Humanities Society

On Tuesday evenings in full term, Wolfson College hosts a talk in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Humanities is widely defined, including history, literature, languages, economics, law, political science, music and fine arts. We seek to offer a programme with international and interdisciplinary interest, featuring talks on a range of cultural contexts, 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.

The talks are intended to promote the study of and engagement with the Humanities among Wolfson students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows, and scholars, and all are encouraged to come along. They also enable interaction between Wolfsonians and the wider scholarly community of the University and beyond. Many of our speakers are part of the University but we also invite speakers from further afield including, in recent years, from Italy, Germany, Israel, South Africa and the US. Attendance at the talks is usually excellent and the questions section often includes vigorous debate.

The talks are organised and coordinated by the Humanities Society. We do our best to make our events informal and inclusive. For all the talks which take place in the Gatsby Room this term, 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 all members are welcome to continue the conversation over dinner.

Easter Term 2022

This term's Humanities Society talks take place as hybrid events (Gatsby Room & Zoom) on most Tuesdays during full term at 18.00. See below for a list of speakers this term. Online registration via Zoom webinars.

Tue 3 May	Prof Eugenio Biagini	“Writing about democracy in the age of Modi and Trump”
Tue 10 May	Dr Hümeyra Bostan-Berber	“Fortifying the Bosphorus and Dardanelles: Ottoman Measures against the Russian Threat”
Tue 17 May	Dr Olga Petri	"Places of Tenderness and Heat: The Queer Milieu of Fin-de-Siècle St. Petersburg"
Tue 24 May	Prof Helle Porsdam	“Science as a Cultural Human Right” (joint event with the Law Society)
Tue 31 May	Dr Ola Wikander	"Summer Drought and Dragon's Breath: Northwest Semitic Etymological Poetics in the World of the Bible"
Tue 7 June	Baljit Kaur	"The world will know us, everyone will know us': Young People, Rap and (Individual) Success in the Neoliberal Youth Club"