Over 4000 free audio and video lectures, seminars and teaching resources from Oxford University.
Skip to Content Skip to Navigation

books

# Episode Title Description People Date
1 Emma Smith interviews James Hawes James Hawes, novelist and micro-historian of The Shortest History of England and The Shortest History of Germany, talks about agents and editors, his role in the worst film ever made, and playing the French horn on the roof of Hertford’s library. Emma Smith, James Hawes 21 Oct 2021
2 Meet the Manuscripts: hidden treasures of medieval illumination Matthew Holford, Tolkien Curator of Medieval Manuscripts, and Martin Kauffmann, Head of Early and Rare Collections, in conversation about the artists, patrons and significance of three extraordinary manuscripts. Martin Kauffmann, Matthew Holford 28 May 2021
3 Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition Join us for the third MEC Booktalk episode where Dr Usaama al-Azami talks with guest author Ahmed El Shamsy about his new book, Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition. Ahmed El Shamsy, Usaama al-Azami 07 Feb 2021
4 Live Event: The Social Life of Books: A History of Reading Together at Home Part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. Abigail Williams, Giles Lewin 15 Sep 2020
5 What’s beneath the words: a paper journey Presented in collaboration with the Bodleian Libraries Centre for the Study of the Book. Andrew Honey, David Armes, Alexandra Franklin 30 Jun 2020
6 Pieces of Gold: Piecing together a mutilated Timurid masterpiece Shiva Mihan, Harvard Art Museums and Bahari Visiting Fellow at the Bodleian Libraries, gives a talk on her work in Persian arts. Shiva Mihan 24 Apr 2020
7 Why should we read translated texts? This episode explores what we lose or gain when we read a translated book. Are we missing something by reading the English translation and not the original language version? And what can the translation process tell us about how languages work? Jane Hiddleston, Laura Lonsdale 16 Mar 2020
8 Secrets from Missing Manuscripts Oxford’s libraries house many beautiful books copied by hand before the arrival of print. What, though, about the many more books from the past which have not survived? Daniel Sawyer 10 Dec 2019
9 Creative Commons Sensing the Sacred: The Materiality and Aurality of Religious Texts Laetitia Pilgrim, a final year history student at Queen's, gives a talk to accompany her exhibition at The Queen's college. Laetitia Pilgrim 20 Nov 2019
10 Literary Matter in Early Modern England Dianne Mitchell and Katherine Hunt speak about their exhibition that showcases the material lives of literary texts from the collections of the Queen’s College Library. Katherine Hunt, Dianne Mitchell 13 Jun 2019
11 Decay and closure of libraries - The Lyell Lectures 2019 (6) Professor Richard Sharpe, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2018-2019 gives the sixth and final lecture in the 2019 Lyell series. Part of the series; Libraries and books in medieval England: the role of libraries in a changing book economy. Richard Sharpe 16 May 2019
12 Growth, competition, stability, loss, renewal - The Lyell Lectures 2019 (5) Professor Richard Sharpe, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2018-2019 gives the fifth lecture inthe 2019 Lyell series. Part of the lecture series; Libraries and books in medieval England: the role of libraries in a changing book economy. Richard Sharpe 14 May 2019
13 Turnover in libraries - The Lyell Lectures 2019 (4) Professor Richard Sharpe, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2018-2019 gives the fourth lecture in the 2019 Lyell series. Part of the series; Libraries and books in medieval England: the role of libraries in a changing book economy Richard Sharpe 09 May 2019
14 Library books and personal books - The Lyell Lectures 2019 (3) Professor Richard Sharpe, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2018-2019, gives the third lecture in the 2019 Lyell series. Part of the lecture series; Libraries and books in medieval England: the role of libraries in a changing book economy. Richard Sharpe 07 May 2019
15 English medieval library catalogues - The Lyell Lectures 2019 (2) Professor Richard Sharpe, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2018-2019 gives the second lecture in the 2019 Lyell series. Part of the series; Libraries and books in medieval England: the role of libraries in a changing book economy. Richard Sharpe 02 May 2019
16 Medieval libraries of Great Britain - The Lyell Lectures 2019 (1) Professor Richard Sharpe, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2018-2019, gives the first of the 2019 Lyell lecture series. Part of the lecture series; Libraries and books in medieval England: the role of libraries in a changing book economy. Richard Sharpe 30 Apr 2019
17 Trailer: Medieval Manuscripts in the Bodleian A film of a class for 'Publication Beyond Print', the Leverhulme Doctoral Training Centre. Filmed at the Weston Library, Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, by Natascha Domeisen. Daniel Wakelin, Henrike Lähnemann 27 Mar 2019
18 15cHEBRAICA: Capturing the former owners of Hebrew incunabula and their annotations in the Material Evidence in Incunabula (MEI) database Marco Bertagna gives a talk for the History of the Book seminar series on 1st March 2019. Marco Bertagna 08 Mar 2019
19 Creative Commons Visual metre and rhythm: the function of movable devices in books A lecture for the Oxford Bibliographical Society and the Bodleian Centre for the Study of the Book, by Bodleian Printer in Residence, 2018, Emily Martin. Emily Martin 12 Feb 2019
20 Bumble-Bee Witches and the Reading of Dreams: Spectacular and Speculative Marginalia in a Renaissance Reader’s Montaigne Earle Havens (Johns Hopkins), gives the first talk in the new term for the Centre for the Study of the Book on Friday 18th January 2019. Earle Havens 30 Jan 2019
21 Reading Beyond the Code A Book at Lunchtime Seminar with Terrence Cave, Deirdre Wilson, Ben Morgan (Worcester College, Oxford), Professor Robyn Carston (Linguistics, UCL). Chaired by Professor Philip Bullock (TORCH Director). Terrence Cave, Deirdre Wilson, Ben Morgan, Robyn Carston 14 Dec 2018
22 The Lyell Lectures 2018: Book Ownership in Stuart England: 'Books for the common man' David Pearson, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2017-18 and Research Fellow, Institute of English Studies, University of London gives the fourth Lyell lecture on 3rd May 2018. David Pearson 11 Jun 2018
23 The Lyell Lectures 2018: Book Ownership in Stuart England: 'Women and books in the 17th century' David Pearson, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2017-18 and Research Fellow, Institute of English Studies, University of London gives the third Lyell lecture on 1st May 2018. David Pearson 11 Jun 2018
24 The Lyell Lectures 2018: Book Ownership in Stuart England: 'Setting the scene: Trends and patterns' David Pearson, Lyell Reader in Bibliography 2017-18 and Research Fellow, Institute of English Studies, University of London, gives the first of the 2018 Lyell lectures on Tuesday 24 April 2018. David Pearson 11 Jun 2018
25 Teaching the Codex 5: Teaching Music Palaeography 2 Margaret Bent (Oxford) speaks at the 2017 Teaching the Codex Colloquium about music palaeography in the classroom. Margaret Bent 10 Apr 2018
26 Digital Typography - Did you mean incurable? Searching and Finding Incunabula in the World Wide Web Dr Falk Eisermann (Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke, Staatsbibliothek, Berlin), gives a talk for the History of the Book Seminar series on 9th March 2018. Falk Eisermann 13 Mar 2018
27 History of Art - The De Spira Brothers vrs. Nicolaus Jenson, 1469-1472: A Rivalry Traced through Hand-illuminated Copies of their Editions Professor Lilian Armstrong (Wellesley College) gives a talk for the History of the Book seminar series on 2nd March 2018. Lilian Armstrong 06 Mar 2018
28 Trade - Merchants' books of Venice and Florence Dr Irene Ceccherini (Lyell-Bodleian Research Fellow in Manuscript Studies, Bodleian Library, Dilts Research Fellow in Palaeography, Lincoln College, University of Oxford) gives a talk for the Seminar in the History of the Book on 9th February 2017. Irene Ceccherini 23 Feb 2018
29 Early Modern Publishing Policies - Andreas Frisius of Amsterdam and the search for a niche market, 1664-75 Professor Ian Maclean (All Souls College), gives the third seminar in the History of the Book series, looking at the early modern period publishing policies in Europe on February 2nd, 2018. Ian Maclean 23 Feb 2018
30 Arabic - Scrolls into codices: Jilyani's picture-poems for Saladin Professor Julia Bray (Laudian Professor of Arabic, University of Oxford) gives a talk for the new series for the Centre for the Study of the Book. Julia Bray 23 Feb 2018
31 Numismatics - Coins, Money and Prices in Renaissance Italy Dr Alan Stahl (Curator of Numismatics, Princeton University) gives a talk in the new Centre for the Study of the Book Seminar series. Alan Stahl 23 Feb 2018
32 Creative Commons Trade - Merchants' books of Venice and Florence Dr Irene Ceccherini (Lyell-Bodleian Research Fellow in Manuscript Studies, Bodleian Library, Dilts Research Fellow in Palaeography, Lincoln College, University of Oxford) gives a talk for the Seminar in the History of the Book on 9th February 2017. Irene Ceccherini 16 Feb 2018
33 Early Modern Publishing Policies - Andreas Frisius of Amsterdam and the search for a niche market, 1664-75 Professor Ian Maclean (All Souls College), gives the third seminar in the History of the Book series, looking at the early modern period publishing policies in Europe on February 2nd, 2018. Ian Maclean 06 Feb 2018
34 Arabic - Scrolls into codices: Jilyani's picture-poems for Saladin Professor Julia Bray (Laudian Professor of Arabic, University of Oxford) gives a talk for the new series for the Centre for the Study of the Book. Julia Bray 29 Jan 2018
35 Numismatics - Coins, Money and Prices in Renaissance Italy Dr Alan Stahl (Curator of Numismatics, Princeton University) gives a talk in the new Centre for the Study of the Book Seminar series. Alan Stahl 29 Jan 2018
36 Making Third Stream Books in the Post-digital Age Russell Maret talks about the development of the primary themes of his artist's books - alphabet design, colour printing, and geometric form, also the influences of history and technology on his methods and subject matter. Russell Maret 08 Dec 2017
37 Seeing is Believing: Computer vision and machine learning for image collections Giles Bergel gives a talk on using new technologies to understand the history of books and printing. Giles Bergel 05 Jul 2017
38 15cBOOKTRADE: The visualization of the circulation of books over time and space and image-searching tool: how we got there Cristina Dondi and Matilde Malaspina of the 15C BOOKTRADE project, give a talk for the 2017 DHOXSS. Cristina Dondi, Matilde Malaspina 04 Jul 2017
39 Creative Commons Unsilencing the library: An exhibition at Compton Verney Research into how books make us feel. Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, Sophie Ratcliffe, Steven Parissien 23 Jun 2017
40 Law: Printing the Corpus iuris civilis in the Sixteenth Century Professor Rodolfo Savelli, Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, Università di Genova, gives a talk for the 15th Century Booktrade series on 10th March 2017. Rodolfo Savelli 13 Mar 2017
41 Manuscript Studies: Greek Script and Type in the Fifteenth century. Demetrius Damilas between Milan and Florence Nigel Wilson, fellow of Lincoln College, reads a lecture written by Dr David Speranzi, Firenze, Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento. Dr Speranzi was unable to attend the recording of this lecture so Nigel Wilson read in his absence. David Speranzi, Nigel Wilson 28 Feb 2017
42 Economics: The Price of Books in Early Modern Europe: An Economic Perspective Dr Jeremiah Dittmar, Department of Economics, London School of Economics, gives a talk on 10th February 2017. Jeremiah Dittmar 22 Feb 2017
43 Classics: Incunabular Stemmatics, Professor Stephen Oakley, Faculty of Classics, Cambridge University, gives a talk for the 15th Century Booktrade series on 3rd February 2017. Stephen Oakley 22 Feb 2017
44 Modelos cursivos y aprendizaje de la escritura en la Corona de Castilla en el siglo XV (in Spanish) Carmen del Camino (Seville), gives a talk The unskilled scribe: Elementary hands and their place in the history of handwriting, a seminar held on 30th September 2016. Carmen del Camino 14 Oct 2016
45 Scritture umanistiche elementari (in Italian) Teresa De Robertis (Florence), gives a talk for The unskilled scribe: Elementary hands and their place in the history of handwriting, a seminar held on 30th September 2016. Teresa De Robertis 14 Oct 2016
46 Hands turned to stone: some unconventional attempts at inscriptional lettering Marc Smith (Paris), gives a talk for The unskilled scribe: Elementary hands and their place in the history of handwriting, a seminar held on 30th September 2016. Marc Smith 14 Oct 2016
47 Introduction to the unskilled scribe Irene Ceccherini (Oxford) gives a talk for the unskilled scribe: Elementary hands and their place in the history of handwriting, a seminar held on 30th September 2016. Irene Ceccherini 14 Oct 2016
48 Elementary cursive handwriting in English and Scottish Charters, 1150-1250 Teresa Webber (Cambridge), gives a talk in the the unskilled scribe: Elementary hands and their place in the history of handwriting, held on September 30th 2016. Teresa Webber 14 Oct 2016
49 Launch of the 15th Century Booktrade Cristina Dondi and her colleagues launch the 15th Century Booktrade. Cristina Dondi, Kristian Jensen, Geri Della Rocca de Candal, Simon Walton 21 Jul 2016
50 Creative Commons An Evidence-based Assessment and Visualization of the Distribution, Sale, and Reception of Books in the Renaissance Cristina Dondi, (Modern Languages, University of Oxford) gives a talk for the 2016 Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School. Cristina Dondi 08 Jul 2016
51 Creative Commons Imaging Beyond the Institution: How DIY Digitization Impacts Research Judith Siefring, (Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford) gives a talk for the 2016 Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School. Judith Siefring 06 Jul 2016
52 Marks on canvas, stone, wood and paper: the Genius of the Bodleian Portrait Collection Dana Josephson gives a talk for the Marks of Genius Masterpieces from the Collections of the Bodleian Libraries series. Dana Josephson 08 Jul 2015
53 New Sappho and new libraries Fourth Lunchtime lecture accompanying the exhibition Marks of Genius: Masterpieces from the Collections of the Bodleian Libraries. With Dr Dirk Obbink. Dirk Obbink 19 May 2015
54 Four centuries of Chinese book collecting Third Lunchtime lecture accompanying the exhibition Marks of Genius: Masterpieces from the Collections of the Bodleian Libraries. With Mr David Helliwell. David Helliwell 19 May 2015
55 The Trade in Printed Books: an ingenious innovation that changed the Western World Second in the Marks of Genius series, with Dr Christina Dondi Christina Dondi 19 May 2015
56 Proliferating Images: Diagrams of the Slave Ship Brookes (1789) Professor Michael Suarez traces the transatlantic journey of a famous image deployed against the slave trade. Michael Suarez 18 May 2015
57 Creative Commons Special Lecture: Art, Architects, Books and Buildings: Sir Robert Taylor & his Collection at the Taylor Institution A collaborative venture between the University of Oxford's Edgar Wind Society and the Taylor Institution Library, this lecture discusses Sir Robert Taylor and his collection of architectural books & included a display of selected items from the collection Matthew Walker, Gervase Rosser 17 Sep 2014
58 Creative Commons Self-publishing in 18th-century Paris and London Marie-Claude Felton, Royal Bank of Canada-Bodleian Visiting Scholar, gives a talk for the Bodleian Library BODcasts series Marie-Claude Felton 05 Jun 2014
59 Book as Object; Panel Discussion for Oxford English Graduate Conference 2013 Panel discussion talk on 'Book as Object' for the Oxford English Graduate Conference 2013. Paul Nash, Nick Cross, Stephen Walter 17 Jun 2013
60 The Hobbit at the Bodleian: World Book Day 2010 Judith Priestman, curator of literary manuscripts at the Bodleian library, discusses the World Book Day 2010 Tolkien exhibition, at which a selection of J.R.R. Tolkien's original artwork for The Hobbit, was on display to the public. Judith Priestman 22 May 2013
61 Creative Commons Brought to Book: Book History and the Idea of Literature Professor Paul Eggert, University of New South Wales, gives the 17th Annual D.F. McKenzie lecture on the subject of books and gives a case study of Henry Lawson, Australian author of Where the Billy Boils. Paul Eggert 09 Mar 2011
62 Creative Commons Brought to Book: Book History and the Idea of Literature Professor Paul Eggert, University of New South Wales, gives the 17th Annual D.F. McKenzie lecture on the subject of books and gives a case study of Henry Lawson, Australian author of Where the Billy Boils. Paul Eggert 09 Mar 2011
63 The infinitely expanding universe of memory; books, manuscript...pixels Part of the 2010 Alumni Weekend. Bodley's Librarian Dr Sarah Thomas in conversation with Dr Alice Prochaska, Principal of Somerville, discussing the 'infinitely expanding universe of memory' and collections in the digital age. Sarah Thomas, Alice Prochaska 30 Nov 2010
64 Creative Commons Conclusion to Crossing Borders The conclusion to the Crossing Borders exhibition. The exhibition tells the story of how Jews, Christians and Muslims have contributed to the development of the book. Piet van Boxel 10 May 2010
65 Creative Commons Sciences Piet looks at how the works of famous ancient thinkers such as Aristotle, Hippocrates, Euclid or Ptolemy traveled from culture to culture and formed the basis of Muslim, Christian and Jewish science and philosophy alike. Piet van Boxel 10 May 2010
66 Creative Commons User-produced Hebrew Prayer Books and Shared Iconography Some Hebrew manuscripts were produced in Christian workshops, others were made by Jewish artists themselves for their own use. Piet looks at examples of these and explores the shared iconography between Christian and Jewish faiths, such as the unicorn. Piet van Boxel 10 May 2010
67 Creative Commons Hebrew Prayer Books for Public Use Piet looks at the three great Bodleian mahzorim (large and elaborately decorated prayer books for the festivals), which were illuminated by Christian painters in collaboration with and under the supervision of Jewish scribes. Piet van Boxel 10 May 2010
68 Creative Commons Arabic Art Forms in Spanish Book Production Piet explains Arabic design and illustration in Spanish books, looking in particular at the Kennicott Bible, produced in La Coruna, Spain, in 1476. Piet van Boxel 10 May 2010
69 Creative Commons From Roll to Codex Piet explains codices, the oldest manuscripts in book form, looking in particular at a fragment of the Hebrew text of the book of Ecclesiasticus (ch. 40) from the Cairo Genizah, and the four Gospels in Syriac. Piet van Boxel 06 May 2010
70 Creative Commons Introduction to Crossing Borders An introduction to the Crossing Borders exhibition. The exhibition tells the story of how Jews, Christians and Muslims have contributed to the development of the book. Piet van Boxel 06 May 2010
71 Pre-1500 Printed Books The earliest printers spread from Mainz in Germany where Gutenberg first had his printing house to Venice, Rome, Paris, and the Netherlands. Examples from all of these centres of 15th-century printing are found in Bodleian collections. Paul Nash 05 Mar 2010
72 Gutenberg and the digital revolution Bodley's head librarian, Sarah Thomas, talks about the history of the Bodleian Library and the changes that are taking place within it, particularly the digitisation project -creating electronic digital versions of books- currently underway. Sarah Thomas 28 Oct 2009