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Open lectures: Semester 1 - 2023-24

Every semester, 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

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Past events

Friday 2 February 2024 6pm

Sistan, neglected in research, aims to reclaim historical importance through legacy data and satellite imagery.

Thursday 1 February 2024 7.30pm

The talk will explore the history of lighter-than-air technology and the innovative development of the hybrid aircraft, “Airlander”.

Wednesday 31 January 2024 5pm

Drapery in Renaissance art conveyed unique artistic expression and natural inspiration, often overlooked, influencing how artists embodied life in their works.

Wednesday 24 January 2024 6.30pm

Explore Gabrielle Chanel's iconic fashion evolution from 1910 to 1971 with the curator of the UK's first dedicated exhibition.

Tuesday 23 January 2024 6.30pm

Ruth Wiener, daughter of Wiener Holocaust Library founders, survived Nazi occupation, transit camps, and Bergen-Belsen, sharing her extraordinary journey through donated papers.

Thursday 11 January 2024 6.15pm

The Department of Philosophy and Royal Institute of Philosophy present Professor Fabian Schuppert.

Wednesday 13 December 2023 6pm

In 1990, Helen Chadwick's Viral Landscapes symbolised the interplay of humans, digital technology, and HIV in contemporary landscapes.

Tuesday 12 December 2023 9am

Join us for CAHR@15 as we celebrate generations of masters’ students who have engaged critically with the law and politics of human rights on our interdisciplinary programmes.

Thursday 7 December 2023 6.30pm

Join Writers at York for the launch of City of Marvels, a new chapbook by J R Carpenter, published by Broken Sleep Books.

Wednesday 6 December 2023 6pm

AI in healthcare promises improved outcomes but poses patient safety risks. Ibrahim Habli explores safe AI use, sharing cases and strategies.

Wednesday 6 December 2023 6pm

Christine de Pizan's Epistre Othea uses 101 images to empower women through exemplary figures and didactic models in blue.

Wednesday 6 December 2023 6pm

Anna Bramwell-Dicks explores disability representation in traditional and interactive media, highlighting potential issues and advocating for better, inclusive portrayals.

Tuesday 5 December 2023 7pm

Holotechnica consists of a database of different consciousness-expanding techniques, meditations, and protocols that can be combined in a form of dialogos...

Thursday 30 November 2023 5pm

Join poets Susie Campbell and Ruth Wiggins for an evening of readings and discussion about their recent poetry publications.

Wednesday 29 November 2023 4.30pm

The third of three Policy Forums reflecting the areas of work of the Centre for Health Economics over its 40 year history.

Tuesday 28 November 2023 7.30pm

Corinna McFarlane will be discussing her path into the film industry, from thespian to Cannes, and her experience as a filmmaker. 

Tuesday 28 November 2023 7pm

Dr Peter Sjostedt-Hughes advocates integrating metaphysics into psychedelic therapy for enhanced patient understanding and long-term benefits. Explore psychedelic-induced metaphysical experiences and their potential significance.

Tuesday 28 November 2023 4pm

This lecture highlights the significance of acknowledging the colonial history of development and how neglecting the past hinders justice.

Monday 27 November 2023 6.30pm

Hear from journalist and disability advocate Lucy Webster as she discusses the struggles, joys and unseen realities of being a disabled woman.

Monday 27 November 2023 6.15pm

This talk will be about Nothing. It is not the case that there will be no thing that Suki will be talking about, nevertheless she will indeed talk about the absence of referents as well as reference to absence.

Wednesday 22 November 2023 6pm

In 1942, Francis Bacon's move to a bomb-damaged 7 Cromwell Place in South Kensington fueled groundbreaking art amid wartime destruction.

Wednesday 22 November 2023 5pm

Visiting Professor Adam Phillips presents his first talk of the 23-24 academic year.

Friday 17 November 2023 6pm

Bo Bergstedt will explore the expanding realm of Generative AI, focusing on its applications in image, video and audio generation.

Friday 17 November 2023 4.30pm

A panel discussion on the theme of healthy rivers and drinking water.

Thursday 16 November 2023 6.30pm

York's Jewish history, overshadowed by 1190, reveals thriving communities pre-1290 and an Orthodox presence until 1975. Rediscover their importance.

Wednesday 15 November 2023 6pm

Eva Frojmovic explores post-Black Death (1348-9) ruins as signs of melancholia, mourning the murdered Jewish neighbours through art and history.

Wednesday 15 November 2023 1pm

Dive into the fascinating world of birds in the first installment of YESI's new Ask the Author series!

Tuesday 14 November 2023 8pm

Join Keshia N. Abraham and John Woolf to discover the hidden histories of fascinating, influential and remarkable people of colour in the nineteenth-century.

Tuesday 14 November 2023 7pm

The rising disconnection between humans and nature may harm mental health and the environment. Could psychedelics, like psilocybin, boost our connection with nature?

Tuesday 14 November 2023 12pm

What does the public think fairness looks like in interactions between people and public services?

Monday 13 November 2023 7pm

Join Samuel Kasumu, formerly the most senior black advisor to Boris Johnson’s government, as he discusses the power of the outsider and how our differences can be a force for good – in politics and beyond.

Monday 13 November 2023 5pm

The Department of English and Related Literature is delighted to host a reading by the poets Kit Fan and Tristram Fane Saunders.

Thursday 9 November 2023 7pm

Explore the role that 'NoLos’ - No and Low Alcohol' drinks might play - or might not play - in their people’s lives and drinking routines.

Thursday 9 November 2023 2.30pm

Join us for a discussion on accessible filmmaking within the context of the Enhanced Audio Description (EAD) methods.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 7pm

The notion of divine creation sparks debate. We explore early Christian views on creation, its relevance today, and address human projections and suffering.

Wednesday 8 November 2023 6pm

Museums confront the paradox of preserving amidst decay. We'll explore decay's meaning, time models, and preservation's profound impact.

Monday 6 November 2023 1pm

Clinical neuropsychologist Kalliopi Megari from ​​CITY College, University of York Europe Campus provides intriguing insights into the dynamic relationship and strong connection between the heart and the brain.

Friday 3 November 2023 2pm

Human rights violations and academic freedom attacks in Latin America target outspoken academics, often lacking effective institutional responses.

Thursday 2 November 2023 7.30pm

The Voyager spacecraft, launched in the '70s, is still active after 50 years. Andy Marvin will explain the science behind their continued communication.

Tuesday 31 October 2023 6.30pm

A Drug Science Halloween Special, in-person and online in collaboration with the University of York 's Drug Science Student Society.

Friday 27 October 2023 7pm

This evening of screening, exhibition, music and readings explores the impact of England’s worst coal mining disaster - at Oaks Colliery in Barnsley in 1866.

Friday 27 October 2023 3pm

In this lecture Louis Sass considers the enigmatic nature of human subjectivity, which the philosopher Merleau-Ponty referred to as the “flaw in the great diamond of the world.”

Wednesday 25 October 2023 5.45pm

Can a new story of human emotions help us to find ourselves today?

Saturday 21 October 2023 4.30pm

Dr Diana T Kudaibergenova from the University of Cambridge will deliver the annual lecture for the Steppe Sisters Network.

Thursday 19 October 2023 7pm

This talk discusses how enslaved individuals' uprisings challenged the perception of Britain's commitment to liberty, both before and after slavery's abolition.

Wednesday 18 October 2023 6pm

York Law School host four powerful speakers who, drawing on their experiences as campaigners, lawyers, and writers, will explore the various ways in which racism is embedded within the structures and institutions of the legal system.

Wednesday 18 October 2023 6pm

Professor Steve King reflects on what he has learnt from (and about) students over his career of nearly 30 years as an academic.

Wednesday 18 October 2023 5.30pm

York and Dublin, Viking towns, shared rulers, rich archaeological findings, extensive records, and evolving Viking heritage perceptions since the 1980s.

Wednesday 18 October 2023 4.30pm

The second of three Policy Forums reflecting the areas of work of the Centre for Health Economics over its 40 year history.

Tuesday 17 October 2023 6pm

This panel discusses two new books on slavery and other forms of unfree labour by York staff.

Monday 16 October 2023 1pm

Professor Bob Doherty shares his entrepreneurial experiences as the first ever Head of Sales and Marketing at the start-up Fairtrade social enterprise, Divine Chocolate Ltd. 

Friday 13 October 2023 2pm

Researchers from the Political Studies Department at the University of the Western Cape will report on a workshop held in August at UWC titled, Protecting Universities, Protecting Democracy: Universities as Sites of Protection and Activism.

Wednesday 11 October 2023 1pm

Join us for a public lecture by Professor Ana Aliverti as she explores the emotional and moral economies of migration policing in Britain.

Tuesday 10 October 2023 7pm

This talk will look at a patient case study from the recent phase IIb Compass Pathways trial looking at Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression that ran in Newcastle, and consider a number of ethical issues in psychedelic research.

Friday 6 October 2023 5pm

Inspired by discussions surrounding increasing threats to traditional forms of resistance both in the UK and globally - we aim to explore the role of the body in contemporary forms of protest.

Thursday 5 October 2023 7.30pm

A discussion about the JACKAL combat UAV (drone) and the challenges a SME has in taking on the big primes in their own backyard, and how the MOD is changing.

Thursday 5 October 2023 7pm

Join us for the official opening of the Eleanor and Guy Dodson Building, the University's state-of-the-art research space in structural biochemistry.

Wednesday 4 October 2023 6pm

Dr Richard McClary discusses forgeries in the Islamic art market and how some are in leading art collections in the world and remain on display.

Friday 29 September 2023 1pm

This talk will demonstrate how simple it is for anybody to use the power of AI to simplify or automate common language and media tasks.

Tuesday 26 September 2023 4.30pm

The first of three Policy Forums reflecting the areas of work of the Centre for Health Economics over its 40 year history.

Thursday 21 September 2023 6pm

In his inaugural lecture, Professor Ben Poore discusses the development of his research on dramas of the past – from neo-Victorian plays, to dramas of empire, to the contemporary history play – in the context of British politics since Thatcherism.

Thursday 14 September 2023 2pm

Masahiro Morioka will talk about parental grief and the differences between cultures.