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Open Lectures at the University of York

A lecture audience (c) John Houlihan

Every term, the University organises free open lectures on a wide variety of topics and aimed at a general audience.  Some require tickets (available on individual event pages) but most do not. Where tickets are needed, this is also indicated in the publicity.

We distribute information on upcoming lectures to interested members of the public at the start of each academic term (October, January and April). If you would like to receive a free copy of this leaflet either by email or by post, please join our mailing list.  Updated lecture details are also available here on our web pages. As they are updated frequently, they may publicise lectures which we were unable to include in the leaflet.

If you have an accessibility need, please contact us at open-lectures@york.ac.uk or 01904 324466, and we will make every effort to accommodate you.

The majority of lectures are held on the University campus. There is a regular bus service and the campus is easily accessible by bicycle. Car parking is available in the Pay & Display car parks, which are free after 6pm. Please note however space in the Field Lane car park on Campus East is limited. More information on reaching the University together with maps and additional parking information can be found on our Information for Visitors webpages.

Download our Summer 2017 open lectures leaflet (PDF , 870kb).

See all of our current and previous lectures this term. 

Have a question about open lectures? See our FAQs, or email us. 

Follow us on Twitter or like our Facebook page. 

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive up-to-date information on upcoming open lectures and events.

 

 

Upcoming events
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Thu
25
May

Chocolate: From the mountains of Mexico to the streets of York

This lecture will discuss the history of chocolate, how it was valued by the Mayans and Aztecs, brought to Europe by the Spanish conquerors, and how it spread through Europe, eventually coming to England.

Thu
25
May

On the confluence of virtualities in computer-based environments

Inge Hinterwaldner looks at virtual reality in the context of phobia therapy

Thu
25
May

Fighting For Europe

Those of us who are keen to see the UK remain part of the EU need to target our fight carefully: how shall we do that, and when?

Thu
25
May

Understanding York’s environment

This series of three keynote lectures, given by leading experts from environment and health, will explore the importance of place and nature, how the environment affects our health and wellbeing, and finally, how novel projects, such as the York City Environment Observatory, seek to understand and quantify these relationships.

Fri
26
May

What turns pictures on

This presentation will consider the conditions in which pictures can be activated by the perceptual parameters afforded by their environment

Tue
30
May

Austen as Wartime Novelist

It is time to reclaim Jane Austen as the first English novelist to explore the effect of contemporary war on the home front

Tue
30
May

Should we really be ourselves?

In this lecture, Rafe shows how Simone de Beauvoir and Frantz Fanon meet the ethical challenge posed by authenticity.

Wed
31
May

Remembering the future

In 'Remembering the Future', Darran Anderson will re-assess utopian ideas in an age of pessimism. In contrast to our technological advances, we seem increasingly powerless and disconnected from our urban surroundings. Looking at projects from Bauhaus to Bjarke Ingels, Anderson will examine the challenges we face and what is needed to reclaim the city for the citizen.

Thu
1
Jun

World history and God’s Grand Design: The historical imagination in the Middle Ages and Reformation

This lecture will endeavor to sketch out a provisional arc for the evolving theology of history as it developed through the Middle Ages and the Reformation period.

Wed
7
Jun

The Unknown Universe

Where to find a hilarious and helpful guide to the biggest mysteries in the Universe?

Tue
20
Jun

Imaginative geographies of the black/white Atlantic

Catherine Hall discusses Edward Long, C18 slave-owner, family man, creole nationalist and historian

Fri
23
Jun

Falling Walls Lab York

York's best and brightest compete to captivate audiences with their groundbreaking research.