Wolfson College marks Black History Month 2020 with an engaging discussion with Britain's foremost experts on the history of black lives and communities in Britain. In this panel discussion we look at the deep and fascinating history of black individuals and communities in the UK, and how this history connects with and informs the concerns and goals of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.Olivette Otele PhD, FRHistS is a Professor of History of Slavery and Memory of enslavement at the University of Bristol. She is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Historical Society.Hakim Adi is a Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora at the University of Chichester. He was a founder member in 1991 of the Black and Asian Studies Association (BASA), which he chaired for several years.

Wolfson College marks Black History Month 2020 with an engaging discussion with Britain's foremost experts on the history of black lives and communities in Britain. In this panel discussion we look at the deep and fascinating history of black individuals and communities in the UK, and how this history connects with and informs the concerns and goals of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Olivette Otele PhD, FRHistS is a Professor of History of Slavery and Memory of enslavement at the University of Bristol. She is a Fellow and a Vice President of the Royal Historical Society. Hakim Adi is a Professor of the History of Africa and the African Diaspora at the University of Chichester. He was a founder member in 1991 of the Black and Asian Studies Association (BASA), which he chaired for several years.

Looking back; Moving Forwards: The History of Black Lives Matter 

In this year's Haldane lecture, Professor Kathy Willis examines the newly emerging 'green health' scientific evidence-base. The lecture is introduced by the College President, Sir Tim Hitchens. It has long been recognized that nature, especially in cities, is more than just street furniture. It is relatively well-known that trees, shrubs and flowers can provide shade in the summer, removal of particulate matter from polluted air, and habitats for birds, insects and other city-dwelling biodiversity.Less well-known is the fact that nature can also directly influence our health. The amount of green space, the number of healthy trees and overall color of green of a neighborhood all appear to be important for physical and mental well-being. Intriguing correlations have been emerging from a number of large studies recently to suggest that these features can be associated with reduced incidences of obesity, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases and depression.But what is it about nature that leads to these improved health outcomes? Whilst many studies have demonstrated correlations between nature and health, the vast majority do not provide the underlying scientific evidence base to determine causality and this is a recognized knowledge gap. To address this, a new scientific discipline is emerging. This is one which aims to determine the physiological and psychological responses to different kinds of nature that lead to improved health outcomes. This “green health” agenda is being driven forward not by biodiversity scientists, but primarily by the medical profession and public health professionals. They recognize the huge potential of green prescriptions.This talk examines this newly emerging ‘green health’ scientific evidence-base. In particular it discusses studies that have examined physiological and psychological responses to diversity, color, shape (fractal dimension), and smells of nature. What emerges is compelling evidence for quantifiable and significant health benefits associated with certain types of biodiversity.Professor Willis, Principal at St Edmund Hall, holds a position in the departmen of Zoology as Professor of Biodiversity and Head of the Oxford Long-term Ecology group. Her research focuses on the use of fossils and modern datasets, models and innovative technologies to determine the diversity, distribution and ambudance of plants and animals across global landscapes.

In this year's Haldane lecture, Professor Kathy Willis examines the newly emerging 'green health' scientific evidence-base. The lecture is introduced by the College President, Sir Tim Hitchens. It has long been recognized that nature, especially in cities, is more than just street furniture. It is relatively well-known that trees, shrubs and flowers can provide shade in the summer, removal of particulate matter from polluted air, and habitats for birds, insects and other city-dwelling biodiversity. Less well-known is the fact that nature can also directly influence our health. The amount of green space, the number of healthy trees and overall color of green of a neighborhood all appear to be important for physical and mental well-being. Intriguing correlations have been emerging from a number of large studies recently to suggest that these features can be associated with reduced incidences of obesity, cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases and depression. But what is it about nature that leads to these improved health outcomes? Whilst many studies have demonstrated correlations between nature and health, the vast majority do not provide the underlying scientific evidence base to determine causality and this is a recognized knowledge gap. To address this, a new scientific discipline is emerging. This is one which aims to determine the physiological and psychological responses to different kinds of nature that lead to improved health outcomes. This “green health” agenda is being driven forward not by biodiversity scientists, but primarily by the medical profession and public health professionals. They recognize the huge potential of green prescriptions. This talk examines this newly emerging ‘green health’ scientific evidence-base. In particular it discusses studies that have examined physiological and psychological responses to diversity, color, shape (fractal dimension), and smells of nature. What emerges is compelling evidence for quantifiable and significant health benefits associated with certain types of biodiversity. Professor Willis, Principal at St Edmund Hall, holds a position in the departmen of Zoology as Professor of Biodiversity and Head of the Oxford Long-term Ecology group. Her research focuses on the use of fossils and modern datasets, models and innovative technologies to determine the diversity, distribution and ambudance of plants and animals across global landscapes.

If biodiversity is the medicine, then what are its active ingredients? 

This Wolfson College Lecture Series aims to explore the socio-legal dimensions of our experience in courts, and with other forms of legal proceedings. In this lecture entitled "A Tale of Two Europes", The Rt Hon Lord Reed focuses on Law and Europe.

The Experience of Courts: A Tale of Two Europes 

Oscar-winning journalist, filmmaker and activist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy delivers the Sarfraz Pakistan Lecture. The lecture is introduced by Sir Tim Hitchens, College President. Pakistan, a deeply patriarchal society is rapidly changing and women are at the forefront. This lecture explores the ways in which women across the country are working on the grassroots level to create spheres of influence pushing back on archaic laws, age old practice and using the Internet to arm themselves to have a greater voice in society. This push against a power structure in a country where men make all the rules has led to a backlash against women with more voices calling for women to conform to traditional roles but this generation has dug its heels to fight back. As a filmmaker, Sharmeen, has documented this changing role over two decades. This lecture will use film and personal testimonies of the activists she has documented to demonstrate the rapidly shifting landscape.

Pakistan women on the frontlines 

A speech given by Sir Richard Sorabji at the launch party for the Jon Stallworthy Poetry Prize Campaign.

Spoken memoir of Professor Jon Stallworthy 

The 2019 Ronald Syme lecture was presented by Professor Alan Bowman and introduced by Sir Tim Hitchens. Alexandria was for many centuries, the largest and most important city in the eastern Mediterranean. This lecture explores how Rome tried to ensure its political stability which was crucial for its military control and economic interests in the east. This involved direct and indirect management by the imperial house of its role as the conduit through which the wealth of Egypt and the eastern luxury goods reached the Mediterranean and Italy. At the same time, the complex social and cultural character of its population changed and developed a profile distinct from the earlier period under the Ptolemies, turning it into a 'world-capital' which attracted the presence and influence of elites from Rome and the wider empire.

Alexandria in the Roman Empire: Politics, Commerce and Culture 

Ambassador Nicholas Burns, former US Political Director and NATO Ambassador, delivered the final lecture in the Wolfson Lecture Series: Diplomacy in the 21st Century. He is introduced by Sir Tim Hitchens, College President.

Diplomacy for the 21st Century: The Future of the Democratic West 

Sir Peter Gluckman, Former New Zealand Chief Scientific Advisor, presented the fourth Wolfson College Lecture in this series on modern diplomacy. The lecture was introduced by Sir Tim Hitchens. Science diplomacy has become much more than international science collaboration; it is primarily the intentional application of science (both natural and social) or scientific expertise in furtherance of diplomatic objectives. Structures for effective science diplomacies are often lacking; emerging issues drive a new emphasis on the global commons and thus the need for science diplomacy. The paradox, however, is that while globalization is being impaired, the need to address issues of the global commons is rising. Science can assist with most policy challenges, and in this lecture Sir Peter Gluckman explains that this is true also for much of diplomacy.

Diplomacy for the 21st Century: Expanding the diplomatic toolkit: the further evolution of science diplomacy 

In the third 'Diplomacy for the 21st Century' Lecture, Sir Tim Hitchens concentrates on 21st-century diplomacy, and how it differs from 20th-century diplomacy Diplomacy for the 21st Century' is a Wolfson College Lecture Series that gives insight into how diplomacy is done in a modern age and the vital work that the diplomatic service does in strengthening relationships across borders. After 35 years working in diplomacy, Sir Tim considers how 21st-century diplomacy will be different from 20th-century diplomacy. He considers the evolution of diplomatic tradecraft, and the different cultures of diplomacy around the world. Sir Tim argues that the biggest challenge this century, will be between rules-based international relations and power-based. However, he goes on to explain that for rules-based diplomacy to survive, the rules themselves need to evolve to reflect changing realities, and that arguing for the status quo is a dead end.

Diplomacy for the 21st Century: Twenty-first century diplomacy: a new rule book 

The second Wolfson College Lecture in Diplomacy for the 21st Century was presented by Yamina Karitanyi, the current High Commissioner for the Republic of Rwanda to the United Kingdom . The lecture was introduced by College President, Sir Tim Hitchens. In the second lecture of the Diplomacy for the 21st Century Series, Karitanyi takes the ending of Rwanda's Presidency of the African Union as the starting point for a consideration of how Africa's perspectives will change global diplomacy in the twenty-first century. She will offer thoughts on the way in which regional and continental integration across Africa may change the way in which the continent is seen globally, and the role it can play.Sir Tim commented, "in our focus on China and India, we sometimes forget that Africa is also one of this century’s emerging giants. Rwanda shows how dramatic transformation is possible - but how do you balance development and democracy? This lecture will help answer those questions.".Yamina Karitanyi is currently the High Commissioner for the Republic of Rwanda to the United Kingdom, and non-resident Ambassador to Ireland since September 2015. Having held various senior positions over ten years at GoodWorks International, a strategic consulting and advisory firm that services multinational corporations and governments, in the USA and East Africa, Karitanyi has a proven track record in international business, operations management, business negotiations, and Diplomacy.

The second Wolfson College Lecture in Diplomacy for the 21st Century was presented by Yamina Karitanyi, the current High Commissioner for the Republic of Rwanda to the United Kingdom . The lecture was introduced by College President, Sir Tim Hitchens. In the second lecture of the Diplomacy for the 21st Century Series, Karitanyi takes the ending of Rwanda's Presidency of the African Union as the starting point for a consideration of how Africa's perspectives will change global diplomacy in the twenty-first century. She will offer thoughts on the way in which regional and continental integration across Africa may change the way in which the continent is seen globally, and the role it can play. Sir Tim commented, "in our focus on China and India, we sometimes forget that Africa is also one of this century’s emerging giants. Rwanda shows how dramatic transformation is possible - but how do you balance development and democracy? This lecture will help answer those questions.". Yamina Karitanyi is currently the High Commissioner for the Republic of Rwanda to the United Kingdom, and non-resident Ambassador to Ireland since September 2015. Having held various senior positions over ten years at GoodWorks International, a strategic consulting and advisory firm that services multinational corporations and governments, in the USA and East Africa, Karitanyi has a proven track record in international business, operations management, business negotiations, and Diplomacy.

Diplomacy for the 21st Century: An African Perspective 

Wolfson is the largest graduate college in Oxford. Our diverse student body has a wide spread of disciplines and nationalities. The College is both traditional and unconventional, forward thinking and friendly.

These discussions are interesting for what they are. However, I wish there was a way of leaving a review of individual podcasts. John Broome&#39;s talk on May 02 on the ethics of climate change leaves a critical part of issue out. He talked what current generations are &#34;leaving&#34; to future generations of humans as if it were 100% negative. We are leaving tons of greenhouse gases and a warming planet and that&#39;s it, all bad. There was no talk of all the knowledge that we are currently in the process of discovering (i.e. solar cells, battery tech, nuclear energy research, microprocessing tech, general physics, and on and on) which future generations will have the benefit of using. The one-sided moralizing that was done was a disservice to the issue. This type of dishonesty by omission is why the general public, non-Oxford intellectual types ignore climate change discussions that can so easily be attacked by mere common sense thinking.

Interesting

The podcasts look like they would be interesting, but are apparently no longer available eventhough they are still listed.

Missing

Wolfson College Podcasts

Booker Prize winning novelist Alan Hollinghurst discusses fiction and biography in conversation with Hermione Lee at Wolfson College's Oxford Centre for Life-Writing (OCLW). Alan Hollinghurst gives an insight into the secrets of his fiction at Wolfson College's Oxford Centre for Life-Writing, speaking in conversation with College President and literary biographer Hermione Lee on the complex relationships between biographer and subject; lived experience and the attempt to record it, a subject he explores in his latest novel, The Stranger's Child. The conversation ranges over the changing attitudes to privacy charted through the historical span of the novel, the parallel liberation of biography and gay writing over the same period, the fallibility of the novelist's primary tool - memory - and the difficulty of acquiring a true understanding of the lives of others.

What can I say? Secrets in fiction and biography 

Steven Pinker gives a compelling account of the unacknowledged worldwide decline of violence in the 2014 Haldane Lecture Professor Pinker details how humanity has gone through a series of stages over the past 6,000 years through which rates of violence have declined dramatically. For example it has been determined that approximately 15% of Palaeolithic skeletons found show signs of unhealed violent trauma, suggested violence caused deaths, while the comparative worldwide number for the twentieth century is 0.06%. From interstate warfare to homicide, he shows how we are far less likely to die a violent death than any previous generation. Pinker concludes by assessing the various reasons for this decline in violence. He believes that the move towards peace is helped by ‘our better angels’: self-control, empathy, moral sense, and reason. A number of historical developments have contributed to this move, particularly the state monopolising violence, increasing commerce, an expanding circle of empathy, and the increase in literacy, education, and public discourse. He cautions, however, that this movement was not teleological and could be subject to pauses and reversals.The lecture is introduced by the President of Wolfson College, Professor Dame Hermione Lee.

Steven Pinker gives a compelling account of the unacknowledged worldwide decline of violence in the 2014 Haldane Lecture Professor Pinker details how humanity has gone through a series of stages over the past 6,000 years through which rates of violence have declined dramatically. For example it has been determined that approximately 15% of Palaeolithic skeletons found show signs of unhealed violent trauma, suggested violence caused deaths, while the comparative worldwide number for the twentieth century is 0.06%. From interstate warfare to homicide, he shows how we are far less likely to die a violent death than any previous generation. Pinker concludes by assessing the various reasons for this decline in violence. He believes that the move towards peace is helped by ‘our better angels’: self-control, empathy, moral sense, and reason. A number of historical developments have contributed to this move, particularly the state monopolising violence, increasing commerce, an expanding circle of empathy, and the increase in literacy, education, and public discourse. He cautions, however, that this movement was not teleological and could be subject to pauses and reversals. The lecture is introduced by the President of Wolfson College, Professor Dame Hermione Lee.

The better angels of our nature: A history of violence and humanity 

Marina Warner is a writer of fiction, criticism and history; her works include novels and short stories as well as studies of myths, symbols, and fairytales. She is currently Professor at Essex University. The proposition underlying this year's Wolfson Lectures on 'War and Civilization' is that, as one century of wars seems all too likely to bleed into another, we have become accustomed to think of warfare simply as the destroyer of civilization, the ultimate evil. This understandable view evades the extent to which warfare over the centuries has contributed to civilizations it has subsequently damaged or destroyed. The lectures by Niall Ferguson, Geoffrey Hill, Marina Warner, and Ian Buruma will consider warfare's creative contribution to the development of the arts and society, not to downplay the horrors of war, but to consider whether conflict has also made a positive contribution to the balance-sheet of civilization.

War and Civilization Series Lecture 3: War and Pity 

Ian Buruma is a writer and lecturer focussing on Asian (esp. Japanese) culture. He is currently Henry R. Luce Professor of Democracy, Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College, New York. The proposition underlying this year's Wolfson Lectures on 'War and Civilization' is that, as one century of wars seems all too likely to bleed into another, we have become accustomed to think of warfare simply as the destroyer of civilization, the ultimate evil. This understandable view evades the extent to which warfare over the centuries has contributed to civilizations it has subsequently damaged or destroyed. The lectures by Niall Ferguson, Geoffrey Hill, Marina Warner, and Ian Buruma will consider warfare's creative contribution to the development of the arts and society, not to downplay the horrors of war, but to consider whether conflict has also made a positive contribution to the balance-sheet of civilization.

War and Civilization Series Lecture 4: War and Liberation 

Geoffrey Hill is currently Professor of Literature and Religion at Boston University and in 2009 his Collected Critical Writings won the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism. The proposition underlying this year's Wolfson Lectures on 'War and Civilization' is that, as one century of wars seems all too likely to bleed into another, we have become accustomed to think of warfare simply as the destroyer of civilization, the ultimate evil. This understandable view evades the extent to which warfare over the centuries has contributed to civilizations it has subsequently damaged or destroyed. The lectures by Niall Ferguson, Geoffrey Hill, Marina Warner, and Ian Buruma will consider warfare's creative contribution to the development of the arts and society, not to downplay the horrors of war, but to consider whether conflict has also made a positive contribution to the balance-sheet of civilization.

War and Civilization Series Lecture 2: War and Poetry 

The 2011 Wolfson College Haldane Lecture was given by Sir Tony Hoare, Emeritus Professor at Oxford University Computing Laboratory and a principal researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK.

Applied Logic 

Based on his latest book, Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University, gave a public lecture at Wolfson College exploring the rich ancestral tapestry of the American nation.  From the moment that our DNA fingerprints could be profiled, genes have served as invaluable forensic tools to settle legal matters, exonerate the innocent, and identify the dead. But, as geneticists like Bryan Sykes have revealed in recent groundbreaking work, they can also help answer larger existential questions: Where do we hail from? How did we get here? And in what ways are we all related? In DNA USA, Sykes, a professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford, delivers the most comprehensive genetic portrait yet of our country. Genealogy is big business in America because we crave links to an illustrious past, whether to Mayflower passages, Native American chieftains, or African queens. But it also reflects our insatiable curiosity about forebears who fled, by necessity or by force, countries and continents far away. In a land of new starts and reinventions, American family trees can be frustrating for their shallow roots. However, to Bryan Sykes that’s merely a pretext to dig deeper.In his best-selling work The Seven Daughters of Eve, Sykes showed how our mitochondrial DNA pointed to global matrilineal ancestors. In DNA USA he also utilizes the Y (or male) chromosomes and the new technique of “Chromosome Painting” to help settle arguments over lineage in our relatively young society. Though we are all born with surnames that tell one part of the story, those names fragment and mutate (and flat-out lie) with far more regularity than the DNA we inherit. Can a MacDonald in Houston rightly claim Gaelic ancestry? Is a Cohen in Milwaukee actually the descendant of Moses’s brother? Are African Americans with European surnames largely free of European chromosomes? Even more intriguingly, Sykes uses genetic analysis to ponder other long-unsolved mysteries such as when and how humans first inhabited the Americas, whether it was only by foot and across the Bering land bridge, and the unusual implications of Polynesian chromosomes “jumping” across Siberia and into the pre-Columbian Native American population. Like de Tocqueville with a DNA kit, Sykes travels across the country meeting (and swabbing) genealogists, anthropologists, celebrities, and average Americans to paint a fascinating genetic portrait of our nation. For fans of Henry Louis Gates’s series African American Lives or NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, DNA USA suggests an even richer American tapestry than we could ever imagine.

Based on his latest book, Bryan Sykes, professor of human genetics at Oxford University, gave a public lecture at Wolfson College exploring the rich ancestral tapestry of the American nation. From the moment that our DNA fingerprints could be profiled, genes have served as invaluable forensic tools to settle legal matters, exonerate the innocent, and identify the dead. But, as geneticists like Bryan Sykes have revealed in recent groundbreaking work, they can also help answer larger existential questions: Where do we hail from? How did we get here? And in what ways are we all related? In DNA USA, Sykes, a professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford, delivers the most comprehensive genetic portrait yet of our country. Genealogy is big business in America because we crave links to an illustrious past, whether to Mayflower passages, Native American chieftains, or African queens. But it also reflects our insatiable curiosity about forebears who fled, by necessity or by force, countries and continents far away. In a land of new starts and reinventions, American family trees can be frustrating for their shallow roots. However, to Bryan Sykes that’s merely a pretext to dig deeper. In his best-selling work The Seven Daughters of Eve, Sykes showed how our mitochondrial DNA pointed to global matrilineal ancestors. In DNA USA he also utilizes the Y (or male) chromosomes and the new technique of “Chromosome Painting” to help settle arguments over lineage in our relatively young society. Though we are all born with surnames that tell one part of the story, those names fragment and mutate (and flat-out lie) with far more regularity than the DNA we inherit. Can a MacDonald in Houston rightly claim Gaelic ancestry? Is a Cohen in Milwaukee actually the descendant of Moses’s brother? Are African Americans with European surnames largely free of European chromosomes? Even more intriguingly, Sykes uses genetic analysis to ponder other long-unsolved mysteries such as when and how humans first inhabited the Americas, whether it was only by foot and across the Bering land bridge, and the unusual implications of Polynesian chromosomes “jumping” across Siberia and into the pre-Columbian Native American population. Like de Tocqueville with a DNA kit, Sykes travels across the country meeting (and swabbing) genealogists, anthropologists, celebrities, and average Americans to paint a fascinating genetic portrait of our nation. For fans of Henry Louis Gates’s series African American Lives or NBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?, DNA USA suggests an even richer American tapestry than we could ever imagine.

DNA USA: a genetic portrait of America 

The 2010 Wolfson College Syme Lecture was given by Oxford Professor of Late Antique and Byzantine History, Dame Averil Cameron. The speaker is introduced by College President Prof. Hermione Lee.

Empire, Empires, and the End of Antiquity 

A talk given at Wolfson College as part of a lecture series entitled "The Work of Music". Timothy Gowers is a Royal Society Research Professor at the Centre For Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK.

The Work of Music: Music and Mathematics 

A talk given at Wolfson College as part of a lecture series entitled "The Work of Music". Eric Clarke is Professor of Music at the Music Faculty, University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford.

The Work of Music: Music and Psychology 

Wolfson Fellow Professor Vlatko Vedral delivered a lecture on March 12th 2013 at the Royal Society in London. His presentation includes discussion of the applications of quantum physics in other areas of science and technology. Vlatko Vedral made his name developing a novel way of quantifying entanglement and applying it to macroscopic physical systems. He did his undergraduate and graduate studies at Imperial College London. Since June 2009 he has been in an entangled state of professorship at the University of Oxford (Governing Body Fellowship at Wolfson College) and at the National University of Singapore. He has held professorships at Imperial College, and University of Leeds and a number of visiting professorships in Canada, Austria, and Brazil. His research has won a number of awards, including the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award and the World Scientific (Physics Research) Medal and Prize. Further details of his lecture at the Royal Society may be found here: https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/content/1578-evening-royal-society

Wolfson Fellow Professor Vlatko Vedral delivered a lecture on March 12th 2013 at the Royal Society in London. His presentation includes discussion of the applications of quantum physics in other areas of science and technology. Vlatko Vedral made his name developing a novel way of quantifying entanglement and applying it to macroscopic physical systems. He did his undergraduate and graduate studies at Imperial College London. Since June 2009 he has been in an entangled state of professorship at the University of Oxford (Governing Body Fellowship at Wolfson College) and at the National University of Singapore. He has held professorships at Imperial College, and University of Leeds and a number of visiting professorships in Canada, Austria, and Brazil. His research has won a number of awards, including the Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award and the World Scientific (Physics Research) Medal and Prize. Further details of his lecture at the Royal Society may be found here: <a href="https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/content/1578-evening-royal-society" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/content/1578-evening-royal-society</a>

Living in a Quantum World 

The award-winning author and memoirist Candia McWilliam attests to the edifying power of fiction and biography in the third lecture in the Weinrebe series from the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. The award-winning author and memoirist Candia McWilliam attests to the edifying power of fiction and biography to help us see the world through the eyes of others, in the third lecture in the Weinrebe series from the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing. McWilliam overcame writer's block following a period of near-blindness brought on by the rare illness blepharospasm to write the Hawthornden Prize-winning memoir What to Look For in Winter. Wolfson College President and OCLW Director Hermione Lee, in her introduction to the lecture, described her voice as "subtle, original and sharp", and her memoir as remarkable for its candour and lack of sef-pity, "told with eloquence, truthfulness and comic brio".

Where may truth lie? Fiction in memory, memory in fiction 

The 2011 Wolfson College Syme Lecture was given by Denis Feeney, Giger Professor of Latin and Professor of Classics, Princeton University. The speaker is introduced by College President Prof. Hermione Lee.

The contact zone: the creation of a Roman literature 

The inaugural lecture of the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing was delivered by Micahel Wood, Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Princeton University. He was introduced by Hermione Lee, President of Wolfson College and Director of the Centre.

All About His Mother: Reading Proust's Letters 

Tim Marlow

Anthony Caro

Wolfson College was privileged to welcome back esteemed honorary fellow Sir Anthony Caro on 2nd November, who, 'in conversation' with art historian Tim Marlow, recounted his fifty-year career as one of the key figures in contemporary sculpture.

Sir Anthony Caro in conversation with Tim Marlow 

Isaiah Berlin

Wolfson's President, Professor Hermione Lee, gave an evocative lecture at Lincoln's Inn, London, entitled 'From Memory: Isaiah Berlin, Literary Encounters and Life-Stories' Professor Lee presented a lecture in the Old Hall concerning encounters between great men and women, and how they are remembered, narrated, and turned into legend. Professor Lee focused on an encounter between Wolfson College founder Isaiah Berlin and the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, which took place in Leningrad in 1945. Drawing on her research as one of our most renowned literary biographers, she recounted a number of other literary encounters, in order to explore questions about remembering and storytelling, disputed rival accounts, and how encounters can harden into myth.In dealing with life-writing, memory, and versions of the truth, the lecture addressed isues at the forefront of the College's Oxford Centre for Life Writing, one of a series of new research clusters at Wolfson

Wolfson's President, Professor Hermione Lee, gave an evocative lecture at Lincoln's Inn, London, entitled 'From Memory: Isaiah Berlin, Literary Encounters and Life-Stories' Professor Lee presented a lecture in the Old Hall concerning encounters between great men and women, and how they are remembered, narrated, and turned into legend. Professor Lee focused on an encounter between Wolfson College founder Isaiah Berlin and the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, which took place in Leningrad in 1945. Drawing on her research as one of our most renowned literary biographers, she recounted a number of other literary encounters, in order to explore questions about remembering and storytelling, disputed rival accounts, and how encounters can harden into myth. In dealing with life-writing, memory, and versions of the truth, the lecture addressed isues at the forefront of the College's Oxford Centre for Life Writing, one of a series of new research clusters at Wolfson

From Memory: Isaiah Berlin, Literary Encounters and Life-Stories 

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, presents the 2013 Wolfson Haldane Lecture. The speaker is introduced by College President, Hermione Lee.

Making Science Work 

The best podcast episodes on global issues affecting everyone. Covering topics such as the #metoo movement, climate change, the impact of technology and some of the biggest global issues facing us right now. For anyone interested in learning more about the world, and some of the issues we're facing, pick an episode below and start listening! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes on Global Issues

The best podcast episodes of the most interesting stories and things. From skyping someone while they're in space, to tracking down and meeting a telephone scammer in person, to the story of a Galapagos. These episodes will keep you and all your friends entertained and captivated for hours. Learn something new in every episode! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!