Skip to content Accessibility statement

Open lectures: Autumn term 2022

Every term, the University organises free open lectures on a wide variety of topics and aimed at a general audience.

Most require tickets (available on individual event pages) but some do not. Where tickets are needed, this is also indicated in the publicity.

Upcoming events

There are no events to show here right now. Please check back another time.

Past events

Wednesday 14 December 2022 6pm

John McDermid illustrates the evolution of robots over (at least) 40 years and considers what can be done to make them safe, ethical and secure.

Wednesday 14 December 2022 6pm

York Human Rights City Network presents provisional findings for their seventh annual human rights indicator report at a free online public event.

Wednesday 14 December 2022 5pm

Explore the shape of exotic nuclei, and what the nucleons inside the nucleus are made of!

Wednesday 14 December 2022 2.30pm

Discover what kind of transformative changes are needed in the political economy to achieve the ambition to Level Up.

Tuesday 13 December 2022 3pm

A virtual gathering of activists, practitioners, and academics across the world who will together take a critical look at citizenship in an interdisciplinary context.

Wednesday 7 December 2022 6.15pm

John Parkington discusses the history of conflict in the Cape, South Africa, by looking at archaeological finds including rock paintings.

Wednesday 7 December 2022 5pm

Explore Nuclear Medicine - from imaging techniques to treatment of diseases such as cancer.

Thursday 1 December 2022 7.30pm

Steven Johnson discusses the future technologies for medical diagnostics and water quality monitoring.

Thursday 1 December 2022 7pm

An insighful talk that explores the basic fundamentals of AI and the ethical biases that could occur during the ML development stages.

Thursday 1 December 2022 4.30pm

CANCELLED: Professor Dorothy Price, lead curator for the exhibition, Making Modernism, currently on view at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, looks at the gender, making and meaning of modern art in Imperial Germany.

Wednesday 30 November 2022 6pm

Isabelle Clement makes the case for accessible active travel for all, setting out how inclusive walking, cycling & cycling infrastructure are central to a healthy, equitable and sustainable community.

Wednesday 30 November 2022 5pm

Join Dr Kate Lancaster and Dr Ed Pickering to bring nuclear fusion, the process that powers the stars, down to Earth.

Wednesday 30 November 2022 1pm

Professor Helen Roy will share insights into invasion ecology from broad patterns and processes to approaches in surveillance and monitoring, including citizen science, with a focus on predicting biological invasions.

Monday 28 November 2022 6.30pm

A York Disability Week Lecture giving us the opportunity to learn about the history of blindness and how this continues to influence our approach towards blindness today.

Thursday 24 November 2022 5.30pm

An urgent Investigation into modern British Policing. With authors Matt Foot (solicitor) and Morag Livingstone (investigative journalist).

Wednesday 23 November 2022 5.30pm

Join us in welcoming this vibrant cohort of contemporary artists’ works into our art collection, enriching it with a distinct contemporary voice.

Wednesday 23 November 2022 5pm

Discover the origins of the elements and find out about the roles of different isotopes in different stellar processes

Wednesday 23 November 2022 4pm

We are delighted to be joined by Dipesh Chakrabarty for this years IGDC Annual Lecture where Dipesh will share his thoughts on the Anthropocene Globe.

Wednesday 23 November 2022 4pm

Andrew Whelan discusses the DASS-21 (DASS)self-report questionnaire, used for measuring depression, anxiety and stress.

Friday 18 November 2022 3pm

A virtual gathering of activists, practitioners, and academics across the world who will together take a critical look at citizenship in an interdisciplinary context.

Thursday 17 November 2022 6.15pm

Professor Michael Rosen talks about his book about secularization,The Shadow of God, in this Royal Institute of Philosophy public lecture.

Wednesday 16 November 2022 6.30pm

Poet Gail McConnell will be reading from her latest book, 'The Sun is Open' and other poems.

Wednesday 16 November 2022 6.30pm

The Tudor stage, Protestantism, the Field of the Cloth of Gold and ill-fated voyages: a life of adventure that inspired peculiar science-driven plays.Join us in the historic Merchant Adventurers' Hall as we discover more from Professor Helen Smith.

Tuesday 15 November 2022 6pm

Join the Centre for Applied Human Rights for the screening of two movies followed by a Q&A session focusing on the work of the Colombian Truth Commission in Europe and the UK.

Monday 14 November 2022 1.30pm

This in person panel event will discuss inclusion and exclusion in education, specifically through experiences of racism, ableism and sexism, how they manifest and how they can be combated.

Thursday 10 November 2022 6.45pm

Join our panel of leaders as they discuss these grand challenges of our time, and as we celebrate the launch of the University’s new School for Business and Society.

Thursday 10 November 2022 4pm

Part of the Grief Project lecture series, this talk will look at how grief gaslighting can teach us about affective injustice

Thursday 10 November 2022 3pm

In this thought provoking event, David Smith will reflect on his leadership experiences from 26 years of senior and board level procurement roles and 11 years as one of the UK government's most significant and influential Commercial Directors.

Wednesday 9 November 2022 7pm

Alison Milbank explores the role of fantasy in evoking a specifically religious sense in a deadened materialist world.

Wednesday 9 November 2022 6pm

Poonam Yadav's talk will discuss the smart environment and the evolution of communication and sensing technologies.

Wednesday 9 November 2022 5pm

In his inaugural lecture Professor Paul Tiffin will outline key findings from his research, as well as relevant personal experience, relating to selection, recruitment and regulation of the medical workforce.

Wednesday 9 November 2022 2.30pm

How can we rethink “recovery” in profoundly transformed landscapes from the perspective of local communities in Latin America?

Tuesday 8 November 2022 7pm

Callie Seaman and Simon Spinks take us through the history, synthesis, science and importance of medical cannabis, spreading the important truths behind the plant.

Tuesday 8 November 2022 6.30pm

Join us for a fascinating discussion about the conspiracy theories surrounding John F Kennedy’s assassination and what they can tell us about American politics both past and present.

Tuesday 8 November 2022 6pm

We invite you to the premiere of several short films exploring the benefits of nature and the outdoors for people experiencing mental illness.

Friday 4 November 2022 3pm

A virtual gathering of activists, practitioners, and academics across the world who will together take a critical look at citizenship in an interdisciplinary context.

Thursday 3 November 2022 7.30pm

Robert Anderton discusses how weapons and their use were an important part of warfare. With the York Society of Engineers.

Thursday 3 November 2022 4.30pm

Join three Afghan University of York students as they discuss the current human rights and humanitarian situation in the country

Wednesday 2 November 2022 6.30pm

This new book, based on five years of research across three continents, seeks to answer questions about the Anthropocene through the stories of activists, teachers and educators.

Wednesday 2 November 2022 4.30pm

This talk examines how the Contemporary Art Society (CAS) fundraised in collaboration with commercial art galleries in London’s interwar art market.

Wednesday 2 November 2022 4pm

This presentation initiates discussion about how a colour-conscious approach to place might be explored.

Tuesday 1 November 2022 7pm

Pascal Michael presents an opportunity to survey all the neural architecture of the psychedelic, mystical, therapeutic and near-death states.

Tuesday 1 November 2022 5pm

Dr Catherine Grant examines how contemporary feminist artists are turning to broad histories of feminism ranging from political organizing and artworks from the 1970s to queer art and activism in the 1990s.

Monday 31 October 2022 5.30pm

Femicide is a global problem. In fact, it is the leading cause of death for women between the ages of 19 and 44 in the world.

Thursday 27 October 2022 4pm

Find out more about recent work in pain science, which has brought revised attitudes towards and new recognition of chronic pain.

Wednesday 26 October 2022 6.30pm

Professor Nutt will discuss about how and why, in recent years, psychedelics have begun to recapture the attention of the scientific community.

Wednesday 26 October 2022 5pm

Adam Phillips, psychoanalyst and one of the most influential essayists and thinkers writing today, presents his Autumn term lecture.

Tuesday 25 October 2022 6.30pm

An opportunity to think together about the past, and consider how Black British literary history leaves a lasting legacy today.

Tuesday 25 October 2022 4pm

Carolina Baltan Salazar offers an intimate portrayal of the Truth Commission from an insider’s perspective.

Thursday 20 October 2022 3pm

A virtual gathering of activists, practitioners, and academics across the world who will together take a critical look at citizenship in an interdisciplinary context.

Thursday 20 October 2022 2.30pm

Catherine explores the understanding of the funeral rite and considers the ways in which funeral rites are shaped to meet the needs of the people present: the funeral as a pastoral rite.

Thursday 20 October 2022 12pm

Ron Dudai discusses how the death penalty adapts to the modern – and postmodern – world.

Wednesday 19 October 2022 4.30pm

In this first research seminar of the autumn term 2022, Professor Anthony Geraghty will discuss his new book The Empress Eugénie in England: Art, Architecture, Collecting.

Wednesday 19 October 2022 7.45am

Expand your client, support and peer network and hear about the exciting new developments at the National Railway Museum.

Tuesday 18 October 2022 5.30pm

This joint lecture shall investigate what the speakers are calling 'phantomology', ranging from medieval theology to modern neuroscience.

Tuesday 18 October 2022 2pm

An expert panel talk about the strength of collaborative efforts needed to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Friday 14 October 2022 6pm

Join the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology for a fun-filled, family-friendly evening exploring our Solar System and the night sky!

Wednesday 12 October 2022 6.15pm

With decades of diplomatic experience at the highest levels of global politics, the Indonesian Ambassador promises to open our eyes to some of the challenges and opportunities faced by one of the world's rising powers.

Wednesday 12 October 2022 6pm

An accessible introduction to supervised deep learning and a description of a recent idea called self-supervised learning

Wednesday 12 October 2022 4.30pm

This seminar looks at the sound design of documentary about AI.

Friday 7 October 2022 3pm

A virtual gathering of activists, practitioners, and academics across the world who will together take a critical look at citizenship in an interdisciplinary context.

Wednesday 5 October 2022 5pm

Join the Department of Education for inaugural lectures from Professor Kathryn Asbury and Professor Danijela Trenkic.

Wednesday 5 October 2022 4pm

Despite the newfound attention, few critically engage the complicated and contradictory uses of divinity, prayers, transcendental virtues, and otherworldly dimensions that circulate within Du Boisian social theory.

Wednesday 5 October 2022 2pm

This lecture analyses the cost-of-living protests as properly political acts, varied in their specifics and contexts, but driven by common principles regarding the basic right to protections of everyday life.

Thursday 29 September 2022 2.30pm

In this presentation, Linda explores the lived experience of ‘traumatic grief’ – a term that combines trauma with grief, locating it towards the extreme end of the grief spectrum.

Friday 23 September 2022 5pm

A virtual gathering of activists, practitioners, and academics across the world who will together take a critical look at citizenship in an interdisciplinary context.

Tuesday 13 September 2022 4pm

The launch event of a 3-year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), titled: Can the Arts Save Human Rights: Human Rights Truth-Claims in a Post Truth Era.