAQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
James Sanua’s journal Abou Naddara Zarqa, published in Paris from 1878 onwards was the Arab world’s first satirical journal and one of its most popular. Produced through a process of lithography which was similar to 19th century photocopying, each page was handwritten and then fed through a machine which produced the journal. This talk uses issues of the journal from 1878 to 1882, as well as samples of handwriting from Sanua’s archive to investigate how Abou Naddara was put together and who actually wrote the text. In doing so, the talk tries to draw broader conclusion about the economy and material conditions of émigré Arabic journals in the late 19th century and the Egyptian community in Paris in the 1880s.
TBA
School-related gender-based violence (GBV) is pervasive, yet little is known about how to address it or its consequences for education in contexts with low impunity for perpetrators and limited agency among victims. We evaluate a large-scale randomized intervention in Mozambique that combined teacher training with student-focused sessions to strengthen school personnel’s capacity to address GBV and build technical skills. To examine differential effects by degree of agency, the student training was randomly targeted to girls, boys, or both. The program led to a substantial reduction in sexual violence perpetrated by teachers and staff against girls across all treated schools. Administrative records show that interventions targeting girls raised their school enrollment, driven by a greater propensity to report GBV. Complementary survey data and reports from the national child hotline document a sharp rise in GBV reporting, which spurred more investigations and heightened social sanctions against adult perpetrators. These results suggest that reducing school-related GBV and improving girls’ education requires a dual strategy: deterring potential perpetrators while empowering victims to report abuse. Written with Sofia Amaral , Aixa Garcia-Ramos, Sarita Oré, Alejandra Ramos, Maria Micaela Sviatschi.
In this session, Dr Liz Covey-Crump of the Business Partnerships Office will introduce different ways of working with industry partners, what is in it for you as researchers, and how to take the initial step. Liz will be joined by researchers that work with industry who will share how they got started, what they wished they knew beforehand, and the opportunities industry collaborations have brought. The session will be of interest to researchers at any level, particularly those interested in industry collaborations. Questions in advance are welcomed and there be time for questions during the session too.
Wednesday 19 November (MFO) 13:30–14 :00 Welcome. Stéphane van Damme, director of the MFO. Session I 14:00–14:45 Susan James (Birkbeck/Kings College London), Margaret Cavendish on Natural Philosophy and Poetry 14:45–15 :30 Eric Sheng (Merton, Oxford), Gassendi’s Arguments for Hedonism Chair: Mogens Lærke (CNRS-IHRIM/MFO, Lyon/Oxford) 15 :30–16:00 Coffee Break Session II 16 :00–16:45 Philip Beeley (Linacre, Oxford), John Pell and the Advancement of Mathematical Learning in Seventeenth-Century England 16 :45–17:30 David Bartha (Birmingham Newman University), Animal Souls and Immortality in the Browne–Baxter Debate Chair: Louis Rouquayrol (CNRS-IHRIM, Lyon) Thursday 20 November (MFO) Session III 9:00–9 :45 Odile Panetta (Aarhus University/Christ Church, Oxford), Dutch Reformed Universities and the Debate over the Ius circa sacra 9:45–10 :30 Daniel Pedersen (University of Aberdeen), Seventeenth-Century Theologians Against the Clear and Distinct Knowledge of God Chair: Niall Dilucia (CNRS-MFO, Oxford) 10:30–11 :00 Coffee Break Session IV 11:00–11:45 Sarah Mortimer (Christ Church, Oxford), Freedom, Miracles, and Revelation: The Remonstrants and Spinoza 11:45–12:30 Olivier Yasar de France (Pembroke, Oxford), Spinoza and the Rights of Peace Chair: Noel Malcolm (All Souls, Oxford) 12:30–14:00 Lunch Session V 14:00–14:45 Eric Schliesser (University of Amsterdam/Tulane University, New Orleans), Huygens (and Newton, of Course!): Some Awkward Observations about Causal Isolation and Simultaneity 14:45–15:30 Yoav Beirach (Max Planck Institute, Berlin), “Something of Imitation, That is Not Easily Removed”: Huygens and Leibniz on Time Measurement Chair: Paul Lodge (Mansfield, Oxford) 17:00-19:00 Old Library, All Souls. All conference participants are cordially invited to the book launch of Nuno Castel Branco’s The Traveling Anatomist. Nicolaus Steno and the Intersection of Disciplines in Early Modern Science (University of Chicago Press, 2025). With the participation of Daniel Garber (Princeton), Mogens Lærke (CNRS, Lyon/Oxford), and Kathryn Murphy (Oriel College, Oxford). The event will be followed by a wine reception offered by All Souls College. Friday 21 November (Hovenden Room, All Souls College) Session VI 9 :00–9:45 Robert Iliffe (Linacre, Oxford), TBA 9:45–10:30 Delphine Antoine-Mahut (IHRIM/Labex Comod, ENS de Lyon), In the Brain of Christ. Fenelon as a Reader of Malebranche Chair: Nuno Castel-Branco (All Souls, Oxford) 10:30–11:00 Break Session VII 11:00–11:45 Michael Jaworcyn (CNRS-MFO, Oxford), The Finitude of Cartesian Minds 11:45–12:30 Daniel Garber (Princeton University), We Desire to Form a Model of Human Nature’: Spinoza on Becoming a More Perfect Self Chair: Raphaële Garrod (Magdalen, Oxford)
In a world of clickbait headlines and algorithm-driven feeds, thinking critically about the information we consume is more vital than ever. This interactive workshop aimed at undergraduates will help you to evaluate the credibility and bias in today’s news and social media. Through hands-on activities and real-world examples, you'll learn how to assess sources, identify misinformation, and trace claims and quotes to their original context. By the end of this session, you will be able to: describe what critical thinking means in the context of news articles and social media sources; identify different forms of bias in news and social media; recognise misinformation and 'fake news'; and understand and apply the SIFT Method to evaluate claims in news and social media sources. Intended audience: Taught student
An online introduction to using alerts to keep up to date with new research and save you time. A combination of presenter-led instruction and the opportunity for participants to set up email alerts to receive notifications for publications in their field of research. We invite you to send any questions you have in advance to usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the instructors to cover in the session. There will also be opportunities to ask questions in the class. The workshop will cover: how email alerts can help you; setting up alerts on your favourite databases and other platforms for new content in your field; and managing your alerts. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student.
War and human flourishing exhibits strong spatial bias across geographical scales. Geography matters in conflict and cooperation but no mathematical framework thus far ties them together at the global scale. Here, we show that simple network models can explain the spatial patterns of conflict and cooperation with accuracy and robustness, reinforced and explained by simple agent-based-modeling. We go on in our second piece of work to add tipping dynamics to understand how cascades can happen or be prevented. This was then linked to several branching projects: (i) how will future climate change and migration affect the model (MET Office), and (ii) how can we model causal latent spaces in climate change and conflict. More generally, I am interested in how to better understand networked tipping dynamics and how it contributes to our understanding of global tipping dynamics in climate-society-technology ecosystems in the Tipping Points Report.
This talk asks us to reconsider the origins of art history in Japan. It does so by setting up a comparison between the collecting activities of those engaged in what we now call the natural sciences and those engaged in what we now call the history of art. Agents in both fields were invested in finding exemplars, carefully labeling them, and arranging them according to morphological taxonomies. In chronological terms, the talk spans the sixteenth to twentieth centuries. In archival terms, the primary focus is _tekagami_, a genre of albums that compiled the so-called “exemplary hands” of calligraphers or painters. In reading art history and the natural sciences alongside one another, we arrive at a far more nuanced understanding of how the history of form emerged in early modernity. *Kristopher Kersy* is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art History at UCLA. His latest book is _Facing Images: Medieval Japanese Art and the Problem of Modernity_ (Penn State University Press, 2024).
Join online via Microsoft Teams by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3hfr23
Part of the 2025-2026 series ‘How can we respond to this systemic crisis?’. A series of master classes, seminars, workshops and talks with Professor Laura Rival, research collaborators and colleagues. Michaelmas Term series titled: ‘In Latin America, by greening the state at the top and from below’. Followed by refreshments.
Attacks on healthcare have captured international attention in recent years, as the bombing of hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere signal how readily conflict parties neglect their obligations under international humanitarian law. In Sudan and Myanmar, medical staff have been at the forefront of resistance movements to military regimes. While especially prominent in armed conflict, the threat to healthcare is not confined to conflict; the COVID 19 pandemic saw a rise in violence towards health workers globally. What are the dynamics of this violence, and what does it mean for the healthcare system, for conflict-affected populations, and for international law, particularly given the seismic shifts affecting the humanitarian sector? This seminar will examine these questions, drawing on findings from the Researching the Impact of Attacks on Healthcare project. About the speaker Larissa Fast is Professor of Humanitarian and Conflict Studies and former Executive Director of the Humanitarian and Conflict Research Institute at the University of Manchester. She is an interdisciplinary scholar working at the intersection of the worlds of academia, policy, and practice. Her research addresses two fundamental problems: how best to protect civilians, particularly those who intervene in violent conflict, and how to make such intervention more effective, ethical, and responsive to local needs and circumstances. In addition to her monograph Aid in Danger: The Perils and Promise of Humanitarianism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014), she has published dozens of peer-reviewed articles and policy reports. She is Principal Investigator of the Researching the Impact of Attacks on Healthcare (RIAH) project (2019-2026), and co-Investigator on a project examining the ethics of research in conflict and disaster settings (2023-2025). Her research has been funded by the UK FCDO, British Academy, Research Council of Norway, the Wellcome Trust, US Agency for International Development, US Institute of Peace, and the Swiss Development Corporation. The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall. Registration not required. All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk
In postwar Britain, a group of psychoanalysts promised to improve how Britons worked. With their knowledge of how people related to each other, workers could be made to feel more connected to each other and their firm, while bosses would grow in sympathy and understanding. Work could be made more efficient and more humane, an attractive proposition in a nation seeking economic regeneration after war. However, these experts largely failed. Psychoanalysis, when applied to the workplace, was hollowed out by more resilient, managerial ways of thinking about work. Workers, unions and managers treated psychoanalysts with suspicion, believing they could not properly understand the workplaces they’d descended upon to research. Psychoanalysis’s association with sexuality created significant difficulties in analysts’ efforts to create a science of work. Psychoanalysts’ promise to reimagine work along healthier, more democratic lines also faltered when it came to the treatment of racialised workers. Please register for attendance both in-person and virtual.
COURSE DETAILS This short practical session will help you understand more about the career context for research staff at Oxford and beyond. It will enable you to identify the skills and abilities that you need to develop and give you guidance on how to enhance them so you are prepared for a useful conversation in your next CDR. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will have: An understanding of the career challenges and opportunities facing research staff at Oxford. An understanding of the skills you need to acquire. Started to apply a process of developing these skills.
Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in the Oxford University Research Archive (ORA). This online session will focus on what ORA is and how to deposit one's thesis in ORA, and how to access help with this process. It will also cover the relevant rights and permissions required and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing their thesis for upload to ORA. Topics include: what ORA is and what you need to deposit; how to deposit your thesis in ORA; observing relevant rights and permissions; and accessing help with depositing your thesis in ORA. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
This is an opportunity to share our projects, so come with your research questions and core themes to hand.
In collaboration with the Oxford University Collective for Pastoralist and Nomadic People, this transhistorical seminar on pastoral mobilities explores the intersections of nomadic and environmental humanities from contemporary Mongolia, medieval Provence to the deep past. Dr Ariell Ahearn: tba Patrick Hegarthy-Morrish: Patterns of pastoral mobility in late-medieval Haute-Provence The voluminous archives of Provence give voluminous source material, in many different formats, to piece together how pastoralism functioned over time and space in the late middle ages. In my talk I will focus on the fourteenth century, and on the mountainous region of Haute-Provence, and will explore how different scales of pastoralism, and different routines of mobility, interacted and co-existed in one region. Depending on the season, herders moved livestock between the local upland commons and the cultivated area; they grazed flocks on the pastures of a neighbouring community; or they took their animals on ponderous long journeys to access different ecosystems with better climate or better suited to the fodder needs of their flock. All this human-directed mobility was also paired with the instinctive movement of the animals themselves, as they sough out the best pasture in a certain environment. Livestock mobility was deeply interactive with the local environment. Across the seasons, herders sought rich upland meadows or sclerophyllous woodlands in response to the annual rotation in their animals’ nutritional requirements. On their journeys, livestock picked up insects and seeds from vegetation along the drove roads and transported them across the region. Animals’ manure and eating habits created soil microbiomes in permitted spots, constituted from the digested vegetable matter that local or less local livestock had brought perhaps from a different ecological region some hundred kilometres away. All this shows a complex, interactive jigsaw of different forms of pastoralism, in which animals, humans, and ecosystems interact. Dr Valasia Isaakidou (Archeology, Oxford) and Professor Paul Halstead (Archaeology, Sheffield): Pastoral mobilities in the longue durée In social evolutionary narratives, hunter-gatherers typically lacked both private property and sedentism, while crop cultivators had both characteristics. Accordingly, pastoralists, combining private property with mobility, were often viewed as an intermediate stage between primeval hunter-gatherers and later cultivators. A fundamental critique of this view argues that contemporary/recent pastoralists either raise crops as well as livestock (thereby constraining their mobility) or are dependent for staple crops on agricultural societies, usually by exchanging pastoral for agricultural products in urban markets. If so, specialised pastoralist societies are unlikely to have emerged prior to the appearance of cities or even of market economies. Archaeological literature is replete with claims of early (pre-urban/pre-market) pastoralists, but these (1) do not address the argument that specialised pastoralism is not viable without reliable exchange with crop producers and (2) cite empirical support in distant and ambiguous proxies (e.g., material culture, settlement patterns) that are equally compatible with sedentary mixed farming.
Tissue destruction in immune-mediated disease requires more than the presence of antigen-specific lymphocytes. Lessons from type 1 diabetes and celiac disease show that loss of tolerance—marked by autoreactive or dietary antigen–specific Th1 responses—is necessary but not sufficient for pathology. The magnitude of the CD4⁺ T-cell response, and the signals that amplify it, are decisive because they provide the “license” enabling cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cells (CTLs) to kill. Notably, antigen-specific CTLs can persist in tissues without causing injury unless they receive additional cues. These licensing signals differ from those in lymph nodes and include stress-induced non-classical MHC ligands, NK receptor engagement, and cytokines such as IL-15. This framework helps explain why tumor-specific CTLs often fail to clear cancers and suggests that, beyond checkpoint inhibition, therapies must also target the pathways that license CTLs to execute tissue destruction.
Narrative CVs are being adopted by many funders, nationally and internationally, to give researchers the opportunity to showcase a wider range of skills and experience than is possible in a traditional academic CV; an example is the UKRI Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI). Writing a narrative CV requires a different way of thinking about and describing your skills, experience and contributions to research and innovation compared to a traditional CV. Writing your first narrative CV will take some time and effort; you might not be sure about what activities to include, and how to describe their quality, relevance, and your involvement in them. This presentation will try to demystify and simplify narrative CVs by providing advice, prompts and suggestions for how to write one. Speakers Mary Muers Research Culture Facilitator, MSD Kanza Basit Senior Research Facilitator, SSD Gavin Bird Head of Research Facilitation and Support, SOGE, SSD Susan Black, Careers Adviser, Oxford Careers Service Everyone welcome, please register to receive the TEAMS link for this event If you are a student or researcher with a CareerConnect account, please register "here":https://oxford.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=22968&service=Careers%20Service All other staff register "here":https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke7xLB0LNIFKuA055EWF9ZtUN1M2U0xGSE80QkJRQTRHRk1LNjVKWDUyNy4u, the joining link will be in the registration confirmation email
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
Following the very successful seminars series on J. R. R. Tolkien in 2023 and 2024 (for recordings see: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/fantasy-literature) we are pleased to announce a new round of presentations by Oxford academics on fantasy literature to run this Michaelmas Term (2025). These talks are aimed at students and members of the public and act as introductions to a range of writers and texts in the field of fantasy literature/weird fiction. The series is organised by the Faculty of English and hosted by Exeter College. All talks will be held in the Fitzhugh Lecture Theatre, Cohen Quad, Walton Street, Oxford (Exeter College’s annex), and run 1.00-2.00pm. Attendance is free of charge but we ask you to register using the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/seminar-series-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-4530103
awaited
Grammar is crucial to language and language learning. Research into grammar instruction (i.e. interventional efforts to direct learners’ attention to particular grammatical forms) has been a central topic in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) due to its importance in assisting second language (L2) learners to develop communicative competence. Over the last three decades, the role of grammar instruction in second/foreign language contexts has been reconsidered on the basis of findings in the field of L2 research with adult learners. Studies highlight the need to identify effective instructional procedures to focus on formal aspects of language, enabling learners to notice the mismatch between their interlanguage and the target language. Moreover, there is now broad consensus that pedagogical intervention is facilitative and may even be indispensable in foreign language (FL) learning contexts, where learners receive minimal L2 input- typically only a few hours per week. Although the early learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) in school settings has grown exponentially over the past twenty years, one population that remains underexplored regarding these issues is children aged 6-12. This talk will share ways in which interactive collaborative tasks can draw children’s attention to formal aspects of English. Our research, grounded within cognitive-interactionist and sociocultural frameworks, demonstrates how grammar focused tasks, input enhancement and collaborative writing - combined with the manipulation of implementation variables (task repetition, task modality) and explicit metalinguistic explanations- help children focus on formal aspects of the language. Importantly, these instructional procedures enable children to resolve problematic issues without teacher intervention. We will conclude by identifying challenges and further research directions for effective grammar pedagogy for young learners. Bio: María del Pilar García Mayo is Full Professor of English Language and Linguistics at the University of the Basque Country (Spain), Honorary Professor at University College London and Honorary Consultant for the Shanghai Center for Research in English Language Education. She has published widely on two strands of research, namely, formal L2/L3 acquisition (generative approach), and cognitive-interactionist theory, examining the impact of conversational interactions on language development in low-input, foreign language settings. Prof. Garcia Mayo is the director of the research group Language and Speech and the MA program Language Acquisition in Multilingual. She is also the editor of Language Teaching Research and belongs to the Steering Committee of the Spanish State Research Agency. https://www.laslab.org/staff/pilar Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3aM_SoBsI8nakThXNUxEguh57-GSvT6JopDdhFnEBgr3I1%40thread.tacv2/1759499654009?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e0e2c03d-d313-4dab-bd7c-afbd83792648%22%7d
A practical 180-minute workshop where participants will work on searches for their review across multiple databases. Librarians from the Bodleian Health Care Libraries will be on hand to demonstrate online tools for facilitating the process and give practical advice on refining individual search strategies. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to: improve a search strategy that you are working on; adapt the search across multiple databases; use tools such as Yale MeSH Analyzer and Polyglot; describe alternative methods for identifying references, including citation chaser; use Covidence for your review; and report your search methods according to PRISMA-Search. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student
The intersections between arts, creativity and health are of significant importance in the humanities and social sciences. Within the arts and health field, for example, the arts have been applied to communicate health crises (such as pandemics), improve psychotherapies for chronic health conditions and deepen engagement in participatory health projects. However, concepts and methods are predominantly informed by Global North research, and critical insights from arts traditions elsewhere remain to be fully integrated into common models. Ghana offers a unique case study for examining local and global dynamics in arts-based health communication, because of the country’s rich art traditions as well as its place in global history and in the global imagination. Creative arts drive social life and indigenous healing systems. Healing art forms like music and sculpture have evolved through intentional cross-cultural borrowings, as well as through changes imposed through slavery, colonialism and post-colonial political systems. Selling Healing tells a polyvocal story of how Ghanaian art forms intersect with health, illness and healing, makes an interdisciplinary case for incorporating arts and social creativity into official health promotion, and invites a re-imagining of health communication in global health.
Much social scientific research on migrant arrival and settlement has examined these processes through the lens of ‘integration’, investigating how migrants access societal realms such as the labour market, education, civil society, and social networks. A complementary body of work has looked at how socio-economic contexts shape integration and social mobility. This paper expands on this work by highlighting the importance of place in the context of migrant arrival. It builds on an emerging body of literature on ‘arrival infrastructures’ that has emphasised that where migrants arrive, and the related place-based opportunity structures they encounter, play a crucial role in their ability to access resources. Arrival infrastructures consist of a range of places such as civil society organisations, religious sites, informal sites like barbers or cafés, as well as publicly funded places like libraries and support services. Drawing on ethnographic research in East London, the paper analyses the opportunities and barriers that migrants encounter in accessing support through arrival infrastructures. It demonstrates how individual factors, such as cultural and social capital, combined with systemic barriers, including migration status and limited welfare entitlements, differentially shape access to support. It also highlights the crucial role of intermediaries or ‘brokers’, ranging from civil society actors to local pastors, shopkeepers and street-level bureaucrats, many of whom go beyond the remit of their everyday jobs. By drawing on the notion of ‘infrastructures of kindness’, the paper highlights how, in light of unprecedented cuts to welfare provision and their exacerbated effect in arrival areas (which are often amongst the most disadvantaged areas of the country), it is often thanks to these local acts of informal care that newcomers manage to forge a living. This seminar is hybrid. Join us in person at The Hub, Kellogg College, or participate online via Zoom by registering here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/evx9TAwlTFajxRVSGF_H-w
The war in the Gaza Strip has resulted in significant civilian mortality and infrastructure damage, creating a public health emergency. Israeli military operations have caused massive destruction, displaced nearly 2 million people, and severely disrupted essential services. This seminar examines mortality and famine in Gaza over the past year, addressing health information system challenges, mortality and famine projections analysis, and data collection during conflict. The seminar will present mortality estimates using capture-recapture analysis methods and discuss famine projections that assess food insecurity and malnutrition risks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Zeina Jamaluddine, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Her research explores how conflict, displacement, and social determinants shape nutrition and health among vulnerable populations in the Middle East and North Africa. She has led large-scale studies on maternal and child health, food and water security, and the evaluation of humanitarian interventions, with a focus on developing evidence-based solutions to reduce health and nutrition disparities. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
Anna will set out the Food Foundation's ambitions for the new government food strategy, including making the case for a Good Food Bill as an important step toward securing a food system which delivers improved public health, environmental outcomes, and resilience. Anna will discuss both policy and politics, the challenges of building political leadership and where academics can help.
2025 Annual Uehiro Lectures Lecture 3: Girls’ Rights against Gestational Labour
Professor Jones will summarize a recent paper in which he offers a new heuristic for understanding how and why constitutional claims are litigated in Japan. He offers a number of common features to the small and seemingly unrelated instances in which the Supreme Court of Japan has found a statute unconstitutional. He uses this heuristic to understand certain constitutional challenges currently in the news, including those relating to marriage equality and spousal surnames.
To join online, please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KbVXDl5TQWCP1I0nKS1TiQ
The past century has been a time of great turmoil in much of the world. Europe, perhaps, bore the brunt of this turmoil, with millions killed and entire cities, such as Rotterdam, Dresden, and Warsaw largely reduced to rubble along with their museums, and cultural institutions. The Arab World has also suffered its share of conflicts, compounding the adverse impact of colonialism on everyday life and culture. Events such as the Nakba in Palestine, and conflicts such as the Lebanese Civil War and the 2003 American invasion of Iraq have left a string of structural and cultural devastation in addition to the toll on human life. However, the Arab World has also seen attempts to rebuild, both in lives and livelihoods, some more successful than others. These fragile steps forward can be derailed as conflicts arise such as in Gaza. Even in such dark cases there are some triumphs of humanity. This talk will attempt to shed light on these sparks of inspiration that reflect the vitality of the Arab World.
Sonia Tycko, “The Legality of Prisoner of War Labour in England, 1648–1655,” _Past & Present_ 246 (2020), 35–68; Douglas Hay, ‘England, 1562–1875: The Law and Its Uses’, in Douglas Hay and Paul Craven, eds, _Masters, Servants, and Magistrates in Britain and the Empire, 1562–1955_, ed. (2004), 59–116.
We are building an automated platform that uses artificial intelligence to design and optimize nanoparticles for medical applications such as enabling brain-specific delivery. Our system combines robotic laboratory equipment with AI algorithms that learn from experimental results to rapidly discover optimal nanoparticle recipes, replacing the current time-consuming trial-and-error approach. The platform will process hundreds of different nanoparticle formulations simultaneously, using real-time measurements of particle properties to guide the AI in selecting the most promising combinations. By automating and accelerating nanoparticle development, we aim to reduce optimization time from months to days while creating better-performing particles for medical applications such as neurological diseases, potentially accelerating the development of new treatments and therapies.
In collaboration with the Oxford China Centre, St John’s College is delighted to host the UK premiere of To Kill a Mongolian Horse - recipient of the Authors Under 40 Award for Best Directing and Screenwriting at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. Presented as part of the China Studies Seminar Series, the event seeks to draw global attention to the social challenges faced in China’s grassland regions through the expressive power of visual art. The film follows Saina, a Mongolian herdsman navigating the brutal winter grasslands by day and performing in a horseback stunt show by night. As he strives to care for his family and hold onto his cultural roots, the story reveals the tensions between tradition and modernity, and the complexities of rural identity, through the lens of a female director. With support from the St John’s College Small Arts Grant and the Oxford China Centre, we’re honoured to welcome Director Xiaoxuan Jiang in person for the event. The evening begins with a drinks reception in the Garden Quad Reception Room at 17:30, followed by the screening (98 minutes). Afterwards, stay for a Q&A session with the Director, moderated by Professor Anna Lora-Wainwright from the School of Geography and the Environment and the School of Global and Area Studies.
Jennifer McElwain, Professor of Botany at Trinity College Dublin and Director of Trinity College Botanic Garden, will explore the evolution of trees and forests through geological time. When did the first true trees evolve? What is a tree? What can fossil plants tell us about the oldest forests on Earth? How did forests survive volvanic events, extreme climates, and meteorite impacts in Earth's geological past? What climatic conditions allowed ancient forests to grow within the polar regions? By linking forests 350 million year past to present, Jennifer's talk will show that trees are witnesses to climate change and examine what may be in store for their future in a warming planet.
Title to be announced The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
The systems engineering initiative for patient safety (SEIPS) is a framework to help us to analyse and understand work processes and outcomes within the complex adaptive environment of healthcare. SEIPS is one of the preferred human factors frameworks in the NHS and has been incorporated into the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF). SEIPS offers a number of tools to support safety incident investigations, and this interactive, introductory course will focus on using SEIPS to: • support learning and improvement following a safety incident in the immediate aftermath of an incident or for a more in-depth patient safety incident investigation • improve engagement and support for patients and their families after a safety incident • improve support for staff involved in safety incidents • understand system factors influencing the evolution of a safety incident • inform system design • design action plans
EndNote is a desktop-based reference management tool for Windows and Mac users. It helps you to build libraries of references and insert them into Word documents as in-text citations or footnotes, and to automatically generate bibliographies. This online introduction to EndNote is open to all University of Oxford students, researchers and staff and teaches you how to use the software so that you can effectively manage your references.The workshop will cover: what EndNote can do for you; adding references to EndNote from a range of sources; managing your references in an EndNote library; adding in-text citations and/or footnotes to your essays and papers; and creating bibliographies. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
To join online, please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KbVXDl5TQWCP1I0nKS1TiQ
The development of a complex functional multicellular organism from a single cell involves tightly regulated and coordinated cell behaviours coupled through short- and long-range biochemical and mechanical signals. To truly comprehend this complexity, alongside experimental approaches we need mathematical and computational models, which can link observations to mechanisms in a quantitative, predictive, and experimentally verifiable way. In this talk I will describe our efforts to model aspects of embryonic development, focusing in particular on the planar polarised behaviours of cells in epithelial tissues, and discuss the mathematical and computational challenges associated with this work. I will also highlight some of our work to improve the reproducibility and re-use of such models through the ongoing development of Chaste (https://github.com/chaste), an open-source C++ library for multiscale modelling of biological tissues and cell populations.
In their co-edited Life Writing and the Southern Hemisphere (2024), and other work since, Elleke Boehmer and Katherine Collins consider the challenges of life-writing in the face of environmental and technological instability. In this workshop we will discuss how different rhythms, temporalities, and forms of unpredictability shape the ways lives are written and imagined in the icy environments of Antarctica, a setting of faltering communication, volatile weather, disrupted circadian cycles, and extreme sensory experience.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) can occur as a physiological adaptation to transient stressors such as exercise or pregnancy, or as a pathological response to chronic strain. Pathological LVH contributes substantially to heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction (HFpEF, HFrEF). While intracellular drivers have been well studied, the role of interorgan signaling remains less defined. Our recent published work in humans and mice revealed a liver–brain–heart axis mediated by fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21). Although FGF21 analogs show metabolic benefits and are in clinical development, we found that under sustained cardiac stress, FGF21 can promote pathological hypertrophy. In pressure overload (transverse aortic constriction, TAC), hepatic FGF21 production rises before cardiac dysfunction, inducing FGF21 expression in cardiomyocytes (CMs). Subsequently, CM-derived FGF21 disrupts hypothalamic oxytocin signaling, driving pathological LVH. Deleting FGF21 from hepatocytes or CMs restored oxytocin signaling and reduced LVH, identifying CM-derived FGF21 as a direct mediator of cardiomyopathy. On the other hand, in HFpEF, the effects diverged: hepatocyte-specific FGF21 deletion, which was protective in TAC, accelerated progression to HFrEF, suggesting an early adaptive role for liver-derived FGF21. Conversely, CM-specific deletion delayed HFpEF development. These findings constitute the basis of our ongoing research aiming to address how liver-derived FGF21 promotes adaptive hypertrophy, whereas CM-derived FGF21 drives maladaptive remodeling. This work has important implications for ongoing clinical use of FGF21 analogs in metabolic disease, underscoring the need to evaluate cardiac risk and highlighting the potential of targeting the FGF21–oxytocin pathway for heart failure prevention and treatment. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Konstantinos Drosatos received his undergraduate degree in Biology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 2000. He pursued graduate studies in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine at the University of Crete, Greece, and Boston University, USA. From 2007 to 2012, he conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University, where he was later promoted to Associate Research Scientist. In 2014, he joined the Temple University School of Medicine as a tenure-track Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2020. In 2021, he was appointed Ohio Eminent Scholar and Professor of Pharmacology & Systems Physiology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Curious about using AI to find research papers? Not sure how to properly reference GenAI and avoid plagiarism? This beginner-friendly workshop introduces three GenAI tools (ChatGPT, Elicit, and Research Rabbit), showing how they can support information discovery and analysis. Designed for those new to AI, this practical session will allow you to independently experiment with these tools and participate in group discussions to explore their strengths, limitations, and suitability for different tasks. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what AI means and some key terms; differentiate between several categories of AI tools; describe how some GenAI tools can be used to discover information, including their strengths, limitations, and best practices; critique GenAI tools and their outputs at an introductory level using evaluative criteria; and state the University’s policies on AI, and avoid plagiarism by creating citations for AI-generated content. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
This paper considers jumps in asset prices in short windows around macroeconomic news announcements and considers SVAR identification using the assumption that these jumps are not correlated with policy shocks. It switches the usual approach of an external instrument from something that is correlated with only the policy shock to one that is uncorrelated with the policy shock. Frequentist inference is considered. In principle, the approach can achieve point identification. In practice, the proposed instruments are too weak for point identification, but they can be used to sharpen frequentist sign identification. In an application, they reduce the width of confidence intervals for the impulse responses to a monetary policy shock.
We propose a measure of strategic complexity for strategy-proof mechanisms in terms of the contingent reasoning they require agents to engage in to recognize their dominant strategy. Our rankings are consistent with the coarser ones implied by the solution concepts of (strong) obvious strategy-proofness (Li, 2017b; Pycia and Troyan, 2023b). The added flexibility of our approach allows a designer to balance a mechanism’s implicity with other objectives: We characterize the Ausubel (2004) auction as the simplest way to implement the VCG outcome in multi-unit allocation problems with transfers, and provide novel rankings of mechanisms that implement stable outcomes in matching problems.
Biography: Florian Sicklinger studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. After completion of his MD, he began his specialist training in internal medicine and cardiology in 2021 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Norbert Frey at Heidelberg University Hospital. As a physician scientist in the lab of Prof. Dr. Florian Leuschner, he focuses on the role of the immune system in cardiovascular disease. Using high-throughput tools for induction of myocardial infarction in mice combined with single-cell and spatial omics technologies, he is interested how immune cells can be targeted or exploited to improve left ventricular remodeling and myocardial fibrosis. Florian Sicklinger is also a member of the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) in Heidelberg/Mannheim.
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapters 8 & 9 Supplementary: Emma Goldman, ‘The Individual, Society and the State’ (1940); Paul Goodman, ‘I don’t want to work, why should I?’ in Compulsory Miseducation and The Community of Scholars (1962)
Seminar followed by Q&A and drinks - all welcome - join in person or online Full details available shortly
This conference will examine the physical history of navigation, beginning with how ancient civilisations navigated by the stars and other celestial bodies, then considering navigation by land, sea and air using various instruments (prior to modern technology) and concluding with the developments in modern technology for navigation including in space. *Programme for the day* *Morning Chair:* 10:30-10:40 Welcome 10:40-11:30 *Professor Joseph Caruana* (University of Malta) - Celestial Navigation in Ancient Times 11:30-12:20 *Dr Jane Wess* (formerly University of Edinburgh) - A History of Land Navigation Instruments Before the Digital Era 12:20-13:15 *Daisy Chamberlain* (Royal Museums Greenwich) - Navigating the Oceans Before Modern Technology 13:15-14:15 Lunch Break *Afternoon Chair:* 14:15-15:05 *Susan Lindsay* (Army Flying Museum) - Willy-Nilly Misbehaviour: Navigation in the Early Years of Aviation 15:05-16:00 *Professor Cathryn Mitchell* (University of Bath) - Radio Navigation: From LORAN to GPS 16:00-16:30 Tea/Coffee Break 16:30-17:00 Summary of the day's proceedings - *Professor Marek Ziebart* (Royal Institute of Navigation and UCL) There will be a conference dinner at St Cross College in the evening following the end of the conference with an after-dinner talk by Professor Richard Holland (Bangor University) on navigation by animals, birds and fish. Booking to attend the conference dinner can be made at the booking link below.
The Kinsey Institute Library & Special Collections was founded in 1947 to protect sexological research and cultural materials, including works rescued from Nazi destruction. It now forms the largest public collection related to human sexuality, gender and reproduction in the world, and holds materials that are foundational to research in women’s, gender and queer histories. This roundtable brings together the director, librarian and curator of the Kinsey Institute together with historians to explore what it means, and has meant, to serve as a “safe repository” in changing times.
Multi-informant designs are increasingly recognised as essential for capturing the complexity of children’s developmental contexts, but analytic approaches to such data vary widely, with important consequences for how different perspectives are understood. In the context of 134 two-child families in eastern China, this seminar uses sibling relationship quality as a case example, drawing on reports from caregivers and first-borns through quantitative questionnaires, and from preschool second-borns through age-appropriate qualitative interviews. Caregivers can arguably provide an outsider’s more detached view on sibling relationship, whereas children themselves as active participants in sibling interactions can share an insider’s subjective interpretations, making a multi-informant approach particularly informative. Exploratory structural equation modelling, multi-trait multimethod analyses, and latent profile comparisons were applied to assess both shared and divergent perspectives. Preliminary findings show systematic differences across informants, with caregivers tending to emphasise sibling conflict, whilst children highlight more positive relational qualities. The seminar concludes with a reflection on what different approaches to triangulation imply for the interpretation of sibling relationship data and, more generally, for the design and analysis of multi-informant studies in quantitative research. Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
Professor Astrid Iverson University of Oxford https://www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk/team/astrid-iversen
In 1859 the English settler Thomas Austin shipped 13 rabbits from his family’s farm in Somerset to Australia, releasing them on his estate for hunting. Populations exploded in size and spread across the continent with devastating consequences for Australian agriculture and ecology. The solution came in the form of the myxoma virus. This virus causes benign infections in its natural host, cottontail rabbits, but on transfer to European rabbits causes the lethal disease myxomatosis. It was released in the 1950s in Australia, Britain and France, causing the collapse of populations. This resulted in a unique replicated natural experiment, that has become a textbook example of evolution following disease emergence. By sequencing the exomes of rabbits from museum specimens before the pandemic and modern populations, we found that natural selection had acted on standing genetic variation in immunity genes across the genomes, with the parallel evolution if resistance having a common genetic basis. We have recently shown that one of the most strongly selected loci encodes classical MHC-I molecules that present viral peptides to T cells. Across the three populations, the same allele has risen in frequency. The high levels of standing genetic variation maintained in MHC genes has therefore likely allowed populations to rapidly adapt to a novel pathogen. The MHC alleles differ in properties such as surface expression and the extent to which they are down-regulated by the virus, and we are currently investigating whether these traits are the targets of natural selection.
Are you planning to present a poster at an upcoming conference, meeting or symposium? This introductory session will provide you with some top tips on how to create a poster presentation which will help you to communicate your research project and data effectively. There will be guidance on formatting, layout, content, use of text, references and images, as well as advice on printing and presenting your poster. This session will also provide help with locating resources such as templates, free-to-use images and poster guidelines. By the end of this online session you will be able to: evaluate the effectiveness of templates, formatting, text and images; and plan, prepare and present your poster. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student.
We study a random tree model known as the Preferential Attachment tree with Vertex Death. Here, one can both add vertices to the tree as well as kill vertices. This model mimics the non-monotone growth of real-world networks, absent in classical preferential attachment models. One initialises the tree with a single root vertex labelled 1. At every step $n$, either a new vertex labelled $n+1$ is added to the tree and connected to an already present alive vertex, selected preferentially according to a function $b$, or an already present vertex is selected preferentially according to a function $d$ and killed. Killed vertices can make no new connections. We are interested in the behaviour of the richest alive vertex $I_n$ (with the largest degree) and the oldest alive vertex $O_n$ (with the smallest label). When $I_n$ converges almost surely, we say that a persistent hub exists. When $I_n$ does not converge but $I_n/O_n$ is tight, we say that persistence occurs, and when $I_n/O_n$ diverges to infinity we say lack of persistence occurs. We uncover three distinct regimes in which behaviour is different: (1) The Infinite Lifetime regime, where we provide conditions under which a persistent hub exists almost surely. (2) The Rich Are Old regime, where we provide conditions under which either persistence or lack of persistence occurs. (3) The Rich Die Young regime, where lack of persistence always occurs. We shall discuss how the three regimes can be identified and what drives the behaviour observed in each regime. Partially joint work with Markus Heydenreich.
Scientific evidence shows that we are going through the first human-induced mass extinction, and as such, conservation policies are widely discussed among policymakers. However, there is little research on the harmful externalities of such policies. This paper combines global georeferenced data on wildlife habitats (including both animal and tree species) with information on armed conflict to estimate the violent externalities generated by international trade restrictions on wildlife products aimed at conserving biodiversity. An event-study specification shows that the imposition of trade restrictions increases the risk of conflict in affected areas. Two-stage least squares estimates for elephant ivory show that trade restrictions increase prices, which in turn increase the likelihood of conflict. Accounting for the spatial distribution of elephants, the implied effect size exceeds that of well-documented industrial conflict minerals. For precious trees, the analysis suggests that, once restrictions are in place, production shifts from states with high institutional capacity to those with low capacity, generating local windfall rents that fuel additional violence. Armed groups positioned to capture these rents expand operations into new areas and become more likely to gain territorial control, supporting the “feasibility” mechanism whereby increased wealth relaxes their budget constraints and enables violence. A social planner general equilibrium model shows that a targeted policy restricting trade in states with both high institutional capacity and relatively small stocks of precious trees improves welfare. Together, these findings document a previously overlooked conflict-related cost of conservation policy and suggest a mitigation strategy.
Recent research on the al-Qānūn al-Muqqadas, an 11th-century Arabic version of the Iberian canon law code, has shed considerable light on the position of Christians living under Islamic rule in al-Andalus, and particularly the ways in which their developing legal traditions were shaped by the experience of interacting with Islamic juridical systems. This paper builds on this research by placing these canon law texts in conversation with extant documentary sources written by Arabised Iberian Christians, which tend to deal with aspects of civil law in practice and the regulation of civil disputes. Although many of these texts were produced by Arabised Christians living under Castilian or Aragonese rule, they point to an older Christian Arabic notarial culture that drew heavily from mālikī formularies and offer considerable clues about the ways in which Andalusi Christians developed their own Christianised fiqh tradition under Islamic rule, which in turn endured in some communities long after Christian conquest. The paper will explore the opportunities provided by these documentary sources for understanding the development of legal practices of Christians under Islamic rule, and in turn, the implications for the status and political identities of these Christian communities in the moment of transition from Muslim to Christian rule.
A century after Ernst Renan called the nation a spiritual principle defying all social and natural categories, Benedict Anderson redefined it as a secular, albeit special, idea constructed through capitalist technologies. Postcolonial scholars have since challenged Anderson’s framing for undermining the agential autonomy of anticolonial nationalism. The preoccupation of this critical scholarship has primarily been sociological, focussing on how India was imagined as a nation. Taking a step back, my paper enquires historically into why India was imagined as an idea in the first place. Initially articulated as a rejoinder to the imperial representation of India as an incoherent collection of disaggregated ‘facts’, this idealist appeal emanated from the revolutionary camp helmed by Aurobindo Ghose and Bipin Chandra Pal, discontented by years of liberal debates over factual matters of political economy. The Indian idea was subsequently taken beyond the fold of nationalist thought by its principal proponent, the poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore, and reimagined as a concept that surpassed any fixed notion of ‘identity’. I reconstruct the intellectual history of the idea of India as it evolved in the late colonial period as a search for the structuring basis of its underlying political unity. Against the physical and commercial might of the colonisers, the very immateriality of the idea was upheld by the revolutionaries for its sacred quality to mobilise a power not militaristic but sacrificial. Tagore critiqued this conception and located the Indian idea in the practice of welfarism, which had historically held together the disparate units of society, bound by shared ethics of work and responsibility. Departing from the particularism of his civilisational construction, he later predicated freedom and solidarity on a universally shared human capacity for creative action. This paper reconstructs the conceptual tussle between related yet rival ideas of sacrifice, welfare, and creation that founded India in anticolonial political thought. Salmoli Choudhuri is an intellectual historian of legal and political concepts that have played a foundational role in shaping modern and contemporary India and informing global thought. After completing her PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2023, she joined the National Law School Bengaluru as an Assistant Professor. She is currently at Oxford as a Koch History Fellow. In addition to developing her doctoral thesis on Tagore and freedom into a monograph, she has begun a new project on juristic ideas of state-thinking in anticolonial political thought. Her work has appeared in journals such as Political Theology, Global Intellectual History, and Economic and Political Weekly.
Humans adapt to their environment primarily through cultural rather than biological means. While children are often portrayed as expert learners who acquire adaptive knowledge from adults, in this talk I will argue that children—through the cultures they produce with their peers—also transmit and create adaptive knowledge that helps communities adjust to rare but significant social and ecological change. Drawing on my fieldwork with BaYaka hunter-gatherers in the Congo Basin, as well as primary and secondary data from other communities, I show that both cultural evolutionary theory and empirical evidence support this view.
In the nearly one hundred years since her death in 1934 at the age of 67, Marie Curie has been the subject of myriad biographies. Curie herself was famously reticent, explaining to a would-be biographer that ‘In science we should be interested in things, not persons.’ Nevertheless, she produced the first account of her life: a brief memoir she included alongside the biography she wrote of her husband Pierre following his untimely death in 1906. In turn, Curie’s daughter Eve produced an imaginative and rich portrait of her mother in 1938, drawing on correspondence and diaries many of which were subsequently lost. In the nearly hundred years since then, Curie has never surrendered her status as the ‘first’ woman of science. She has been the subject of (and sometimes subjected to) accounts in graphic, illustrated and narrative form for children and adults, as well as numerous radio and film treatments. This seminar will be structured as a conversation about these many lives of Marie Curie and what they can tell us about what public history of science looks like when practised by amateurs, professionals and those somewhere in between—and what we should aspire for it to be *Sarah Dry* is a historian of science with a particular interest in the history of climate science, systems thinking, and biography. She is the author of a biography of Curie: A Life (Haus Publishing, 2025). *Stéphane Van Damme* is the Director of the Maison Française d’Oxford. He has published widely on the history of modern European science and culture and is a regular contributor to the science and medicine supplement of Le Monde.
Clare Pettit, “The Grounds of Empire: Relay and Resistance” (the telegraph, the 1857 Indian Rebellion, and Kipling’s Kim [1901]).
Nature Connectedness is a psychological construct that attempts to capture our emotional bond with nature and is rooted in the biophilia model, the innate infinity with the natural world. Although there is growing evidence that nature connectedness has a positive impact on our health and wellbeing, the efficacy of such approaches for those with complex mental health needs is unclear. This presentation aims to explore the development of nature-based interventions (NBIs) in the health sector, specifically with individuals with complex mental health needs requiring inpatient care. Transpersonal approaches, which promote an interconnected relationship with the world around us, are often overlooked in clinical environments such as health settings. We propose that salutogenic and holistic models of health, such as NBIs, will improve health and wellbeing outcomes over and above those which emphasise the treatment of pathology alone. Taking examples from practice, we will describe how NBIs have been implemented in our respective services, incorporating both service user and staff feedback. We will describe how NBI’s can improve emotional regulation, therapeutic relationships, and skill development in a trauma sensitive manner. We will describe some of the common challenges we’ve encountered bringing NBIs into the inpatient setting and explore how these can be effectively resolved. Dr Catriona Mellor (Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist) and Dr Kathryn Rowsell (Forensic Psychologist) are both currently training to become ecotherapists with the Natural Academy. Kathryn and Catriona have extensive clinical experience of inpatient settings with individuals presenting with complex needs. This seminar is hosted in-person at the Department of Psychiatry, Seminar Room. To join online, please use the details below: https://zoom.us/j/94567124781?pwd=sVxXabbSWibdU8A9W2clQlG9neRGbQ.1 Meeting ID: 945 6712 4781 Passcode: 470970
A roundtable that brings together activist, political and historical perspectives on 'care', in the later 20th century and today.
The significance of human interaction in the consent process is being challenged in a number of ways with the advent of a range of digital technological approaches to the process. In Europe there is regulatory scepticism about the appropriateness of having no human interaction in the consent process for participation in clinical trials, whether remotely or in the clinic. Regulators in the US seem more reticent about the importance of this feature. It may be that the need to preserve human interaction in consent is over-stated. In the context of modern technology, with automated chat facilities and the ability to clarify and answer questions electronically, the question remains as to what extra role and extra value is provided by human interaction. This issue turns on demonstrating the ethical value of human interaction in the conventional consent setting and then reflecting this against the contexts of remote, electronic, and AI-enabled consent processes. This paper considers two particular possibilities in this regard. First, that the clinician-researcher has special responsibilities to those who would fall under their care and so should establish a direct, human connection with consenters. Second, that the value of human interaction depends on the consenter’s trust in the clinical-researcher and the subtle power dynamics involved in the relationship – which importantly work against the theoretical ethical justification of the process as capturing informed voluntary agreement. In both cases, reliance on the human element poses important challenges to how we think about consent and its legitimacy.
Good research data management is a vital component of academic practice. Part of this is the principle that the data used to develop the arguments and outcomes of your research should be effectively stored and managed during a project, preserved for the future and – where possible – shared with other academics. This session introduces the University’s research data policy and outlines the practical impact this will have on your work. The services available at Oxford to assist you will be outlined. This session is not only essential during your current studies but will be invaluable if you plan to continue in research as a career. Topics to be covered include: common dangers and pitfalls of digital data; key principles of RDM and organising your data effectively; producing a data management plan; institutional, funder and publisher requirements; issues around preserving data and cybersecurity; ORA-Data, GitHub and other preservation services; sharing thoughts and insights about the potential of data management in your own field; and accessing Oxford based tools for research data management. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student; Staff
Designed for research staff who are considering their next career move—whether within Oxford, within academia more broadly, or in other sectors. This interactive workshop supports researchers in navigating their career development with greater confidence and clarity. It offers participants the space to reflect on their ambitions, explore alternative futures, and engage in structured peer discussions to share insights and challenges. Participants will use design-thinking approaches to consider different career scenarios. The session then moves into goal setting and peer advice-sharing, helping researchers to build practical short-term plans and identify supportive resources and networks. Participants are introduced to key tools and services available through Oxford to support their development as they prepare for their next step, whatever that may be. By the end of this session, participants will be able to: * Articulate multiple possible career directions, including both preferred and alternative pathways. * Identify actionable short-term goals that support career progress. * Reflect on and assess their professional development to date, including skills, motivations, and values. Everyone welcome, please register to receive the TEAMS link for this event If you are a student or researcher with a CareerConnect account, please register "here":https://oxford.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=23004&service=Careers%20Service All other staff register "here":https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke7xLB0LNIFKuA055EWF9ZtURDNaUFBBSFJPRFVWQktKQVBLTjhMSFo5NC4u, the joining link will be in the registration confirmation email
With the global spread of English, clarifying what makes speech intelligible and how listeners adapt to accent diversity is important for English language teaching. This presentation addresses these questions in two studies focusing on Japanese accented English. The first study examined key pronunciation features affecting intelligibility for both native and non-native listeners. One hundred participants (50 native and 50 non-native English speakers) transcribed highly controlled sentences, each containing two target words exemplifying one of three features of Japanese accented English – vowel deviations, consonant deviations, or vowel epenthesis. Analyses indicated that consonant deviations and vowel epenthesis impaired intelligibility more than vowel deviations, and descriptive analyses further pinpointed specific phoneme-level contributors. The second study tested whether brief adaptation training using Japanese accented English with captions improves comprehension. One hundred and twenty participants (60 native and 60 non-native English speakers) completed a pre-test–training–post-test design. In the test phases, participants transcribed sentences to measure intelligibility and provided Likert-scale ratings to measure comprehensibility. During training, they were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: Japanese accented speech with/without captions or North American English with/without captions. Listeners showed adaptation to Japanese accented speech, though training effects were limited. Drawing on these findings, the presentation discusses pedagogical implications for pronunciation and listening instruction. Bio: Naosuke is a final-year DPhil student in Applied Linguistics at the University of Oxford. He completed an MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at Oxford in 2019. His research interests lie in intelligibility and listener adaptation in accented English within Global Englishes contexts. Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3aM_SoBsI8nakThXNUxEguh57-GSvT6JopDdhFnEBgr3I1%40thread.tacv2/1759499701700?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22e0e2c03d-d313-4dab-bd7c-afbd83792648%22%7d
Looking for time and space to focus on your writing? Come to our regular writing group meetings. This group is designed for scholars who engage with humour in their research, whether through literature, performance, media, history, philosophy, anthropology, cultural studies, or other. We provide structured time for focused writing, support each other’s accountability, and offer a community for those who share an interest in the study of humour. Snacks, tea, and coffee will be provided.
Many states exhibit high degrees of capacity without having the fiscal resources necessary to fund a modern bureaucracy. In this paper, we argue that they achieve this by exploiting the social structure of the societies they govern. We develop the concept of the ``Embedded state'' and illustrate how it functions using a unique survey of British urban government from 1835. Since local authorities had few resources, only a third of their functionaries were paid. Instead, people were motivated by prestige and career concerns. We show that jobs where these incentives dominated attracted elites and people with higher ability. We also show that, as a consequence, unpaid officials were significantly more productive than paid ones. While the Embedded State was successful in providing public goods at low monetary costs, it also featured corruption and nepotism, and could not motivate unpaid bureaucrats to implement onerous tasks.
In this workshop, we explore new aspects of the people, texts, and networks around the Dutch philosopher Benedict Spinoza (1632–1676). The workshop is organised by the ERC project NOTCOM on occasion of the visit of Dr. Maxime Rovere, author of Méthodes de Spinoza (CNRS Editions, 2010) and Le Clan Spinoza (Flammarion 2017), and translator of Spinoza, Correspondance (Garnier-Flammarion, 2010), Spinoza, Éthique (Flammarion, 2021), and Jarig Jellesz et Lodewijk Meyer. Spinoza par ses amis (Rivages, 2017). 2.00-2.15pm Introduction (Mogens Lærke) 2.15-3.15pm. Olivier Yasar de France (Pembroke College, Oxford): The Transnational Circulation of an Idea in the European Republic of Letters: The Curious Case of Vat. Lat. 12838. A few years ago, a non-autograph manuscript of Benedict Spinoza’s Ethics was discovered in the Archives of the Vatican. Copied a couple of years before the philosopher's death, it is the only manuscript of his Ethica which has survived. It travelled with Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus as he undertook the intellectual grand tour of Europe which brought him from the United Provinces to London and Paris. What with all roads leading to Rome, the manuscript's peregrinations ended in the Vatican, where Nicolas Steno promptly committed it to the Index of the Inquisition. We hope to interpret the peregrinations of the Vatican Ethics in light of Benedict Spinoza's own philosophy. Indeed we submit that they embody the philosopher's own understanding of how ideas circulate in times of peace. The travels of the manuscript fashion the first layers of interpretation of the Ethics, before his most influential work has even seen the light of day. The travails of the manuscript will come to symbolize both the early politics of Spinoza's reception, and the later reception of Spinoza's politics. In so doing, they partake of the invention of a Spinozism without Spinoza. In short, Vat. Lat. 12838 has all the makings of a very singular palimpsest—one which both shapes and is shaped by the collective, political, European and transnational circulation of an idea across time. 3:15-4:15. Mogens Lærke (CNRS-IHRIM/MFO, Lyon/Oxford) : A Circle Without a Circle. Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus’s Natural Scientific Method The first edition of Medicina mentis (1686/7), the principal philosophical work of Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus (1651–1708), was subtitled “an attempt at authentic logic wherein the method of discovering unknown truths is discussed.” In this paper, I am interested in the historical genesis and the systematic construction of this “art of discovery.” As a philosopher, Tschirnhaus is difficult to categorise, placed at the point of transition between different doctrines, schools, and epochs, a “heretic” of both Cartesianism and Spinozism, according to himself. One central instance of Tschirnhaus keeping a foot in several camps is this: on the one hand, he insisted that “true physics” (vera physica) has to be built from the ground up from a priori principles; on the other hand, he maintains that the conduct of “natural science” (scientia naturalis) has to be rooted in experience and experimental practices; he explicitly claimed to have found an “intermediary path” between these two approaches. In this paper, I am interested in the historical genesis and the systematic construction of this art of discovery, with particular emphasis on the way in which Tschirnhaus believed to have found such an “intermediary path.” I believe the ground-structure of Tschirnhaus’s art of discovery is best understood as the result of his complex engagement with in his intellectual development, especially some formative years around the mid- and late 1670s. 4.30-5.30pm Maxime Rovere (IHRIM, Lyon): Resisting Spinoza: Bouwmeester, Van den Enden and Kerckrinck’s Objections to Spinoza’s Intellectualism A diffusionist bias sometimes makes scholars suppose that Spinoza’s group of friends was made of disciples, gathered around him to receive his teachings as a doctrine of truth. This presentation draws attention to a certain resistance which was explicitly offered by Spinoza’s friends concerning one of his doctrines, regarding the relation between imagination and intellect. More specifically, that resistance bears upon the role played by imagination in human salvation. In his early texts, from the very first up to the Tractatus theologico-politicus (1670), Spinoza tends to present the imagination as an incertain form of knowledge and as the source of all error, while the intellect alone appears to offer access to truth and science, as the only means of knowing God and experience salvation. However, in their early writings, the authors that historians consider to be closest to Spinoza made arguments going in the opposite direction. In the Philedonius (1657), Franciscus Van den Enden considered the possibility of anticipating the future with the help of imagination—for him, that faculty did not appear only in a disorderly state. In one of his letters (1666), Johannes Bouwmeester observes that, because imagination has a sovereign power from the point of view of knowledge, we should not consider it as an act of aimless thinking. In his contributions to the literary society Nil volentibus arduum, founded in 1669, he moreover suggests that it is possible to dispense with the intellect if we are dealing with the issue of salvation. Finally, in his Florilegium anatomicum (1670), Theodor Kerckrinck referred to the Paracelsian tradition to highlight the strength of the imagination in shaping the body, for better or for worse. I will argue see that these objections, or acts of resistance to Spinoza’s propositions, far from drawing a dividing line between Spinoza and his friends, offer us extraordinary examples of the malleable aspect of their ideas, as well as of a common intellectual evolution of friends who shared philosophical interests.
In this seminar, Amanda Rubin-Lewis and Devorah Baum discuss The Third Reich of Dreams, Charlotte Beradt’s recently republished archive of the dreams of Jewish and non-Jewish Berliners living under the Nazi regime. Out of print in English for over forty years, this remarkable dream archive, which Charlotte risked her life to protect, stands as both testimony and warning—a unique seismograph of history, registering the tremors of totalitarianism through the minds of those who endured it. “ … an eerie reminder of totalitarianism’s torments, at a time when the world seems to be drifting once again towards darkness” —Weekend Telegraph Like the dreams she preserved, Charlotte’s story raises questions that echo today: Did ordinary Germans realise they were living through a historical nightmare? Would we recognise the same signs if we were living through them ourselves? As our own era confronts rising authoritarianism and deepening polarisation, these dreams illuminate the subtle psychological mechanisms of control—how propaganda distorts reality, how we unconsciously conform, and what happens when the distinction between fact and fiction begins to dissolv About The Third Reich of Dreams: “… the kind of book that haunts your dreams. Essential reading for anyone who has known what it is like to live within a totalitarian state—or is worried they’re about to find out” — Zadie Smith, New York Review of Books Soon after Hitler seized power in January 1933, Berlin-based journalist Charlotte Beradt began having disturbing dreams. Night after night, she finds herself hunted through snow-covered fields, stormtroopers at her heels. Shaken by these nightmares and banned as a Jew from working, she began secretly collecting dreams from her friends and neighbours, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Disguising these “diaries of the night” in code and concealing them in the spines of books from her extensive library, she smuggles them out of the country one by one. “Dreams are perfect for registering nascent authoritarianism and the ways its repressions actually unfold: not as a single announcement or explosive act but as a steady, growing rumble while the ground beneath your feet begins to shift” —The Atlantic Escaping to New York in 1939, reinvention comes at a steep cost. Charlotte fashions her husband’s old lawyer’s robe into a working housecoat and earns a living dyeing the hair of fellow refugees. What was once Berlin’s literary salon culture transforms into a makeshift hair salon in exile. It becomes a gathering place for European émigré intellectuals, including Hannah Arendt. This tight-knit circle forms a space for conversation and connection amid collective loss, preserving fragments of the culture they were forced to leave behind. Decades later, and as Germany begins to reckon with its past, Charlotte painstakingly reassembles the hidden dream fragments—decoding, organising, and connecting the testimonies she had safeguarded. TheThird Reich of Dreams, finally published in 1966, becomes a landmark work—reframing life under fascism through the hidden world of the unconscious. Speaker Details: Amanda Rubin-Lewis is a documentary filmmaker, journalist, and independent scholar working at the intersection of cultural history, music, the arts, and science. Her work has been featured on the BBC, Channel 4, The History Channel, and Discovery+, among other notable channels. Her recent relevant work includes 21st Century Mythologies (BBC), which unpacks the 1957 book Mythologies by French philosopher Roland Barthes, laying bare the myth-making that is at the heart of consumer culture. It was while researching a film about journalist Charlotte Beradt and her unique dream anthology, The Third Reich of Dreams, that Amanda discovered the lost English-language rights to the book. She was the force behind its republication in English in April 2025 by Princeton University Press. Presently, Rubin is making a radio documentary for BBC Radio 4 about the dream collection and the role of psychotherapy under the Nazis. She lives and works in London. Devorah Baum is a writer, filmmaker and Professor of English Literature at the University of Southampton. She is the author of Feeling Jewish: a book for just about anyone (Yale University Press, 2017), The Jewish Joke (Profile, 2016), and On Marriage (Hamish Hamilton, 2023) and the director of the creative documentary features The New Man (2016) and Husband (2022). Her writing has appeared in various publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian and Granta magazine. In 2025, she published the co-edited (with Stephen Frosh) Routledge International Handbook to Psychoanalysis and Jewish Studies. About the Programme Jewish Women's Voices is a collaborative initiative by Kate Kennedy, Director of the ‘Oxford Centre for Life-Writing’, and Vera Fine-Grodzinski, a scholar of Jewish social and cultural history. The Programme is the first of its kind at any UK academic institution. Launched in October 2023, the Programme celebrates the life-writing of Jewish women often underrepresented in mainstream history accounts. The Programme is a three-term seminar series dedicated to exploring the diverse experiences of Jewish women across centuries, countries, and cultures. Further information about the Programme can be found here. Further Details and Contacts: This hybrid event is free and open to all. Registration is recommended for in-person attendance and required for hybrid attendance The seminar will be recorded and made available on the OCLW website soon after. Registration is not required to access the recording. Registration will close at 10:30 on 25 November 2025. Any queries regarding this event should be addressed to OCLW Events Manager, Dr Eleri Anona Watson.
The extant literature on the link between international education and socio-political development emphasises the role political socialisation in democratic host societies plays in instilling democratic values in foreign students and prompting them to advocate for democratic change in the home country. In this webinar, I will discuss such assumptions drawing on some findings of my doctoral research project which explored the impact of international educational mobility on Russian young people’s socio-political views and engagement. More specifically, I will consider the influence of studying abroad on Russian mobile students’ understandings of democracy and aspirations to engage socio-politically in Russia. The analysis draws on data from 55 in-depth interviews with Russian students and alumni of British and American universities. The findings reveal that international mobility contributes to heightened socio-political awareness and sometimes helps shape notions of democracy. However, such individual-level democratising impact is somewhat weakened by the conflicting evidence demonstrating that study abroad may contribute to scepticism about democracy as a political system and that newly acquired socio-political knowledge is sometimes impressionistic and fragmented. Furthermore, the evidence points to the paramount importance of the sending country’s political context in examining the linkage between student migrants’ democratic socialisation abroad, aspirations to enact political agency and potential to impact on the level of democratic development in the homeland.
In this talk, Dr Sapir will present her research on the historical development of student volunteering in Israeli higher education and its current implications. Based on archival analysis of two elite universities over four decades, the study identifies three key debates surrounding student volunteering: over the purpose of volunteering; over its mandatory nature; and over the awarding of academic credit. Challenging current critiques which focus on tensions embedded in the current neo-liberal climate, the historical lens reveals that key features - such as individualisation, control mechanisms, and demands for compensation - were shaped in earlier decades. These debates reflect broader questions about the shifting boundaries of the academic mission, student equity, and academic autonomy. Connecting this study to ongoing research on widening participation in Israeli higher education, she argues that mandatory volunteering requirements tied to need-based grants function as mechanisms of disciplinary poverty governance, reproducing inequality through disciplinary practices. Dr Adi Sapir is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Leadership and Policy in Education at the University of Haifa. Her research focuses on higher education and its social, cultural, historical, and organisational contexts. She has studied early academic entrepreneurship, the evolving meanings of basic and applied research, and the commodification of universities’ public roles. Her current work examines equity in higher education, focusing on the experiences and challenges of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and the institutional barriers they encounter.
Social emotional learning (SEL) is seen as critical for children’s lifelong success. Though most of the research on preschoolers’ SEL is focused on school-based interventions, children’s museums are valuable resources for fostering SEL. Over the last several years, we have conducted a series of studies examining how preschoolers’ engage in SEL in children’s museums. The first study assessed whether preschoolers demonstrate SEL behaviors in children’s museums and if there were differences between SEL in children’s museums compared to other free, play-based settings, like community playgrounds. The second study compared observations of preschoolers’ peer relationship skills in three different types of children’s museum exhibit types, including a) loose parts exhibits; b) scenario-based exhibits; and c) collaborative activity exhibits. And the third study measured what parents/caregivers observe about their child(ren)’s SEL during a children’s museum visit. In this seminar, Dr. Luke will share results from all three studies and engage participants in discussion about the affordances and constraints for facilitating SEL in an informal learning environment like children’s museums. This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar Series. Join in-person or online on Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
In Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia), colonial authorities, mining companies and other industries, and some missionaries sought to “civilise” and impose order on African populations in towns such as Livingstone and the emerging Copperbelt urban centres. After the Second World War, these efforts produced an ostensibly urban and “modern” social order. During this period, a small minority of highly educated, middle-class African ‘elites’ emerged, increasingly asserting themselves in the governance of African urban life and displacing the “traditional” authorities to whom the colonial state had originally delegated such roles. These ‘elites’ later spearheaded the independence struggle, and after independence, the ruling faction advanced its own vision of an urban and “modern” order through the framework of Zambian Humanism. Yet despite its rhetorical break with colonialism, Humanism in practice often reproduced colonial strategies of discipline and regulation. At the same time, the wider urban African masses resisted these agendas, often refusing to conform to the “modernist” ideals promoted by some missionaries, colonial authorities, and nationalist ‘elites.’ In this presentation, my focus is on African men in Livingstone and the Copperbelt, examining how they navigated, pursued, and attained manhood between the mid-1940s and late 1970s, an era nostalgically portrayed by many of my older interlocutors and some scholars as a “golden era of modern manhood.” This presentation is based on a draft chapter from my doctoral thesis.
Prof. Dr. med. Wolfram-Hubertus Zimmermann Director, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology | University Medical Center Göttingen Prof. Zimmermann is an internationally recognized leader in cardiac pharmacology and regenerative medicine. His research focuses on heart repair and regeneration through stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and translational therapeutics. As Director of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University Medical Center Göttingen, he has pioneered innovative approaches to cardiac tissue engineering and disease modeling.
In _Decoding the Hand: A History of Magic, Medicine and Science_, Alison Bashford explores the long connections between early modern chiromancy, nineteenth-century revivals of kabbalistic palmistry, sometimes reworked as ‘medical palmistry’, and a suite of twentieth century biomedical interventions, including the hand-based ‘dermatoglyphics’. Not only for fortune-telling palmists were the future and the past, health, and character laid bare in the hand, but for other experts in bodies and minds as well: anatomists, psychiatrists, embryologists, primatologists, evolutionary biologists, geneticists. Part diagnostics, part prognostics as well as prognostication, she explains an enduring search for how our bodily surfaces might reveal an inner self—a soul, a character, an identity. *Alison Bashford FBA* is Scientia Professor of History at University of New South Wales, previously Vere Harmsworth Professor at Cambridge. She is author of _An Intimate History of Evolution: The Story of the Huxley Family_ (Allen Lane, 2022), winner of the Nib Literary Award, and shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize. Her most recent edited book is _New Earth Histories: Geo-cosmologies and the Making of the Modern World_ (Chicago) with Kern and Bobbette. In 2021, she received the Dan David Prize for her contributions to the history of medicine. This event, open to all, is supported by the TORCH Network 'Divination, Oracles, and Omens', the Calleva Research Centre at Magdalen College, and the Centre for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology in the History Faculty. For more information, contact Michelle Pfeffer.
In our September event, Professor Robert McGill (Ontario & Wadham 1999) will discuss his book Simple Creatures. Robert McGill is the author of three novels and two nonfiction books. His short stories have been published by magazines including The Atlantic and The Dublin Review, and his most recent book is the short fiction collection Simple Creatures. He is Professor of English at the University of Toronto, where he teaches Creative Writing.
The Unfinished Conversation: Reckoning with Colonial History
Join Professor A. C. Grayling, one of the UK’s leading public philosophers and author of For the People: Fighting Authoritarianism, Saving Democracy, in conversation with Dr Leor Zmigrod, a political neuroscientist and author of The Ideological Brain, as part of the Calleva-Airey Neave Global Security Seminar Series. The seminar is moderated by Dr Julia Ebner, Calleva Researcher and Leader of Oxford’s Violent Extremism Lab. As the closing seminar of the series, this session will consider the contemporary pressures facing democratic systems, including the role of political structures, information ecosystems, and individual psychological predispositions. It will examine how institutional and cognitive factors intersect to shape the resilience or vulnerability of democratic governance in the face of authoritarian and extremist currents, and reflect on possible strategies — institutional, civic, and psychological — for strengthening democratic practices and safeguarding political freedoms in a rapidly changing global environment. The event is followed by a drinks reception.
Paula Muñoz is a Full Professor at the Universidad del Pacífico in Peru. She received her PhD and MA in Government from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of “Buying Audiences: Clientelism and Electoral Campaigns When Parties Are Weak” (Cambridge University Press, 2009) and co-author of “Prosecutors, Voters and The Criminalization of Corruption in Latin America: The Case of Lava Jato” (Cambridge University Press, 2023). Her research interests include distributive politics, corruption, sub-national politics, democratic accountability, and, more recently, the politics of plastics regulation.
What if you could draw sound? What if there was a way to sketch music that was so intuitive that school children could pick it up with ease, yet powerful enough that it could revolutionise the creative process for professional composers, liberating them from the constraints of traditional notation? In 1977 visionary Greek-French composer and polymath Iannis Xenakis brought this idea to life with UPIC, a groundbreaking machine that transformed visual gestures into audio signals; a user could draw on a board and UPIC would convert these drawings into sound. Xenakis’s pioneering work has profoundly shaped my own music compositional journey, inspiring me to explore the deep connections between drawing and music and between what we see and what we hear. In this talk I will delve into the fascinating relationship between sound and image and how this interplay informs my music. My solo violin cycle, “Nicosia Etudes” intertwines musical gestures with the soundscape of Nicosia in Cyprus, the last divided capital in Europe. I will discuss how this piece draws on the spirit of UPIC and will demonstrate how gestures evolve into sound through live examples and performances on musical instruments. There will be a drinks reception in the Sybil Dodd Room following the talk to which everyone is welcome. If you'd like to attend, please register at: https://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/event/designing-sound-sculpting-gesture
Book Overview: This book follows the four-decade diplomatic career of Nabeela Al Mulla, the first woman ambassador from the State of Kuwait. Though she planned on an academic career, Al Mulla found her true calling when she changed course to serve in the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry, beginning in the 1970s. This work included time at the United Nations in the turbulent Gulf War era. Al Mulla went on to make history in 1993 with her first ambassadorial posting in Zimbabwe, followed by other postings in Southern Africa during Nelson Mandela's transformative presidency in post-apartheid South Africa. She was serving in Europe when the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began at the turn of the 21st century. Ambassador Al Mulla made history again in 2004 with her designation as Kuwait's Permanent Representative to the UN, making her the first Arab woman to head a member state's delegation. Al Mulla's impassioned dedication to global cooperation continued as she went on to lend her expertise to NATO, the IAEA, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, among other organizations. Readers will be inspired by Ambassador Al Mulla's account of her groundbreaking career and will gain an insider's perspective on diplomatic service and the international bodies striving to promote peace and security in the Middle East and beyond. About the Author: Ambassador Nabeela Al Mulla is the first woman ambassador from the Gulf region, the first Arab woman to chair the IAEA Board of Governors, and the first Arab woman Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
William of Ockham (c. 1278-1347), who studied theology at Oxford, inspired what is now called Occam’s Razor, a principle of parsimony in reasoning about the world which holds that simpler models are better. This principle built on ideas circulating among Scholastic philosophers of his day, including Duns Scotus (c. 1265-1308), who maintained that “Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate,” or "Plurality should not be posited without necessity.” Ockham wielded this principle like a scalpel to cut away unnecessary parts of an argument. But why? Is it true that simpler explanations are closer to the truth, and what do "simpler" and "better" mean, anyway? In November’s Balliol Online Lecture, Professor Vijay Balasubramanian (George Eastman Professor and Visiting Fellow 2024-2025) will draw on a variety of material, from Balliol's medieval manuscripts collection to his own research with contemporary artificial intelligence, in order to discuss the philosophical, mathematical and physical reasons why bounded agents with limited resources may achieve more by using simpler models. Professor Vijay Balasubramanian is the George Eastman Visiting Professor at Balliol College during the 2024-2025 academic year. As a theoretical physicist, he works in the fields of quantum gravity and the fundamental theory of forces, the study of complex quantum and classical systems, biological physics, and learning by machines and animals. In his publications he has investigated the creation, transformation, processing, storage and transmission of information in physical systems ranging from black holes in quantum gravity to neural circuits in brains. Professor Balasubramanian is the Cathy and Marc Lasry Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr Marlène Rosano-Grange (Sciences Po, Political Economy) will speak on the findings of her new book on the global history of European integration: La fin de l'Europe: Une histoire mondiale de l'intégration (Amsterdam). She is a political economist and postdoctoral researcher in international relations at Sciences Po. Her work focuses on international political economy, trade unions and European integration, and the sociology of labour and finance.
tbc
Oxford CEMS in the Schwarzman: Early Modern Conversations in Ecology Professor Bart Van Es (English) ‘True Fire: Saint Augustine, the Climate Crisis, and Creative Non-Fiction’ Professor Francesca Southerden (Italian) ‘Affective Ecologies in Petrarch’s Lyric Poems’ Refreshments served All welcome
With the rapid development of AI and biotechnologies (including those relating to germline gene editing, brain-computer Interfaces, life extension, etc.) come vast powers to reshape ourselves and the natural world. As technological advances grant us new powers, so do they blur some boundaries between humans, animals, and machines, prodding us to ask the question: what does it mean to be human? Drawing upon readings in the humanities (including philosophy, theology, literature, etc.) and the sciences, this group will attempt to bridge the existential and empirical study of human identity - and within that context, ask if and how such reflections might help chart a path forward in relation to the right uses of new and potent technologies. We will focus in particular on questions of human purpose, place, and flourishing within the natural order. The reading group is open to students at all levels of study (including medical students), as well as faculty. We will meet for about 1 hour, twice per term. Under the umbrella of TORCH Medical Humanities, this will be a casual reading and discussion group. The readings for each session will be introduced by a different participant - and the readings for each session will take a total of roughly 1 hour to complete.
With the rapid development of AI and biotechnologies (including those relating to germline gene editing, brain-computer Interfaces, life extension, etc.) come vast powers to reshape ourselves and the natural world. As technological advances grant us new powers, so do they blur some boundaries between humans, animals, and machines, prodding us to ask the question: what does it mean to be human? Drawing upon readings in the humanities (including philosophy, theology, literature, etc.) and the sciences, this group will attempt to bridge the existential and empirical study of human identity - and within that context, ask if and how such reflections might help chart a path forward in relation to the right uses of new and potent technologies. We will focus in particular on questions of human purpose, place, and flourishing within the natural order. Under the umbrella of TORCH Medical Humanities, this will be a casual reading and discussion group. The readings for each session will be introduced by a different participant - and the readings for each session will take a total of roughly 1 hour to complete.
Join us for this novel course hosted by OxSTaR, for an introduction to the skills required to deliver simulation-based healthcare education. The course is directed towards healthcare professionals with an interest in simulation, but no previous experience is required. Why this course: Are you looking at starting to build the skill set required to deliver simulation to healthcare professionals? This course will introduce you to the importance of debriefing, including giving you the opportunity to practice, and understanding of the roles required to deliver simulation. No experience is required but completion of the e-learning for health modules in simulation prior to the course is essential. This course is part of a wider programme that will also include mentorship opportunities post course. Course Outline: Full day of Lectures and hands on workshops: > Principles of simulation and roles required to deliver > Why do we pre-brief? > Practical debriefing >Designing a simulation scenario
An interactive networking day for early-career researchers working across the ‘brain omics’ spectrum from genomics to transcriptomics to proteomics and epigenomics. With a focus on psychiatric and brain-related conditions, the event will highlight the opportunities and challenges of working with large-scale datasets, while fostering connections and collaborations across disciplines. Please complete the linked registration form if you wish to attend.
An interactive networking day for early-career researchers working across the ‘brain omics’ spectrum from genomics to transcriptomics to proteomics and epigenomics. With a focus on psychiatric and brain-related conditions, the event will highlight the opportunities and challenges of working with large-scale datasets, while fostering connections and collaborations across disciplines.
An interactive networking day for early-career researchers working across the ‘brain omics’ spectrum from genomics to transcriptomics to proteomics and epigenomics. With a focus on psychiatric and brain-related conditions, the event will highlight the opportunities and challenges of working with large-scale datasets, while fostering connections and collaborations across disciplines.
EndNote is a desktop-based reference management tool for Windows and Mac users. It helps you to build libraries of references and insert them into Word documents as in-text citations or footnotes, and to automatically generate bibliographies. This online introduction to EndNote is open to all University of Oxford students, researchers and staff and teaches you how to use the software so that you can effectively manage your references. The workshop will cover: what EndNote can do for you; adding references to EndNote from a range of sources; managing your references in an EndNote library; adding in-text citations and/or footnotes to your essays and papers; and creating bibliographies. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Putting in place effective processes for learning is key to getting better at policy engagement, and to meeting some of the demands we face to demonstrate the impact of our work. But what tools and resources can we use - and how do we use them? To help researchers answer these questions, the Policy Engagement Team is offering this short course, comprising two parts, each lasting 2 hours. In Part 1, participants will engage in small-group and plenary activities. They will learn about effective techniques for monitoring, evaluation, and learning related to policy engagement. These concepts are then applied through drafting a theory of change. Supplementary materials, including PowerPoint slides, handouts, and recommended reading and resources will be provided to participants, further embedding the concepts covered. Intended audience Researchers, DPhil Students, and Professional Services Staff
How do you ensure that your research is credible, to yourself and others? Preregistration means specifying in advance your hypotheses, methods, and/or analyses for a study, in a time-stamped file that others can access. Many fields, including behavioural and medical sciences, are increasingly using preregistration or Registered Reports (where a journal accepts your study at preregistration phase, and guarantees to publish the results if you follow the registered plan). If you've never preregistered a study before (or even if you have!) it can be complicated and hard to do well. In this workshop, we will go over the 'what,' 'why,' and 'how' of preregistration, and after some practice exercises, you will start drafting your own preregistration. We will also discuss some of the common challenges of preregistration, and its limitations. After the course, you will be able to: describe what preregistration and Registered Reports are (and how they differ); explain the benefits (and drawbacks) of preregistration and Registered Reports; identify what types of research are most suited for preregistration and Registered Reports; recognise the common pitfalls in writing a preregistration; identify the logistics of preregistering: which format and platform to use; and demonstrate the ability to write an effective preregistration, with an appropriate balance of specificity and concision. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
This 90-minute session will cover some more advanced techniques for finding medical literature to answer a research question. We will recap some basics, then demonstrate searching in several medical databases, including using subject headings (MeSH) and the differences between platforms. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what subject headings are, and how to use them; search for words that appear near to other words; take a search from one database into another; and save a search and document it. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student
Join online via Microsoft Teams by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3hfr23
Since its adoption, the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees has been central to scholarship on refugee and asylum issues. Yet, many states, including some hosting major refugee populations, are not parties to either the Convention or to its 1967 Protocol. Introducing the edited collection Non-Signatory States in International Refugee Law (Brill, 2025), this talk aims to capture and discuss essential aspects in the study of non-signatory states. It unpacks the ways in which diverse critical perspectives and methodological eclecticism are needed to understand the relation between these states and the international refugee regime. It explores how international refugee law is reshaped when actors in non-signatory states engage with its norms, and how national legal and protection landscapes are reconfigured as part of the process. Overall, the talk demonstrates how the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol play an important role in shaping responses to refugees in many non-signatory states. International refugee law manifests itself in myriad ways in these states, and these states in turn contribute to its further development. About the speaker Maja Janmyr is Professor of International Migration Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo. Focusing mainly on Lebanon and the broader Middle East, Janmyr’s work takes a historical and socio-legal approach to international law, examining in particular how refugees and asylum-seekers understand and engage with legal norms and institutions, and how international refugee law is interpreted and implemented in local contexts. She is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Refugee Law and is chair of the University of Oslo’s Scholars at Risk committee. Janmyr has received several awards and recognitions for her work, including the Fridtjof Nansen medal of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. She has lead several large research projects, and currently holds a Starting Grant from the European Research Council for the project “Protection without Ratification? International Refugee Law beyond States Parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention (BEYOND)” (2021-2026). The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall. Registration not required. All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk
John Williams is one of the most important film composers of all time, having almost singlehandedly revived the Hollywood symphonic scoring tradition and helped restore the livelihood of American orchestras through the popularity of film music programming. His film music, in the words of director Oliver Stone, "came to stand for the American culture".
“We need to understand photography as part of racial capitalism”. So writes Ariella Azoulay, correctly insisting that we regard the global dissemination of photography as an imperial exercise of power and domination. But it is Azoulay who has also sought to persuade us that photographs are relational entities whose meanings and effects are generated by their viewers and subjects as much as by their makers. This paper pursues that line of thinking while asking what actually happened when photography and Indigenous Australians encountered one another for the first time. A close study of a group of daguerreotypes of Indigenous Australians, taken in 1847 in Melbourne by Douglas Kilburn, and of French lithographs made after daguerreotypes that also feature native Australians, provides evidence that their subjects were agents in, as well as victims of, the act of photography. The paper thereby seeks to offer a history as complex and nuanced as the images it engages. *Geoffrey Batchen* is Professor of History of Art at the University of Oxford. His next book will be titled _On Silver Bright: Essays about Daguerreotypes_.
Are you looking for a streamlined approach to gathering, managing and citing your references? Join us for this interactive online session in which we introduce Zotero, a reference management tool that helps you to collect and manage references and insert them into your word-processor document as in-text citations or footnotes, as well as generating bibliographies. The demonstration will be on Windows although Zotero is also available for Mac and Linux.By the end of the session, you will understand: how Zotero can help you; how to add references to Zotero from a range of sources; how to manage your references; how to add in-text citations and/or footnotes to your documents; how to create bibliographies; and where to get help with Zotero. Please note that, whilst this session is mostly aimed at beginners, there will be a chance at the end to ask more specific questions about how to use Zotero. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
TBA
_Songs of Seven Dials_ shares the untold story of a remarkable neighbourhood and the battle to define modern London. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Seven Dials was one of London's most diverse neighbourhoods, home to migrant and working-class communities, bohemian clubs and cafes. But business leaders and city planners had other ideas. Beginning with a rancorous libel trial of 1927, in which a Sierra Leonean café owner and his wife confronted the racist newspaper that destroyed their business, Matt Houlbrook’s new book reveals the surprising history of this remarkable neighbourhood. He traces how tensions that simmered on the streets and finally exploded in court betrayed the politics of urban 'improvement' and the 'colour bar'. Underlying the trial was a series of troubling questions that would define Britain in the twentieth century - about race, class and the boundaries of belonging, gentrification and the kind of city London would become. Imaginative, powerful, and deeply moving, _Songs of Seven Dials_ is an important new history of London in the 1920s and 1930s.
E4bp4/Nfil3 is a transcription factor that has a critical role in innate lymphoid cell development. This seminar will discuss the role of E4bp4/Nfil3 in NK cell biology and application of that understanding to establishing a novel platform for use in immunotherapy.
Research into the visual cortex of primates has been a pioneering driver for linking information processing in the brain to cognitive function. Sensory input to the system can be tightly controlled and perceptual consequences probed through behavioural report. A detailed understanding of the distributed representations of elements of the visual world has allowed us to predict and modify visual perception. I will argue that the fundamental building blocks for our rich visual experience arise from signalling in extrastriate visual cortex. During development, visual experience and motor interactions with the world generate internal models of the visual world by shaping functional local circuits in visual cortex. With focal interventions at specific points in this circuitry, we can positively and predictively alter visual experience by activating defined circuit elements that are normally activated by specific content from the visual world. The more specifically we target visual neurons, the more predictively and positively we can change visual experience. Using focal microstimulation, we can artificially reverse the perceived direction of rotation of a 3D-object defined by multiple visual cues. Evidence also points to contextual factors, like expected reward and social influence, biasing visual perception through affecting this local circuitry in visual cortex. The next frontier is to generate complex visual percepts de novo from artificial signals being planted into cortex without the need for a visual stimulus. One possible approach to achieve this is to look to identify the local spatio-temporal dynamics of neuronal activity that define a specific perceptual state. These are the circuit and the patterns we will have to be able to kick start and employ, perhaps through multi-site electrical or optogenetic stimulation, in order to build successful cortical neuro-prosthetics for 3D and motion vision that would allow blind people to navigate through space. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Kristine was Marianne Fillenz's last Bachelor in Physiological Sciences student at St. Anne's College. Marianne's Neuroscience and Physiology tutorials and her rigorous focus on experimental evidence significantly shaped Kristine's scientific journey. After the Bachelor, Kristine undertook her DPhil in the University Laboratory of Physiology at Oxford, researching visual map formation in the visual cortex of hamsters and ferrets with Ian D. Thompson as a Wellcome Prize Scholar. Her thesis received the BNA thesis prize and the Rolleston Memorial Prize from Oxford. After postdoctoral research positions at the Max-Planck-Institute for biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany and Oxford, where she worked on the neural mechanisms of 3D visual processing in the macaque brain, she held Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin and University Research Fellowships at DPAG. In 2014, she was promoted to Associate Professor in Neuroscience. Kristine moved in 2019 to the Otto-von-Guericke-University and the Leibniz-Institute in Neurobiology in Magdeburg, Germany as Heisenberg- Professor (DFG) and Chair in Sensory Physiology. The main focus of her research is to elucidate the neuronal signals and interactions that shapes our vivid perceptual experience of the dynamic, three-dimensional world around us.
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
Following the very successful seminars series on J. R. R. Tolkien in 2023 and 2024 (for recordings see: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/fantasy-literature) we are pleased to announce a new round of presentations by Oxford academics on fantasy literature to run this Michaelmas Term (2025). These talks are aimed at students and members of the public and act as introductions to a range of writers and texts in the field of fantasy literature/weird fiction. The series is organised by the Faculty of English and hosted by Exeter College. All talks will be held in the Fitzhugh Lecture Theatre, Cohen Quad, Walton Street, Oxford (Exeter College’s annex), and run 1.00-2.00pm. Attendance is free of charge but we ask you to register using the link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/seminar-series-the-weird-and-the-wonderful-4530103
(13pm lunchtime seminar). Intensity, understood as the quality of “heightened” experiences, has long been celebrated as an ethical and aesthetic ideal. Think of Walter Pater, calling us to wring from each passing moment its “highest quality” and recommending art as the arena most able to deliver this vitality. Or recall Henry James, who in a crux of The Ambassadors has Lambert Strether advise Little Bilham, “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to,” and who then, in his preface, names “the grace of intensity” as his paramount aim as a novelist. You can probably multiply examples of your own, because intensity—as I will argue in this paper—is one of the most central yet undertheorized concepts of modern aesthetics, an aesthetic category that for well over a century stood as the aesthetic category: the sign that art has happened and that, in some way, it is good. Yet in the past fifteen or so years, aesthetic judgments of intensity have taken on a more ambivalent tone. “That’s intense”: these days, the phrase is used less as praise than as a warning: there’s something affecting here, it seems to say, something that will shape your experience. . . but you might not like how it feels. I’ll show how this colloquial use of intensity has analogues in the work of contemporary U.S. novelists, who in different ways have struggled to reckon with both the twentieth-century legacies of aesthetic intensity and with the increasingly “intense”—as in, exhausting—nature of contemporary life. With an eye towards recent Marxist theorists of aesthetic categories, and a glance at the long history of aesthetic intensity, I’ll consider novels by Ben Lerner, Patricia Lockwood, and Ottessa Moshfegh to gauge the range of meanings and attitudes congealed in the aesthetic category of intensity.
Are you looking for a streamlined approach to gathering, managing and citing your references? Join us for this interactive online session in which we introduce RefWorks, a subscription reference management tool that University of Oxford members can use for free during their time at the university and as alumni. RefWorks is web-based and helps you to collect and manage references and insert them into your word-processed document as in-text citations or footnotes, and you can generate bibliographies. Being web-based, RefWorks can be used with any operating system and, to cite your references in a document, provides a plugin for Microsoft Word on Windows or Mac computers. By the end of the session, you will understand: how RefWorks can help you; how to add references to RefWorks from a range of sources; how to manage your references; how to add in-text citations and/or footnotes to your documents; how to create bibliographies; and where to get help with RefWorks. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student.
Honey-bees are famous for their ability to communicate the location of food to their nestmates by dancing on the honeycomb. Using a mixture of behavioural experiments, neural mapping and computational modelling approaches, we have shown how their brain circuits, in particular the central complex, could track location relative to the hive (path integration) and control straight line flight back home. We have also suggested how the food location could be stored and used in interaction with path integration to return directly to the food on subsequent foraging trips. Most recently, we have proposed how this vector memory could be re-expressed in the dance behaviour, transforming a flight vector relative to celestial cues into a waggle trajectory relative to gravity on the vertical honeycomb. By recording the antennal positions of bees following the dance, we have discovered how they detect their relative angle to the dancer and have extended our model of the central complex to explain how followers could thereby acquire the vector that the dancer is signalling. This provides the first plausible account of how honey-bees are able to interpret the dance.
The Unfinished Conversation: Reckoning with Colonial History
This seminar explores how small and medium-sized towns and rural areas in Western Europe have responded to the arrival and integration of refugees since 2014. While scholarly and policy debates on migration governance overwhelmingly focus on large cities, the majority of asylum-seekers were, in fact, dispersed to smaller localities, many of which had little prior experience with migration. Drawing on findings from a forthcoming book and a series of published articles (outputs of the EU-funded Whole-COMM project), the presentation examines refugee integration policymaking across 36 towns in seven European countries (rigorously selected), complemented by large-scale survey data on public attitudes in small localities across Austria, Italy, Germany and Sweden. The talk highlights two central contributions of our work. First, it shows that local integration policies in small Western European localities are often fragmented and underdeveloped. Yet, they display striking variation: some localities disengage entirely, while others design proactive inclusion strategies in education, labour market access, healthcare, and/or housing. Second, examining the causes of such observed variation, the seminar introduces a new theoretical framework that challenges the dominant view of local policymaking as pragmatic and problem-solving. Instead, it argues that local integration policymaking is shaped decisively by political constellations – specifically the political affiliation of local executives, the presence of radical right parties within local councils and multilevel party dynamics. To make this argument, besides showing (applying QCA) that political factors are the best predictor of the emergence of different local policies in small towns, we show (using a range of qualitative and quantitative methods) that such factors also powerfully shape other recognised drivers of local policymaking processes. These include: the structure and key features of local policy networks, how local actors frame refugee integration, and how they perceive public opinion (which often contrasts with evidence on residents’ attitudes). This seminar is hybrid. Join us in person at The Hub, Kellogg College, or participate online via Zoom by registering here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/evx9TAwlTFajxRVSGF_H-w
In this seminar, Professor Laura Howe will describe her research into the life course trajectory of adversity and violence, how these experiences affect the development of mental and physical health, and how we might use this understanding to inform efforts to prevent ill health and support people exposed to adversity and violence. Professor Howe's research draws on large population-based cohort studies such as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), and her research group has particular expertise in statistical methods for maximising the value of longitudinal observational data, and evaluation of causality. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Laura Howe is a statistical epidemiologist, whose research draws on life course and causal inference approaches to understand the development of physical and mental health across the life course. She uses data from large population-based cohort studies to understand how and why childhood adversity and violence affect health. She has experience of statistical methods for repeated measures data and methods for the integration of genetic data into epidemiological studies, and has carried out methodological research in these areas. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
My paper examines a moment of ideological crisis in modern Egyptian history, refracted through the film Ghuraba’(strangers, directed by Sa‘d ‘Arafa and written by ‘Arafa and Ra’fat al-Mihi). The film was screened in 1973, at a postcolonial inflection point in which Marxism, existentialism and an extreme formulation of Islamism were all depicted as exhausted and inadequate. Ghuraba’ gropes toward, but stops short of fully articulating, an Islamic moral engagement with secular society and ideology. That still-inchoate post-ideological future offers a glimpse of roads not taken, but perhaps also insight to dormant ideological, philosophical or religious paths out of the sterile alliance of religious extremism and free-market fundamentalism that dominates our present.
Nearly a decade after the Brexit referendum, the debate over its consequences continues to shape British politics, economics, and identity. In this fireside chat, Professor Anand Menon (Director, UK in a Changing Europe) and John Springford (Centre for European Reform) will discuss how Brexit has altered Britain’s influence abroad and prosperity at home. Drawing on their extensive research and policy expertise, they will explore the real economic impacts, shifts in the UK’s global standing, and the prospects for rebuilding cooperation with the EU amid an evolving geopolitical landscape.
A growing literature finds high returns to firms with legislative connections. Less attention has been paid to returns from bureaucratic connections and to organizations beyond for-profit firms. Using data recording the first post-bureaucracy position occupied by all former civil servants in Japan, Dr. Incerti reveals a bifurcated job market for former bureaucrats. High-ranking officials from elite economic ministries are more likely to join for-profit firms, where they generate returns such as increased government loans and positive stock market reactions. Lower-ranking officials are more likely to join nonprofits linked to government ministries, which receive higher-value contracts when former bureaucrats are in leadership roles. These patterns suggest that while firms wish to hire bureaucrats who can deliver tangible benefits, ministries also shape revolving door pathways by directing benefits to ensure long-term career value for civil servants. These findings reframe revolving door dynamics as the result of both firm-driven demand and bureaucratic incentives.
Patrick Collinson, _From Cranmer to Sancroft_ (2006), ch. 8; Tim Reinke-Williams, ‘Misogyny, Jest-Books and Male Youth Culture in Seventeenth-Century England’, _Gender and History_, 21:2 (2009); Tim Somers, ‘Jesting Culture and Religious Politics in Seventeenth-Century England’, _Historical Research_, 267 (2022)
In this edition of the Research Showcase, our continuing DPhil scholars at the OICSD and Somerville College will present their research. It is an opportunity for our scholars to share their work with a wider community and get feedback.
Celebrate a decade of igniting ideas and accelerating innovation at Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre's flagship conference. This milestone year commemorates the Forum’s evolution into the must-attend event for anyone passionate about entrepreneurship. Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Forum (OSEF) connects you with trailblazing startups, global thinkers and high-calibre entrepreneurs driving change across industries. This anniversary edition of the Forum, you can expect unparalleled networking opportunities, inspiring keynotes, and Oxford University’s unique blend of intellect and impact. Whether you’re a founder, funder or future innovator, OSEF 2025 isn’t just another conference, it’s a front-row seat to the future of innovation.
In this 60-minute online workshop you will be introduced to the methodologies and principles underpinning the conduct of literature searches for systematic reviews, scoping reviews and other evidence reviews. The session will cover: formulating a focused research question; preparing a protocol; developing a search strategy to address that research question; choosing appropriate databases and search engines; searching for grey literature and ongoing studies; storing and managing references; and documenting and reporting your search. Intended audience: Medicine and NHS; Researcher and research student
Microbial communities contain many evolving and interacting bacteria, which makes them complex systems that are difficult to understand and predict. We use theory – including game theory, agent-based modelling, ecological network theory and metabolic modelling - and combine this with experimental work to understand what it takes for bacteria to succeed in diverse communities. One way is to actively kill and inhibit competitors and we study the strategies that bacteria use in toxin-mediated warfare. We are now also using our approaches to understand the human gut microbiome and its key properties including ecological stability and the ability to resist invasion by pathogens (colonization resistance). Our ultimate goal is to both stabilise microbiome communities and remove problem species without the use of antibiotics.
This is hosted by the EDI team at the Dunn School
Childhood trauma is an important risk factor for psychiatric and physical ailments during adulthood. Emerging evidence from rodent studies suggests that behavioral and metabolic symptoms of childhood trauma are transmissible across generations. However, the translational implications of this novel concept are in the preliminary stages. Our work involves a systematic examination of epigenetic regulators, specifically microRNAs, in serum, sperm, and milk samples collected from ethnically diverse human trauma cohorts. Specifically, microRNAs were analyzed in the serum of Pakistani children with recent trauma in the form of paternal loss and maternal separation (PLMS), sperm of adult Pakistani men with a history of complex trauma before age 17, milk of lactating Polish mothers with a history of adverse childhood experiences, and the serum sperm of adult men and exposed to the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia & Herzegovina during childhood, as well as the serum of their children. Molecular analyses of differentially expressed microRNAs across these samples indicate a conserved molecular signature involving cholesterol signaling and associated microRNAs in the biological embedding and potential transmission of childhood trauma symptoms. Critically, cross-injection studies of lipid messengers, as well as embryonic microinjections of specific miRNAs in mice provide 'proof of concept' evidence supporting their role in intergenerational transmission of trauma effects. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Dr. Ali Jawaid, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist with training in both clinical and basic neuroscience. He is a Principal Research Investigator at the Research Network Łukasiewicz – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development. He completed his medical studies from Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan, and followed by a fellowship in Neuropsychiatry from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. He then proceeded to complete an MD-PhD in Neuroscience from Switzerland (simultaneous PhD degrees awarded by UZH/ETH International Program in Neuroscience and UZH MD-PhD program in 2016) followed by a post-doc in Neuroepigenetics from ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Dr. Jawaid has been an independent group leader since late 2020 investigating the interplay of metabolic and epigenetic factors in the susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders across the lifespan and across generations. He has authored 80+ publications, including original studies in top-tier scientific journals, such as Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, Nature Communication, EMBO Journal, and Translational Psychiatry and has a current H-index of 32. Dr. Ali Jawaid is a scholar of the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence, a platform of 30 outstanding Neuroscientists in Europe under the patronage of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies. He is a fiction author, poet, and virtual-reality enthusiast outside of scientific work.
Measuring regime support in closed autocracies is notoriously challenging due to preference falsification, state censorship, and pervasive propaganda. We introduce a novel behavioral measure of regime loyalty based on subtle expressions of allegiance in soldier obituaries published in Nazi Germany between 1939 and 1945. Our empirical analysis draws on a large-scale dataset of over one million scanned pages from roughly 160,000 newspaper issues across 260 unique local news outlets. Using Large Language Models for OCR and data labeling, we detect expressions of regime support, such as praise for Hitler, National Socialism, or the Fatherland, in approximately 600,000 obituaries. Our approach yields the first spatially and temporally granular measure of Nazi regime support during World War II. Our descriptive findings nuance the prevailing historical consensus: we find that regime loyalty began to erode immediately following the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, not after the Battle of Stalingrad. By contrast, militaristic rhetoric emphasizing soldiers' heroism persisted at high levels throughout the war.
A practical 180-minute workshop where participants will work on searches for their review across multiple databases. Librarians from the Bodleian Health Care Libraries will be on hand to demonstrate online tools for facilitating the process and give practical advice on refining individual search strategies. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to: improve a search strategy that you are working on; adapt the search across multiple databases; use tools such as Yale MeSH Analyzer and Polyglot; describe alternative methods for identifying references, including citation chaser; use Covidence for your review; and report your search methods according to PRISMA-Search. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student
Esteemed classicist and historian *Professor Helen King* will discuss her new book _Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women's Bodies_ (2024). Professor King will explore how she tackled such a vast, challenging, and both deeply personal and political topic, as well as discussing how to write about the history of the body for a general audience. *Professor Helen King* is a classist, historian, and advocate for the medical humanities. Her works include _Hippocrates' Woman: Reading the Female Body in Ancient Greece_ (1998), _The Disease of Virgins: Green Sickness, Chlorosis and the Problems of Puberty_ (2004), and most recently _Immaculate Forms: Uncovering the History of Women's Bodies_ (2024), which she will be discussing in this talk.
Contrary to popular belief, inflation-indexed government debt can boost inflation in response to deficit shocks, conditional on a lack of sufficient future fiscal backing. I formalize this insight through a state-of-the-art calibrated HANK model with multiple asset types, showing that the annual inflationary effect of a 1% deficit-to-GDP shock increases by 0.5 percentage points when the share of inflation-indexed debt moves from zero to levels observed in the U.K. The main mechanism is that the price level becomes partially backward-looking through the presence of inflation-indexed debt. Empirical evidence from high-powered fiscal deficit shocks supports this finding, which has additional implications for the distinction between 'fiscally-led' mechanisms and 'HANK-type' mechanisms surpassing Ricardian equivalence.
We study the design of mechanisms when the designer faces multiple plausible scenarios and is uncertain about the true scenario. A mechanism is dominated by another if the latter performs at least as well in all plausible scenarios and strictly better in at least one. A mechanism is undominated if no other feasible mechanism dominates it. We show how analyzing undominated mechanisms could be useful and illustrate the tractability of characterizing such mechanisms. This approach provides an alternative criterion for mechanism design under non-Bayesian uncertainty, complementing existing methods.
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapters 10 - 12 Supplementary: Murray Bookchin, ‘Utopia, Not Futurism’ (1978); Cathy Levine, ‘The Tyranny of Tyranny’ (1979); Le Guin, ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’ (1986)
Seminar followed by Q&A, drinks and book signing - all welcome - join in person or online The Amazon Rainforest — vast, mysterious, and teeming with life — has long captured the imagination of explorers, scientists, and storytellers alike. Yet today, it stands at a crossroads, facing mounting threats from deforestation, climate change, and cultural erosion. In this talk, Andean-Amazonian scientist and author Rosa Vásquez Espinoza takes us on a deeply personal journey into the heart of the Amazon. Blending indigenous wisdom with cutting-edge science, she explores the rainforest not just as an ecosystem, but as a living, breathing entity — one that holds profound lessons for resilience, healing, and our connection to the natural world. Drawing from her book The Spirit of the Rainforest, Rosa shares intimate encounters with Amazonian communities, revealing how their ancestral knowledge offers a vital perspective in the face of environmental crises. She explores her own experiences navigating remote ecosystems, discovering biodiversity known to very few, and rekindling our innate sense of wonder and the spirit of exploration. Dr Rosa Vásquez Espinoza is a Peruvian chemical biologist with Andean-Amazonian indigenous roots, National Geographic Explorer, and UN Harmony with Nature Scientist. She is founder of Amazon Research Internacional, where she bridges ancestral knowledge and modern science to protect Amazonian biodiversity, with a focus on stingless bees, medicinal plants, and microbial life in extreme environments.
To join online, please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KbVXDl5TQWCP1I0nKS1TiQ
Jonas Ohman, founder of the NGO Blue/Yellow, has been at the heart of Europe’s most direct engagement with the war in Ukraine, coordinating the delivery of tactical equipment, protective gear, and critical support to Ukrainian troops on the frontlines. In this exclusive members-only fireside chat, Ohman will discuss how civilian networks can strengthen military resilience, what Europe’s real capacity for solidarity looks like under fire, and how grassroots action has become an essential pillar in Ukraine’s defence.
Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm. Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions.
For applied researchers, statistical power analysis with mixed-effects modeling (or multilevel modeling) poses a big challenge, because it requires substantive expertise on modeling, use of special software, and a number of input parameters which are usually not available in published work. The current talk proposes an easy and practical method to conduct statistical power analysis for mixed-effects modeling, called summary-statistics-based power analysis. The proposed method bases its logic on conditional equivalence of the summary-statistics approach and mixed-effects modeling, paring back the power analysis for mixed-effects modeling to that for a simpler statistical analysis (e.g., one-sample t test). Accordingly, the proposed method allows us to conduct power analysis for mixed-effects modeling using popular software such as G*Power or the pwr package in R and, with minimum input from relevant prior work (e.g., t value). I also provide a shinny app to make the approach even more accessible to applied researchers (https://koumurayama.shinyapps.io/summary_statistics_based_power/). Kou Murayama is Professor for Educational Psychology at the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Germany. In 2020, he has been awarded with the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Professorship. He is also Co-Director of the LEAD Graduate School & Research Network Teams-link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDYwMTY0ZmQtNjkzYS00NjFlLWEzNzgtNWYzMTkzNzQ1YmM2%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22b33f55d8-6202-46f8-a141-737715faff88%22%7d
Dr Alice Norton University of Oxford https://www.psi.ox.ac.uk/our-team/alice-norton
Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that affects hundreds of millions of people living in some of the most resource-poor communities in the world. Over the last decade, we have established high-throughput, whole-organism phenotypic platforms to facilitate screening of large compound collections against schistosomes. Our goal, using these platforms, is to bring new chemical matter into the schistosome drug discovery pipeline for progression as new PZQ replacements or for use in combination with PZQ. While we have completed >500K individual screens and identified incredibly potent compounds, our progress in translating these promising ex vivo results into in vivo efficacy has been slow. We contend that embedding enabling technologies into our pipeline will not only increase the pace of drug discovery but will also focus (often limited) resources around tractable chemical matter/protein target pairings. Here, using examples derived from ongoing projects, I will present how complementary strategies are being developed and deployed in our laboratory to accelerate the search for novel anti-schistosomals.
During this forum speakers from Bodleian Open Scholarship Support and across Oxford will discuss current changes in the field of open scholarship. Including subjects like data, open access, open monographs, copyright and more. It is advised that attendees of the forum have previously attended the Fundamentals and Logistics courses to improve understanding. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
Water resources present a classic tragedy of the commons that is of increasing relevance due to climate change. This paper provides evidence of how property rights institutions, particularly local irrigators' organizations, impact water markets' efficiency. Our analysis is based on a unique dataset that integrates administrative records, hydrological measures, geographic information, and satellite imagery. We develop a novel misallocation test, which suggests that these organizations reduce misallocation caused by the natural capacity of upstream users to over-extract. Using different identification strategies, we show that these efficiency gains are a result of both water redistribution and individual adaptation, as downstream farmers increase substantially their water consumption and agricultural yield, and also extend their growing season. Large farms adopt more efficient irrigation technologies, and overall gather more benefits from the analyzed property rights institution. Meanwhile, although upstream farmers reduce their water consumption, their productive outcomes remain unchanged. We also document increases in river streamflow during the irrigation season, concentrated in basins with higher agricultural activity. Our results provide micro-evidence of the consequences of effective governance for both allocative efficiency and equity.
Are you preparing a poster presentation for an upcoming conference, meeting or symposium? This interactive session, or ‘poster clinic’, will include a group discussion of different examples of poster presentations, as well as an opportunity to present your own draft of your poster presentation to your fellow attendees. It is expected that the small group of peers in attendance will provide feedback and respectful comments on each other’s work. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to: evaluate the effectiveness of your poster presentation and others; and summarise the content of your poster concisely in preparation for a conference. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student.
In post-war Britain, psychoanalysts and psychiatrists attempted to apply their knowledge of human mental and emotional life to the world of work. In this paper, I discuss psychoanalytic studies of nursing conducted in three British hospitals (two psychiatric and one general) by the Tavistock Institute of Institute of Human Relations between 1956 and 1958. While previous efforts at organisational psychoanalysis and industrial psychology had focussed on the industrial workplace, these studies offered the chance to develop a psychological theory of caring labour. However, I argue that the attempted creation of scientific knowledge was undermined, not only by resistance from hospital staff and administrators but also by epistemological limits within the project of workplace psy-science itself. By cleaving to the overdetermined association between women and capacity for care, the researchers found it impossible to account for the abuse and neglect that was systemic within British psychiatric hospitals of the period. Despite the fact that newly-nationalised hospitals were reliant on migrant labour from Southern Europe, Ireland and the Commonwealth, researchers also refused to account for the role of race and migration status in the social relations of the hospital, centring the white nurse as the only appropriate subject of workplace psychoanalysis. *Grace Whorrall-Campbell* is a historian of modern Britain, specialising in the histories of psy-science, sexuality, disability and labour. Before joining Corpus as the Michael Brock Junior Research Fellow in History, Grace was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for History of Science in Berlin. Recent publications include a history of occupational psychiatry and management at Roffey Park Rehabilitation Centre in _History of the Human Sciences_ and a chapter on psychological job selection in _Adulthood in Britain and the United States from 1350 to Generation Z_ (2025, University of London Press, ed. Maria Cannon and Laura Tisdall).
Jennie Bullen - Leveraging Data Tracking for Studying Neurodiversity Franziska Brändle - Using video games to study intrinsic motivation Caroline Nettekoven - A Mapmaker’s Guide to the Cerebellum PinChun Chen - How Do Hippocampal Ripples Orchestrate Cortical Dynamics During Human Sleep?
In this talk Dr Anwesha Roy will discuss one of the chapters of her forthcoming book, and examine in three important, yet hitherto overlooked textual sources on the Quit India Movement. She will explore pushes and pulls on ideas of responsibility between officials in the Indian government, the British government in England, and M.K. Gandhi. Running the show of empire in the historical conjuncture of a global war, attained different and complex connotations, especially when Roosevelt and Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter in 1941 that renewed America’s interest in the political stalemate in India. The response of the Govt. of India and of Britain, captured in the vignettes presented in her book, reveal for historians of empire, a complex terrain of anxiety and struggles, with political and moral legitimacy. The intellectual and political language of ‘responsibility’ took on new tones, where the use of excessive violence to crush the movement fit within the language of necessity, not only because a full blown rebellion in the midst of a global war would be disastrous for Britain and her allies, but also because responsibility was cloaked in colonial paternalism, infantilising general ‘masses’ as capable only of nationalist (and elite) ‘manipulation’. Gandhi offered a different, moral version of responsibility (as indeed, of politics itself), simultaneously distancing himself, and the larger Congress leadership from the violence of the movement, but also, in doing so, weaving a narrative where the general ‘masses’ could be taught ‘responsible’ non-violence, one that could only come at the heavy expense of violence. Anwesha Roy is a Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Sheffield. Her research focuses on the socio-political histories of the British Empire in India, more specifically, social and emotional histories of World War II, identity formation(s), mass mobilizations and processes of decolonization. She is the Author of Making Peace, Making Riots: Communalism and Communal Violence, Bengal 1940-47 (Cambridge University Press, 2018) and Imagining Quit India: War, Politics and the Making of a Mass Movement, 1940-45 (forthcoming, Cambridge University Press, 2025). She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society.
As debate continues around issues of assisted dying, another set of (often separate) discussions has focused on the possibilities and desirability of radical life extension in various forms - from epigenetic interventions to digital doppelgängers. Join us for a panel-style discussion that will take up these two topics together, with a focus on questions of human identity, suffering, aging, and the meaning of mortality in our lives.
The emergence of network theory in psychopathology has disrupted traditional latent disease models by reconceptualising psychiatric disorders as systems of dynamic interacting symptoms. This talk will trace the evolution of network psychiatry from its epistemological underpinnings to its contemporary computational implementations, highlighting its capacity to reframe diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic decision-making. Particular attention will be given to the translational value of symptom networks in clinical psychiatry, including their application in stratified care models, digital phenotyping, and intervention targeting. Giovanni Briganti is a tenured professor at the University of Mons, Belgium, where he serves as Chair of AI and Digital Medicine and Head of computational medicine and neuropsychiatry. At the University Hospital Centre HELORA, he serves as Head of Psychiatry. Since 2018, his personal research endeavours have been almost exclusively focused on the application of network models in psychiatry. This seminar is hosted in person, to join online, please use the Zoom details below: https://zoom.us/j/94567124781?pwd=sVxXabbSWibdU8A9W2clQlG9neRGbQ.1 Meeting ID: 945 6712 4781 Passcode: 470970
A practical 180-minute workshop where participants will work on searches for their review across multiple databases. Librarians from the Bodleian Health Care Libraries will be on hand to demonstrate online tools for facilitating the process and give practical advice on refining individual search strategies. By the end of this classroom-based session you will be able to: improve a search strategy that you are working on; adapt the search across multiple databases; use tools such as Yale MeSH Analyzer and Polyglot; describe alternative methods for identifying references, including citation chaser; use Covidence for your review; and report your search methods according to PRISMA-Search. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student
Aging and death have always been central to our shared human identity and experience, yet recent advances in artificial intelligence and biotechnology seem to challenge the inevitability of both—whether by epigenetic interventions or digitally preserving consciousness. Still, the ethical and existential questions these developments raise are not new. Literature and film have long explored the meaning and significance of our shared mortality, sometimes imagining the usurpation of death itself. This artistic engagement can help inform contemporary debates about life extension through imaginative theorizing and challenging narratives that foreground aging and death. (And so the conference is not only concerned with literature and film that address immortality or the usurpation of death, but more broadly the applicability of stories that engage with the meaning, significance, and desirability of mortality and aging). This conference draws on this rich tradition, inviting scholars of literature, film, and related fields, as well as practitioners, to discuss timely topics relating to life extension, including boredom and alienation, identity and memory, aging and altruism, narrative and selfhood, and the ways cultural memory binds us across generations. Does immortality risk meaninglessness? Can a longer life deepen love—or diminish it? How could our sense of self change when death itself becomes optional? In reflecting on these questions, the conference will assess the desirability of significantly extended lifespans, as well as examine the broader question of the place of literature within contemporary ethical debates. Programme to be announced soon.
This seminar is part of the Child Development and Learning (CDL) Seminar Series. Join in-person or online: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/3799219398382?p=2e2iFubdvLDs8dvPmG
Large-scale disruptions to everyday infrastructure are becoming more frequent due to climate change, population growth, and increased user demand. While the political consequences of gradual changes in public service quality are relatively well understood, we know less about the electoral consequences of public service breakdowns where these services were once reliable and readily accessible. To address this critical question, I use the quasi-random allocation of electric outages in South Africa to examine how the breakdown of public services influences voting behavior. I show that each additional hour of outages in the week before the 2021 elections lowered the incumbent's vote share. Crucially, this effect was primarily driven by decreased turnout among incumbent supporters, particularly in areas lacking credible opposition parties. These findings are further validated using individual-level responses from South African survey respondents. With energy crises expected to intensify over the next several decades, the results have implications for the literatures on public-goods provision, climate resilience, and democratic accountability.
Claire is currently a Partner in the Life Science team at Oxford Science Enterprises, an investment company that creates transformational businesses via a unique partnership with the University of Oxford, UK, the world’s #1 research university. Her focus is building and investing in novel therapeutics and therapeutic platforms across diverse therapy areas and modalities. She currently supports a number of OSE’s emerging companies incl. T-Cypher Bio, Nucleome, Alveogene and Orfonyx. Claire has spent the majority of her career in the global BioPharmaceutical industry at UCB Group, Sanofi-Genzyme and AstraZeneca where she worked in a variety of roles covering R&D strategy, licensing and corporate VC.
In recent years, scholars have shown growing interest in political imagination and utopias in higher education. They highlight their importance at a time when universities are harnessed for national economic growth and training worker-citizens. This attention also responds to broader concerns about an ‘imagination deficit’ that threatens democratic life. Against this backdrop, political imagination matters not only as a democratic capacity but also as a way in which political agency is enacted. It refers to the individual and collective capacity to imagine social reality otherwise, inspire political action, and articulate political critique. Utopias, in turn, serve as a tool for political imagination. This study explores higher education students’ political imagination as a form of political agency. It draws on small group discussions with students (N=86) conducted in workshops for reimagining the future food assistance in Finland. While students’ political agency is often studied through conventional and institutionalised forms of participation, this study adopts a broader understanding of politics – one that moves beyond formal institutions and electoral processes, shaped by social relations, lived experiences, and practiced, for example, through thinking and speaking politically. Our analysis identifies a dynamic of three interrelated elements that shape students’ imaginative practices: constraints, conditions and cracks. The movement between these three elements illuminates how the political emerges unevenly in the process of collective imagination – sometimes hindered, sometimes reinforced, sometimes catalysed. We suggest that political imagination constitutes a fragile yet meaningful mode of agency. It becomes visible in how students critique the status quo, formulate alternative futures, and reposition themselves in relation to the political. We argue for the importance of political imagination and utopian thought as part of nuanced everyday forms of political engagement among higher education students, and as a practice through which higher education’s democratic role can and should be strengthened.
Adnan Naseemullah is Professor of Comparative and South Asian Politics and Fellow of Wolfson College, the University of Oxford. He has previously taught at the London School of Economics, Johns Hopkins University and King’s College London. His research focuses on the political economy of national development, state formation and political violence and the politics of populism. He is the author of three books: Development after Statism (Cambridge, 2017), Patchwork States (Cambridge 2022), and Righteous Demagogues (with Pradeep Chhibber, Oxford 2024).
The grouping of Yiddish speaking Jews, of various origin countries in Central and Eastern Europe, into a single overarching identity of Ashkenazim, was meaningful particularly in multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Jewish contexts. This seminar examines the shaping of the Ashkenazi community in Ottoman Jerusalem, as facilitated by Ottoman legal and political context. Ottoman recognition of Ashkenazim as a corporate identity was crucial to its emergence and continuity. Dr Yair Wallach is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Israeli Studies, and the head of the SOAS Centre for Jewish Studies. He has written on urban and material culture in modern Palestine/Israel, and more recently on race and migration. His book A City in Fragments: Urban Text in Modern Jerusalem (Stanford University Press, 2020) won the Jordan Schnitzer book prize in 2022.
How is scientific evidence turned into policy at the European Commission? What challenges do advisors face and what opportunities exist for researchers to contribute? This panel brings together Professor Dimitra Simeonidou (current Chief Scientific Advisor to the European Commission; University of Bristol), Professor Nicole Grobert (former Chief Scientific Advisor; University of Oxford), Karen Fabbri (Deputy Head of Unit, Science for Policy, Advice & Ethics at the European Commission), and Jonathan Murphy (Policy Officer, Scientific Advice Mechanism). They will reflect on the role and impact of the Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) and share personal experiences of advising at the highest level, and discuss lessons learned from real-world case studies. Participants will gain insights into how science advice works in practice and how researchers can engage with European policy processes.
In this paper, I intend to examine the Miaphysite recension(s) of the “Debate of Abu Qurrah with Muslim scholars at the court of the Caliph al-Maʾmūn,” paying close attention to confessionally-motivated editing, and considering its relevance to wider questions regarding Christian confessional boundaries in the Islamic world and the role of Islam in transforming intercommunal relations among Middle Eastern Christians. The relevance of this topic to different subfields of history, theology, and philology is readily apparent, but what might it portend for political theology? An obvious answer is that the political theology of the Melkite and Miaphysite recensions vis-à-vis Islam may differ substantially. I also propose the following answer, with a narrower focus on the political-theological dynamics of intercommunal textual transmission. The relevance of the christological schisms to political theology is well-known. Christian political leaders aligning themselves with particular christological camps prompted subsequent developments in Christian political theology. A study of the long-term aftereffects of Chalcedon in the Middle East and the transformation of christological tensions following the Islamic conquests can provide us with a chance to see what happened to christology-centric political theology when a new batch of christologically-indifferent rulers took power. I tentatively suggest that the impact of Islam on Christian political theology, specifically in the case of Chalcedon’s aftershocks, was to diminish the political-theological tensions between warring christological factions, and instead enable their intercommunal boundaries to become more porous. The idea that non-Christian conquest might resolve some of the problems of Christian political theology may seem at first counterintuitive. But, it is important to recognize that while there were new political-theological questions raised by the rise of Islam, there were other old questions which were resolved, which in turn shaped the way that different Christian communities interacted.
Historians habitually recognize the Cold War had roots predating the mid-1940s. I am writing an article testing the hypothesis that the Cold War began after the Russian civil war. I unpack the hypothesis by discussing six possible objections: the socialist-capitalist confrontation did not (fully) structure the interwar years’ inter-state system; the system wasn't bipolar; the Soviet challenge to that system stopped with Stalin’s turn to “socialism in one country;” the US wasn't yet central to that system; fascism created a tripolar reality; and nuclear weapons did not yet exist. The payoff of this exercise is that it qualifies some presumably distinctive features of 1945-1991. Professor Cyrus Schayegh, Geneva Graduate Institute, with response from David Priestland, Professor of Modern History (St Edmund Hall)
tbc
As climate mitigation measures become deeper and more ambitious, the distributional effects of the green transition become more pronounced. This increases the potential for green backlash, which existing work has documented for specific policies (such as congestion charges, car-free zones, or carbon taxes) and large renewable energy infrastructure (such as onshore or offshore wind installations). Here, we examine the public support for energy infrastructure that has so far been understudied but plays a pivotal role in the clean energy transition: large scale solar parks, hydrogen plants, and battery factories. Drawing on bespoke surveys in France, Germany, Norway, and the UK, we study three distinct aspects of public opinion: first, the public acceptance of these types of green infrastructure as a function of distinct project characteristics, including transfers to local communities; second, the conditions under which electoral backlash arises when citizens' expectations around project development are frustrated; and, third, how this backlash against green infrastructure varies by subgroup. This paper contributes individual-level evidence from four large European economies to a growing literature on green backlash and helps us understand conditions of geographically clustered political opposition to green infrastructure investments needed for addressing the climate emergency.
Putting in place effective processes for learning is key to getting better at policy engagement, and to meeting some of the demands we face to demonstrate the impact of our work. But what tools and resources can we use - and how do we use them? To help researchers answer these questions, the Policy Engagement Team is offering this short course, comprising two parts, each lasting 2 hours. In Part 2, participants will expand their understanding of tracking outputs and impacts throughout the project cycle by utilizing pertinent tools and techniques. They will put their knowledge into practice by applying one of the previously reviewed tools within the context of a case study. Supplementary materials, including PowerPoint slides, handouts, and recommended reading and resources will be provided to participants, further embedding the concepts covered. Learning outcomes: - A better understanding of the foundational concepts of monitoring and evaluation, including the principles and methodologies used to assess policy engagement outcomes - More proficiency to develop a theory of change, and to track outcomes and impacts Intended audience Researchers, DPhil Students, and Professional Services Staff
In this talk we will introduce and discuss a branching-selection process in which we have a fixed number, N, of branching Brownian motions, with deletion of particles at each branching event in order to keep the population sized fixed. The rate of deletion will be dependent on the rank of the particle. In particular we will discuss their hydrodynamic limits of the system as N goes to infinity, and a weak selection principle, including elements of the proof. We will also discuss how these models are connected to the 'inverse first passage problem', which is a problem arising in risk modelling.
This talk outlines my recently finished book ms. Combining conceptual reflections with a historiographic state of the art, the book bears on relations across empires around the modern world, from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Americas. Covering both societal and governmental actors, and arguing that power differences and their negotiations are central to transimperial relations, the work presents a overall framework for doing modern transimperial history, its chapters covering Foundations, Facets, Comparison, Power, Spaces, Times, and Methods.
We’re delighted to welcome Bassam Hallis, who will be presenting at our upcoming PSI seminar on Wednesday 3 December. The seminar will take place at the Big Data Institute, seminar rooms, and will be chaired by Rachel Kenneil. This will be a hybrid event, allowing participants to join either in person or online. Lunch will be provided for in-person attendees. The exact time of the seminar will be confirmed shortly. Please hold the date if you are interested in attending and further details will be shared in due course.
Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This online session will introduce you to EndNote, a subscription software programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily. On completing the workshop you will be able to: understand the main features and benefits of EndNote; set up an EndNote account; import references from different sources into EndNote; organise your references in EndNote; insert citations into documents; and create a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
Occupation is a fundamental concept in social and policy research, but classifying job descriptions into occupational categories can be challenging and susceptible to errors. Traditionally, this involved expert manual coding, translating detailed, often ambiguous job descriptions to standardized categories, a process both laborious and costly. However, recent advances in computational techniques offer efficient automated coding alternatives. Existing autocoding tools, including the O*NET-SOC AutoCoder, the NIOCCS AutoCoder, and the SOCcer AutoCoder, rely on supervised machine learning methods and string-matching algorithms. Yet these autocoders are not designed to understand semantic meanings in occupational write-in text. We explore the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) for classifying jobs into Standard Census occupations. We evaluate and compare the prediction performance of LLMs using four different approaches: zero-shot learning, few-shot learning, chain-of-thought, and fine-tuning. The results show a wide range of autocoding accuracy rates, varying from 7.1% to 78%. Drawing from Census expert coding practices, we provide practical recommendations for using LLMs in occupational classification for sociological research. We demonstrate LLM applications for coding resume data, processing survey occupational write-ins, and converting international occupational classifications to U.S. standards.
Occupation is a fundamental concept in social and policy research, but classifying job descriptions into occupational categories can be challenging and susceptible to errors. Traditionally, this involved expert manual coding, translating detailed, often ambiguous job descriptions to standardized categories, a process both laborious and costly. However, recent advances in computational techniques offer efficient automated coding alternatives. Existing autocoding tools, including the O*NET-SOC AutoCoder, the NIOCCS AutoCoder, and the SOCcer AutoCoder, rely on supervised machine learning methods and string-matching algorithms. Yet these autocoders are not designed to understand semantic meanings in occupational write-in text. We explore the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) for classifying jobs into Standard Census occupations. We evaluate and compare the prediction performance of LLMs using four different approaches: zero-shot learning, few-shot learning, chain-of-thought, and fine-tuning. The results show a wide range of autocoding accuracy rates, varying from 7.1% to 78%. Drawing from Census expert coding practices, we provide practical recommendations for using LLMs in occupational classification for sociological research. We demonstrate LLM applications for coding resume data, processing survey occupational write-ins, and converting international occupational classifications to U.S. standards.
How does government conduct analysis to meet its twin missions of Clean Power 2030 and Accelerating to Net Zero? What approaches do we use to model the big policy questions? What are the challenges we face when modelling system transitions? Donna Leong will give her perspectives. About the speaker: Donna Leong is Director of Analysis and Chief Economist at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Prior to taking on this role, she has held a number of senior roles within HM Treasury, BEIS and the ONS.
In this online workshop you will be shown the functionality of Zotero, which is a free-to-use software programme used to manage references and create bibliographies. Zotero will be demonstrated on a Windows PC but users of MacOS or Linux computers will be able to follow the demonstration. The workshop will cover: understanding the main features and benefits of Zotero; setting up a Zotero account; importing references from different sources into Zotero; organising your references in Zotero; inserting citations into documents; and creating a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student
Recent studies in individuals at increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease suggest that impairments in path integration may represent one of the earliest cognitive deficits, emerging before broader memory decline. The medial entorhinal cortex and hippocampus are central to spatial memory and navigation, with grid cells playing a crucial role in path integration. We therefore hypothesised that dysfunction within medial entorhinal–hippocampal circuits contributes to the early decline in path integration, and that Tau hyperphosphorylation in these areas could be among the earliest molecular events driving these abnormalities. To test this hypothesis, we employed a novel early-stage (pre-tangle) Tauopathy mouse model (S305N KI) to determine whether Tau hyperphosphorylation can recapitulate key path-integration deficits seen in humans and to identify the associated alterations in cellular and network activity underlying these early impairments.
Part of the 2025-2026 series ‘How can we respond to this systemic crisis?’. A series of master classes, seminars, workshops and talks with Professor Laura Rival, research collaborators and colleagues. Michaelmas Term series titled: ‘In Latin America, by greening the state at the top and from below’. Followed by refreshments.
The first half century of lithium batteries and the challenges facing us in moving forward The Nobel Prize Committee said of John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino’s lithium-ion batteries: “They have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, and are of the greatest benefit to humankind.” Now the world needs to take action, addressing the key challenge of building a sustainable supply chain and manufacturing capability that leapfrogs present battery technology, to foster sustainable manufacturing and use. The Vice Chancellor, Prof Irene Tracey, CBE, FRS, FMedSci, will be in attendance.
Ed Hillyer – also known as ILYA – has more than thirty years' experience as a comic book writer, artist and editor, published internationally by Marvel, DC and Dark Horse in the USA, Kodansha in Japan, and numerous independent companies worldwide. Ed's titles include award-winning graphic novel series The End of the Century Club, Manga Shakespeare’s King Lear and Room for Love . He has also edited Mammoth Books of Best New Manga, and Colour Me Bad. He will be talking, showing and telling about the earliest days of comic strip narrative, and how those distant techniques relate to his current practice.
Join online via Microsoft Teams by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3hfr23
Decolonization, narrowly defined as the end of European empires, is rarely understood as a “dispossession machine.” Instead, it is celebrated as moments of empowerment— of new states, elites, and institutions— that create new forms of legal belonging, such as citizenship. While refugeedom and statelessness are treated as aberrations in this triumphalist narrative of decolonization, an important element is left unexamined, namely, how resettling and eviction of refugees and stateless people in South Asia have made them ecological agents in which they are even further dispossessed, if they survive at all their new surroundings. Based on primary and secondary sources on the resettlement of 1971 refugees from fertile lands of Bangladesh to arid Indigneous lands of Dandakaranya in central India, the 1978 forced eviction of refugees from the protected island of Marichjhapi to protect tigers of Sunderbans, and the most recent resettlement of the Rohingyas on the transient silt island of Bhashan Char, this research foregrounds environmental histories in histories of territoriality of South Asia. It sheds light on how decolonization, in its last phase, became a dispossession machine, uprooting and re-rooting refugees and stateless people making them ecological agents in stories of their own loss. About the speaker Jayita Sarkar is Professor of Global History of Inequalities at the University of Glasgow's School of Social and Political Sciences. Her research and teaching areas are global and transnational histories of capitalism, infrastructures, and territoriality. She is the author of the award-winning book, Ploughshares and Swords. India’s Nuclear Program in the Global Cold War (Cornell University Press, 2022). Before joining Glasgow as senior lecturer (tenured associate professor) in 2022, she was a tenure-track assistant professor at Boston University. She has held research fellowships at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Dartmouth, Edinburgh, and Sciences Po, amongst others. The seminar will be followed by drinks in the Hall. Registration not required. All enquiries should be directed to rsc-outreach@qeh.ox.ac.uk
Russian identity has long been confined by autocracy and imperial ambition, a condition that continues under Putin, whose twenty-five-year rule and the war in Ukraine reflect this legacy. The essay emphasises that official Russian discourse, past and present, frames the role of the ruler, militarism, and imperial power as central to national identity. Even after the fall of the tsars, autocratic governance persisted, and the empire repeatedly reemerged in new forms. The author contends that a truly pluralistic and open Russia can only arise once Russians reject both despotism and imperial domination. The book includes an anthology of European texts from the 16th to the 21st century, examining Russia’s imperial despotism, whose insights remain strikingly relevant today.
Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) provide a consistent way of digitally referencing items that aims to be more reliable than a simple web address. This is important for scholarly communications because citation and attribution are essential elements of scholarly apparatus. This workshop will introduce you to the concept of Persistent Identifiers, the problems that they address, and how they can be used in the academic environment to simplify some tasks. It will examine several different types of identifier, some of which are currently widely used (DOIs for publications/data and ORCIDs for researchers) and others which are emerging in importance. Intended audience: Researcher and research student; Staff
This 90-minute session will cover some more advanced techniques for finding medical literature to answer a research question. We will recap some basics, then demonstrate searching in several medical databases, including using subject headings (MeSH) and the differences between platforms. By the end of this session, you will be able to: explain what subject headings are, and how to use them; search for words that appear near to other words; take a search from one database into another; and save a search and document it. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Researcher & research student
Dr Andrew Seaton will be discussing a chapter from his book project, The Ends of Coal, which is a wide-ranging environmental history of the resource's impacts and legacies in Britain and the world since 1800. This talk considers the National Coal Board's expansive 'land reclamation' initiatives after 1945. These projects facilitated surprising connections between one of Europe’s largest fossil fuel industries and environmentalists, particularly by creating ‘productive’ land that might alleviate potential scarcity caused by ‘overpopulation’. The talk considers the practical dimensions of the Coal Board's land reclamation, recovers its framing and reception, and explains how initial justifications fell away in the 1980s. The chapter will be discussed by Professor Danny Dorling (Geography, Oxford). Dr Andrew Seaton is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at University College London. He is a historian of modern Britain with interests in politics, social history, medicine and the environment. Andrew's first book Our NHS: A History of Britain's Best-Loved Institution (Yale University Press, 2023) won the American Historical Association's Morris D. Forkosch Prize and was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize.
In this talk, I will explore how spatial data science can help us understand , and ultimately transform , the relationships between green infrastructure, mental health, and wellbeing. Drawing on ongoing work across multiple scales and contexts in the UK, I will present a synthesis of studies examining how the quantity, quality, and accessibility of green and blue spaces influence mental health, and how these effects vary across different population groups. The research addresses key gaps in understanding the specific amount, type, and quality of green space needed to deliver mental health benefits. Also looking at how environmental policies make the change on green infrastructure change the pattern of social and special inequalities. The findings aim to inform urban planning and environmental policy, advocating for inclusive, evidence-based strategies that ensure residents can benefit from nature-based wellbeing interventions.
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
A truly welcoming and inclusive city is not just an aspiration—it is essential to the future of our increasingly diverse urban societies. Yet too often, policy and practice lack the theoretical and research foundations needed for meaningful and effective implementation. Welcoming Cities is a book which bridges this gap, offering an interdisciplinary framework grounded in empirical research and case studies from 12 UK cities and international partners. Engaging with key governance challenges, it explores how cities define and implement welcoming policies across multiple sectors. Moving beyond critique, this book offers a constructive and action-oriented approach to integration and social cohesion. Sitting at the crossroads of academic research and policy and practice, this panel also aims to bridge this gap, drawing together insights from across the seminar series and engaging the key questions raised by Welcoming Cities. This seminar is hybrid. Join us in person at The Hub, Kellogg College, or participate online via Zoom by registering here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/evx9TAwlTFajxRVSGF_H-w
In this seminar we will examine the relationship between working time and wellbeing from both a macro and micro level perspective. We will begin by exploring the relationship between working hours and life expectancy, paying particular attention to how inequality moderates the results of this relationship. Then we will delve into the results of our recent study which examines the health implications of working time reduction among 3000 employees who participated in the 4 Day Week Global Trials. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaker bio: Dr Kelly's research focuses on the social drivers and responses to climate change, and she is particularly interested in understanding pathways to sustainable human well-being and eco-social policies. She is part of the international academic research team investigating the economic, social, and environmental impacts of reduced worktime trials, led by the 4-day Week Global campaign, and she is a founding member of the Worktime Reduction Research Network (WTR-RN). Her research has been published in academic journals such as Nature Human Behaviour, Social Forces, and Sustainability Science. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Booking is required for people outside of the Department of Social Policy and Intervention (DSPI). DSPI Members do not need to register.
Mechanotransduction was perhaps the last major sensory modality not understood at the molecular level. Proteins/ion channels that sense mechanical force are postulated to play critical roles in sensing touch/pain (somatosensation), sound (hearing), shear stress (cardiovascular function), etc.; however, the identity of ion channels involved in sensing mechanical force had remained elusive. The Patapoutian lab identified PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, mechanically-activated cation channels that are expressed in many mechanosensitive cell types. Genetic studies established that PIEZO2 is the principal mechanical transducer for touch, proprioception, baroreception and bladder & lung stretch, and that PIEZO1 mediates blood-flow sensing, which impacts vascular development and iron homeostasis. Clinical investigations have confirmed the importance of these channels in human physiology. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY Ardem Patapoutian is an American scientist of Armenian origin. He is molecular biologist specializing in sensory transduction. His research has led to the identification of receptors activated by temperature and pressure. His laboratory has shown that these ion channels play crucial roles in sensing temperature, touch, proprioception, pain, and blood presssure. Patapoutian was born in Lebanon in 1967 and attended the American University of Beirut for one year before he immigrated to The United States in 1986 and became a US citizen. He graduated from UCLA in 1990 and received his Ph.D. at Caltech in 1996. After postdoctoral work with Dr. Lou Reichardt at UCSF, he joined the faculty of Scripps Research in 2000, where he currently holds the Presidential Endowed Chair and is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. Patapoutian was awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Society for Neuroscience in 2006 and was named an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 2014. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016), a member of the National Academy of Sciences (2017) and a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020). He is a co-recipient of the 2017 Alden Spencer Award from Columbia, the 2019 Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical, the 2020 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, and the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
To join online, please register in advance: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KbVXDl5TQWCP1I0nKS1TiQ
Clare Jackson, _The Mirror of Great Britain: a life of James VI & I_ (2025)
Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Despite this prevalence, it does not feature prominently in narratives of global health history. It is typically categorized as one of many ‘neglected tropical diseases’, historically not deemed worthy of research, funding, or policymaking by relevant authorities. The project from which this talk is drawn seeks to recover meanings of neglect in the history of global health, including but not limited to neglected diseases. Trachoma became associated with China following its widely publicized prevalence among the Chinese Labour Corps in the First World War; although trachoma was recognized widely as the cause of a public health crisis there, it was not easy for the Republican government, beset by war and poverty, to proactively control a disease that was notoriously difficult to diagnose or cure. After 1949, however, research in Beijing proved transformative. Chinese researchers’ successful isolation of the trachoma pathogen in 1957 served as a catalyst to intensify research on the disease globally, especially at UK Medical Research Council sites in London and the Gambia. Correspondence from the Wellcome Trust archives demonstrates the permeability of the so-called Iron Curtain, South-South connections in medical research, and Cold War competition alongside cooperation in communications relating to trachoma research between Beijing, London, and Fajara in the Gambia. Tracing the story of trachoma’s neglect as a research priority for global health stakeholders thus reveals that it was not actually neglected everywhere around the world. Mary Augusta Brazelton is Professor of Global Studies of Science, Technology, and Medicine in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, where she is also a Fellow of Jesus College and Research Fellow of the Needham Research Institute. At the Needham Institute, she is principal investigator of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation funded project ‘Lu Gwei-Djen as Biochemist and Historian of Chinese Science: Recovering a Major Archive’. In 2019, she published Mass Vaccination: Citizens' Bodies and State Power in Modern China with Cornell University Press; in 2023, she published China in Global Health: Past and Present with Cambridge University Press in its Global China Elements series.
In this talk, I will present my upcoming book project on the role of literary practices in recreating spaces of sociability and solidarity in post-revolutionary Cairo. Over the past two decades, Egypt’s literary worlds have been reconfigured by two major phenomena. First, the digital disruption of publishing since the mid-2000s has expanded access to literary authorship, allowing many new writers to enter the market. Second, the Egyptian revolution and its aftermath encouraged more people to write in search of individualized fictional worlds, as the collective one promised by January 25 had failed. As a result, many new writers entered Cairo’s associative literary scene, bringing not only their literary talents and aspirations but also the divisions inherited from the revolutionary past. Based on a long-term ethnographic fieldwork in Cairo’s literary clubs, I will show how the code of karam – or hospitality – enabled people to mend their revolutionary divides and create spaces of exchange and support through literature, its rituals and objects. Ritualized and deliberately kept free of politics, these literary bubbles are sustained by an economy of reciprocal favors and financed by writers themselves to keep them as spaces of possibilities in their lives. This presentation invites us to think of literature not merely as the production of texts, but as a set of practices that can be harnessed to recreate spaces of community and exchange after major disruptions. Literary spaces, then, are not solely about literature; they are about creating environments which, by being designated as “cultural”, are expected to provide “safe” and “respectable” setting for the circulation of other kinds of resources.
Valentin Dupouey, director for external relations, communications & events of the College of Europe and expert in European institutions and policy communication, presents a talk that explores how identity, institutional structures, and practical experience shape a career in EU affairs. Drawing on his own journey through Brussels and EU policy circles, he will discuss how young professionals can navigate complexity, leverage institutional knowledge, and build meaningful paths in diplomacy, civil service, or think tanks. The talk will also examine how Europe’s identity politics and governance systems impact those who seek to work from within, and what today’s students can do to prepare.
Though little studied, letter sutras help us recover the stories of love, loss, and mourners turning to the things left behind in the wake of death to make something meaningful. This talk explores Japanese medieval makers who reused and recycled the epistles of their dead for the copying of sacred Buddhist text to create potent palimpsests known as letter sutras – objects that have lurked beneath the surface of Japanese material culture and punctuated the personal histories of famous figures since the ninth century. These manuscripts reveal the efficacy and intimacy of Buddhist ritual and how paper resonated with embodied presence and yet devastating grief. This talk analyses the creative methods deployed by mourners in coping with death and loss, the ephemerality and afterlives of letters, and the haptic engagement with layered manuscripts.
Dr Julia Gravendyck is a lecturer in systematic botany at the University of Bonn. The history of plants is preserved not only in leaves and wood, but also in microscopic fossils such as pollen and spores. Abundant across geological time, these microfossils provide a powerful lens for reconstructing vegetation change and evolutionary transitions. Julia's lecture explores how they refine our understanding of plant evolution, from the earliest land plants to the rise of flowers. Recent discoveries of Early Cretaceous pollen shed new light on Darwin’s “abominable mystery” of angiosperm origins, while palynology also reveals how plant communities responded to mass extinctions. Together, these insights show how tiny fossils illuminate some of the biggest questions in botany: how plant communities coped with global crises, and where flowering plants first transformed Earth's ecosystems.
Title to be announced Dr Akira Wiberg is a Senior Clinical Research Fellow in Plastic Surgery and Versus Arthritis Career Development Fellow at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS), University of Oxford. The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. Chair: To be announced All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
Blood vessels are among the most vital structures in the human body, forming intricate networks that connect and support various organ systems. Remarkably, during early embryonic development—before any blood vessels are visible—their precursor cells are arranged in stereotypical patterns throughout the embryo. We hypothesize that these patterns guide the directional growth and fusion of precursor cells into hollow tubes formed from initially solid clusters. Further analysis of cells within these clusters reveals unique organization that may influence their differentiation into endothelial and blood cells. In this work, I revisit the problem of pattern formation through the lens of active matter physics, using both developing embryonic systems and in vitro cell culture models where similar patterns are observed during tissue budding. These different systems exhibit similar patterning behavior, driven by changes in cellular activity, adhesion and motility.
Contemporary protectionist policies in the U.S. are often initiated by the executive branch but enforced unevenly across firms. We argue that such uneven enforcement arises because legislators—with both institutional capacity and local motivation—shield connected firms from executive protectionist measures. We test this claim using the Trump administration’s Buy American Act (BAA), which penalized firms reliant on foreign, especially Chinese, suppliers. Combining firm-level data on federal contracts, supply chains, and campaign contributions, we analyze 1,958 firms (2015–2019). A difference-in-differences design shows that the BAA significantly reduced contracts for firms with Chinese suppliers, but only among politically inactive firms in districts represented by less powerful House members or by members lacking strong local ties. We also find that only less-connected firms adjusted their suppliers after the BAA. These findings highlight the importance of distinguishing between the adoption and implementation of protectionist policies, and how legislators shape implementation amidst presidential dominance in trade policy.
Primary: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed (1974), Chapters 13 & 14 Supplementary: Cindy Milstein, ‘Gesturing toward Utopia’ in Anarchism and Its Aspirations (2010); Le Guin, ‘The Operating Instructions’ (2002)
Seminar followed by Q&A and drinks - all welcome - join in person or online Full details available shortly
Love, loss, grief, separation and the bliss of union – all are powerfully represented in ATMA (The Soul), first released as an album in 2023 and now performed live. A musical journey that portrays all aspects of life, it is a rich musical meeting between the worlds of Indian classical and jazz, in which sitar and tabla beautifully weave and interchange with double bass, guitar and electronics.
On Monday 8th December 2025, join us for the OxCODE symposium 2025 to hear about the latest research in early cancer detection and prevention from Oxford and elsewhere. We are delighted to have Ros Eeles (The Institute of cancer Research, London) and Phil Jones (Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge) as our keynote speakers and there will be sessions themed on: Early detection, featuring Ros Eeles, Parinaz Mehdipour and Brian Nicholson Stratifying cancer risk, featuring Pradeep Virdee, Karl Smith Byrne, Anneke Lucassen Biology-informed prevention, featuring Phil Jones, Karin Hellner , Zinaida Dedeic and Maria Aggelakopoulou The Symposium will also feature: Panel discussion: Are industry/academia partnerships essential for advancing early detection and prevention research for patient benefit? Lightning talks (abstract submission deadline, 7th November; see guidance below). Poster session (abstract submission deadline, 7th November; see guidance below). At the end of the day, there will be a drinks and canapés reception to give you an opportunity to network and build connections. Register by 21st November, Please contact cancer@medsci.ox.ac.uk with any questions. Lightning talk abstract submission If you would like to submit an abstract for consideration for a 4-minute lightning talk, you will need to follow the guidelines below: • The abstract must be no longer than 200 words, submitted in Word format. • Please include a title, author list and your primary departmental affiliation. • All abstracts must be submitted to cancer@medsci.ox.ac.uk by Friday 7th November. Late abstracts will not be accepted. • All people submitting abstracts must also register via Eventbrite • Lightning talks will be selected by the OxCODE operational group • Applicants will be notified of acceptance from Monday 17th November Poster guidance If you would like to submit an abstract for consideration for the poster session you will need to follow the guidelines below: • The abstract must be no longer than 200 words, submitted in Word format. • Please include a title, author list and your primary departmental affiliation. • All abstracts must be submitted to cancer@medsci.ox.ac.uk by Friday 7th November. Late abstracts will not be accepted. • All people submitting abstracts must also register via Eventbrite • In the event of oversubscription, poster places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis (40 places available). • Posters should be printed in portrait orientation and be no larger than A0 to fit the poster display boards.
Do you want to make sure your work is ‘REFable’ per the new REF open access requirements? In this focused online briefing, we will: step you through the changes and new requirements; provide links to further REF information and guidance; let you know where to find help at Oxford; and answer as many questions as we can. Intended audience: Researcher & research student; Staff
Are you looking to learn about the ways in which to transmit scientific ideas and make your research accessible to a non-specialist audience through a variety of mediums? This session will serve as an introduction to science communication and how it can be successfully incorporated into our roles. By the end of this session you will be able to: define science communication and provide a list of examples; explain why science communication is important for both our CPD and the public; and list ways in which we can all get involved in science communication. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
An introduction to the what, why and how of public involvement
Patents and standards are a valuable source of technical information relevant to the fields of engineering, materials sciences, and more. Together, they provide approved rules and guidelines whilst helping to protect inventions and innovative ideas. They can, however, be tricky to find. Join this session to find out more about what patents and standards are, why they might be useful for your research and how to find them in specific databases. By the end of this session, you will: know what a patent is and where to find it; know what a standard is and where to find it; and be able to reference patents and standards. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
We are excited to host the 2025 Bennett Institute Medicines Symposium, two days of talks and workshops on medicines, NHS data, and open research. Day 1 will feature keynotes, lightning talks, and panel discussions. Day 2 will be dedicated to hands-on workshops. Whether you’re working in healthcare research, policy, or practice, this is a chance to connect and learn from those generating and using medicines data in the UK. Registration and abstract submissions are now open Note: symposium registration and abstract submissions are handled separately (see links below). If you wish to propose a talk or workshop, don’t forget to also register! Register for the symposium using the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2025-bennett-institute-medicines-symposium-tickets-1570683509659 Propose a talk or workshop using the abstract submission form: https://airtable.com/appYkEJ7pQey5ic4F/pagolpfwNJg1oRSrS/form What you’ll learn This year’s symposium is focused on medicines, NHS data, and open research methods. You’ll learn about: Ongoing work and recent findings from the Bennett Institute and our collaborators Tools like OpenSAFELY, OpenCodelists, and OpenPrescribing, and how others are using them Approaches to high-quality, reproducible analytics in the NHS Real-life examples of how data is being used to improve care, safety, and access Hands-on workshops to explore methods, tools, and workflows Who you’ll meet We’re bringing together people who often use the same data but don’t always get to work together. You’ll meet: Clinicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals who generate and use medicines data in everyday care Medicines optimisation teams Researchers, epidemiologists, and data scientists Policy makers and experts Data infrastructure experts and platform developers
Coaching skills are the key to fostering positive and effective working relationships with your colleagues and team members. This workshop is your gateway to the powerful world of coaching. It will introduce you to essential coaching concepts, approaches, and skills that will transform your leadership style.
For our first AI workshop we will be joined by Dr Lei Clifton, Programme Director of the MSc in Applied Digital Health, Primary Care Department; Dr Bradley Segal, Rhodes Scholar, practising physician and DPhil candidate in Biomedical Engineering, and Gavin Hubbard, Senior Communications Manager with extensive AI experience, Primary Care Department. Title: AI Tools for Research: A Hands-On Workshop When: 11 December 2025 Time: 11:00 – 12:00 Venue: BDI/Oxpop Seminar room 1 Overview: Live demonstrations of AI tools that can cut admin time, speed up literature reviews, improve writing, and support research workflows – from hypothesis generation to peer review simulation. The content will be tailored on the experience levels and specific interests captured in the registration form. Who it's for: Any researcher curious about AI applications. No coding required, all experience levels welcome. Format: Interactive, hands-on session with concrete examples relevant to primary care research. Attendees can bring laptops to try techniques during live demos. The session will cover practical applications many researchers are curious about but haven't known where to start. Bio: Dr Lei Clifton: Programme Director of the MSc in Applied Digital Health, Primary Care Department Lei has 20+ years of experience at the intersection of medical statistics and AI. As Programme Director of the MSc in Applied Digital Health, she specialises in foundation models and large language models for healthcare, bringing expertise from engineering, machine learning, and medical statistics. Dr Bradley Segal: DPhil candidate, Computational Health Informatics (CHI) Lab Bradley is a Rhodes Scholar, practicing physician, and DPhil candidate from the CHI Lab in the Engineering Department. He specialises in AI applications in healthcare, from deep learning in medical imaging to large-scale patient analytics platforms. His clinical experience and healthcare technology ventures provide practical insights into implementing AI tools in real-world medical settings. Gavin Hubbard: Senior Communications Manager with extensive AI experience Gavin brings a unique perspective combining medical biochemistry background, 8+ years in drug development, and extensive science writing experience. He supports researchers in communicating their work to diverse audiences and has been exploring AI tools for research communication for several years, training NIHR communications professionals in LLM use since early 2023. Registration: https://forms.office.com/e/RcbjScFzyW?origin=lprLink – spaces are limited for the interactive format.
Lesson of the week, clinical cases and research. All clinical and academic staff and students welcome. Coffee, Tea and Cake will be served.
Look but Fail to See (LBFTS) errors are those errors where we miss something that is ‘right in front of our eyes’, even though it is clearly visible and recognizable. Such errors can be amusing, as when we miss a gorilla in an inattentional blindness demo; vexing, as when we miss a typo; and serious, as when a tumor is missed in a CT scan or a weapon is missed at the airport. I will discuss how the capacity limits and operating rules of selective visual attention can give rise to LBFTS errors. LBFTS errors can also inform discussions about the awareness and/or consciousness. They falsify naïve theories that would claim that we are fully aware of everything we are seeing at the current moment, but we knew that wasn’t true. They also falsify or, at least, complexify more interesting theories that equate attention with awareness. Sadly, I will not have a neatly packaged theory of consciousness to offer. Perhaps that will emerge during the question-and-answer period.
This international conference is part of a partnership between the University of Oxford, the Maison Française d'Oxford, the PHEEAC laboratory at the University of the Antilles, and the UMR LISA at the University of Corsica. It will be held on December 15 and 16 at the Maison Française d'Oxford. This academic meeting aims to explore, from a historical and anthropological perspective, the arts of resistance to central power in the Caribbean and Mediterranean islands from the 18th to the 21st century, as well as the various forms of repression (censorship, imprisonment, deportation) that resulted from it.
In a fast-changing world, psychiatry needs to adapt to remain relevant. This presentation will summarize the changes in psychiatry that are considered to have been the most impactful for the practice and research in psychiatry since 1945. Based on this historical context, the current status of psychiatry and its future as one of the main medical specialties will be discussed. This seminar is hosted in-person at the Department of Psychiatry, Seminar Room. To join online, please use the details below: https://zoom.us/j/94567124781?pwd=sVxXabbSWibdU8A9W2clQlG9neRGbQ.1 Meeting ID: 945 6712 4781 Passcode: 470970
Do you need help managing your references? Do you need help citing references in your documents? This online session will introduce you to EndNote, a subscription software programme which can help you to store, organise and retrieve your references and PDFs, as well as cite references in documents and create bibliographies quickly and easily. On completing the workshop you will be able to: understand the main features and benefits of EndNote; set up an EndNote account; import references from different sources into EndNote; organise your references in EndNote; insert citations into documents; and create a bibliography/reference list. Intended audience: Medicine & NHS; Taught student; Researcher & research student.
Higher education development is increasingly influenced by the complex context of growing impact of geopolitics, the intensified pressure for addressing economic purposes and the call for AI and STEM in education and skill formation. This webinar critically examines the role of liberal arts education in nurturing caring professionals with a strong emphasis on transdisciplinary studies orientation and whole-person development. This webinar invites dialogue from participants to critically discuss the importance of repurposing university education to address the complex changes facing the humanities. This webinar is part of our Ideas and Universities Dialogue Series.
A joint online conference with the Centre for Baptist Studies, Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies, and Georgetown College. Held on two consecutive Fridays, 9th and 16th January 2026, between 2 and 4pm UTC (9-11am EST, 10am-noon AST) 9th January – Slow Wisdom in the Local Church 16th January – Slow Wisdom in the Wider Church Register for free via TicketSource
Dr James Gilchrist University of Oxford https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/team/james-gilchrist
This seminar will discus recent research from our group exploring spatial navigation in cities and in the pacific ocean. Discoveries from project Sea Hero Quest will be presented where we tested over 4 million participants on their navigation ability in an virtual navigation task in a mobile app. Insights from route planning in London taxi drivers and navigation test with over 100 people in a crowded fabricated 1:1 art gallery space will be discussed. Finally the preliminary insights from the Voyage to Aur project will be presented where we sailed over 3 days in pacific ocean collecting continuous spatial estimates from indigenous sailors from the Marshall Islands aboard the yacht Stravaig.
The U.S. health care system in a period of turmoil and innovation due to system inflation, political and social change, workforce disruptions, and the ascendance of technology driven patient care. This update will cover the main changes occurring now in the U.S. health care system, analyzing these changes in the context of larger trends that may remain present for some time into the future.
Derek Presentation
As a college freshman, Shabana Basij-Rasikh co-founded SOLA, which would become the only boarding school for girls in Afghanistan. In 2021, days after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, she led the dramatic evacuation of the school from Afghanistan to Rwanda, where it operates as the only boarding school for Afghan girls in the world, a place of hope and promise. Shabana describes this haven where Afghan girls will always be free to learn.
Part of the Dementia Research Oxford seminar series Our vision is to transform research and healthcare in dementia. Dementia Research Oxford, led by Professors Masud Husain and Cornelia van Duijn, brings together researchers and clinicians across the University, our hospitals, patients, and industry partners to translate our growing insights in the basic molecular origin disease into effective treatment and prevention. We aim to take science further from drug target to treatment, from molecular pathology to early diagnosis and prognosis and from early intervention to prevention.
Professor Prasanna Sooriakumaran will discuss 'The PRESIDENT trial- an HTA-funded multi-centre UK full randomised controlled trial of surgery plus current best care versus current best care alone in men diagnosed with low volume metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer using novel molecular imaging with PSMA PET/CT.' Prasanna Sooriakumaran, known as PS, is a Consultant Urologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust where he performs the unit's largest volume of complex and salvage robotic prostatectomy surgery. He holds visiting professorships in urology at Oxford and the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and is also the Clinical Lead for Robotic Soft-Tissue Surgery at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). He has been interested in the topic of surgery for metastatic prostate cancer for over a decade and has conducted many observational studies as well as the world’s first feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) in the field. He has recently been funded by the HTA as the Chief Investigator on a multi-centre full UK-wide RCT of surgery in metastatic prostate cancer. The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
Professor Brendan Wren London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/wren.brendan
COURSE DETAILS You will learn how to read a group, deal with difficult situations, use humour, match your presentation to the audience, and make an impact. You will learn how to get your message across so it is remembered. You will learn about timing and when you should deliver key messages. You will develop your self-awareness and understand its role in presenting. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand more about: How to structure your presentation for impact. How your psychological state affects your presentation skills and how you can manage it. How to read a group and how to deal with difficult situations. How to deliver your presentation with more confidence.
Digital platforms now shape everything from childhood social interaction to democracy – with fears growing that not enough is being done to protect vulnerable users from harmful online content. The UK government’s Online Safety Act promises to tackle illegal and harmful content, including child sexual exploitation and abuse, terrorism, and suicide and self harm. But critics warn of sweeping state powers, vague definitions and unintended consequences for privacy, free speech and innovation – especially as AI supercharges both risks and regulation. Dame Melanie Dawes is the Chief Executive of the media regulator Ofcom, and will explore the growing role of the public sector in keeping users safe online, the legal and ethical challenges this presents, and what’s at stake as we redraw the boundaries of digital freedom.
A LEGO-based game where each player is given a series of tasks related to the patient’s journey through the hospital – from admittance to diagnosis and treatment through to discharge. Through several rounds of the game, using reflection and facilitated improvement processes, the players are given a unique insight into interdisciplinary team-work and optimization of patient flow using game-based learning.
Professor Kate Baker University of Cambridge https://www.infectiousdisease.cam.ac.uk/staff/kate-baker
Bacterial genomes vary in sequence due to mutations but also vary in their gene content and order due to horizontal gene transfer. Whether the variation in gene content and order, known as the accessory genome, is typically neutral, nearly neutral or adaptive is still the subject of debate – different theoretical arguments support all three scenarios. The availability of large sample collections across many thousands of bacterial species offers the opportunity to bring data to bear on this question. I will first present methods being developed in my group to make it possible to analyse collections of millions of genomes. Using these approaches, I will then show how a mechanistic model of gene gain and loss can be fitted to different pathogen species to determine whether their accessory genome shows signals of adaptation. Finally, I will show how transformer-based AI architectures can learn gene content and ordering across even more species, giving another way to look at this problem.
In this session we will cover how to locate and interpret journal level metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF). We will examine the tools you can use to locate journal level metrics, such as Journal Citation Reports and Scopus Sources. We will also consider the uses, limitations and pitfalls inherent in these metrics and how they can be used responsibly. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: the major journal metrics and how these are calculated; accessing journal citation data using Journal Citation Reports and Scopus Sources; using JIF, CiteScore and SJR journal metrics to rank journals; and the limitations of different metrics, including how journal metrics may be skewed or distorted. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
This ½ day course is run by Professor Helen Higham (Director of OxSTaR & a Consultant Anaesthetist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford) and is suitable for clinical and non-clinical staff and aims to provide an introduction to the fundamentals of human factors in healthcare. The course introduces participants to basic human factors frameworks, including the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS), and focuses on practical applications in the workplace to improve understanding of systems in healthcare. This course will align with the new National Patient Safety Syllabus Learning Objectives Improve understanding of human factors principles Introduce and explore a human factors framework (SEIPS) Provide opportunities to practise applying SEIPS to real world examples Course content Definition and background of human factors Human factors applied to healthcare Importance of work place culture (including Just Culture tool) Explanation of SEIPS framework Exercises using SEIPS Plenty of opportunity for discussion and questions
Dr Bridget Penman University of Oxford https://www.biology.ox.ac.uk/people/bridget-penman
Goal-directed movements rely on both egocentric (target relative to the observer) and allocentric (target relative to landmarks) spatial representations. So far, it is widely unknown which factors determine the use of allocentric information when we localize objects in space. To probe allocentric coding, we established an object shift paradigm and asked participants to encode the location of multiple objects presented in naturalistic 2D scenes or 3D virtual environments. After a brief delay, a test scene reappeared with one of the objects missing (= target) and the other objects (= landmarks) systematically shifted in one direction. After the test scene vanished, participants had to indicate the remembered location of the target. By quantifying the positional error of the target relative to the physical shift of the landmarks we determined the contribution of allocentric target representations. In my talk, I will present a series of behavioral experiments in which we identified key factors influencing the use of allocentric spatial coding, such as spatial proximity, task relevance, scene coherence, and scene semantics. Overall, our results show that low-level as well as high-level factors influence how humans represent objects in naturalistic environments.
In this session we will examine article level metrics. We will discuss how citation counting can help identify influential papers in particular fields and how altmetrics provide a different perspective on research output. Using tools such as Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus you will learn how to locate different article metrics. The session will also allow you to appreciate the limitations of different metrics and the importance of their cautious interpretation. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: using Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar to track and count citations to papers and individual researchers; measuring impact using altmetrics; understanding how to contextualise metrics against other, similar papers in a field; and the limitations of different metrics. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
Create content for your teaching or research with greater confidence by attending our session on Creative Commons (CC) licences. Learn how they work, how they interact with copyright and how to use them to best effect. The session will make special reference to images but is applicable to all media, including written works. The workshop is classroom-based. In this playful, interactive face-to-face session we will cover: what Creative Commons Licences are; where to find Creative Commons material; how to apply Creative Commons to your own work; and how to reuse Creative Commons materials. We’ll finish the session with a Creative Commons card game. Intended audience: Researcher and research student; Staff
COURSE DETAILS This session looks at the way in which we can have useful conversations in career development reviews. It examines the blockages to such conversations and how we can overcome them using active listening and coaching techniques. There will be an opportunity to discuss the policy and process surrounding CDRS. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will have an understanding of: The Career context and support for CDRs. How coaching and active listening can enable positive CDR conversations. An opportunity to practice relevant skills.
A principal seeks to contract with an agent but must do so through an informed delegate. Although the principal cannot directly mediate the interaction, she can constrain the menus of contracts the delegate may offer. We show that the principal can implement any outcome that is implementable through a direct mechanism satisfying dominant strategy incentive compatibility and ex-post participation for the agent. We apply this result to several settings. First, we show that a government that delegates procurement to a budget-indulgent agency should delegate an interval of screening contracts. Second, we show that a seller can delegate sales to an intermediary without revenue loss, provided she can commit to a return policy. Third, in contrast to centralized mechanism design, we demonstrate that no partnership can be efficiently dissolved in the absence of a mediator. Finally, we discuss when delegated contracting obstructs efficiency, and when choosing the right delegate may help restore it.
Why should clinicians care about economic value? How does the economics of the health system affect day-to-day working practices and experiences? How can clinicians influence resourcing decisions that improve value? During the seminar, Jacque will explore the economic paradigm of the NHS, and how economics can help grow value through cycles of improvement. The workshop is organised in two parts: Part A: The economics of the system Who pays for what and how does the money flow? What are the opportunities for increasing value as we move forward? Part B: Using the economic lens to drive value over time How can clinicians use economic principles to influence investment and resource allocation.
In this session we will examine metrics for individual researchers. Using tools such as Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus you will learn about the researcher h-index and its limitations. You will be introduced to additional metrics tools such as author beamplots which help to contextualise a researcher’s output over time. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: accessing citation data for specific researchers on Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar; understanding how the h-index is calculated and its inherent limitations; creating an ORCID number to help track all your own research outputs; and the importance of research outputs beyond journal and conference papers when assessing a researcher’s impact. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
COURSE DETAILS The ability to influence others is a significant skill in any walk of life. This workshop will explore the impact of our communication preferences on others when seeking to influence. By also understanding the thinking process that underlies people’s decision making, we can use learnable skills to help people say ‘yes’ to us. The aim is always to influence others to the right decision, not just the decision we may want. LEARNING OUTCOMES After attending this workshop you will: Understand the impact of your own communication preferences when seeking to influence. Review how people think things through when making decisions and develop skills to positively impact the thinking process. Plan for the right outcomes and work out a healthy motive for the influence conversation. Help people say ‘yes’ to you. Understand the role of emotions when seeking to influence. Spot and adapt to the communication style of others to better land your message. Develop assertive communication skills. Plan for, and practice, an influence conversation.
COURSE DETAILS This short practical session will help you understand more about the career context for research staff at Oxford and beyond. It will enable you to identify the skills and abilities that you need to develop and give you guidance on how to enhance them so you are prepared for a useful conversation in your next CDR. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will have: An understanding of the career challenges and opportunities facing research staff at Oxford. An understanding of the skills you need to acquire. Started to apply a process of developing these skills.
COURSE DETAILS During the course you will have the opportunity to manage a project. You will be able to apply the techniques you learn to a project that you bring along. Topics covered: project initiation, managing stakeholders and risk, time estimation, planning. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand more about: The importance of planning. The tools to make project management succeed. How to estimate the time a project will take realistically. The skills you need to be a good project manager.
Professor Guy Thwaites University of Oxford https://www.ndm.ox.ac.uk/team/guy-thwaites
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is responsible for assessing most medicines launched in England, diagnostics, devices and digital products and creating clinical guidelines that identify the most clinically and cost-effective care. We’ll discuss how NICE assesses clinically and cost-effective care, including an interactive session where we work through different scenarios, such as a very expensive medicine for a few people and a very cheap medicine for many people. Finally, we’ll end with what kinds of innovations NICE are seeing now and anticipate in the near future, what they may mean for the health and care service, the practice of medicine and NICE assessment.
Narrative CVs are being adopted by many funders, nationally and internationally, to give researchers the opportunity to showcase a wider range of skills and experience than is possible in a traditional academic CV; an example is the UKRI Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI). Writing a narrative CV requires a different way of thinking about and describing your skills, experience and contributions to research and innovation compared to a traditional CV. Writing your first narrative CV will take some time and effort; you might not be sure about what activities to include, and how to describe their quality, relevance, and your involvement in them. This presentation will try to demystify and simplify narrative CVs by providing advice, prompts and suggestions for how to write one. Speakers Mary Muers Research Culture Facilitator, MSD Kanza Basit Senior Research Facilitator, SSD Gavin Bird Head of Research Facilitation and Support, SOGE, SSD Susan Black, Careers Adviser, Oxford Careers Service Everyone welcome, please register to receive the TEAMS link for this event If you are a student or researcher with a CareerConnect account, please register "here":https://oxford.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=22970&service=Careers%20Service All other staff register "here":https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke7xLB0LNIFKuA055EWF9ZtUOUhSTjVFMExHUzlVSkU1WFZER1JKTU9VTy4u, the joining link will be in the registration confirmation email
COURSE DETAILS Topics will include presenting your CV, how to approach employers, writing covering letters and interview skills. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand: How to improve your CV. How to approach employers. How to write a covering letter. How to plan for an interview. How to interview well.
In this paper we study a class of weighted estimands, which we define as parameters that can be expressed as weighted averages of the underlying heterogeneous treatment effects. The popular ordinary least squares (OLS), two-stage least squares (2SLS), and two-way fixed effects (TWFE) estimands are all special cases within our framework. Our focus is on answering two questions concerning weighted estimands. First, under what conditions can they be interpreted as the average treatment effect for some (possibly latent) subpopulation? Second, when these conditions are satisfied, what is the upper bound on the size of that subpopulation, either in absolute terms or relative to a target population of interest? We argue that this upper bound provides a valuable diagnostic for empirical research. When a given weighted estimand corresponds to the average treatment effect for a small subset of the population of interest, we say its internal validity is low. Our paper develops practical tools to quantify the internal validity of weighted estimands.
Professor Brian Angus University of Oxford https://www.ndm.ox.ac.uk/team/brian-angus
The Autism Long-term Outcomes Study (ALTOS) examined adolescents and young adults who were diagnosed with autism early in development according to gold standard expert clinical evaluation, who currently have no symptoms. In prior work, we described the unique brain networks that were involved in language processing in such a population, in comparison with individuals with a current autism diagnosis and those without a history of autism. This talk will describe results of our current behavioral and fMRI studies of language outcomes and their association with other cognitive and communication abilities as well as mental health and quality of life.
This paper investigates whether severe economic hardship undermines preferences for honesty. We use controlled, incentivized measures of cheating for private benefit in a large, diverse sample of 5,676 Kenyans, exploiting three complementary sources of variation: experimentally manipulated monetary incentives, randomized increase in salience of own financial situation, and the Covid‑19 income shock, exploiting randomized survey timing as a natural experiment with respondents surveyed before and during the crisis. We find that severe economic hardship—marked by a 40% drop in monthly earnings— leads to a sharp increase in the prevalence of cheating, from 43% to 72%. Cheating behaviour is highly responsive to financial incentives and increases gradually with prolonged hardship. The effects are largest among the most economically impacted and are amplified when salience of own financial situation is experimentally increased. Predictable seasonal income fluctuations, in contrast, do not affect honesty. The results demonstrate that while most individuals exhibit a strong preference against cheating under normal conditions, severe economic hardship substantially erodes honesty.
Title to be announced. The Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that attendance at the Surgical Grand Rounds can count toward internal CPD, with 1 point awarded per hour. Please note that in-person attendance is required, and you will need to sign the attendance register. Chair: To be announced All members of the University and NHS clinical staff are welcome. Please email Tarryn Ching if you would like to attend online.
Disputes between colleagues can have a significant impact on performance and wellbeing as well as affecting patient experience and safety. This course is designed to help healthcare professionals understand how and why conflicts arise within and between teams, as well as what they can do to try and resolve issues. This course aims to help participants: understand the causes and impact of colleague-to-colleague conflict in a healthcare context appreciate different types of conflict personalities identify how conflict develops learn de-escalation strategies
Designed for research staff who are considering their next career move—whether within Oxford, within academia more broadly, or in other sectors. This interactive workshop supports researchers in navigating their career development with greater confidence and clarity. It offers participants the space to reflect on their ambitions, explore alternative futures, and engage in structured peer discussions to share insights and challenges. Participants will use design-thinking approaches to consider different career scenarios. The session then moves into goal setting and peer advice-sharing, helping researchers to build practical short-term plans and identify supportive resources and networks. Participants are introduced to key tools and services available through Oxford to support their development as they prepare for their next step, whatever that may be. By the end of this session, participants will be able to: * Articulate multiple possible career directions, including both preferred and alternative pathways. * Identify actionable short-term goals that support career progress. * Reflect on and assess their professional development to date, including skills, motivations, and values. Everyone welcome, please register to receive the TEAMS link for this event If you are a student or researcher with a CareerConnect account, please register "here":https://oxford.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=23006&service=Careers%20Service All other staff register "here":https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke7xLB0LNIFKuA055EWF9ZtUNFk4NDEwVkVLWklPNDc5WjZKWFU2VEMwWC4u, the joining link will be in the registration confirmation email
This paper presents a novel application of graph neural networks for modeling and estimating network heterogeneity. Network heterogeneity is a concept characterizing the dependence of an individual’s outcome or decision on their diverse local network scenarios. Graph neural networks are powerful tools for studying this dependence. We delineate the convergence rate of the graph neural networks estimator, as well as its applicability in semiparametric causal inference with heterogeneous treatment effects. The finite-sample performance of our estimator is evaluated through Monte Carlo simulations. In an empirical setting related to microfinance program participation, we apply the new estimator to examine the average treatment effects and outcomes of counterfactual policies, and to propose a Pareto frontier of strategies for selecting the initial recipients of program information in social networks.
An introduction to the what, why and how of public involvement
We are thrilled to invite you to attend the European Phagocyte Workshop taking place on March 23-25, 2026 at Keble College, in the historic and iconic city of Oxford, United Kingdom. This popular workshop series highlights the latest advances in phagocyte biology. We will bring together 250 researchers from across the globe, providing plenty of networking opportunities to encourage new connections and collaborations. Our keynote speakers will be Ana-Maria Lennon-Duménil (Institut Curie) and Steffen Massberg (Ludwig-Maximilians University) and expert speakers from varied career stages will discuss key topics including Phagocytosis & Efferocytosis; Paediatric Innate Immunity; Phagocyte Mechanosensing; Phagocyte Flavours; Evolution & Development of Phagocytes; Phagocytes in Infection; Phagocyte-stromal interactions in Disease. The programme offers opportunities for junior researchers to deliver oral presentations, flash talks and posters. Registration is now open, please register early to avoid disappointment. Visit the conference website for more details: https://www.phagocytes2026.com/ Key dates Early registration deadline: 1 December 2025 Abstract submission deadline: 9 January 2026 Standard registration deadline: 1 February 2026 Late registration deadline: 1 March 2026 Please direct any questions about the workshop and registration to Charlotte: phagocytes2026@kennedy.ox.ac.uk
Coaching skills can help you build positive and effective working relationships with all those you work with. Coaching is a highly impactful approach to people development and can support individuals to identify goals, gain insights into challenges, consider options and plan actions. They are a valuable asset to leaders and managers and can be useful in a range of workplace conversations, such as feedback, delegation and career development reviews.
From militarised border regimes to racialised technologies of policing, from extractive geopolitics to nationalist media and electoral campaigns, the grammar and practice of fascism is global. This interdisciplinary conference examines how fascism and global Africa are entangled politically, economically, and imaginatively across time and space. By foregrounding geographies of anti-Blackness and imperial capitalism as core dimensions of fascist rule, we set out to look at how racial capitalism, colonial legacies, and authoritarian formations intersect in the making of global fascist orders. The concept of global Africa builds upon contemporary Pan-African thought and practice as generative and contested geographies of thought, solidarity, resistance. We are witnessing a revival of Pan-African solidarities in activist, intellectual, and cultural spaces, including transnational campaigns against state violence, police brutality, constitutional amendments, arbitrary detainment, mobilisations for liberation, and more in Burkina Faso, Sudan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Congo, Senegal, South Africa (and so many more!), signalling renewed possibilities for anti-imperial, anti-fascist, and (potentially) anti-capitalist futures. Across the Americas, from Brazil and Colombia to the United States and the Caribbean, Black and Afro-Indigenous movements continue to confront police killings, environmental dispossession, and authoritarian repression while forging alliances that link struggles on the African continent. We are particularly interested in bringing geographers into conversation with scholars of politics, history, anthropology, and media studies. Geographers, with our attention to spatiality, mobility, territory, and networks, possess a valuable toolkit for examining how fascism travels and operates transnationally—through shared ideas, international activist and organisational networks, capital (including surveillance capital, far-right tech investors and platform owners, and artificial intelligence systems), militarised technology, and the legal, activist, intellectual, and political struggles that resist it.
COURSE DETAILS During the course you will have the opportunity to manage a project. You will be able to apply the techniques you learn to a project that you bring along. Topics covered: project initiation, managing stakeholders and risk, time estimation, planning. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand more about: The importance of planning. The tools to make project management succeed. How to estimate the time a project will take realistically. The skills you need to be a good project manager.
Professor Judith Breuer University College London https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/9641
Course description This ½ day course is run by Professor Helen Higham (Director of OxSTaR & a Consultant Anaesthetist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford) and is suitable for clinical and non-clinical staff and aims to provide an introduction to the fundamentals of human factors in healthcare. The course introduces participants to basic human factors frameworks, including the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS), and focuses on practical applications in the workplace to improve understanding of systems in healthcare. This course will align with the new National Patient Safety Syllabus Learning Objectives Improve understanding of human factors principles Introduce and explore a human factors framework (SEIPS) Provide opportunities to practise applying SEIPS to real world examples Course content Definition and background of human factors Human factors applied to healthcare Importance of work place culture (including Just Culture tool) Explanation of SEIPS framework Exercises using SEIPS Plenty of opportunity for discussion and questions
We examine the rapid growth of Brazil's private online higher education sector and its impact on market structure and college enrolment. Exploiting regional and field-specific variation in online education penetration, we find that online programs increase enrolment for older students but divert younger students from higher-quality in-person programs. Increased competition lowers the prices of in-person programs but leads to a decline in their provision. Using an equilibrium model of college education, we quantify that in the absence of online education, the average student would experience 3.4% higher value added. While young students benefit from fewer online options, older students are disadvantaged. Targeted policies limiting online education to older cohorts have the potential to improve value added across all groups.
Complimentary refreshments from 3:30pm in the Hume-Rothery Meeting Room. Composites with intricate microstructures are ubiquitous in the natural world where they fulfil the specific functional demands imposed by the environment. For instance, nacre presents a fracture toughness 40 times higher than its main constituent, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate. This relative increase in toughness value is obtained as a crack propagating within this natural brick-and-mortar structure must interact with multiple reinforcing mechanisms, leading to a millimetre-sized process zone. The boost in performance obtained has pushed scientists for a few decades to use nacre as a blueprint to increase the toughness of synthetic ceramics and composites. Our ability to reproduce accurately the structure of nacre from the nanometre to the millimetre scale has improved with the introduction of Magnetically-Assisted Slip Casting (M.A.S.C.), a technique that combines an aqueous-based slip casting process with magnetically-directed anisotropic particle assembly. Using this technique, we can now fine-tune the structural properties of nacre-inspired alumina-based composites to reach strengths up to 670 MPa, KIC up to 7 MPa.m1/2 with subsequent stable crack propagation and this even at temperature up to 1200°C. While these materials already present interesting properties for engineering applications, we fail to see the large process zones that are acting in natural nacre. This led us to work on a new composite system, using this time monodisperse silica rods that can self-assemble into bulk colloidal crystals to finally test the effect of order in the microstructure on the toughness. The presence of this regularity in the microstructure proved crucial in enabling a large process zone. We obtained a 40-fold increase in toughness compared with the polymer use as a matrix in a composite made of 80% in volume of ceramic, all of which is processed at room temperature. From these two studies, we can extract the role of the interface and grain morphology in tough bioinspired composites and what will be the next steps for these materials. Brief biography Florian Bouville is a senior lecturer in the Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics in the Department of Materials of the Imperial College London. His group is researching both colloidal processing and fracture mechanics, to design more robust and durable materials based on their microstructure and not composition, with applications ranging from high temperature structural components for aerospace to energy storage devices. These studies are supported by various funding sources, including an ERC Starting Grant and the European Space Agency. He obtained his Master's degree in Material Sciences at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA de Lyon, France) in 2010. He then moved to the South of France for his PhD between three partners: the company Saint-Gobain, the Laboratory of Synthesis and Functionalization of Ceramics and the MATEIS laboratory (INSA de Lyon). From 2014 to 2018, he was a postdoctoral researcher and then scientist in the Complex Materials group at the Department of Materials at the ETH Zürich.
Professor Merryn Voysey University of Oxford https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/team/merryn-voysey
In this session we will cover how to locate and interpret journal level metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF). We will examine the tools you can use to locate journal level metrics, such as Journal Citation Reports and Scopus Sources. We will also consider the uses, limitations and pitfalls inherent in these metrics and how they can be used responsibly. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: the major journal metrics and how these are calculated; accessing journal citation data using Journal Citation Reports and Scopus Sources; using JIF, CiteScore and SJR journal metrics to rank journals; and the limitations of different metrics, including how journal metrics may be skewed or distorted. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
This paper proposes a new class of time varying models for which a vector of unknown parameters may vary stochastically or deterministically over time or be a mixture of both types. There are novel features to this class and its econometric treatment differs from the existing literature which typically separates stochastic and deterministic time variation in the parameters. Estimation methods for the former are often based on Bayesian resampling algorithms whereas nonparametric estimation methods are usually employed for fitting unknown deterministic functional forms. This paper develops instead a unified approach based on orthonormal series decompositions to estimating time variation irrespective of whether that variation is stochastic or deterministic. The proposed procedure has wide applicability, covering linear and nonlinear time series models as well as stochastic trends. Consistent estimators of the time varying structures are developed and the limit theory for each of the settings is established. A notable outcome is that unit root time-varying parameters can be estimated with asymptotic validity and fast rates of convergence when the unit root structure is captured by an orthonormal series representation. Other advantages include the flexibility and convenience of the approach in practical implementation. Simulations are conducted to examine finite sample performance and the procedures are illustrated in several real data examples.
Capital in modern economies increasingly takes the form of intangible capital, whose formation heavily depends on the contributions of specialized workers—such as inventors, managers, and entrepreneurs. To examine the macroeconomic implications of this fact, we develop and calibrate a general neoclassical model where capital formation requires both investment goods (tangible investments) and specialized labor (intangible investments). We show that rising intangibles renders the supply of capital more inelastic owing to the limited supply of specialized labor. Rising intangibles also change the incidence of capital taxation: whereas in traditional neoclassical models the tax burden falls entirely on production workers, in intangible economies, it is borne primarily by specialized workers and capital owners.
In this session we will examine article level metrics. We will discuss how citation counting can help identify influential papers in particular fields and how altmetrics provide a different perspective on research output. Using tools such as Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus you will learn how to locate different article metrics. The session will also allow you to appreciate the limitations of different metrics and the importance of their cautious interpretation. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: using Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar to track and count citations to papers and individual researchers; measuring impact using altmetrics; understanding how to contextualise metrics against other, similar papers in a field; and the limitations of different metrics. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
In this session we will examine metrics for individual researchers. Using tools such as Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scopus you will learn about the researcher h-index and its limitations. You will be introduced to additional metrics tools such as author beamplots which help to contextualise a researcher’s output over time. By the end of the session, you will be familiar with: accessing citation data for specific researchers on Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar; understanding how the h-index is calculated and its inherent limitations; creating an ORCID number to help track all your own research outputs; and the importance of research outputs beyond journal and conference papers when assessing a researcher’s impact. Intended audience: Taught student; Researcher & research student
https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/7097-david-goldblatt
COURSE DETAILS Topics will include presenting your CV, how to approach employers, writing covering letters and interview skills. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand: How to improve your CV. How to approach employers. How to write a covering letter. How to plan for an interview. How to interview well.
COURSE DETAILS This short practical session will help you understand more about the career context for research staff at Oxford and beyond. It will enable you to identify the skills and abilities that you need to develop and give you guidance on how to enhance them so you are prepared for a useful conversation in your next CDR. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will have: An understanding of the career challenges and opportunities facing research staff at Oxford. An understanding of the skills you need to acquire. Started to apply a process of developing these skills.
Narrative CVs are being adopted by many funders, nationally and internationally, to give researchers the opportunity to showcase a wider range of skills and experience than is possible in a traditional academic CV; an example is the UKRI Résumé for Research and Innovation (R4RI). Writing a narrative CV requires a different way of thinking about and describing your skills, experience and contributions to research and innovation compared to a traditional CV. Writing your first narrative CV will take some time and effort; you might not be sure about what activities to include, and how to describe their quality, relevance, and your involvement in them. This presentation will try to demystify and simplify narrative CVs by providing advice, prompts and suggestions for how to write one. Speakers Mary Muers Research Culture Facilitator, MSD Kanza Basit Senior Research Facilitator, SSD Gavin Bird Head of Research Facilitation and Support, SOGE, SSD Susan Black, Careers Adviser, Oxford Careers Service Everyone welcome, please register to receive the TEAMS link for this event If you are a student or researcher with a CareerConnect account, please register "here":https://oxford.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=22972&service=Careers%20Service All other staff register "here":https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke7xLB0LNIFKuA055EWF9ZtUMDI4VEEwVVk3RkNGRE5MTjRWWDNLRFRRTy4u, the joining link will be in the registration confirmation email
Dr Charlene Rodrigues LSHTM and St Marys Hospital London https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/aboutus/people/rodrigues.charlene
Professor Kirsty Mehring-Le Doare World Health Organisation & St. George's https://www.sgul.ac.uk/profiles/kirsty-le-doare
Designed for research staff who are considering their next career move—whether within Oxford, within academia more broadly, or in other sectors. This interactive workshop supports researchers in navigating their career development with greater confidence and clarity. It offers participants the space to reflect on their ambitions, explore alternative futures, and engage in structured peer discussions to share insights and challenges. Participants will use design-thinking approaches to consider different career scenarios. The session then moves into goal setting and peer advice-sharing, helping researchers to build practical short-term plans and identify supportive resources and networks. Participants are introduced to key tools and services available through Oxford to support their development as they prepare for their next step, whatever that may be. By the end of this session, participants will be able to: * Articulate multiple possible career directions, including both preferred and alternative pathways. * Identify actionable short-term goals that support career progress. * Reflect on and assess their professional development to date, including skills, motivations, and values. Everyone welcome, please register to receive the TEAMS link for this event If you are a student or researcher with a CareerConnect account, please register "here":https://oxford.targetconnect.net/leap/event.html?id=23008&service=Careers%20Service All other staff register "here":https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke7xLB0LNIFKuA055EWF9ZtUNDZHUzhVQ1RSTjRJNjA4QkJTWDROVkwwNS4u the joining link will be in the registration confirmation email.
An introduction to the what, why and how of public involvement
COURSE DETAILS You will learn how to read a group, deal with difficult situations, use humour, match your presentation to the audience, and make an impact. You will learn how to get your message across so it is remembered. You will learn about timing and when you should deliver key messages. You will develop your self-awareness and understand its role in presenting. LEARNING OUTCOMES By the end of this session you will understand more about: How to structure your presentation for impact. How your psychological state affects your presentation skills and how you can manage it. How to read a group and how to deal with difficult situations. How to deliver your presentation with more confidence.
Coaching skills can help you build positive and effective working relationships with all those you work with. Coaching is a highly impactful approach to people development and can support individuals to identify goals, gain insights into challenges, consider options and plan actions. They are a valuable asset to leaders and managers and can be useful in a range of workplace conversations, such as feedback, delegation and career development reviews.
Delivering effective health care requires a significant amount of teamwork among different groups of workers. Team structures are acknowledged increasingly as vital to delivering value, efficiency, and quality for patient care, particularly in the general practice space. But why are teams necessarily better than more traditional hierarchical work structures? When are teams best deployed for maximum success in patient care? How does one best work within a team? What are the key leadership approaches to making health care teams fulfil their potential? This workshop will address these questions in depth, through an interactive session that allows participants to gain exposure to the best practices associated with health care teams and their implementation.
Course description This ½ day course is run by Professor Helen Higham (Director of OxSTaR & a Consultant Anaesthetist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford) and is suitable for clinical and non-clinical staff and aims to provide an introduction to the fundamentals of human factors in healthcare. The course introduces participants to basic human factors frameworks, including the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS), and focuses on practical applications in the workplace to improve understanding of systems in healthcare. This course will align with the new National Patient Safety Syllabus Learning Objectives Improve understanding of human factors principles Introduce and explore a human factors framework (SEIPS) Provide opportunities to practise applying SEIPS to real world examples Course content Definition and background of human factors Human factors applied to healthcare Importance of work place culture (including Just Culture tool) Explanation of SEIPS framework Exercises using SEIPS Plenty of opportunity for discussion and questions
