The founders lecture 2016, by eminent historian and Honorary Fellow, Professor Sir Brian Harrison, FBA.
The history of the future
Loading Video...
The talk explores changing attitudes to the future and the reasons for them. This involves thinking about the changing relationship between past, present and future, and studying the attitudes and activities of people and professions claiming to be able to predict or even influence the future – such as statisticians, planners, demographers, actuaries, inventors, authors of utopias and dystopias, and religious visionaries. The lecture aims to set in perspective the importance (or otherwise) of historical study.
Series:
People:
Oxford Unit:
Keywords:
More in this Series...
Today, St John's is home to approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 graduate students, 100 fellows and 25 College lecturers. Nearly every subject studied at the University is represented in St John's. A vibrant international community, it fosters intellectual rigour, creativity, and independence in its students, teachers, and researchers.
St John's was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, a wealthy London merchant. White was Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company,...