On 28th November OxTalks will move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events' (full details are available on the Staff Gateway).
There will be an OxTalks freeze beginning on Friday 14th November. This means you will need to publish any of your known events to OxTalks by then as there will be no facility to publish or edit events in that fortnight. During the freeze, all events will be migrated to the new Oxford Events site. It will still be possible to view events on OxTalks during this time.
If you have any questions, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
What do we mean when we characterise certain events, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, or the spreading of a new mutation of COVID as necessary or inevitable? Conversely, what do we mean when judging these to be contingent, supposing they could have turned out differently (if only …)? These familiar notions sound beguilingly unproblematic; indeed, they pervade common thinking about determinism and chance. Yet, perusing their place in history, literature, the evolution of life, and the present climate crisis, this talk sheds new light on the concepts of historical contingency and necessity, and explores some of their moral implications.
The presentation will be followed by discussion and drinks.
The event is free and open to all.
