As we draw closer to the end of term, we are looking forward to our collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum - FRIGHTFriday event. It is also the national Festival Finale for the Being Human Festival. If you haven't already, make sure you sign up for your free ticket. 

We are thrilled to launch the funding opportunities for collaboration and funding as part of our 2017 Headline Series 'Humanities & Identities', which is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and also by the Vice-Chancellor's Diversity Fund. Check our website for more information. 

We hope to see you at one of the many events!

Highlighted Events

Callaloo Conference 23-26 November 2016

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 - 5:00pm to Saturday, November 26, 2016 - 7:00pm, Auditorium, Pembroke College.

Callaloo: Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters are hosting their 40th anniversary annual conference at Pembroke College from the 23-26 November 2016. Founded in 1976 by its editor, Charles Henry Rowell, Callaloo is a journal sponsored by Texas A&M University and College Station and published five times a year by John Hopkins University Press in Baltimore, Maryland. All events are free and open to the public. Read more here.

FRIGHTFriday - the art and science of Hope & Fear

We are looking forward to FRIGHTFriday at the Ashmolean Museum. It will be a diverse and dynamic national Festival Finale of the Being Human Festival. The festival is led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the AHRC and the British Academy. Tickets are free! For more information, please click here.

News and Blogs

Exile, Expulsion and Refuge

As part of the ‘Oxford Alternative Stories’ strand for the TORCH 2017 Headline Series Humanities & Identities, Gayle Lonergan and Jane Caplan are setting up a visual and material trail following the movement of refugees and exiles into and out of Oxford over the city’s thousand-year history. Click here to find out how you can take part.

Commemorating the New Zealand Soldiers at Botley Ceremony

In the presence of the New Zealand High Commissioner His Excellency The Right Honourable Sir Lockwood Smith KNZM the Globalising and Localising the Great War network hosted an event to commemorate the New Zealand Soldiers buried at Botley Cemetery. He was accompanied by Brigadier Evan Williams, NZ Defence Advisor, New Zealand Defence Force. They were kind enough to share photographs from the event with us. Click here to view the photos.

Gender Inequalities in the Humanities

Alice Kelly reports on workshops held in 2016 and supported by the Women in the Humanities programme, organised by Hannah Wirta Kinney (History of Art Department, History Faculty) and Julia Hamilton (Egyptology Department, Oriental Studies Faculty) that explored gender inequality. Drawing together students, early career researchers, faculty, and scholars from across the Humanities, the goal was to create a space for women to discuss their experiences of gender inequality, record them, and begin to quantify them. Read here.

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education Conference: Lessons for Oxford

Erinie Yousief reports back on a panel discussion featuring Dr. Machilu Zimba (Equality and Diversity Unit, University of Oxford) and Dr. Nadiya Figueroa (Dean of Scholarships, Director of Leadership and Change, The Rhodes Trust). The topic concerned the recent ‘National Conference of Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education’ in San Francisco. This is part of the 'Voices Across Borders' blog series. Read more here.

New Opportunities

Andrew W. Mellon 'Humanities and Science' Grant

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation are offering paired Science–Humanities research partnerships. These sabbaticals are part of the ‘Humanities & Science’ grant, and are designed to create new interest in, and opportunities for, research that reaches between the humanities and sciences. Deadline 20 January 2017.

Andrew W. Mellon 'Humanities & Identities'

TORCH and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation are pleased to announce three exciting new research opportunities as part of the 'Humanities & Identities' Headline Series. Deadlines range from 20 - 27 January 2017. Please check the website for further details.

AHRC-TORCH Graduate Fund

The fund offers graduate humanities students the opportunity to gain valuable experience in grant-writing and running academic conferences or leading public engagement projects that will enhance their academic practice more generally. Deadline 14 November 2016.

Oxford-Venice Initiative: Collaborations with the Fondazione Giorgio Cini

TORCH is now inviting Oxford researchers to submit applications to pursue individual research projects at the Cini’s new Vittore Branca Center for visiting scholars. Deadline 2 December 2016.

Post-Graduate Conference Grant: Writing Global Lives

The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing (OCLW) and The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) is offering one grant of £1500, available to post-graduate students and early career researchers in the Humanities Division at the University of Oxford, to organise a conference on the subject of writing global lives. Deadline 12 December 2016.

Women in the Humanities Opportunities

TORCH Women in the Humanities programme have two new opportunities: Research Grant; and Visiting Fellowship. Deadline 13 January 2017.

Postdoctoral Opportunities in the Humanities 2016-2017

There are a number of Junior Research Fellowships being advertised at Merton College, Christ Church, St John's College, Pembroke College, and Queen's College. Deadlines range from the 18 November until 6 January 2017. Please check the website for further details.

Upcoming Events

The Oxford Song Network: Japanese Song

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 -8:15pm to 10:00pm, Music House, St Catherine's College, Manor Road, Oxford.

The Oxford Song Network are hosting an event on 'Japanese Song'. In the first half of the C20th, there was a strong tradition of classical song composition amongst Japanese composers. At this short study evening, several songs by the composer Yamada Kōsaku (1886-1965) will be performed and discussed—the aim being to present these songs to scholars working in other traditions, and to find out where they see fruitful points of connection or differentiation. The songs will be briefly contextualised with a preliminary reading and English translations of the texts.

The Enrichment Economy: Narratives, Collectables and Heritage as Economic Resources

Friday, November 18, 2016 - 10:00am, Seminar Room, Radcliffe Humanities Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford.

The TORCH Rethinking the Contemporary network will be hosting a seminar with Luc Boltanski (EHESS, Paris) and Arnaud Esquerre (CNRS) on issues raised in their lecture on the 17th November 2016.

Trusted Source Article Writing Workshop

Monday, November 21, 2016 -11:00am to 1:00pm Suite 9, History of Art Department, St Ebbe’s

Come along to the workshop to find out more about Trusted Source and how to get involved, and develop your own articles to feature on the National Trust's website. Graduate students and academic staff across the university from any academic discipline welcome.

Law and Ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005)

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 -1:00pm to 2:00pm, Colin Matthew Room, Radcliffe Humanities Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford.

The TORCH Fiction and Human Rights network are hosting, along with the Medical Law and Ethics Discussion Group (Faculty of Law) 'Law and Ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005)'. Introductory presentations by Michelle Kelly (English) and Imogen Goold (Law) followed by extensive audience discussion.

Looking back on 2015-16

As we move swiftly through the new academic year, we look back at some of our highlights from 2015-16. 

Events Calendar, Weeks 6-7

Monday 14 November

10:00 – 16:00 | Oxford-Valencia Neuroethics Workshop

Workshop Hosted by Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics

12:45 – 14:00 | Allegories of Comparison: Benjamin and Hölderlin

Part of the OCCT Discussion Group

16:30 – 18:30 | Consequentialism for Cows

Part of the How to Count Animals, More or Less series

17:00 – 19:00 | ‘Deprofessionalization’

Part of ‘Literary Activism’, a series of public debates in collaboration with UEA, St Hugh’s College and TORCH.

17:00 | Crisis, Critique and Loss of Concepts: Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein

Speaker: Professor Stephen Mulhall (University of Oxford).

Tuesday 15 November

10:00 – 16:00 | Oxford-Bucharest Work In Progress Workshop

Workshop hosted by Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics

17:00 – 19:00 | Deontology for Dogs

Part of the How to Count Animals, More or Less series

17:00 | "Voyage Littéraire Par-Delà les Frontières: Analyse de L'écriture Nomade dans L'oeuvre de Linda Lê"

Speaker: Veronica Ntoumos-de Remy (Phd student at Sorbonne University and ULB)

Wednesday 16 November

17:00 – 19:00 | Foundation for Frogs

Part of the How to Count Animals, More or Less series

17:15 – 18:30 | Gender and Authority Seminar

Speakers: Katherine Watson and Annika Forkert

18:45 | Problem Solving and Decision-Making in the Creative Process

Part of 'The Muse: A six-part series on the creative spark'

20:15 – 22:00 | Japanese Song

Study evening hosted Frances Watson

Thursday 17 November

14:00 – 15:30 | The Nature of Church-Based Global Relationships – Case Studies from the Worldwide Anglican Communion

Part of the Gender and Leadership in a Volatile World seminar series

16:00 | Scholarly Identities in War and Peace: The Paris Peace Conference and the Mobilization of Intellect

Speaker: Tomás Irish (Swansea University)

17:00 | “The Last Sad Testimony of Affection”: Picturing the Dead in Eighteenth-Century Britain

A History of Art Research Seminar

17:00 | The Enrichment Economy: Narratives, Collectables and Heritage as Economic Resources

This term’s lectures and seminars will focus on the economy and markets in a broad cultural context

17:15 | Drawing the Line: Toward an Aesthetic of Transitional Justice

Part of the Postcolonial Writing and Theory seminar series

17:15 | Writing the Enlightenment: Reflections of Work in Progress

2016 Besterman Lecture

19:00 – 22:30 | Don't Panic!

Promises and threats of science and technology

Friday 18 November

10:00 | The Enrichment Economy: Narratives, Collectibles and Heritage as Economic Resources

Speakers: Luc Boltanski (EHESS, Paris) and Arnaud Esquerre (CNRS)

12:45 – 14:00 | Re-Imagining Scandinavia in the World: Colonialism and Race

Speaker: Dr Michael McEachrane (UCL)

16:00 | Hope and Fear at Crossbones Graveyard

Strange goings on in a graveyard

17:00 16:30 | Medieval Occitan Reading Group

Michaelmas Term 2016 seminars

19:00 – 22:00 | Extinctions! Invasions! The Wild Side of Hopes and Fears

Come and find out more about the past of British fauna and cast your vote for its future in this interactive museum late event

Saturday 19 November

10:00 – 17:00 | Celebiography: Celebrity and Life-Writing in Dialogue

One-day workshop convened by Sandra Mayer, in collaboration with the Oxford Centre for Life-Writing (OCLW)

Monday 21 November

11:00 – 13:00 | Trusted Source Article Writing Workshop

Find out more about Trusted Source and how to get involved

16:00 – 18:30 | The Dreamed Ones Preview and Q&A

With Director Ruth Beckermann

17:00 | The Inheritance of Isis

Speaker: Dr Faisal Devji (University of Oxford)

Tuesday 22 November

10:00 – 16:00 | Ethical Considerations in Donor Compensation for Plasma-Derived Medicinal Products

Lecture hosted by Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics

12:45 – 14:00 | The Correspondence of David Hume

Speaker: Felix Waldmann (University of Cambridge).

17:15 | Vouloir (Will) et Nouloir (Nill) dans la Philosophie Médiévale : Augustin, Abélard, Buridan

Alain de Libera (Collège de France)

17:15 – 19:00 | Jennifer Howell: 'The Algerian War in French-Language Comics'

A Comics and Graphic Novels: The Politics of Form event

18:30 – 22:30 | The Dreamed Ones Preview and Q&A

With Director Ruth Beckermann

Wednesday 23 November

10:30 – 16:00 | Race and the Academy

Postgraduate and Early Career Workshop organised by the Oxford Race and Resistance Programme

13:00 – 14:00 | Law and Ethics in Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (2005)

Seminar hosted by TORCH Fiction and Human Rights network

16:00 | Rescuing Maritime Strategy from the Continental Commitment: Julian Corbett's Analysis of Gallipoli and Jutland in the Official History of Naval Operations

Speaker: Professor Andrew Lambert (King's College London)

19:00 – 22:00 | Callaloo Conference 2016

Annual conference of the Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters

17:30 – 19:00 | Was Acupuncture Developed by Han Dynasty Chinese Anatomists?

Part of the Ancient Medicine Seminar series

18:45 | Inspiration and Imagery in Japanese Poetry Prints

Part of 'The Muse: A six-part series on the creative spark'

Thursday 24 November

9:00 – 17:00 | Richard Hakluyt and the Renaissance Discovery of the World

400th anniversary of the death of Richard Hakluyt (1552–1616)

9:00 – 20:30 | Callaloo Conference 2016

Annual conference of the Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters

14:00 – 15:30| Integrating Female Military Peacekeepers: Lessons from Rwanda

Part of the Gender and Leadership in a Volatile World seminar series

16:30 | Old Irish in Ireland 1650—1850

Part of The Oxford Celtic Seminar series

17:00 | Baroque Between the Wars: Curzon Street, Camp, and the Importance of Being Amusing

A History of Art Research Seminar

17:00 – 18:30 | The Contested Seed of Abraham

Inaugural Lecture of Anna Sapir Abulafia Professor of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions

17:15 – 19:00 | Michael Goodrum: '"Superman Believes that a Wife's Place is in the Home": Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane and the Representation of Women'

A Comics and Graphic Novels: The Politics of Form event

17:15 – 19:15 | The Politics of Prizing Translation

Part of the Translation and Criticism series

17:30 – 19:00 | ‘A Gem of a Small Nabataean Temple’

With authors Marlena Whiting and Hannah Wellman

17:30 – 19:00 | Privacy vs. Security

Lecture hosted by Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics

Friday 25 November

9:00 – 21:00 | Callaloo Conference 2016

Annual conference of the Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters

12:30 – 14:00 | Collaborative Research Projects: Challenges and Benefits

Part of the Researching the Eighteenth Century seminar series

17:00 – 18:30 | Anglo-Norman Reading Group

Seminars during Michaelmas Term 2016

17:00 | Critical Technology

Is technological risk the main threat to the survival of humanity? Or do we need to rely on technology to survive?

19:00 – 22:30 | FRIGHTFriday

Being Human Festival Finale at the Ashmolean Museum

Saturday 26 November

10:00 – 12:00 | Callaloo Conference 2016

Annual conference of the Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters