The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH)

TORCH is a nucleus of intellectual energy for the humanities and a place to develop new ideas and collaborations both within and beyond academia. Since its creation, TORCH has raised over £3 million in grants and philanthropy to support researchers to develop research projects. Launched in May 2013, TORCH provides an important opportunity for Oxford’s humanities scholars to collaborate with researchers across other disciplines, and institutions; work with academics across all stages of their academic careers; develop partnerships with public and private institutions; engage with wider audiences; and bring together academic research, diverse industries, and the performing arts. Public engagement with research is at the heart of TORCH's aims. During 2018-19, TORCH hosted almost 400 events, with audiences of over 20,000 people. During 2019-20, TORCH hosted online events during COVID-restrictions, reaching audiences in person and then online of over 50,000 globally. Since 2013, TORCH has supported 400 researchers each year; 62 Knowledge Exchange Fellowships; over 50 seed-funded research networks and 10 research programmes. The TORCH Director, Professor Wes Williams (wes.williams@seh.ox.ac.uk), welcomes questions about the centre and suggestions for research and wider engagement activities.

All episodes

Title	Description	People	Date
Practice Makes… Eighteenth-Century Theatre Today	David Taylor, specialist in eighteenth-century theatre, and Colin Blumenau, former Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, talk about performing eighteenth-century drama on the modern stage.	David Taylor, Colin Blumenau, Helen Dallas, Madeleine Saidenberg	14 November, 2022
Practice Makes… Documentary Theatre	Alecky Blythe, creator of verbatim company Recorded Delivery and writer of Our Generation, and Molly Flynn, who specialises in contemporary Ukrainian and Russian documentary theatre, talk about documentary theatre in the UK and Ukraine.	Alecky Blythe, Molly Flynn, Helen Dallas, Madeleine Saidenberg	31 October, 2022
Practice Makes… Disabled-Led Theatre	Jess Thom of Touretteshero and Hannah Simpson, author of Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance, discuss relaxed performance, accessibility, and the Touretteshero production of Beckett’s Not I.	Jess Thom, Hannah Simpson, Helen Dallas, Madeleine Saidenberg	20 October, 2022
TORCH Post-Show Conversations: Scandaltown	Listen in as Caroline Taylor and Ruth Moore discuss a recent production of Mike Bartlett's 'Scandaltown'	Caroline Taylor, Ruth Moore	10 July, 2022
TORCH Post-Show Conversations: Much Ado About Nothing	Listen in as Judith Buchanan and Emma Smith discuss a March 2022 RSC production of Much Ado About Nothing	Judith Buchanan, Emma Smith	10 July, 2022
TORCH Post-Show Conversations: When We Dead Awaken	Listen in as Billy Barrett, Tzen Sam and Kirsten Shepherd-Barr discuss a recent production of Ibsen's 'When We Dead Awaken'	Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, Tzen Sam, Billy Barrett	28 June, 2022
TORCH Post-Show Conversations: Cyrano de Bergerac	Listen in as Nora Baker and Ruth Moore discuss a recent production of Cyrano de Bergerac	Nora Baker, Ruth Moore	28 June, 2022
TORCH Post-show Conversations: Private Lives	Listen in as Kirsten Shepherd-Barr and Sos Eltis discuss a recent production of Noel Coward's Private Lives	Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, Sos Eltis, Ruth Moore	6 June, 2022
Welcome and opening address by event hosts	Opening address from Kristin White and readings from the event hosts.	Kristin White, Wale Adebanwi, Stephen Tuck, Rajai Denbrook, Lisa Reed, Phyllis Curtis-Tweed	25 January, 2022
Colonialism, Enslavement and Resistance	1612 - 1834 Founding of Bermuda and the Fight for Freedom, talk 1	Mike Jarvis	25 January, 2022
A Tale of Two Women: Sally Bassett, Mary Prince and the True Story of Slavery in Bermuda	Second talk on the 1612 - 1834 Founding of Bermuda and the Fight for Freedom panel, with ajala omodele.	Ajala Omodele	25 January, 2022
The Humanitarian Revolution and the Struggle for Human Rights	1834 – 1959/71 Struggle for Desegregation: Post-emancipation, identity and immigration, talk 1	Clarence Maxwell	25 January, 2022
A Consequence of Abolition: Racialised Policies	.1612 - 1834 Founding of Bermuda and the Fight for Freedom, talk 4	Walton Brown	25 January, 2022
Black Power and Bermuda	1834 – 1959/71 Struggle for Desegregation: Post-emancipation, identity and immigration, talk 1	Quito Swan	25 January, 2022
Narratives of Resistance	1834 – 1959/71 Struggle for Desegregation: Post-emancipation, identity and immigration, talk 2	Kristy Warren	25 January, 2022
A Case Study in Black Internationalism: Bermuda as part of the Diasporic Civil Rights Struggle	1834 – 1959/71 Struggle for Desegregation: Post-emancipation, identity and immigration, talk 3	Theodore Francis	24 January, 2022
The Demographics of Bermuda: From the Deportation of Free Black People to Racist White Immigration Policies	1834 – 1959/71 Struggle for Desegregation: Post-emancipation, identity and immigration, talk 4	Lynne Winfield	24 January, 2022
The Portuguese Community In Bermuda	1834 – 1959/71 Struggle for Desegregation: Post-emancipation, identity and immigration, talk 5	Rui Desa	24 January, 2022
Race, Resistance and Fiction	1959 – 2018 The Pursuit of Equality and Justice: Past and Present, talk 1	Nicholas Tweed	24 January, 2022
Muslim Persistence in Establishing Islamic Community Life in Bermuda (1960 – present)	1959 – 2018 The Pursuit of Equality and Justice: Past and Present, talk 2.	Radell Tankard	24 January, 2022
A Life of Resistance	1959 – 2018 The Pursuit of Equality and Justice: Past and Present, talk 3	Linda Bogle-Meinzer	24 January, 2022
Challenging Oppressive Working Conditions: The Bermuda Industrial Union	1959 – 2018 The Pursuit of Equality and Justice: Past and Present, talk 4	Derick Burgess	24 January, 2022
Final closing	Closing comments by Dr. Phyllis Curtis Tweed.	Nicholas Tweed, Phyllis Curtis Tweed	24 January, 2022
Introduction to 'Racialisation in (post)colonial Bermuda: Past and Present'	Racialisation in (post)colonial Bermuda: Past and Present, talk 1.	Kristy Warren	24 January, 2022
They Called Us Hoodlums: Media, Desegregation and the 1959 Bermuda Theatre Boycotts’	Racialisation in (post)colonial Bermuda: Past and Present, talk 2.	Dana Selassie	24 January, 2022

The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH)

Related

Series in this collection

Practice Makes… the Oxford Reimagining Performance Podcast

TORCH Post-Show Conversations

African(a) and South Asian Philosophies

Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius: A Story in Five Places

Putting magic in place: a knowledge exchange event

Race and Resistance: Understanding Bermuda Today

Folk Tunes and Englishness

Valentine's Day at Oxford

The Oxford/Berlin Creative Collaborations

Narrative Futures

All episodes