TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities

The University of Oxford is home to an impressive range and depth of research activities in the Humanities. TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities is a major new initiative that seeks to build on this heritage and to stimulate and support research that transcends disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Here we feature some of the networks and programmes, as well as recordings of events, and offer insights into the research that they make possible.

The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH)

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Displaying 301 - 400 of 409 episodes

Episode	Description	People	Date
Closing Reflections	The closing reflections of speakers Professor Joshua Hordern and Stephen Bergman.	Joshua Hordern, Professor Stephen Bergman	8 March, 2016
Book at Lunchtime: Arcadia	A Book at Lunchtime discussion of Iain Pears' interactive novel Arcadia	Elleke Boehmer, Alex Butterworth, Emily Short, Iain Pears, Richard Beard, Sophie Ratcliffe	7 March, 2016
Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials'	Margaret Kean explores how Philip Pullman plays with the idea of communication across different media in his trilogy	Margaret Kean	4 March, 2016
Middle Earth and Tolkien's Digital Afterlives	Stuart Lee traces how Tolkien's Middle-earth and especially 'The Lord of the Rings' have been reimagined through a range of digital technologies, from games to films	Stuart Lee	4 March, 2016
Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland	Robert Douglas-Fairhurst explores how every generation has created its own Wonderland, and why we are still so curious about Alice’s dreamworld	Robert Douglas-Fairhurst	4 March, 2016
The Stories of Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien and Philip Pullman	Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Stuart Lee and Margaret Kean explore the digital afterlives of these celebrated storytellers	Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Stuart Lee, Margaret Kean	4 March, 2016
Are the Humanities More Digital than the Sciences?	A panel discussion with Howard Hotson, Andrew Prescott, Dave De Roure and Heather Viles	Howard Hotson, Andrew Prescott, Dave De Roure, Heather Viles, Kathryn Eccles	2 March, 2016
The Future of the Professions	In an era when machines can out-perform human beings at most tasks what are the prospects for employment?	Richard Susskind, Daniel Susskind, Joshua Hordern, Vili Lehdonvirta, Judy Wajcman, Kahtryn Eccles	16 February, 2016
Wharton in Wartime	A roundtable discussion to mark the publication of Alice Kelly's critical edition of Edith Wharton's First World War reportage Fighting France: From Dunkerque to Belfort (Edinburgh University Press, 2015).	Alice Kelly, Shafquat Towheed, Dame Hermione Lee, Elleke Boehmer	11 February, 2016
Heroes and Villains in Game of Thrones	Dr Carolyne Larrington gives a talk about Game of Thrones and the often complicated morality its characters have. Part of the Ashmolean Live Friday event on 29th January 2016.	Carolyne Larrington	10 February, 2016
Intravenous anaesthesia on Turner's High Street	Dr Alessia Pannese explores a painted documentation of a relatively little known event in Oxford local history: the first intravenous anaesthesia during this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday	Alessia Pannese	9 February, 2016
Valour, betrayal and desire: heroes and villains in Indian paintings	Nisha Somasundaram explores both male and female heroes and demons in Indian epics in this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday.	Nisha Somasundaram	9 February, 2016
Live and Let Die - in Greek Epic	Almut Fries explores the iconography of the black-figured wine jug in this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday	Almut Fries	8 February, 2016
The Alfred Jewel and Kingship	Amy Faulkner explores how Alfred’s translations question what it means to be a good king in this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday	Amy Faulkner	8 February, 2016
Great men and fallen heroes	Jessica Goodman explores how the meaning of ‘hero’ shifted in France in the late eighteenth-century in this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday.	jessica Goodman	8 February, 2016
Knowledge Machines	How have digital technologies changed research practices in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities?	Eric Meyer, Lucie Burgess, Kathryn Eccles, James Smithies	5 February, 2016
Multiple Identities in a Frontier Land: Balkh and ‘The Iranians’	In this paper Dr. Arezou Azad focused on the region of Balkh in the north of modern-day Afghanistan, ancient Bactria	Arezou Azad	2 February, 2016
Ethnicity and Politics in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire: The Kurdish Case	Dr. Djene Bajalan talks as part of the Language and Community from the Armenian to Iranian Plateaux series	Djene Bajalan	26 January, 2016
Ilya Afanasyev and Nicholas S. M. Matheou Introduction	Opening remarks from Ilya Afanasyev and Nicholas S M Matheou	Ilya Afanasyev, Nicholas S M Matheou	26 January, 2016
Tom Chatfield on Humans and Machines in the Digital Age	Tom Chatfield talks as part of the "What does it mean to be human in the digital age?" event	Tom Chatfield	26 January, 2016
Chris Fletcher on Libraries in the Digital Age	Chris Fletcher talks as part of the "What does it mean to be human in the digital age?" event	Chris Fletcher	26 January, 2016
Emma Smith on Forgetting in the Digital Age	Emma Smith talks as part of the "What does it mean to be human in the digital age?" event	Emma Smith	26 January, 2016
Diane Lees on Museums and Heritage in the Digital Age	Diane Lees talks as part of the "What does it mean to be human in the digital age?" event	Diane Lees	26 January, 2016
What Does it Mean to be Human in the Digital Age?	A librarian, literary scholar, museum director and digital commentator explore how the digital age has shaped, and will continue to shape, the human experience and the humanities	Lynne Brindley, Tom Chatfield, Chris Fletcher, Diane Lees, Emma Smith	22 January, 2016
Crossing Boundaries: Medievalists in Cross-Disciplinary Conversation	Launch event for the TORCH programme Oxford Medieval Studies	Emma Dillon, Henrike Lähnemann, David Wallace, Chris Wickham	13 January, 2016
Framing the Past through Suffering and Victimhood – Kurdish Discourses of Identity	Christine Allison gives a talk as part of The Long History of Identity, Ethnicity, and Nationhood workshop	Christine Allison	5 January, 2016
Making Sense of Kurdish Identity During the Middle Ages: Political Factors and Cultural Crossroad	Boris James gives a talk as part of the The Long History of Identity, Ethnicity, and Nationhood workshop	Boris James	4 January, 2016
Factors Affecting Iranian Identities from the Early Islamic Era to the Sixteenth Century	Ahmad Ashraf gives a talk as part of the The Long History of Identity, Ethnicity, and Nationhood workshop	Ahmad Ashra	4 January, 2016
Constructions of Armenian Identity in the Early Medieval Period	Tim Greenwood gives a talk as part of the The Long History of Identity, Ethnicity, and Nationhood workshop	Tim Greenwood	4 January, 2016
Iranian ‘Identities’ in Pre-Modern Times – Reality or Myth?	Speaker: Bert Fragner (Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna).	Bert Fragner	18 December, 2015
The Oxford Dodo: Culture at the Crossroads	An interdisciplinary panel discussion exploring the life and legacy of the dodo	multiple	7 December, 2015
The Dodo in the Museum	Director of the Museum of Natural History, Paul Smith, gives a presentation at ‘The Oxford Dodo: Culture at the Crossroads’	Paul Smith	7 December, 2015
The Dodo in Literature	Literary scholar Kirsten Shepherd-Barr’s presentation at ‘The Oxford Dodo: Culture at the Crossroads’	Kirsten Shepherd-Barr	7 December, 2015
The Dodo, Animal Icons and De-Extinction	Environmental researcher Paul Jepson’s presentation at ‘The Oxford Dodo: Culture at the Crossroads’	Paul Jepson	7 December, 2015
The Dodo and Creativity	Author Jasper Fforde’s presentation at ‘The Oxford Dodo: Culture at the Crossroads’	Jasper Fforde	4 December, 2015
The Dodo and Exploration	Historian of Science Pietro Corsi’s presentation at ‘The Oxford Dodo: Culture at the Crossroads’	Pietro Corsi	4 December, 2015
Heidegger and Phenomenology	Dr Joshua Broggi speaks at the Oxford Phenomenology Network seminar.	Joshua Broggi	3 December, 2015
Interview with Dr Sophie Ratcliffe	Practical Medical Humanities	Dr Sophie Ratcliffe	30 November, 2015
Interview with Dr Andrew Papanikitas	The importance of Medical Humanities in good medical practice	Dr Andrew Papanikitas	30 November, 2015
Interview with Dr Emma Mckenzie-Edwards	The use of Humanities in Medical Education	Dr Emma Mckenzie-Edwards	30 November, 2015
Interview with Dr Marion Lynch	Medical Humanities and Narratives	Dr Marion Lynch	30 November, 2015
Interview with Professor Stephen Lammers	Medical Humanities and Narratives	Professor Stephen Lammers	30 November, 2015
Indian Arrivals, 1870-1915: Networks of British Empire	Elleke Boehmer discusses her new book with Megan Robb, Faisal Devji and Santanu Das	Elleke Boehmer, Faisal Devji, Megan Robb, Santanu Das, James Belich	23 November, 2015
Comparative Encounters between Artaud, Michaux and the Zhuangzi	Part of "Book at Lunchtime", a fortnightly series of bite size book discussions, with commentators from a range of disciplines. Xiaofan Amy Li discusses her new book "Comparative Encounters Between Artaud, Michaux and the Zhuangzi."	Xiofan Amy Li, Elleke Boehmer, Wang Xing, Matthew Reynolds, Marina Warner	20 November, 2015
The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien's Legacy	60 years since the publication of the series' final volume, a distinguished panel explore Tolkien's literary legacy	Elleke Boehmer, Stuart Lee, Patrick Curry, Dimitra Fimi, Andy Orchard	9 November, 2015
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World	Peter Frankopan discusses his new book with Averil Cameron, Robert Moore and Elleke Boehmer	Peter Frankopan, Averil Cameron, Robert Moore, Elleke Boehmer	27 October, 2015
Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life	Jonathan Bate, Anne Farrar Donovan, Seamus Perry and Oliver Taplin discuss life-writing, poetry and the poet	Jonathan Bate, Seamus Perry, Oliver Taplin, Anne Farrar Donovan	20 October, 2015
The Pragmatic Enlightenment and Other Enlightenments	Dennis Rasmussen (Tufts University, Boston) discusses his book 'The Pragmatic Enlightenment'	Dennis Rasmussen	14 October, 2015
Too Valuable to Die?	Silke Ackermann, Nigel Biggar and Liz Bruton debate the ethics of science and scientists going to war	Silke Ackermann, Nigel Biggar, Liz Bruton	14 October, 2015
Periodic Tales	Author Hugh Aldersey-Williams, historian of science Jo Hedesan and chemist Peter Battle discuss the ways in which the elements continue to inspire us today	Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Jo Hedesan, Peter Battle	13 October, 2015
Interview with Michael Docherty	We catch up with Cancer Research UK's Director of Digital on fundraising in the digital age.	Michael Docherty	3 August, 2015
Fundraising through Digital	Michael Docherty (Cancer Research UK) on how clicktivists, slacktivists and hacktivists are helping us beat cancer sooner.	Michael Docherty	3 August, 2015
Callaloo Creative Writing Reading by Vievee Francis	Vievee reads poetry from her collection 'Forest Primeval'	Vievee Francis	24 July, 2015
Callaloo Creative Writing Reading by Maaza Mengiste	Maaza reads from her novel dealing with the Italian invasion of Ethiopia during the early days of the Second World War	Maaza Mengiste	24 July, 2015
Callaloo Literary Lecture and Reading by Fred d'Aguiar	Fred reads fiction and poems about his childhood in Guyana, remembering his father, and slavery	Fred d'Aguair	24 July, 2015
The Unspeakability of Trauma, the Unspeakability of Joy: The Pursuit of the Real at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century	A lecture by Amy Hollywood with response from Kate Kirkpatrick and Johannes Depnering.	Amy Hollywood, Kate Kirkpatrick, Johannes Depnering	18 June, 2015
Henry Adams, Henry James, and Minnie Temple: The Pursuit of the Real at the Turn of the 20th Century	A lecture by Amy Hollywood.	Amy Hollywood	18 June, 2015
The Real, the True, and Critique: Mysticism in the Study of Religion	A lecture by Amy Hollywood with response from Vincent Gillespie and Joana Serrado.	Amy Hollywood, Vincent Gillespie, Joana Serrado, Kate Kilpatrick	18 June, 2015
Phenomenology and Health	A highlights video from the one-day conference	Andrew Papanikitas, Anna Kirkengen	15 June, 2015
Suffering History: Phenomenology at the Intersection of Disease and Illness	A presentation by Austin Argentieri.	Austin Argentieri	10 June, 2015
Leviathan and the Air Pump: Highlights	Historians of Science David Wootton and Michael Hunter review the controversial book 50 years on	Ritchie Robertson, David Wootton, Michael Hunter	28 May, 2015
Rubble Flora: Volker Braun Poetry Reading	The German poet gives a special reading of old and new work and answers questions with David Constantine and Karen Leeder.	Volker Braun, David Constantine, Karen Leeder	20 May, 2015
Theatre and Evolution from Ibsen to Beckett	An interdisciplinary discussion of Kirsten Shepherd-Barr's book	Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, Michael Billington, Morten Kringlebach, Laura Marcus	20 May, 2015
Aristotle on Perceiving Objects	A discussion of Anna Marmodoro's book	Anna Marmodoro, Ophelia Deroy, Richard Sorabji, Rowland Stout	14 May, 2015
Light in Germany: Scenes from an Unknown Enlightenment	A discussion of Jim Reed's book	Jim Reed, Joachim Whaley, Kevin Hilliard, Ritchie Robertson	12 May, 2015
Leviathan and the Air Pump: Thirty Years On	The historian of science David Wootton reviews the controversial dispute between Robert Boyle and Thomas Hobbes, followed by a reply from Boyle's biographer Michael Hunter	Ritchie Robertson, David Wootton, Michael Hunter	12 May, 2015
Wildlife in the Anthropocene: Conservation after Nature	An interdisciplinary discussion of Jamie Lorimer's book	Jamie Lorimer, William Beinart, Daniel Grimley, Nikolaj Lübecker	6 May, 2015
That Other Place: Art and Alzheimer's	A short video about a recent exhibition of photography and film	Helen Statham, Victoria McGuinness, Nicola Onions	28 April, 2015
Humanities and Science: Representing Science	An interdisciplinary discussion exploring the many possible approaches to representing science through the arts, as well as potential challenges	Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, Heidi Johansen-Berg, Jason Gaiger, Annie Cattrell, Dan O'Connor	17 March, 2015
The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity	A discussion exploring Pedro Ferreira's book	Pedro Ferreira, Harvey Brown, Alex Butterworth, Javier Lezaun, Xenia de la Ossa.	16 March, 2015
Humanities and Science: Culture and Technology	An interdisciplinary discussion exploring culture’s interaction with technology	Maria Blanco, Fritz Vollrath, Andrew Wilson, Lionel Tarassenko, Gregory Radick	16 March, 2015
Observing by Hand: Sketching the Nebulae in the Nineteenth Century	A discussion of Omar Nasim's book	Omar Nasim, Stephen Johnston, Martin Kemp, Chris Lintott	16 March, 2015
Oxford University International Women's Day 2015	Feminists, acadeamics and journalists reflect on feminism's achievements and future path.	Selina Todd, Senia Paseta, Melissa Benn, Trudy Coe, Caroline Criado-Perez, Imaobong Umoren	16 March, 2015
Wayne McGregor: Neuroscience and Dance	Wayne McGregor (Director, Random Dance) talks about his choreographic practice with Dr Phil Barnard, (MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge) and Eckhard Thiemann (Arts Producer).	Wayne McGregor, Phil Barnard, Eckhard Thiemann	16 March, 2015
Faith and Wisdom in Science	A Book at Lunchtime discussion with Tom McLeish, Sally Shuttleworth, John Christie and Ard A. Louis	Tom McLeish, Sally Shuttleworth, John Christie, Ard Louis	19 February, 2015
Humanities and Science: Randomness and Order	An interdisciplinary discussion exploring the role of randomness and order in physics, probability, history and music.	Ian Walmsley, Jonathan Cross, Alison Etheridge, Chris Wickham	18 February, 2015
The Stressed Sex: Uncovering the Truth About Men, Women, and Mental Health	An interdisciplinary panel of scholars discuss Daniel Freeman's book	Daniel Freeman, Elaine Fox, Avner Offer, Janet Radcliffe Richards	9 February, 2015
Humanities and Science: Mental Health	An interdisciplinary discussion exploring the role of the humanities in mental health.	Edward Harcourt, John Geddes, Matthew Broome, Emily Troscianko, Joshua Hordern	9 February, 2015
Unconscious Memory and Mental Space	Professor Michael Burke and Dr Sebastian Groes	Michael Burke, Sebastian Groes, Ben Morgan	26 January, 2015
Exploring the Two Cultures	Professor Larry Squire and Dr Simon Kemp	Larry Squire, Simon Kemp	26 January, 2015
Narrative and Proof: Two Sides of the Same Equation	One of the UK's leading scientists, Marcus du Sautoy, argues that mathematical proofs are not just number-based, but also a form of narrative.	Marcus du Sautoy, Roger Penrose, Laura Marcus, Ben Okri, Elleke Boehmer	22 January, 2015
Common People: The History of an English Family	An interdisciplinary panel of scholars discuss Alison Light's book	Alison Light, Lyndal Roper, Laura Marcus, Selina Todd	11 December, 2014
Alison Light on 'Common People'	The author discusses her new book, exploring the interplay between fiction and history, the redefinition of the common, and family history	Alison Light	8 December, 2014
Irish Nationalist Women, 1900-1918	An interdisciplinary panel of scholars discuss Dr Senia Paseta's book	Senia Paseta, Tara Stubbs, Desmond King, Roy Foster	3 December, 2014
Senia Paseta on Irish Nationalist Women	Dr Paseta explores women's history and the nationalist narrative in Ireland.	Senia Paseta	1 December, 2014
The Cult of Saints	Dr Bryan Ward-Perkins introduces a new research project which examines the origins and development of the cult of Christian saints.	Bryan Ward-Perkins	12 September, 2014
The Jagiellonians	Dr Natalia Nowakowska introduces a new research project which examines the Renaissance Europe Jagiellonian dynasty as an international political phenomenon.	Natalia Nowakowska	12 September, 2014
Museums in the digital age: development or conflict?	Interview with Martin Roth – Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.	Martin Roth	30 July, 2014
Medieval Storytelling	An AHRC funded workshop for Early Career researchers	Hannah Ryley, Gareth Evans, Jenny Moon, Daniel Morden	17 April, 2014
Dance Circles	An interdisciplinary discussion of Dr Hélène Neveu Kringelbach's book.	Helene Neveu Kringlebach	9 April, 2014
Interview with Hélène Neveu Kringelbach	The author discusses her recent book on dance in urban Senegal.	Helene Neveu Kringlebach	9 April, 2014
Interview with Emily Troscianko	Discussion of Kafka's Cognitive Realism	Emily Troscianko	26 March, 2014
Kafka's Cognitive Realism	An interdisciplinary discussion of Dr Emily Troscianko's book	Emily Troscianko, Sue Blackmore, Ritchie Robertson, James Carney	26 March, 2014
Activist Humanities in a Global Context	Ahadf Soueif, Paul Smith and Robin Kelley discuss how the humanities can solve global challenges	Ahdaf Soueif, Paul Smith, Robin Kelley	19 March, 2014
What Have the Humanities to Teach the Modern University?	Part of the Humanities and the Public Good series	Teresa Morgan, Stephen Whitefield, David Ford, Jonathan Phillips	19 March, 2014
Science and the Humanities	Are the Humanities and the Sciences fundamentally different? Or do they share roots, values, aspirations and a common, contemporary predicament?	Howard Hotson, Ian Walmsley, Mark Pagel, Sally Shuttleworth	4 March, 2014
Where's the Virtue in the Humanities?	How can the Liberal Humanities own up to – and promote – its public service as a matrix of civic virtue?	Nigel Biggar, Donald Drakeman, Steven Biel, Jonathan Bate	4 March, 2014
African Knowledge and Livestock Health	Book at Lunchtime interview with Karen Brown and William Beinart about their book “African Knowledge and Livestock Health”	Karen Brown, William Beinart	13 February, 2014
In Everyone's Interests - the highlights	Panel discussion on what it means to invest in the humanities	Andrew Hamilton, Earl Lewis, Hermione Lee, Charlotte Higgins, Marcus du Sautoy, Nick Hillman, Shearer West	4 February, 2014
In Everyone's Interests	Panel discussion on what it means to invest in the humanities	Andrew Hamilton, Earl Lewis, Hermione Lee, Charlotte Higgins, Marcus du Sautoy, Nick Hillman, Shearer West	4 February, 2014

TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities

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