Alumni Weekend

This talk illustrates how Tibetan Buddhism relates to the landscapes of the Tibetan plateau, to form a unique, truly Himalayan blend.

The causes of the First World War have long been controversial and remain so. The Warden of St Antony's College, Oxford, and author of The War that Ended Peace (2013) brings us up to date on the debate.

Ira Lieberman provides an expert analysis on the evolution of micro-finance institutions. Followed by Juan Guerra, founder of StudentFunder – a case study.

Social finance and social investment is creating a global buzz, with estimates that the sector will grow over the next decade – an emerging trend that may lead to both vibrant social change and financial returns on investment.

Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine and Will Hutton, Principal of Hertford, in conversation.

Chas Bountra, a popular speaker at the recent Meeting Minds: Alumni Weekend in Asia, will explain how Oxford is creating a new ecosystem for drug discovery.

Nigel Bowles explores Nixon’s politics that achieved a synthesis of strategy, imagination, ideologies, and calculation rare among Presidents.

Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian and Fellow of Balliol, and Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church and Fellow of St Cross.

How has mathematics emerged over recent decades as the engine behind 21st century science? Alain Goriely looks at this question and more.

Joe Cartwright provides a geological perspective into the exploration of shale gas reserves.

What constitutes a cyber-attack and who conducts them? What are the risks to society? Sadie Creese will discuss these issues and explain research underway at Oxford to help in the detection and prevention of attacks.

Professor Lionel Tarassenko, an alumnus of the Department and its new Head as of September 2014, sets out his vision for the Department for the next five years.

Paul Newman talks about the UK’s first self-driving car – being developed at the Department of Engineering Science. He’ll explain the project’s motivation, its underlying technology, and its impact on the transport sector and beyond.

Globalisation has brought us vast benefits including growth in incomes, education, innovation and connectivity. Ian Goldin argues that it also has the potential to destabilise our societies.

Professor Whatmore, who focuses on the interface between cultural geography, political theory and science and technology studies, will draw upon her recent research to propose a new approach to living with flooding.

Drawing on European and Middle Eastern sources, historian Eugene Rogan provides an overview of the Great War in the Middle East from both sides of the trenches.

Tom Higham examines some of the projects the Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit has been involved with over the last few years; from dating the Neanderthal extinction, to identifying the bones of Richard III and Alfred the Great.

This panel debate discusses key facts and fiction in international migration, and presents new ideas for a better politics of immigration.

World-renowned mathematician Sir Roger Penrose, Oxford University, describes how crystalline symmetries are necessarily 2-fold, 3-fold, 4-fold, or 6-fold.

Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of Oxford University draws upon his experience at the highest levels in the public sector to share his unique perspective on Britain over the last seven decades.

This lecture by Jamie Lorimer explores new ways of thinking and doing environmentalism that need not make recourse to nature. The diagnosis of the ‘Anthropocene’ marks the public end of the idea of nature as a pure place removed from society and revealed by natural science. This problematic idea has been central to much Western environmentalism. This lecture explores new ways of thinking and doing environmentalism that need not make recourse to nature. It focuses on the promise and pitfalls of rewilding – a novel mode of wildlife conservation – illustrated through an experiment in the Netherlands.

Illustrated with photographs from previous trips, this talk by Professor Mark Smith contrasts the Nile Valley and the desert and explore how the relationship between them developed over the course of Egyptian history.

This lecture given by Dr Matt Friedman will look at the evolution of the unique flora and fauna of Madagascar and how it is intertwined with the geological history of the island.

Panel discussion led by Vice Chancellor Andrew Hamilton, with Mike Nicholson, Helen Swift, Priscilla Santos and Jenny Brennan. Each year, Oxford welcomes talented students, at both undergraduate and graduate level, from all over the globe. Our students come from 140 different countries and territories, attracted by the chance to study at an internationally-renowned university, with outstanding academic achievement and innovation. This session, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Hamilton, will take a closer look at the student experience at Oxford. Topics under discussion will include Oxford's distinctive college and tutorial system which still underpins a culture of close academic supervision; recent changes to student fees and funding; the admissions process, and Oxford's extensive work in access and widening participation, helping to ensure that the best students, regardless of background, apply to the University. Current students will also be represented on the panel to share some of their experiences.

Dr Perkins gives a talk for the 2013 Oxford Alumni Weekend. Dr Nicholas Perkins curated the 2012 Bodleian exhibition 'The Romance of the Middle Ages'. In this illustrated lecture (also intersecting with the ongoing 'Magical Books' exhibition in the Bodleian) he reflects on medieval romance through the gifts and exchanges that structure its stories: gifts such as rings, swords or the girdle Sir Gawain accepts in return for dangerous kisses; exchanges between men and women, families or enemies. These dynamics are still at work, from The Winter's Tale to The Lord of the Rings. Examining storytelling itself as a form of exchange, Dr Perkins suggests how medieval romances explore ideas of identity, value and the power of narrative to shape human relations.

This session will examine the political and humanitarian dynamics behind the Arab Spring and the Syrian War. Starting with a long view of the events leading to the Arab Spring, it will analyse the regional and international repercussions of the uprisings.

Marianne Talbot talks about the uses and dangers of the relatively new discipline of synthetic biology.

Fireworks consultant, author and former Oxford chemist Dr Tom Smith explains the basic chemistry and construction of fireworks, and their use in modern fireworks displays.

Professor Marcus du Sautoy (New College), Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science, author and broadcaster gives a talk for the 2013 Oxford Alumni Weekend. From composers to painters, writers to choreographers, the mathematician's palette of shapes, patterns and numbers has proved a powerful inspiration. Often subconsciously artists are drawn to the same structures that fascinate mathematicians, as they constantly hunt for interesting new structures to frame their creative process. Through the work of artists like Borges and Dalí, Messiaen and Laban, Professor du Sautoy will explore the hidden mathematical ideas that underpin their creative output and reveal that the work of the mathematician is also driven by strong aesthetic values

Dr Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) gives a talk for the Oxford Alumni Weekend 2013. What does 'being poor' really mean? The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, or MPI, is an international measure of acute poverty covering more than 100 developing countries. Assessing poverty at the individual level, it complements traditional income-based poverty measures by capturing the severe deprivations that each person faces at the same time with regard to education, health and living standards. It also reveals how poverty is falling: whether there is a smaller number of people experiencing poverty, or whether the share of deprivations faced by poor people has dropped. Join Sabina Alkire to hear how the method that underlies the index, developed at Oxford University, is being applied by governments.

James Benmore (Kellogg), Samantha Shannon (St Anne's) and Sam Thompson (St Anne's) talk about their work as writers. Chaired by Dr Clare Morgan (Kellogg), author and Director of the Master of Studies in Creative Writing. Whether you're an aspiring author or simply a fan of contemporary fiction, join us for this engaging session as our panel of Oxonian authors share their stories, motivations and top tips on getting published. This event will celebrate three talented local debut authors. James Benmore's first novel, Dodger, was published by Heron in 2013 and follows the story of Jack Dawkins, better known as the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist. Samantha Shannon has recently completed a degree in English language and literature at Oxford and signed a book deal with Bloomsbury in 2012. The Bone Season is the first in a series of seven novels. Dr Sam Thompson is a lecturer at St. Anne's College, whose first novel Communion Town was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2012.

Dr John Wheater (Head of Physics Department), Emeritus Professor Derek Stacey and Dr Jay Watson (alumnus), give a talk about the Oxford Physics department and the study of physics today.

Dr Simon Butt (Keble), Fellow and Tutor in Neuroscience, gives a talk for the Oxford Alumni Weekend. The human brain is an amazingly complex organ, yet at the moment of conception we are formed of a single fertilised egg, the potential of which will be sculpted over the years ahead by a variety of genetic and environmental cues to emerge as the brain that defines us as individuals today. In this lecture, Simon Butt will explore how his research over the last few years has focused on elucidating a genetic bar code to identify nerve cells and relate their activity to behaviour - a strategy that has significant implications for our understanding of a wide range of neurological disorders

Professor Richard Washington, Professor of Climate Science at the School of Geography and the Environment; Fellow and Tutor in Geography, Keble College, gives a talk for the 2013 Oxford Alumni Weekend. In summer the central Sahara is a brutally hot and inhospitable place largely devoid of people. But it is also a critically important part of the climate system controlling the West African Monsoon and driving the largest dust emissions on the planet. Yet we have no observed data to quantify the behaviour of this system. This talk will explore how the Fennec project aimed to do the impossible and recover those all-important observations from the core of the remote desert.

In this lecture, Professor Goldin presents ideas from his latest book and focuses on issues such as the financial crisis, the internet, pandemics, migration and climate change, in order to highlight the need for urgent global action.

'Big data' in medicine is an emerging field with the potential to revolutionise healthcare research.This session will look at how Oxford is addressing some of these research opportunities and challenges.

With digital broadcasting increasing and newspaper readership falling, how should we respond in ways that ensure the free flow of information that is essential in a pluralist society?

See how modern analyses of the fossil record, genetics and development provide a new understanding of flatfish evolution, and how this bears on both the great flatfish controversy and the rate and nature of evolutionary change more broadly.

This lecture, based on the recent biography by Bettany Hughes, looks at Socrates' life, following in his footsteps across Greece and Asia Minor and examining the new archaeological discoveries that shed light on his world.

Dr Rana Irshad, University of Oxford, gives a brief whistle-stop tour of the exciting initiatives Oxford has running in exploring the vast expanse of the Universe in which we live.

Sir Adam Roberts, Emeritus Professor of International Relations at Oxford, gives a talk for the Oxford Alumni Weekend 2013.

Dr Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, gives a talk for the Oxford Alumni Weekend 2013. Some have described the current moment of world history as a 'perfect storm', as a range of crises converge. The impacts of climate change are picking up speed with often devastating consequences. Increased pressures on limited natural resources are inevitably leading to conflict. Globally we see major economic exclusion and a democratic deficit. This lecture will highlight how the environmental movement needs to act very differently than it has done in the past, applying 21st century practices to 21st century problems, in order to play its part effectively. South African human rights activist Dr Kumi Naidoo has been the International Executive Director of environmentalist group Greenpeace since November 2009. He is an alumnus of Magdalen College and a former Rhodes scholar.

Geologist Mike Searle gives a beautifully illustrated talk on his expeditions and field research in many remote locations, over 25 years.

Fiona McPherson, Senior Editor, Oxford English Dictionary, explores the OED's journey through the last century, from paper to screen, and how the digital age ensures that the OED remains as relevant as ever.

Professor Anthony Heath (Nuffield), Emeritus Professor of Sociology, presents findings from the ESRC-funded Ethnic Minority British Election Survey.

Dr Michael Black (Blackfriers Hall) speaking at the 2013 Oxford Alumni Weekend.

Reeta Chakrabarti, BBC Education Correspondent, gives the third annual Oxford Education Society lecture. She looks at changes in education policy under the Coalition government and the challenges of reporting them.

W.H.Auden described Spain as "...that arid square, that fragment nipped off from hot Africa, soldered so crudely to inventive Europe". This discussion looks in more detail at Spain's place in Europe, as well as the image and reality of Spain today. The panel includes Charles Powell, Director of the Elcano Royal Institute, Esperanza Aguirre DBE, former President of Madrid, and eminent journalist and author Tom Burns, who was awarded the OBE in 2001 for services to UK-Spain relations.

A session chaired by Dr Frances Lannon that examines this period of flourishing arts and literature in Spain, which coincided with the political rise and subsequent decline of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty. Renowned historian and author Professor Sir John Elliott (Oriel) gives the first talk on 'Art and Politics in Golden Age Spain'. This is followed by a talk by Dr Jonathan Thacker (Merton), an expert in Spanish Golden Age drama and author of 'A Companion to Spanish Golden Age Theatre'.

Professor of English, Katherine Duncan-Jones, discusses the real life characters and contemporaries of Shakespeare that inspired, shaped, and on occasion performed the various roles of the 'fool' in much of his work. Shakespeare's fools, in sync with Shakespeare's revolutionary ideas about theatre, began to depart from a more simple representation of the traditional jester. Like other of his characters, Shakepeare's fool began to speak outside of the narrow confines of exemplary morality, to address themes of love, psychic turmoil, and the innumerable themes that arise in Shakespeare, and indeed, modern theatre.