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The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH)

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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.

Series associated with The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH)

'Magic and the Sense of Place' Conference
African(a) and South Asian Philosophies
Alliance
Art and Action: The Intersections of Literary Celebrity and Politics
Death at the Museum
Diseases in Dialogue
Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius: A Story in Five Places
Folk Tunes and Englishness
Gender and Authority
Is the playwright dead?
Literature, democracy and transitional justice
Medieval German Studies
MOVING, TEACHING, INSPIRING: The National Trust and University of Oxford in the 21st Century
Narrative Futures
Perceptions of Inequality: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue
Post-Conflict Landscapes
Post-War: Commemoration, Reconstruction, Reconciliation
Practice Makes… the Oxford Reimagining Performance Podcast
Putting magic in place: a knowledge exchange event
Race and Resistance: Understanding Bermuda Today
Sleep and the Rhythms of Life
Talking Sense
Teaching to Transgress
Textual Therapies
The Many Lives of Benjamin Disraeli
The Oxford Healthcare Values Partnership
The Oxford Sound Album
The Oxford/Berlin Creative Collaborations
TORCH Post-Show Conversations
TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities
Traces of the White Rose
Unconscious Memory
Unlocking Late Schumann
Valentine's Day at Oxford
Women in Oxford's History (Series One)
Women's Responses to the Reformation
# Episode Title Description People Date
39 Plays for Today? Closing symposium in which critic Michael Billington, playwright Rachel De-lahay, theatremaker Chris Goode academic and Dr Liz Tomlin discuss with David Edgar the place of the playwright in contemporary theatre. This event was filmed on 7th February 2015. David Edgar, Michael Billington, Rachel De-lahay, Liz Tomlin 05 Feb 2015
38 How Playwrights Collaborate A conversation with playwrights David Edgar, Howard Brenton and Bryony Lavery about how playwrights collaborate with directors, performers and each other. This conversation was filmed on 6th February 2015. David Edgar, Howard Brenton, Bryony Lavery 05 Feb 2015
37 How Playwrights Work A conversation with playwrights David Edgar, April de Angelis and David Greig discussing their working methods and what is (or isn’t) unique about their work. This conversation was filmed on 4th February 2015. April de Angelis, David Edgar, David Greig 05 Feb 2015
36 State of Play First lecture in which Playwright David Edgar outlines the story of new writing in postwar British theatre and the growth of the anti-writer trend since the 1990s. This lecture was filmed in Oxford on 2nd February 2015. David Edgar 05 Feb 2015
35 Unconscious Memory and Mental Space Professor Michael Burke and Dr Sebastian Groes Michael Burke, Sebastian Groes, Ben Morgan 26 Jan 2015
34 Exploring the Two Cultures Professor Larry Squire and Dr Simon Kemp Larry Squire, Simon Kemp 26 Jan 2015
33 Narrative and Proof: Two Sides of the Same Equation One of the UK's leading scientists, Marcus du Sautoy, argues that mathematical proofs are not just number-based, but also a form of narrative. Marcus du Sautoy, Roger Penrose, Laura Marcus, Ben Okri 22 Jan 2015
32 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
31 Alison Light on 'Common People' The author discusses her new book, exploring the interplay between fiction and history, the redefinition of the common, and family history Alison Light 08 Dec 2014
30 Irish Nationalist Women, 1900-1918 An interdisciplinary panel of scholars discuss Dr Senia Paseta's book Senia Paseta, Tara Stubbs, Desmond King, Roy Foster 03 Dec 2014
29 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
28 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
27 The Jagiellonians Dr Natalia Nowakowska introduces a new research project which examines the Renaissance Europe Jagiellonian dynasty as an international political phenomenon. Natalia Nowakowska 12 Sep 2014
26 Museums in the digital age: development or conflict? Interview with Martin Roth – Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Martin Roth 30 Jul 2014
25 Love and Math A public lecture given by Edward Frenkel, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, talking around his best-selling book "Love and Math" followed by a conversation with Marcus du Sautoy and Q&A. Edward Frenkel, Marcus du Sautoy 12 Jul 2014
24 Medieval Storytelling An AHRC funded workshop for Early Career researchers Hannah Ryley, Gareth Evans, Jenny Moon, Daniel Morden 17 Apr 2014
23 Dance Circles An interdisciplinary discussion of Dr Hélène Neveu Kringelbach's book. Helene Neveu Kringlebach 09 Apr 2014
22 Interview with Hélène Neveu Kringelbach The author discusses her recent book on dance in urban Senegal. Helene Neveu Kringlebach 09 Apr 2014
21 Interview with Emily Troscianko Discussion of Kafka's Cognitive Realism Emily Troscianko 26 Mar 2014
20 Kafka's Cognitive Realism An interdisciplinary discussion of Dr Emily Troscianko's book Emily Troscianko, Sue Blackmore, Ritchie Robertson, James Carney 26 Mar 2014
19 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
18 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
17 Science and the Humanities Are the Humanities and the Sciences fundamentally different? Or do they share roots, values, aspirations and a common, contemporary predicament? Howard Hotson, Ian Walmsley, Mark Pagel, Sally Shuttleworth 04 Mar 2014
16 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
15 Creative Commons African Knowledge and Livestock Health Book at Lunchtime interview with Karen Brown and William Beinart about their book “African Knowledge and Livestock Health” Karen Brown, William Beinart 13 Feb 2014
14 Creative Commons In Everyone's Interests - the highlights Panel discussion on what it means to invest in the humanities Andrew Hamilton, Earl Lewis, Hermione Lee, Charlotte Higgins 04 Feb 2014
13 Creative Commons In Everyone's Interests Panel discussion on what it means to invest in the humanities Andrew Hamilton, Earl Lewis, Hermione Lee, Charlotte Higgins 04 Feb 2014
12 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
11 Creative Commons TORCH Book Series: ‘Thomas Wyatt - The Heart’s Forest’ by Susan Brigden David Starkey, Chris Stamatakis and Diarmaid MacCulloch discuss ‘Thomas Wyatt - The Heart’s Forest’ by Susan Brigden as part of the TORCH Book Series David Starkey, Chris Stamatakis, Diarmaid MacCulloch, Susan Brigden 12 Dec 2013
10 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
9 Love and Sex in Victorian Fiction Victorian fiction is commonly thought of as treating love sentimentally and lacking all reference to sex. In this talk drawing on material from a book he is writing, Dr David Grylls, Fellow of Kellogg College, will contest such a view. David Grylls 04 Oct 2013
8 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
7 Creative Commons TORCH Launch The highlights of the launch event for The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH). Jonathan Bate, Clare Copeland, Andrew Hamilton, Marcus du Sautoy 29 May 2013
6 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
5 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
4 Creative Commons HiCor: a Cross-Disciplinary Network for History and Corpus Linguistics Gabor Mihaly Toth talks about a network of corpus linguists, computational linguists, and historians who are aiming to study how the resources, tools and methods of corpus linguistics can be used to address important historical research questions. Gabor Mihaly Toth 24 May 2013
3 Creative Commons Race and Resistance Across Borders in the Long Twentieth Century Elleke Boehmer and Imaobong Umoren talk about their research network which is investigating how twentieth-century activists, artists and intellectuals challenged racially oppressive hierarchies and sought to achieve equality. Elleke Boehmer, Imaobong Umoren 24 May 2013
2 Creative Commons Ancient Dance in Modern Dancers Sophie Bocksberger, Berrow Scholar, Classics, talks about collaborative workshops involving classical historians, professionally-trained dancers, and anthropologists to create "reconstructive" performances of the Roman dance form tragoedia saltata. Sophie Bocksberger 24 May 2013
1 Creative Commons The Romance of the Middle Ages Dr Nicholas Perkins talks about how romance functions as a genre in the middle ages, especially about how gifts and tokens were exchanged as signs of fidelity, specifically in Sir Orfeo, Sir Gawain, and King Horn. Nicholas Perkins 21 Jun 2012