“On the side of the angels?” The reality of humanitarian aid in a fragile world

Fergus Drake, the Director of UK Programmes and Deputy Director of Global programmes at Save the Children will deliver the College's Annual Lecture in May 2012 entitled '"On the side of angels?" The reality of humanitarian aid in a fragile world'

The relentless march of the microchip

Professor Steve Furber from the University of Manchester will discuss research which aims to build a computer to accelerate our understanding of how the brain works and which will provide a platform for the investigation of the important issues that face the microchip industry in the near future.

The last wife and first queen: The friendship of Katherine Parr and Mary Tudor

Linda Porter explores the friendship between Katherine Parr and Mary Tudor and what this tells us about the fluidity of religious attitudes in mid-sixteenth century England.

How antibiotics illuminate ribosome function and vice versa

Nobel Laureate, Dr Venki Ramakrishnan, will deliver the 2012 Cantor Nanoscience lecture

The white bull and blue skies: Rethinking the Art History curriculum after Old Europe

An Art History lecture discussing the end of 'the Old Europe'.

Where now for Labour?

The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP will deliver the 2012 School of Social and Political Sciences Lecture on the topic 'Where now for Labour?'.

From judgement to atonement: Sculpture at Strasbourg, Lincoln and Naumburg

York Medieval Seminar

Developing a human immune system in a test tube: Stories from an on-going scientific adventure

For this Cafe Scientifique, Dr Mark Coles will talk abouthow the research project, 'the human artificial lymph node' has lead us to a better understanding of how tumours undergo metastasis to secondary sites in the body.

Are there really many worlds?

A public debate between Professor James Ladyman (Bristol University) and Professor David Wallace (Oxford University)

Then and now: Viewing the transatlantic slave trade over forty year

In this lecture, Professor James Walvin will explain how our understanding of the Transatlantic slave trade has undergone a remarkable change over the last forty years in response to political and cultural transformations in Western society.

Innovation for a smarter planet

In this IBM Lecture, Distinguished Engineer and Master Inventor, Professor Andy Stanford-Clark, will introduce technology which is helping to make the planet smarter.

Where it all began: The Big Bang

Professor Carlos Frenk will open this year's York Festival of Ideas with a talk on the biggest metamorphosis of all - that of the universe as a whole, from the simplicity of the Big Bang to the complexity of the universe of galaxies, stars, and the planet on which we live.

Impact of the genomic revolution on medicine and agriculture

Professor Janet Thornton will deliver a York Biology Lecture on the impact of the genomic revolution on medicine and agriculture.

The social value of public organisations

The Jane Moody Memorial Event

Anthony Horowitz in conversation

Author, Anthony Horowitz, will discuss his writing in conversation with the University of York's Director of the Humanities Research Centre, Professor Judith Buchanan.

Rock and Roll Politics

Author Alex Preston debates 'Rock and Roll Politics' with Helen Boaden, BBC News Group Director

A reading by historian and author Alison Weir

The historian and novelist, Alison Weir, will read from her new novel, Mary Boleyn, The Great and Infamous Whore/Mary Boleyn: The Mistress of Kings.

Re-writing royal power in medieval and Tudor England

Professor Mark Ormrod and Dr John Cooper discuss how we reconstruct the careers and characters of historical figures

Viva la Revolution!

In conversation with Dave Musgrove, Editor of BBC History Magazine, Historian Derry Nairn will present his new book Viva La Revolution!

Demography and the origins of modern human behaviour

Professor Mark Thomas will explain how demographic factors can explain geographic variation in the timing of the first appearance of modern behaviour.

Global and local transformation: The impact of conflict abroad and at home

How conflict transforms lives Panel and Q&A Session on the impact of war and conflict abroad and at home

Great Discoveries in Medicine

William and Helen Bynum give an account of the evolution of medical knowledge and practice from ancient Egypt, India and China to today’s latest technology

Walking the ancient landscapes of Britain

Philip Hughes gives an illustrated talk on his book of ancient walks from Orkney to Cornwall

Prison Fictions and Writing Imprisonment

Exploring a variety of approaches to writing about incarceration and the experience of imprisonment from a range of different perspectives

Like a Virgin: Exploring the frontiers of conception

Dr Aarathi Prasad shares the history of inconceivable ideas about conception.

Jung Chang

Best-selling author Jung Chang in conversation

Ovid and After

Professors Judith Buchanan and Hugh Haughton discuss how the lively and strange tales of Ovid’s Metamorphoses find their way into the thought and character of many later literary works

Word Power: Speaking against death in the Arabian Nights

Author Marina Warner explores the magical powers of Arabian Nights

The search for the lost emperor Ashoka

Charles Allen reveals how India’s greatest emperor was lost to history for two thousand years and how he was rediscovered

You're looking very well: The surprising nature of getting old

Lewis Wolpert, acclaimed scientist and broadcaster, investigates a topic close to all our hearts - why must we age and how should we cope with our physical decline?

Middle Age – A Natural History

David Bainbridge discusses his new and acclaimed book Middle Age - A Natural History

Ageing debate, with Julia Unwin, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Ageing debate alongside Lewis Walpert and David Bainbridge

The Mind of the Fraudster

Martin Vander Weyer talks about 1920s City of London fraudster Gerard Lee Bevan — a financier of impeccable credentials who went to the bad when markets turned against him

The changing face of public relations

How corporations and their advisers are dealing with a new era of scrutiny

Never again? Lessons and legacies of the financial crisis

Financial markets debate with Martin Vander Weyer (chair), Tim Burt, Gervase Williams, and Mark Kleinman

The City of London

Sir Nicholas Kenyon (Barbican, London) celebrates the wide variety of architecture found within the Square Mile

Structural crisis of the capitalist world-system: How serious? How long? Endpoint?

Professor Immanuel Wallerstein (Yale) places the current crisis within a historical and sociological understanding of the capitalist world system

High Society: Mind-altering drugs in history and culture

Mike Jay speaks about his book, High Society, tracing how today’s illicit substances have come to play such a simultaneously fetishized and demonized role in the modern world

Capital - John Lanchester in interview with Will Gompertz

Author John Lanchester in conversation with Will Gompertz (BBC)

Cracking the Egyptian Code

Andrew Robinson reveals a gripping tale of a race to unlock the secrets of a great but neglected civilization

Meet the Scientists ... who mummified Alan

In this Meet the Scientist event, members of the public will have an opportunity to meet the scientists behind the Channel 4’s award-winning documentary Mummifying Alan: Egypt’s Last Secret.

Jennifer Johnston

Interview and reading from her new work

Heritage cities public debate

Public debate on the conflict between heritage cities, cutting edge architecture and economicand cultural development