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TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities

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The University of Oxford is home to an impressive range and depth of research activities in the Humanities. TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities is a major new initiative that seeks to build on this heritage and to stimulate and support research that transcends disciplinary and institutional boundaries. Here we feature some of the networks and programmes, as well as recordings of events, and offer insights into the research that they make possible.

# Episode Title Description People Date
210 Creative Commons Are the humanities worth investing in? Knowledge Exchange Fellow Oliver Cox (@OliverJWCox) from The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) asked members of the public, students and academics in Oxford whether humanities subjects are worth investing in. Oliver Cox 16 Jan 2014
209 Postcolonial Poetics: A Book at Lunchtime A Book at Lunchtime seminar with Elleke Boehmer, author of Postcolonial Poetics, joined by Dr Malachi McIntosh, Professor Ben Morgan, Professor Richard Drayton and Professor Robert Young (chair). Elleke Boehmer, Malachi McIntosh, Ben Morgan, Richard Drayton 14 Feb 2019
208 Creative Commons Whither Death? Helen Swift and Jessica Goodman discuss the one day conference 'Whither Death?' Helen Swift, jessica Goodman 28 Mar 2017
207 Book at Lunchtime: Arcadia A Book at Lunchtime discussion of Iain Pears' interactive novel Arcadia Elleke Boehmer, Alex Butterworth, Emily Short, Iain Pears 07 Mar 2016
206 Disability Narratives and Histories Launch event for the TORCH Disability and Curriculum Diversity series. Marie Tidball, Helen Hillman, Richard Sandell, Elleke Boehmer 04 Jul 2017
205 Wildlife in the Anthropocene: Conservation after Nature An interdisciplinary discussion of Jamie Lorimer's book Jamie Lorimer, William Beinart, Daniel Grimley, Nikolaj Lübecker 06 May 2015
204 Interview with Emily Troscianko Discussion of Kafka's Cognitive Realism Emily Troscianko 26 Mar 2014
203 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
202 Rescue in the Face of Danger: Benjamin, Goethe, Sebald Speaker: Carolin Duttlinger (University of Oxford) Carolin Duttlinger 19 Jun 2017
201 Dystopia Today The TORCH Crisis, Extremes, and Apocalyse network have hosted an event on 'Dystopia Today' with Greg Claeys (Royal Holloway, University of London). Greg Claeys 10 May 2017
200 Interview with Dr Andrew Papanikitas The importance of Medical Humanities in good medical practice Dr Andrew Papanikitas 30 Nov 2015
199 Common People: The History of an English Family An interdisciplinary panel of scholars discuss Alison Light's book Alison Light, Lyndal Roper, Laura Marcus, Selina Todd 11 Dec 2014
198 Where's the Virtue in the Humanities? How can the Liberal Humanities own up to – and promote – its public service as a matrix of civic virtue? Nigel Biggar, Donald Drakeman, Steven Biel, Jonathan Bate 04 Mar 2014
197 Creative Commons Humanities Graduates and the British Economy Humanities Graduates and the British Economy. Shearer West, Sir Adam Roberts, Philip Kreager, Stephen Tuck 01 Aug 2013
196 What is the Modern? Temporality, Aesthetics, and Global Melancholy This talk from TORCH Global South Visiting Professor Supriya Chaudhuri will interrogate the temporality of the modern, the aesthetics of the modern, and as a somewhat cryptic afterthought, the mood of the modern, here categorized as melancholy. Supriya Chaudhuri 09 Apr 2019
195 Creative Commons Lost in Print? Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Reggae Music Archive Louisa Layne investigates the reggae music archive, exploring music and poetry through Linton Kwesi Johnson’s dub club. Louisa Layne 13 Jun 2018
194 The Monk, the Memorist, the Mushroom and the MRI Discover how we create and store ideas, and how modern neuroscience process 16th century theories on memory. Dan Holloway 13 Jun 2018
193 A Celebration of the Centenary of the Birth of Olive Gibbs 100 years since the Representation of the People Act, the act which gave women the vote. Susanna Pressel, Liz Woolley, Bruce Kent, Simon Gibbs 26 Feb 2018
192 Bilingualism and the Internet Scott Hale (Senior Data Scientist) delivers a talk as part of the Creative Multilingualism and TORCH Bitesize Talks at Linguamania, Ashmolean Museum. Scott Hale 22 Feb 2017
191 The Future of the Professions In an era when machines can out-perform human beings at most tasks what are the prospects for employment? Richard Susskind, Daniel Susskind, Joshua Hordern, Vili Lehdonvirta 16 Feb 2016
190 Live and Let Die - in Greek Epic Almut Fries explores the iconography of the black-figured wine jug in this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday Almut Fries 08 Feb 2016
189 The Cult of Saints Dr Bryan Ward-Perkins introduces a new research project which examines the origins and development of the cult of Christian saints. Bryan Ward-Perkins 12 Sep 2014
188 How does a curriculum introduce and structure alternate worldviews and knowledges? Blue Weiss and Mia Liyanage, Common Ground Oxford, give a talk for the workshop, What is a Decolonial Curriculum? Held at TORCH on 28th November 2019. Blue Weiss, Mia Liyanage 19 Feb 2019
187 The Heterarchical Director - A Model of Authorship for the Twenty-First Century The keynote talk for 'Collaboration in Theatre symposium' at the University of Oxford, 19 October 2018. Duška Radosavljević 18 Dec 2018
186 Autonomy, Community, Destiny: Re-Imagining Disability The second seminar in the Disability and Curriculum Diversity series at TORCH Elizabeth Frood, Dom Hyams, Marie Tidball 07 Dec 2017
185 Hidden Beneath the Surface: Untold Tales of Neurodivergence and Mental Difference in Oxford World Mental Health Day 2017 Dan Holloway, Miranda Reilly, Sonia Boue, Marie Tidball 18 Oct 2017
184 Creative Commons Ellah Wakatama Allfrey - What Does Diversity Mean to Me? Opening event in TORCH Headline Series exploring 'Humanities & Identities' Ellah Wakatama Allfrey 28 Mar 2017
183 Do Objects Speak? Wen-chin Ouyang (Professor of Arabic and Comparative Literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies) delivers a talk as part of the Creative Multilingualism and TORCH Bitesize Talks at Lingumania. Wen-Chin Ouyang 21 Feb 2017
182 Tom Chatfield on Humans and Machines in the Digital Age Tom Chatfield talks as part of the "What does it mean to be human in the digital age?" event Tom Chatfield 26 Jan 2016
181 Too Valuable to Die? Silke Ackermann, Nigel Biggar and Liz Bruton debate the ethics of science and scientists going to war Silke Ackermann, Nigel Biggar, Liz Bruton 14 Oct 2015
180 Sommerfrische, Connoisseurship, Scandal and the Temporary in the Jewish Country House in Austria: Baron Nathaniel Rothschild’s castle in Reichenau and Dr. Josef Kranz’ Villa Raach Mimi Schmidt (Jindal Global University) gives a talk for the JCH conference's second session; Villas and Chateaux. Mimi Schmidt 23 May 2018
179 James Joyce and the Phenomenology of Film Book at Lunchtime, James Joyce and the Phenomenology of Film Katherine Morris, Ulrika Maude, Jeri Johnson, Cleo Hanaway-Oakley 16 Feb 2018
178 Consequentialist Extremism: Present Sacrifices for Future Dreams in the Justification of Violence Part of the Sacrifice Revisited event Jonathan Leader Maynard 22 May 2017
177 The Rise of Endless War The TORCH Crisis, Extremes, and Apocalypse network hosted a talk on 'The Rise of Endless War' with Professor Samuel Moyn (Harvard University). samuel moyn 10 May 2017
176 Language, Crisis, and Affect The TORCH Crisis, Extremes, and Apocalypse network hosted a talk ‘Language, crisis and affect: Muted emotions in Heinrich von Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas’ with Dr Tobias Heinrich (University of Oxford). Tobias Heinrich 28 Feb 2017
175 The Concept of 'Umma' in Early Islam Fred Donner (University of Chicago) addresses the nebulous, often misunderstood concept of 'umma' in early Islam Fred Donner 07 Jul 2016
174 Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life Jonathan Bate, Anne Farrar Donovan, Seamus Perry and Oliver Taplin discuss life-writing, poetry and the poet Jonathan Bate, Seamus Perry, Oliver Taplin, Anne Farrar Donovan 20 Oct 2015
173 The Real, the True, and Critique: Mysticism in the Study of Religion A lecture by Amy Hollywood with response from Vincent Gillespie and Joana Serrado. Amy Hollywood, Vincent Gillespie, Joana Serrado, Kate Kilpatrick 18 Jun 2015
172 Orchestral Musicians' Experiences: Inside Out In this TORCH Talk, Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey presents on 'Orchestral Musicians' Experiences: Inside Out' at the Ashmolean Museum's Supersonic LiveFriday. Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey 04 Jul 2017
171 Ernst Kantorowicz and the Politics of Political Theology Speaker: Martin Ruehl (University of Cambridge) Martin Ruehl 19 Jun 2017
170 Everything in Everything: Anaxagoras's Metaphysics Book at Lunchtime discussion Anna Marmodoro, Elleke Boehmer, Naoya Iwata, Simona Aimar 06 Jun 2017
169 Drawing the Line: Toward an Aesthetic of Transitional Justice This Postcolonial Writing and Theory Seminar is on 'Drawing the Line: Toward an Aesthetic of Transitional Justice' with speaker Carrol Clarkson (University of Amsterdam). Carrol Clarkson 06 Jan 2017
168 Digital Unwrapping: Homer, Herculaneum, and the Scroll from Ein Gedi With Brent Seales (Professor of Computer Science, University of Kentucky) Brent Seales 19 Aug 2016
167 Creative Commons Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' Margaret Kean explores how Philip Pullman plays with the idea of communication across different media in his trilogy Margaret Kean 04 Mar 2016
166 Creative Commons Valour, betrayal and desire: heroes and villains in Indian paintings Nisha Somasundaram explores both male and female heroes and demons in Indian epics in this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday. Nisha Somasundaram 09 Feb 2016
165 Phenomenology and Health A highlights video from the one-day conference Andrew Papanikitas, Anna Kirkengen 15 Jun 2015
164 Olivia Slater presents, Place in research: Theory, methodology, and methods. Eve Tuck and Marcia McKenzie (Routledge, 2014) Olivia Slater gives a talk for the workshop, What is a Decolonial Curriculum? Held at TORCH on 28th November 2018. Olivia Slater 19 Feb 2019
163 What We Cannot Know Part of the TORCH Book at Lunchtime series Marcus du Sautoy, Anita Avramides, Chrystalina Antoniades, Ben Morgan 21 Oct 2016
162 Why We Need the Humanities How has humanities scholarship influenced biomedical research and civil liberties and how can scholars serve the common good? Donald Drakeman, Richard Ekins, Jay Sexton, Helen Small 27 Jul 2016
161 Thinking with Literature A Book at Lunchtime discussion with Terence Cave about literature's links to cognitive science. Terence Cave, Marina Warner, Ilona Roth, Deirdre Wilson 28 Apr 2016
160 Closing Reflections The closing reflections of speakers Professor Joshua Hordern and Stephen Bergman. Joshua Hordern, Professor Stephen Bergman 08 Mar 2016
159 The Dodo, Animal Icons and De-Extinction Environmental researcher Paul Jepson’s presentation at ‘The Oxford Dodo: Culture at the Crossroads’ Paul Jepson 07 Dec 2015
158 Suffering History: Phenomenology at the Intersection of Disease and Illness A presentation by Austin Argentieri. Austin Argentieri 10 Jun 2015
157 Creative Commons Senia Paseta on Irish Nationalist Women Dr Paseta explores women's history and the nationalist narrative in Ireland. Senia Paseta 01 Dec 2014
156 Photography and Tibet Author, Clare Harris, talks about her book on photography in Tibet - a place that has for centuries been a source of fascination for outsiders and a captivating yet troublesome subject for photographers. Clare Harris, Thupten Kelsang, Elizabeth Edwards, Geraldine Johnson 05 Apr 2018
155 FRIGHT Friday - Stretched to Breaking Point Dan Holloway gives a talk for the FRIGHT Friday series of talks, held in the Ashmolean Museum on 25th November 2016. Dan Holloway 12 Dec 2016
154 Ilya Afanasyev and Nicholas S. M. Matheou Introduction Opening remarks from Ilya Afanasyev and Nicholas S M Matheou Ilya Afanasyev, Nicholas S M Matheou 26 Jan 2016
153 Making Sense of Kurdish Identity During the Middle Ages: Political Factors and Cultural Crossroad Boris James gives a talk as part of the The Long History of Identity, Ethnicity, and Nationhood workshop Boris James 04 Jan 2016
152 What Have the Humanities to Teach the Modern University? Part of the Humanities and the Public Good series Teresa Morgan, Stephen Whitefield, David Ford, Jonathan Phillips 19 Mar 2014
151 Discussion: How does a curriculum introduce and structure alternate worldviews and knowledges? Blue Weiss, Mia Liyanage, Nana Oforiatta Ayim, Supriya Chaudhuri, and Afua Hirsch, discuss what a decolonial curriculum would look like, part of the workshop, What is a Decolonial Curriculum? Held at TORCH on 28th November 2018. Blue Weiss, Mia Liyanage, Nana Oforiatta Ayim, Supriya Chaudhuri 19 Feb 2019
150 Are the Humanities More Digital than the Sciences? A panel discussion with Howard Hotson, Andrew Prescott, Dave De Roure and Heather Viles Howard Hotson, Andrew Prescott, Dave De Roure, Heather Viles 02 Mar 2016
149 Cultural Citizenship in India: Politics, Power and Media Cultural Citizenship in India argues that citizenship is an ongoing and evolving discursive project. Further, it studies the role of culture and different media in the process of citizen-making by taking postcolonial India as its case study. Lion König, Polly O'hanlon, Sundas Ali, Peter Frankopan 13 Jul 2018
148 Interview with Dr Marion Lynch Medical Humanities and Narratives Dr Marion Lynch 30 Nov 2015
147 Disaster Drawn: Comics and Picturing Violence Keynote lecture by Hilary Chute as part of the Documenting Trauma conference. Hilary Chute 05 Sep 2017
146 The Silk Roads: A New History of the World Peter Frankopan discusses his new book with Averil Cameron, Robert Moore and Elleke Boehmer Peter Frankopan, Averil Cameron, Robert Moore, Elleke Boehmer 27 Oct 2015
145 FRIGHT Friday - Fear of Cats and Other Phobias Professor Sally Shuttleworth gives a talk for the FRIGHT Friday series of talks, held in the Ashmolean Museum on 25th November 2016. Sally Shuttleworth 12 Dec 2016
144 Fundraising through Digital Michael Docherty (Cancer Research UK) on how clicktivists, slacktivists and hacktivists are helping us beat cancer sooner. Michael Docherty 03 Aug 2015
143 Interview with Professor Stephen Lammers Medical Humanities and Narratives Professor Stephen Lammers 30 Nov 2015
142 Exploring the Two Cultures Professor Larry Squire and Dr Simon Kemp Larry Squire, Simon Kemp 26 Jan 2015
141 Kafka's Cognitive Realism An interdisciplinary discussion of Dr Emily Troscianko's book Emily Troscianko, Sue Blackmore, Ritchie Robertson, James Carney 26 Mar 2014
140 Creative Commons Early Modern Catholicism Network Clare Copeland and Jan Machielsen talk about a new hub to encourage, enhance, and promote research touching on all aspects of early modern Catholicism from across the academic disciplines. Jan Machielsen, Clare Copeland 24 May 2013
139 How not to Ruin Everything: Futures Thinking Launch Launch event for Futures Thinking, a new research group looking into future problems and opportunities created by advances in technology and artificial intelligence. Chelsea Haith, Robert Iliffe, Gretta Corporaal, Alexandra Paddock 05 Mar 2019
138 Activist Humanities in a Global Context Ahadf Soueif, Paul Smith and Robin Kelley discuss how the humanities can solve global challenges Ahdaf Soueif, Paul Smith, Robin Kelley 19 Mar 2014
137 Ibsen, Scandinavia, and the Making of a World Drama: A Book At Lunchtime Henrik Ibsen's drama is the most prominent and lasting contribution of the cultural surge seen in Scandinavian literature in the later nineteenth century. Narve Fulsas, Tore Rem, Peter McDonald, Kirsten Shepherd-Barr 21 Jan 2019
136 Global Hungers: The Problem of Poverty in Postcolonial Literature - Part 2 A One-Day International Conference held at the Faculty of English, University of Oxford, on June 25, 2018. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Ros Ballaster, Ankhi Mukherjee, Robert J. C. Young 26 Jul 2018
135 Migration, Memory and Identity Part of the Humanities & Identities Lunchtime Seminar Series Laura van Broekhoven, Elleke Boehmer, Karma Nabulsi, Gayle Lonergan 07 Jul 2017
134 The Trans-Atlantic, the Diaspora, and Africa Ngugi wa Thiong’o delivers the opening keynote lecture of the Calloloo conference Ngugi wa Thiong’o 05 Dec 2013
133 Work, Time and Stress: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives Stress & overwork in both education and professional life in the Victorian era and the 'dynamic' nature of disability and the impact of the stresses of modern life has. Sally Shuttleworth, Marie Tidball 07 Dec 2017
132 A Genre in Crisis: The Novel in 1940s France Professor Ann Jefferson discusses the French novel. Ann Jefferson 17 May 2017
131 Emma Smith on Forgetting in the Digital Age Emma Smith talks as part of the "What does it mean to be human in the digital age?" event Emma Smith 26 Jan 2016
130 Creative Commons The Selden Map The Selden Map of China has been one of the treasures of the Bodleian Library since 1659. This film shows how this remarkable map is interpreted today by scholars from a range of different disciplines. Kate Bennett, David Helliwell, Ros Ballaster, Rana Mitter 29 May 2013
129 The Social Life of Modernism: Conversation, Literary Community, and Espionage in 1930s Calcutta This talk from TORCH Global South Visiting Professor Supriya Chaudhuri will be illustrated with images from the Parichay archives and related documents and correspondence. Supriya Chaudhuri 09 Apr 2019
128 Medieval Storytelling An AHRC funded workshop for Early Career researchers Hannah Ryley, Gareth Evans, Jenny Moon, Daniel Morden 17 Apr 2014
127 Joe Shaughnessy presents, Mine Boy Peter Abrahams (East African Publishers, 1946) Joe Shaughnessy gives a talk for the workshop, What is a Decolonial Curriculum? Held at TORCH on 28th November 2018. Joe Shaughnessy 19 Feb 2019
126 Ernst Kantorowicz on Methods and Postage Stamps The TORCH Crisis, Extremes, and Apocalypse network hosted a talk on ''Ernst Kantorowicz on Methods and Postage Stamps' given by Professor Robert Lerner (Northwestern) Robert Lerner 10 May 2017
125 Epic Performances from the Middle Ages into the Twenty-First Century A discussion about the book Epic Performances from the Middle Ages into the Twenty-First Century. Part of 'A Book at Lunchtime' series Oliver Taplin, Wes Williams, Olga Taxidou, Sarah Whatley 06 Mar 2019
124 Making Oscar Wilde A Book at Lunchtime seminar with Michele Mendelssohn, literary critic and cultural historian. Dr Sos Eltis (Brasenose, Oxford), Dr Charles Foster (Green Templeton, Oxford), Chaired by Professor Dame Hermione Lee (Wolfson, Oxford). Michèle Mendelssohn, Sos Eltis, Charles Foster, Dame Hermione Lee 14 Dec 2018
123 Gandhi, Sacrifice and the Ambiguities of Non-Violence Part of the Sacrifice Revisited event Faisal Devji 22 May 2017
122 Walter Benjamin Meets the Cosmics Professor Richard Wolin (CUNY) delivers a talk on 'Walter Benjamin Meets the Cosmics' for the TORCH Crisis, Extremes, and Apocalypse network. Richard Wolin 28 Feb 2017
121 Global Hungers: The Problem of Poverty in Postcolonial Literature - Part 1 A One-Day International Conference held at the Faculty of English, University of Oxford, on June 25, 2018. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Ros Ballaster, Ankhi Mukherjee, Robert J. C. Young 18 Jul 2018
120 Politics and Public Space in Contemporary Argentine Poetry Book at Lunchtime event. Ben Bollig, Bart van Es, Leigh A Payne, Eduardo Posada-Carbo 21 Mar 2017
119 Torre Alfina: A Cahen d’Anvers Manor in Italy Alice Legé (University of Amiens/University of Milan) gives a talk for the JCH conference's second session; Villas and Chateaux. Alice Lege 23 May 2018
118 Creative Commons Miles Hewstone - What Does Diversity Mean to Me? Opening event in TORCH Headline Series exploring 'Humanities & Identities' Miles Hewstone 28 Mar 2017
117 The Role of Religion in Identity Julia Bray (University of Oxford) delivers a keynote lecture on the role of religion in identity Julia Bray 07 Jul 2016
116 Empire and Identity: Imperial Rule and Peoplehood across Time and Place A round table discussion of empire's role in identity formation across time and place. Miles Larmer, Elisabeth Bolorinos Allard, Bryan Ward-Perkins, Florian Schwarz 25 May 2016
115 Rereading East Germany A Book at Lunchtime discussion tracing the cultural legacy of the GDR with Karen Leeder, Dennis Tate, Sara Jones, Marc Silberman and Tom Smith Karen Leeder, Dennis Tate, Sara Jones, Marc Silberman 05 May 2016
114 Creative Commons Middle Earth and Tolkien's Digital Afterlives Stuart Lee traces how Tolkien's Middle-earth and especially 'The Lord of the Rings' have been reimagined through a range of digital technologies, from games to films Stuart Lee 04 Mar 2016
113 The Alfred Jewel and Kingship Amy Faulkner explores how Alfred’s translations question what it means to be a good king in this TORCH Bite-Size talk at the Ashmolean Museum LiveFriday Amy Faulkner 08 Feb 2016
112 In search of the Phoenicians Book at Lunchtime, In search of the Phoenicians Josephine Quinn, Hindy Najman, Stephanie Dalley, John Watts 10 May 2018
111 Valuing Women With Disabilities Valuing Women With Disabilities: Infantilised, Medicalised, Pauperised? Marie Tidball, Helen Brookman, Julie Jaye Charles 21 Feb 2018