| Repetition is a Form of Change: An Oblique Strategy in Poetry |
Professor of Poetry lecture – Repetition is a Form of Change: An Oblique Strategy in Poetry |
Alicia Stallings |
20 May, 2025 |
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| The ‘Key-spring’ of The Lord of the Rings? |
Stuart Lee talks on 'The ‘Key-spring’ of The Lord of the Rings?' |
Stuart Lee |
1 March, 2025 |
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| C.S. Lewis’s Influence on The Lord of the Rings |
Michael Ward talks on 'C.S. Lewis’s Influence on The Lord of the Rings' |
Michael Ward |
1 March, 2025 |
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| Medievalism in the Margins: Echoes of Anglo-Saxon England in Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings – From Page to Screen |
Grace Khuri talks on 'Medievalism in the Margins: Echoes of Anglo-Saxon England in Appendix A of 'The Lord of the Rings' – From Page to Screen' |
Grace Khuri |
1 March, 2025 |
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| A Harmless Vice: Tolkien’s Invented Languages |
Mark Williams talks on 'A Harmless Vice: Tolkien’s Invented Languages' |
Mark Williams |
1 March, 2025 |
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| The authors and styles of 'The Lord of the Rings' |
Giuseppe Pezzini talks on 'The authors and styles of The Lord of the Rings' |
Giuseppe Pezzini |
1 March, 2025 |
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| J. R. R. Tolkien and G. B. Smith: Two Forgotten War Poets? |
Stuart Lee talks about Tolkien's recently published war poetry in the context of G. B. Smith. |
Stuart Lee |
1 March, 2025 |
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| Tolkien as Interpreter and Transformer of Culture: The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings' as a Modern Book |
Holly Ordway presents on 'Tolkien as Interpreter and Transformer of Culture'. |
Holly Ordway |
1 March, 2025 |
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| What These Ithakas Mean: Cavafy, Translation, Influence, and Imitation |
What These Ithakas Mean: Cavafy, Translation, Influence, and Imitation (Professor of Poetry lecture, Feb 2025) |
Alicia Stallings |
25 February, 2025 |
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| Upping the ante: how word choice, quotation and allusion in poems raise the stakes |
Upping the ante: how word choice, quotation and allusion in poems raise the stakes (Professor of Poetry lecture, Nov 2024) |
Alicia Stallings |
4 December, 2024 |
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| Pirates, Poets, and "Plagiarism" |
How Lord Byron translated, and was translated by, Greek poetry and reality. |
Alicia Stallings |
17 May, 2024 |
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| Mr Eugenides after the Burning of Smyrna: George Seferis and The Waste Land |
A.E. Stallings gave a lecture as the Oxford Professor of Poetry on 15 February 2024. She talked on Mr Eugenides after the Burning of Smyrna: George Seferis and The Waste Land |
Alicia Stallings |
20 February, 2024 |
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| Love's Labour's Lost |
Emma Smith continues her Approaching Shakespeare series with a lecture on the play Love's Labour's Lost. |
Emma Smith |
12 February, 2024 |
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| Chaucer 6 - Chaucer’s legacy |
Professor Marion Turner looks at Chaucer's legacy and the changes in societal perception of Chaucer. She also looks at online resources to help the beginner study Chaucer. |
Marion Turner, Karen Carey |
8 February, 2024 |
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| Chaucer 5 - The Language of Chaucer |
Professor Marion Turner delves into Geoffrey Chaucer's language and writing style. Chaucer championed a vernacular English form of writing, a departure from the prevalent use of Latin or French in poetry and the law. |
Marion Turner, Karen Carey |
8 February, 2024 |
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| Chaucer 4 - The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale |
Professor Marion Turner introduces one of the most famous and intricate tales from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales – "The Wife of Bath." |
Marion Turner, Karen Carey |
8 February, 2024 |
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| Chaucer 3 - The Miller’s Tale |
Professor Marion Turner introduces the ribald and humorous world of one of the Canterbury Tales' most famous stories – "The Miller's Tale." |
Marion Turner, Karen Carey |
8 February, 2024 |
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| Chaucer 2 - An Introduction to the Canterbury Tales |
Professor Marion Turner provides an in-depth exploration of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic work, the Canterbury Tales. |
Marion Turner, Karen Carey |
8 February, 2024 |
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| Chaucer 1 - An Introduction to the life and times of Geoffrey Chaucer |
In the introductory episode of "Chaucer for Beginners,” expert Professor Marion Turner introduces the life of writer Geoffrey Chaucer, shedding light on his background and life in 14th century England. |
Marion Turner, Karen Carey |
8 February, 2024 |
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| J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making of a Philologist |
A talk by Professor Simon Horobin on Tolkien's long-standing career and interest in philology as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. |
Simon Horobin |
11 December, 2023 |
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| Tolkien and Beowulf |
A talk by Dr Laura Varnam on Tolkien's long engagement with the Old English poem 'Beowulf' as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. |
Laura Varnam |
11 December, 2023 |
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| A Heroic History of the Elves: Tolkien’s “lost” Mythology of England? |
A talk by PhD candidate Grace Khuri, University of Oxford, on Tolkien's Elvish history and English 'mythology', as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. |
Grace Khuri |
11 December, 2023 |
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| Tolkien and the Classics |
A talk by Professor Giuseppe Pezzini on the influences of Classical Literature on Tolkien. [Audio only] |
Giuseppe Pezzini |
11 December, 2023 |
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| Peak Middle-earth: Why Mount Doom is not the climax of 'The Lord of the Rings' |
Audio only recording by Dr Michael Ward, Faculty of Theology, University of Oxford, as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. [Audio only] |
Michael Ward |
8 December, 2023 |
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| How to write 'The Lord of the Rings' |
A lecture by Dr S Lee as part of the Tolkien 50th Commemoration seminar series. |
Stuart Lee |
8 December, 2023 |
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| The Bat Poet: Poetry as Echolocation |
A.E. Stallings gave her inaugural lecture as the Oxford Professor of Poetry on 20 November 2023. She talked on 'The Bat Poet: Poetry as Echolocation'. |
Alicia Stallings |
23 November, 2023 |
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| Noor Inayat Khan: the "Spy Princess" - Interview with Shrabani Basu |
Joseph Quinn speaks to Indian journalist, bestselling author and historian, Shrabani Basu, about the life and career of legendary SOE agent, Noor Inayat Khan. |
Shrabani Basu, Joseph Quinn |
8 September, 2023 |
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| Soldiers of the Punjab in two world wars - Interview with Amandeep Madra |
Joseph Quinn speaks to Amandeep Madra, founder of the UK Punjab Heritage Association, about Pubjabi and Sikh soldiers in the British Indian Army. |
Joseph Quinn, Amandeep Madra |
25 August, 2023 |
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| The Duke of Windsor's German tutor - Interview with Emma Huber |
Emma Huber, German subject librarian at Oxford's Taylorian Library, speaks to Joseph Quinn about the life and career of Professor H.G. Fiedler. |
Emma Huber, Joseph Quinn |
2 August, 2023 |
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| Northern Ireland in WW2 - TFH Collection Day at the Linen Hall, Belfast |
Interview with Scott Edgar at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, just after hosting the first TFH Collection Day event in Northern Ireland. |
Joseph Quinn, Scott Edgar |
13 July, 2023 |
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| Fighting Proud: Gay Men in Wartime - Interview with Stephen Bourne |
Interview with Stephen Bourne about the experiences of gay men in the British Armed Forces and at home during the Second World War. |
Matthew Kidd, Stephen Bourne |
28 June, 2023 |
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| Under Fire: Black Britain in Wartime - Interview with Stephen Bourne |
Interview with Stephen Bourne about the contribution of black men and women in wartime Britain during the Second World War. |
Stephen Bourne |
20 June, 2023 |
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| Counterblast! (a manifesto for poetry) |
Alice Oswald's final lecture as the English Faculty's Professor of Poetry. |
Alice Oswald |
16 June, 2023 |
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| Stories from the Archive - Part 1 |
First episode of a new Their Finest Hour podcast mini-series examining a selection of stories submitted to the Online Archive. |
Joseph Quinn |
19 May, 2023 |
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| The Women behind "the Few" - Interview with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller |
Interview with Dr Sarah-Louise Miller about the role of the WAAF in British air intelligence. |
Joseph Quinn, Sarah-Louise Miller |
11 April, 2023 |
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| Building the digital archive |
A short interview with the project's technical lead, Catherine Conisbee, on building the digital archive. |
Catherine Conisbee |
23 March, 2023 |
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| Anonymous and Onymous |
A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Hilary Term 2023 |
Alice Oswald, Lorna Hutson |
27 February, 2023 |
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| Meandering Fortune-Graphs |
A professor of poetry talk by Alice Oswald - Michaelmas 2022. |
Alice Oswald |
21 February, 2023 |
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| A Postcard from Hitler |
The Project Lead, Dr Stuart Lee, discusses his most memorable finds on previous crowdsourcing projects |
Stuart Lee |
8 February, 2023 |
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| Introducing 'Their Finest Hour' |
A brief introduction by the project team to 'Their Finest Hour' |
Stuart Lee, Matthew Kidd, Joseph Quinn |
23 January, 2023 |
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| The Life and Death of Poetry |
A distracted walkabout with T.S Eliot and others. |
Alice Oswald |
23 June, 2022 |
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| A Lament for the Earth |
This episode will address the challenge to nature poetry. |
Alice Oswald |
14 March, 2022 |
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| In Sleep a King |
This is a sleep-talk on the subject of waking up with Sonnet 87 (by Shakespeare) in the background. This talk was given by Alice Oswald on the 25th November 2021. |
Alice Oswald |
3 March, 2022 |
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| Fantasy Creatures |
Dr Caroline Batten and Dr Megan Cavell discuss fantastic animals in fantasy text |
Caroline Batten, Megan Cavell |
29 September, 2021 |
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| Is Jin Yong 'China's Tolkien'? |
A comparison of the Hong Kong author Jin Yong and J. R. R. Tolkien |
Jonathan Hui |
6 September, 2021 |
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| A Conversation with Katherine Langrish |
Dr Caroline Batten chats with author Katherine Langrish about her book 'From Spare Oom to War Drobe' |
Caroline Batten, Katherine Langrish |
31 August, 2021 |
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| Faith in fantasy literature |
A short discussion of the role of faith in fantasy literature |
Katherine Olley |
30 July, 2021 |
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| Brian McClellan |
A discussion of the writer Brian McClellan. |
Katherine Olley |
30 July, 2021 |
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| Arthur Rackham at Trinity College |
Emma Sillett, Trinity College Librarian, and Dr Caroline Batten explore the Danson Library's collection of rare Arthur Rackham fantasy illustrations. |
Emma Sillett, Caroline Batten |
30 July, 2021 |
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| C. S. Lewis and 'The Wind in the Willows' |
A discussion of the influence of 'The Wind in the Willows' on fantasy writers - notably C. S. Lewis |
Simon Horobin |
29 July, 2021 |
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| The Last of the Titans |
This talk explores the myth underlying the action in John Wyndham's `The Kraken Wakes'. |
Jane Bliss |
27 July, 2021 |
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| A Walk around C. S. Lewis's Oxford |
A biographical tour of C. S. Lewis's Oxford |
Simon Horobin |
23 July, 2021 |
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| William Morris and E. R. Eddison Collections at the Bodleian |
An interview with Rachael Marsay about the William Morris and E. R. Eddison collections at the Bodleian Library |
Rchael Marsay, Stuart Lee |
23 July, 2021 |
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| Elizabeth Knox |
A discussion of the writer Elizabeth Knox |
Alicia Smith |
22 July, 2021 |
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| The Saga of Eric the Unlucky |
The Saga of Eric the Unlucky examines Rider Haggard's use of medieval narrative techniques in his novel Eric Brighteyes. |
Jane Bliss |
20 July, 2021 |
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| Edward Lear and Fantasy |
Jasmine Jagger provides a short introduction to Edward Lear. |
Jasmine Jagger |
18 July, 2021 |
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| An Interview with Elizabeth Knox |
An Interview with Elizabeth Knox, author of 'The Absolute Book' |
Carolyne Larrington, Elizabeth Knox |
13 July, 2021 |
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| A Conversation With R. F. Kuang |
Carolyne Larrington and Caroline Batten interview Rebecca F. Kuang. |
R. F. Kuang, Carolyne Larrington, Caroline Batten |
8 July, 2021 |
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| Werewolves in Medieval Literature vs Modern TV |
A discussion of werewolves in medieval and modern representations. |
Minjie Su |
6 July, 2021 |
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| Desiring Dragons: Creative and Critical Responses to the Dragon in Beowulf |
Laura Varnam discusses dragons in fantasy literature. |
Laura Varnam |
6 July, 2021 |
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| Morte D'Arthur Murals in the Oxford Union |
A visual discussion of the Morte D'Arthur murals in the library of the Oxford Union. |
Tom Corrick, Caroline Batten |
28 June, 2021 |
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| Maria Dahvana Headley on Beowulf |
Author Maria Dahvana Headley reads from her 2018 novel The Mere Wife, is interviewed by Prof. Carolyne Larrington, and shares drafts from her 2020 translation of Beowulf. This lecture was recorded live at St John’s College, Oxford in November 2018. |
Carolyne Larrington, Maria Dahvana Headley, David Clark |
25 June, 2021 |
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| George MacDonald |
An introduction to the Victorian fantasist and fairy tale author George MacDonald, who convinced Lewis Carroll to publish Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, inspired C. S. Lewis' Christian writings, and may even have influenced Tolkien's Elves. |
Caroline Batten, Clare Mulley |
25 June, 2021 |
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| Old Norse in the New World: The Mythology and Politics of Immigration and Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods' |
A talk on Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods'. |
Heather O'Donoghue |
23 June, 2021 |
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| Discworld - and the Modern University |
A short talk introducing Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels and how they reflect the modern University. |
Andrew Shamel |
22 June, 2021 |
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| Susan Cooper |
A short talk on Susan Cooper. |
Tom Morcom |
22 June, 2021 |
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| Violet Needham |
Jane Bliss introduces listeners to the work of Violet Needham, a prolific but little-remembered children’s fantasy author, whose book 'The Woods of Windri' draws on the tropes of medieval romances in fascinating ways.ays. |
Jane Bliss |
22 June, 2021 |
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| Daoxuan and Chinese Fantasy Literature |
A short talk on Daoxuan and medieval Chinese fantasy. |
Nelson Landry |
18 June, 2021 |
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| Tolkien Archive and Exhibition at Bodleian (Part 2) |
An interview with Catherine McIlwaine on the Tolkien archive at Bodley and the exhibition of 2018 - Part 2 |
Catherine McIlwaine, Stuart Lee |
18 June, 2021 |
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| Tolkien Archive and Exhibition at Bodleian (Part 1) |
An interview with Catherine McIlwaine on the Tolkien archive at Bodley and the exhibition of 2018 - Part 1. |
Catherine McIlwaine, Stuart Lee |
17 June, 2021 |
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| What is the 'Silmarillion'? |
This lecture is an introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien's third major work, 'The Silmarillion' (1977), and considers its lengthy development in numerous prose and verse texts over fifty years. |
Grace Khuri |
19 April, 2021 |
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| Lines by Alice Oswald |
It's fifty years since the publication of From the Life and Songs of the Crow (by Ted Hughes). This is a lecture about lines and other sound barriers and how Crow flies straight through them. |
Alice Oswald |
1 March, 2021 |
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| The Literature of Absolute War - Transnationalism and WWII |
Professor Nil Santiáñez discusses absolute war, total war, and the literature of WWII with Anders Engberg-Pedersen. |
Anders Engberg-Pedersen, Nil Santiáñez |
17 December, 2020 |
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| Verse and Prose in Fantasy Literature |
An analysis of two forms that dominate fantasy literature. |
Katherine Olley |
24 November, 2020 |
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| Guy Gavriel Kay |
A short introduction to the writer Guy Gavriel Kay. |
Katherine Olley |
24 November, 2020 |
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| Series Two Episode Five: Fairy and Other Transformations |
Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield discuss the theme of transformation through fairy or other kinds of magic. |
Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Lucy Farrell, Inge Thomson, Mary Craig, Sarah Hesketh, Brian McMahon |
22 September, 2020 |
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| Series Two Episode Four: Fairies and the Environment |
Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield talk about a new theme that emerged in the ‘Modern Fairies’ project, fairies as guardians of the environment. |
Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Ben Nicholls, Inge Thomson, Ewan MacPherson, Sarah Hesketh, Patience Agbabi, Ian McLaughlin, Donald McBride, Brian McMahon |
22 September, 2020 |
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| Series Two Episode Three: Fairies and Children |
Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield uncover the works inspired by the strange tale of the Green Children and the changeling legend. |
Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Terri Windling, Brian McMahon, Marry Waterson, Patience Agbabi, Martin Carthy |
22 September, 2020 |
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| Series Two Episode Two: Fairy Time and Space |
Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield explore the ways in which the project artists engaged with the fairy world as parallel and yet distinct from our world, and the ways in which time warps in the other world. |
Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield, Barney Morse Brown, Ewan MacPherson, Inge Thomson, Marry Waterson |
22 September, 2020 |
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| Series Two Episode One: Introducing the Modern Fairies Project |
Carolyne Larrington and Fay Hield introduce the artists and outcomes of the Modern Fairies Project. |
Carolyne Larrington, Fay Hield |
22 September, 2020 |
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| What Tolkien learnt from 'Beowulf': Representations of Evil |
Monsters and evil in Tolkien |
Rafael J. Pascual |
16 July, 2020 |
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| Interview with Water |
This is the first ever online lecture by a Professor of Poetry at Oxford. In the lecture, Alice Oswald explores the strange connection between water and grief. |
Alice Oswald |
8 July, 2020 |
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| Sylvia Townsend Warner |
Carolyne Larrington introduces the writing of Sylvia Townsend Warner. |
Carolyne Larrington |
26 May, 2020 |
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| Ursula K. Le Guin |
A brief introduction to the writer Ursula K. Le Guin. |
Caroline Batten |
13 May, 2020 |
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| T. H. White |
A brief introduction to the writer T. H. White. |
Gabriel Schenk |
12 May, 2020 |
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| Diana Wynne Jones |
A brief introduction to the writer Diana Wynne Jones. |
Gabriel Schenk |
12 May, 2020 |
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| Why 'Game of Thrones' Matters |
'Game of Thrones' and storytelling. |
Carolyne Larrington |
12 May, 2020 |
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| Re-Enchanted: The Rise of Children’s Fantasy Literature in the Twentieth Century |
A guest lecture by Dr Maria Cecire (Bard College) discussing children's fantasy literature. |
Maria Cecire |
12 May, 2020 |
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| Interview: Catherine Butler |
An Interview with Dr Catherine Butler, author of the book 'Four British Fantasists'. |
Catherine Butler, Will Brockbank |
12 May, 2020 |
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| Alan Garner |
A brief introduction to the British fantasy writer, Alan Garner. |
Felix Taylor |
12 May, 2020 |
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| Approaching Fantasy Literature |
A short introduction to reading and studying fantasy literature. |
Stuart Lee |
12 May, 2020 |
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| H. P. Lovecraft |
A brief introduction to the writer, H. P. Lovecraft. |
Stuart Lee |
12 May, 2020 |
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| The First World War, India and Empire |
Professor Santanu Das discusses the complexity of commemoration, the messiness of history and the role of scholarly emotion with Kate McLoughlin. |
Kate McLoughlin, Santanu Das |
27 March, 2020 |
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| America’s War Culture since 9/11 |
In this episode associate professor Patrick Deer discusses his forthcoming book We Are All Embedded: Understanding America’s War Culture since 9/11. |
Patrick Deer, Christine Strandmose Toft |
17 March, 2020 |
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| The Art of Erosion |
Inaugural Lecture of Alice Oswald, Professor of Poetry, held at the University of Oxford Exam Schools. |
Alice Oswald |
9 December, 2019 |
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| Will War still need us? What Future for Agency in War? |
Will War still need us? What Future for Agency in War? - an interview with Christopher Coker |
Solveig Gade, Christopher Coker |
27 November, 2019 |
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| The Age of Amok - an interview with Joseph Vogl |
Professor Joseph Vogl discusses the phenomenon of ‘amok’ with Anders Engberg-Pedersen. |
Joseph Vogl, Anders Engberg-Pedersen |
4 November, 2019 |
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| Philosophy and Nuclear War - an interview with Elaine Scarry |
Professor Scarry and Jens Bjering discuss philosophy and nuclear war. |
Elaine Scarry, Jens Bjering |
4 November, 2019 |
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| War, Aesthetics, Politics – an interview with Vivienne Jabri |
Professor Vivienne Jabri discusses the relationship between war, aesthetics and politics in relation to contemporary warfare with Christine Strandmose Toft. |
Vivienne Jabri, Christine Strandmose |
4 November, 2019 |
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| When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer |
Simon Armitage delivers his final lecture as Oxford Professor of Poetry, reflecting on his own influences as a poet. |
Simon Armitage |
17 May, 2019 |
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