Humanities Society

Humanities Society

The Humanities Society talks provide a forum for stimulating ideas across the boundaries between the Humanities and other fields of study.

Humanities Society

Our Society

The Humanities Society is made up of a lively group of students, researchers and fellows, who come together throughout term to discuss exciting developments in the arts, humanities or social sciences.

Who can join

All College members (students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows, and scholars) are welcome to attend our events and join our society. The talks are also open to the wider University community and the general public. We define the Humanities in a broad sense to include history, religion, philosophy literature, languages, law, economics, political science, music and fine arts.

What we offer

We offer a programme of international and interdisciplinary interest, featuring talks on a range of cultural contexts and themes, from a range of historical periods and perspectives. The talks provide a platform both for eminent academics as well as early and mid-career scholars at the forefront of their disciplines.

Many of our speakers are from Cambridge, creating interactions between Wolfsonians and the wider scholarly community at the University, but we also invite speakers from further afield including, in recent years, from Italy, Germany, Israel, South Africa and the US.

How talks work

The talks are organised and coordinated by the Humanities Society Committee. We do our best to make our events informal and inclusive. For each event there is an opportunity to mix with the speaker and other attendees over drinks before and after the talk. Following the talk we usually take the speaker to Formal Hall, and College members (and their guests) are very welcome to join us and continue the conversation over dinner.

 

Easter Term 2026

Tuesday 5 MayProfessor James CrossleyA. L. Morton and the Making of an English Radical Tradition
Tuesday 19 MayAlex BrowningIn Conversation: storytelling with filmmaker Alex Browning
Tuesday 26 MayProfessor Michał KaczmarczykThe Consensus on Dissensus: Art, the Future, and the Contingency of Modern Society
Tuesday 2 June  
Tuesday 9 JuneDr Owen ReesThe Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past

Keep up to date with our events by signing up to our mailing list.

 

Committee Members

Please feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions about our events or suggestions for speakers.

What's on

Golden sunlight streams through tall trees, illuminating a grassy forest clearing with long shadows and scattered fallen branches.

A. L. Morton and the Making of an English Radical Tradition

05/05/2026 at 17.30

Was A. L. Morton the most influential historian of English radical history and culture you don’t know?

Antique world map on aged parchment showing Europe, Africa, and Asia in blue and gold tones with handwritten labels and decorative figures.

The Far Edges of the Known World: A New History of the Ancient Past

09/06/2026 at 17.30

What was it like to live on the edges of ancient empires, at the boundaries of the known world?