Department for Continuing Education

Oxford was one of the pioneers of the University Extension movement in the United Kingdom, and we still retain our original mission of making the scholarship of the University accessible to wider audiences. In recent years the Department has grown very considerably, and now every year more than 15,000 people join one or more of our courses. Our students may be members of the public who wish to study a subject out of general interest or for personal satisfaction, members of professional groups or business organisations who wish to update their professional knowledge and skills, or participants in our increasingly large number of courses for international groups. Most of our longer courses now lead to a University award or other forms of credit but the large number of short courses on offer may be taken by those who are less interested in obtaining further qualifications. Courses last from one day to several weeks; the residential courses are held in Oxford but other part-time courses are also held in a large number of other centres.

All episodes

Title	Description	People	Date
Danger	Speakers for our seminar on the theme of Danger have Medical and Humanities backgrounds, and will consider the following: experimentation to diminish danger; the risks of ignoring danger, danger to the self and the ideal.	Marion Kibuka, Yasmin Khan, Anna Beer	12 August, 2014
Truth	The presentations invite us to consider what truth means to people in different circumstances, and how definitions of truth can affect decision-making, from literary risks to clinical trials.	Anne Jensen, Rosemary Yallop, Carl Heneghan, Yasmin Khan	12 August, 2014
Patterns	Three speakers share their insights into pattern exploration and, in some cases, exploitation, in their fields of finance, mathematics and climate change.	Bob Lockhart; Kevon Rhiney; David Howard	12 August, 2014
Was Schubert a musical brain?	Prof. Raymond Tallis deepens his argument against the idea that we are our brains. He believes there is a distinction in kind between humans and other animals. This he illustrates by appeal to the differences between the music of Schubert and the singing	Raymond Tallis	7 May, 2014
Spiders, yes, but why cats?	Prof.Iain McGilchrist illustrates his argument by appeal to a number of paintings done by psychotic patients. He points to various commonalities between these paintings and speculates on the ways in which they support claims about the two hemispheres and	Iain McGilchrist	7 May, 2014
Am I my mind?	Prof. Iain McGilchrist, whilst agreeing with Tallis that we are not our brains argues that we can learn a great deal about our culture by learning more about our brain. In particular we should recognise we have two hemispheres, each with a different funct	Iain McGilchrist	7 May, 2014
Am I my brain?	Prof. Raymond Tallis argues that extraordinary claims have been made for neurophysiology. For example it has been said that a person is nothing but his or her brain. Professor Raymond Tallis rejects this ‘neuromania’. He shows why it is attractive, but al	Raymond Tallis	7 May, 2014
The Truth about Art 3 - Aesthetics	Another ancient belief held that an art should be governed by rules.	Patrick Doorly	11 April, 2014
The Truth about Art 1 - Mystery or Mastery	E.H. Gombrich famously observed that 'there really is no such thing as Art' (with a capital A).	Patrick Doorly	11 April, 2014
Future	The presentations focus on the impact of the concept of future in changing debate, and how, in specific instances, concerns about the future affect behaviours in the present.	David Howard, Jill Hind	7 April, 2014
Answers to Questions	Answers to Questions posed in lectures 1 to 6 of Marianne Talbot's lecture series on critical reasoning for beginners.	Marianne Talbot	20 March, 2014
Fallacies: Understanding where Arguments go Wrong	Lecture 6 of 6 in Marianne Talbot's series on critical reasoning for beginners.	Marianne Talbot	20 March, 2014
Inductive Strength: Evaluating Inductive Arguments	Lecture 5 of 6 in Marianne Talbot's series on critical reasoning for beginners.	Marianne Talbot	20 March, 2014
Deductive Validity: Evaluating Deductive Arguments	Lecture 4 of 6 in Marianne Talbot's series on critical reasoning for beginners.	Marianne Talbot	20 March, 2014
Deduction and Induction: Classifying Arguments	Lecture 3 of 6 in Marianne Talbot's series on critical reasoning for beginners.	Marianne Talbot	20 March, 2014
Analysing Arguments: How to Identify Premises and Conclusions	Lecture 2 of 6 in Marianne Talbot's series on critical reasoning for beginners.	Marianne Talbot	20 March, 2014
The Nature Of Argument: How to Recognise Arguments	Lecture 1 of 6 in Marianne Talbot's series on critical reasoning for beginners.	Marianne Talbot	20 March, 2014
An Introduction to the Oxford University International Politics Summer School	A short introduction to the Oxford University International Politics Summer School by the Programme Director and students.	Paul Chaisty, Mohammed Al Hinai, Fiona Glenister, Nelleke Hijmans, Timothy Sloan	10 March, 2014
An Introduction to the Oxford University Creative Writing Summer School	A short introduction to the Oxford University Creative Writing Summer School by the Programme Director and students.	Tara Stubbs, John Collins, Dalia Hosn, Nathan Smale, Alisa Smith	10 March, 2014
‘Archaeology in Practice’ at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education	Information about the online short course: ‘Archaeology in Practice’ and other online short courses.	Wendy Morrison	10 March, 2014
Studying archaeology at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education	Information about the range of part-time archaeology courses on offer at Oxford University Department for Continuing Education.	David Griffiths	10 March, 2014
The archaeology training excavation at Dorchester-on-Thames	Students on the Undergraduate Certificate in Archaeology learn a range of archaeological techniques on the training excavation at Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.	Wendy Morrison, Jeanne Peskett, William Garrard, David Griffiths, Marie-Elizabeth Keil	10 March, 2014
Britain's economic problems and prospects	At the time of the 2008 global credit crunch, I participated in Oxford's online debate on whether the economic crisis sounded the death knell for laissez faire capitalism.	Jonathan Michie	7 October, 2013
Party games: coalition government in British politics	This session will look at the history of coalition government in British politics over the past 200 years and discuss some of the constitutional implications of the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat government under David Cameron and Nick Clegg.	Angus Hawkins	7 October, 2013
Philosophy in 45 minutes!	Philosophy deals with the BIG questions of life: does God exist? How should we live? What is truth? What are numbers and do we need them? Does space come to an end or is it infinite? NO SOUND FOR FIRST 3 MINUTES.	Marianne Talbot	7 October, 2013
Fitzgerald beyond Gatsby	With the recent resurgence in interest in F. Scott Fitzgerald following Baz Luhrmann's imaginative film adaptation of Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby have come the inevitable cliches of the 'lost generation' and the 'American dream'.	Tara Stubbs	7 October, 2013
Gustav Klimt and secessionist Vienna	Vienna around 1900 witnessed a vital and anxious surge in art, design, literature and music. This creativity also inspired psychological investigations into the inner self and dreams, most famously by Sigmund Freud.	Claire O'Mahony	7 October, 2013
Surprises - for you and for mathematics	In 1900, pure mathematics had the smug air of a finished product. We thought we knew what it was and we thought we knew how it was done.	Bob Lockhart	7 October, 2013
International education: the transformative effect of student migration	In this short lecture we will consider what the internationalisation of higher education means, and the global implications of international mobility - on the students, on their 'receiving' countries and on their places of origin.	Johanna Waters	7 October, 2013
Why music matters in your life	Imagine a world without music. No music on the radio, no concerts, no musical instruments. No background music in films and television. No music at our weddings, funerals, religious worship or sporting events.	Jonathan Darnborough	7 October, 2013
Where's all the wildlife? Flooding and the importance of landscape conservation	The Oxfordshire floods of 2007, 2008 and 2012 caused enormous disruption to homes, agriculture and local businesses, but what were the consequences for wildlife?	Kerry Lock	7 October, 2013
What's so great about Austen? Isn't she just bonnets and balls?	Some film and tv adaptations of Jane Austen's novels might give the impression that the stories are little more than Mills and Boon-type romances in empire-line frocks.	Sandie Byrne	7 October, 2013
Too many words? An irreverent guide to screenwriting	Aristotle's 'Poetics' is regarded as the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory. How much notice do Goldman, Godard, Bertolucci or indeed Tarantino pay to his classic tenets of drama?	Victor Glynn	4 October, 2013
Who needs migrant workers? Controversies in international labour migration	The regulation of labour immigration is among the most important and controversial public policy issues in high-income countries.	Martin Ruhs	4 October, 2013
A history of England in five and a half maps	There is a story behind every map. Generation after generation, we have imprinted ourselves on the land we live upon. Our depictions of that land, in maps, have recorded social attitudes and social change like no other source.	Jonathan Healey	4 October, 2013
Spotlight on Archaeology	Find out about how archaeologists uncover the past using a range of techniques, including excavation, survey and scientific analysis.	Alison MacDonald	4 October, 2013
Anniversaries, feasts and commemoration in the Middle Ages	Ritual celebrations were at the heart of life in medieval communities. The passage of time was articulated by the cycle of the seasons, the exigencies of husbandry and of trade, all inextricably bound up with religious holidays and anniversaries.	Elizabeth Gemmill	4 October, 2013
Speaking stories: the oral roots of poetry	We'll be looking at Beowulf and the epic as a way of passing on experience and history. See your own life as an epic! Where would you start? What would you leave out? Surprise yourself - and us!	Jenny Lewis	4 October, 2013
The art of war: The Hundred Years' War in twenty objects	This lecture will examine one of the longest wars in history, fought between England and France from 1337 to 1453 by scrutinising twenty objects.	Janina Ramirez	4 October, 2013
Postcolonial futures: the Caribbean in dialogue	Dr Kevon Rhiney, Commonwealth Fellow and lecturer (Department of Geography and Geology, University of the West Indies) considers contemporary social and economic development in Jamaica, in the light of environmental vulnerability and climate change.	David Howard, Kevon Rhiney	12 June, 2013
Gender	Gender relations shape our everyday interactions at work, on the street and in the home. Our speakers cover a wide range of topics, from historical, legal and therapeutic perspectives.	Linda Scott, Frances Richardson, Nazila Ghanea-Hercock, Alistair Ross	12 June, 2013
Learning and Work in Medieval England	Did Medieval people go on learning through their adult life? If so, what kind of things did they learn about, who taught them, and how was it done? This lecture was delivered 23rd May 2013 as part of national Adult Learners' Week.	Elizabeth Gemmill	29 May, 2013
Decay	The presentations focus on the importance of disappearance as much as appearance, presence as well as absence, and growth in the guise of degeneration, arguing from difference perspectives for the importance of malaise or corrosion as a subject of study.	David Howard, Martin Neubert, Robert Vanderplank, Tara Stubbs	22 May, 2013
The Num8er My5teries	Professor Marcus du Sautoy - mathematician, footballer and amateur musician - shows how mathematicians have contributed to our understanding of the world around us for millennia.	Marcus du Sautoy	19 December, 2012
Economics: which way now?	Dr Martin Ruhs introduces the Department's expanding portfolio of economics courses, in the context of the on-going debate about where economics is headed, starting with the world economic downturn.	Martin Ruhs	19 December, 2012
Henry II and the Twelfth-Century World	Dr Elizabeth Gemmill introduces the most remarkable monarch, Henry II, whose dominions stretched from the south west of France to the north of Britain. His achievements have lasted until our own times, but his reign was marred by tragedy too.	Elizabeth Gemmill	19 December, 2012
W.B. Yeats and the Ghost Club	Dr Tara Stubbs uses exciting new research findings to discuss the close links between Yeats's attendances at the Ghost Club during the 1910s-1920s, his (sometimes amusing) spiritualist experiments, and his poetic works.	Tara Stubbs	19 December, 2012
Boulevards, Brushwork and Bugattis : Modern Art and Design in Paris	In the nineteenth-century Paris was transformed into an alluring spectacle of cafés, department stores and exhibitions. Dr Claire O'Mahony looks at the inspiration of the modern city of light from Impressionist painters to the glamour of Art Deco.	Claire O'Mahony	19 December, 2012
Philosophy in 45 minutes!	Marianne Talbot takes participants on a romp through the nature of philosophy for complete beginners discussing some of the BIG questions of life: does God exist? How should we live? What is truth? Does space come to an end or is it infinite?	Marianne Talbot	19 December, 2012
From global credit-crunch to Eurocrisis and double-dip recession: whatever next?	The 25 years up to the 2007-8 global credit crunch were ones of privatisation, deregulation, financialisation and, in the UK, demutualisation. Professor Jonathan Michie will discuss the causes and consequences of the global credit crunch.	Jonathan Michie	19 December, 2012
Shedding light on the dark ages	The Dark Ages are traditionally seen as nasty, brutish and short - a cultural and intellectual waste land, with virtually nothing worthy of art historical consideration. But Janina argues this is far from the truth.	Janina Ramirez	5 December, 2012
Fullbright Lecture 2012: When can international intervention be justified and effective?	The doctrine of the international community's responsibility to protect the citizens of a country whose government has failed them has strengthened the presumption in favour of international intervention for humanitarian reasons.	Sir John Holmes	5 December, 2012
Morphogenesis Then and Now	Philip Maini, Oxford University, gives a talk for the Alan Turing Centenary weekend.	Philip Maini	22 October, 2012
Congruent Worlds: Turing, Lovelace and Babbage	Doron Swade, Royal Holloway, Univ. of London, gives a talk for the Alan Turing Centenary weekend.	Doron Swade	22 October, 2012
What Alan Turing might have discovered	Stephen Wolfram, founder and CEO of Wolfram Research and creator of Mathematica, gives a talk for the Alan Turing Centenary weekend.	Stephen Wolfram	22 October, 2012
Turing in the History of Software	Cliff Jones, Newcastle University, gives a talk for the Alan Turing Centenary Weekend.	Cliff jones	22 October, 2012
Turing in the age of the Internet and the quantum computer	Samson Abramsky, Oxford University, gives a talk for the Alan Turing Centenary weekend.	Samson Abramsky	22 October, 2012
Decidability: The Entscheidungs problem	Robin Whitty, London South Bank University, gives a talk for the Alan Turing Centenary weekend.	Robin Whitty	22 October, 2012
Turing and the Public Consciousness: Turing 2.0(12)	Sue Black, University College London, Turing and the Public Consciousness: Turing 2.0(12).	Sue Black	22 October, 2012
Welcome Address	Jonathan Bowen, London South Bank University.	Jonathan Bowen	22 October, 2012
Can robots be made creative enough to invent their own language?	Luc Steels delivers the 2012 Simonyi lecture and asks can machines be creative enough to invent their own language?	Luc Steels, Marcus du Sautoy	18 October, 2012
Creating a 'John Lewis' economy? - encouraging Corporate Diversity for Sustainable Growth	The Coalition Government is committed to greater corporate diversity in the financial services sector, and are promoting 'John Lewis' style mutuals to deliver public services.	Jonathan Michie	2 October, 2012
Ethics	Ethical decisions, and often dilemma, lie at the heart of all research methodologies and practice. Marianne Talbot, course director in Philosophy, chaired three presentations from across the disciplines.	Marianne Talbot, Abi Sriharan, Kate Blackmon, David Griffiths	20 June, 2012
Revolution	Revolutionary concepts continually shape and uproot research agendas, and occasionally researchers themselves. This seminar examined the many ways revolution impacts on research.	Adrian Stokes, Kerry Lock, Peter Watson	20 June, 2012
Risk	The inaugural research seminar invited three speakers to consider how the concept and experience of 'risk' influenced their current research.	David Howard, Jonathan Michie, Nigel Mehdi, Adam Josephs	20 June, 2012
Reading List for Bioethics: An Introduction	Reading List to accompany the Bioethics: An Introduction podcast series.	Marianne Talbot	30 May, 2012
Common moral arguments: 'morality? It's all a matter of opinion'	Final of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Common moral arguments: 'it's too risky' (the Precautionary Principle)	Eighth of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Common moral arguments: 'it's not natural' and 'it's disgusting'	Seventh of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Induction	Sixth of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Deduction	Fifth of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Arguments	Fourth of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Utilitarianism	Third of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Deontology	Second of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Virtue Ethics	First of nine short introductory podcasts on Bioethics by Marianne Talbot.	Marianne Talbot	29 May, 2012
Inspector Morse in Print and on TV	Highly acclaimed crime writer Colin Dexter, OBE, talks at the Crime Fiction Day at St John's College, University of Oxford, on the theme of Inspector Morse.	Colin Dexter	15 May, 2012
Dons, Deaths and Detectives: Oxford in Crime Fiction	Professor Colin Bundy, University of Oxford, talks at the Crime Fiction Day at St John's College around the history of detective fiction in Oxford.	Colin Bundy	15 May, 2012
Cluedo and Cadavers: British Detective Fiction	Peter Kemp, the Sunday Times fiction editor, talks at the Crime Fiction Day at St John's College, University of Oxford, on the theme of British Detective Fiction.	Peter Kemp	15 May, 2012
Further reading and more...	So you've finished this series of podcasts. Find out where to go from here...	Marianne Talbot	16 April, 2012
Reading List	Reading list for the Philosophy for Beginners series of podcasts.	Marianne Talbot	16 April, 2012
Further reading and more...	So you've finished this series of podcasts. Find out where to go from here...	Marianne Talbot	16 April, 2012
Further reading and more...	So you've finished this series of podcasts. Find out where to go from here...	Marianne Talbot	16 April, 2012
Further reading and more...	So you've finished this series of podcasts. Find out where to go from here...	Marianne Talbot	16 April, 2012
Part 5: Questions and Answers	Marianne Talbot presents the last of five episodes of the Romp through the Philosophy of Mind, engaging in a questions and answers discussion with the audience.	Marianne Talbot	10 April, 2012
Veterinary Vaccines: Protecting livestock - saving human life	Lecture given by Dr Michael Witty, former Chairman, GALVmed, during Human and Veterinary Vaccinology short course November 2011.	Michael Witty	16 March, 2012
Effective Introduction of New Vaccines: "the UK experience"	Lecture given by Prof David Salisbury, Director of Immunisation, UK Department of Health, during Human and Veterinary Vaccinology short course November 2011.	David Salisbury	16 March, 2012
Part 4: Are We Asking the Wrong Questions?	Marianne Talbot presents the fourth of five episodes of the Romp through the Philosophy of Mind, wondering if we are asking the wrong questions?	Marianne Talbot	7 February, 2012
Part 3: If Physicalism Won't Work, What is the Alternative?	Marianne Talbot presents the third of five episodes of the Romp through the Philosophy of Mind, on alternatives to Physicalism.	Marianne Talbot	7 February, 2012
Part 2: Non-Reductive Physicalisms and the Problems they Face	Slides to accompany Marianne Talbot's second of five episodes of the Romp through the Philosophy of Mind, on Non-Reductive Physicalisms and the problems they face.	Marianne Talbot	7 February, 2012
Part 1: Identity Theory and Why it Won't Work	Marianne Talbot presents the first of five episodes of the Romp through the Philosophy of Mind, on Identity Theory and why it won't work.	Marianne Talbot	7 February, 2012
Making Up Your Mind	Part 7 of 7 in Marianne Talbot's "A Romp Through Ethics for Complete Beginners". This final episode is a time to take stock and bring together all the strands we've considered.	Marianne Talbot	8 August, 2011
Utilitarianism: Mill and the utility calculus	Part 6 of 7 in Marianne Talbot's "A Romp Through Ethics for Complete Beginners". A reflection on Mill's account of morality, and the greatest happiness of the greatest number.	Marianne Talbot	27 June, 2011
Deontology: Kant, duty and the moral law	Part 5 of 7 in Marianne Talbot's "A Romp Through Ethics for Complete Beginners". In this episode we reflect on Kant's account of morality, including the categorical imperative.	Marianne Talbot	3 June, 2011
Humean Ethics: Non-Cognitivism, the passions and moral motivation	Part 4 of 7 in Marianne Talbot's "A Romp Through Ethics for Complete Beginners". In this episode we reflect on Hume's account of morality and his rejection of reason as the source of morality.	Marianne Talbot	2 June, 2011
Virtue Ethics: virtue, values and character	Part 3 of 7 in Marianne Talbot's "A Romp Through Ethics for Complete Beginners". In this episode we will reflect on Aristotle's account of morality and the centrality of the virtues in this account.	Marianne Talbot	24 May, 2011
Freedom, knowledge and society: the preconditions of ethical reasoning	Part 2 of 7 in Marianne Talbot's "A Romp Through Ethics for Complete Beginners". In this episode we examine the preconditions of ethical reasoning and make a comparison between the law of the land and the moral law.	Marianne Talbot	20 May, 2011
Rules, truths and theories: an introduction to ethical reasoning	Part 1 of 7 in Marianne Talbot's "A Romp Through Ethics for Complete Beginners". In this episode we examine moral dilemmas, moral truth and moral knowledge, freewill and determinism.	Marianne Talbot	19 May, 2011
Talking to Camera	A new one-day course at the Department for Continuing Education taught by Paul Heiney, writer and broadcaster, this course is intended to help people face a video camera with confidence, and communicate through the fast-growing video media.	Paul Heiney	4 May, 2011
Mathematics in the real world	Inspired by Évariste Galois's attempts to express symmetry using mathematical equations, Professor Marcus du Sautoy explores the inextricable link between the physical world and mathematics.	Marcus du Sautoy	25 November, 2010
The God Delusion: Questions and Answers	Stephen Law and Marianne Talbot take part in a panel discussion with Tom Fisher, chairman of the Oxford Philosophical Society, chairing. They answer questions form the audience about The God Delusion and discuss the philosophical issues surrounding it.	Marianne Talbot, Stephen Law, Tom Fisher	20 May, 2010

Department for Continuing Education

Related

Series in this collection

Critical Reasoning: A Romp Through the Foothills of Logic

Study Programmes at Continuing Education

Department for Continuing Education Open Day 2013

Department for Continuing Education Open Day 2012

Alan Turing: Centenary Lectures

Rewley House Research Seminars

Bioethics: An Introduction

Crime Fiction in Oxford

Oxford Vaccinology Programme

A Romp Through the Philosophy of Mind

All episodes