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Open lectures: Spring term 2023

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

Thursday 6 April 2023 7.30pm

Tim Clarke talks about his life and work in aviation - from air traffic control to being an academic.

Tuesday 28 March 2023 7pm

Professor Bill Sheils presents the Sheldon Memorial Lecture 2023.

Monday 20 March 2023 6.30pm

A discussion on the importance of indoor air quality, how exposure to pollutants occurs, and the University of York's efforts in understanding and improving indoor air. Find out about methods to reduce exposure and improve indoor air quality.

Wednesday 15 March 2023 5pm

This term's lecture with psychoanalyst Adam Phillips

Tuesday 14 March 2023 7pm

A talk and discussion on psychedelic welfare and harm reduction from the perspective of a Psycare UK Volunteer.

Tuesday 14 March 2023 6.15pm

This panel discusses global human rights threats and ways to raise awareness through academia, art, broadcasting, and film-making. Commemorating the opening of David Kato College named after the late human rights defender and LGBTQ+ activist.

Thursday 9 March 2023 7pm

Can we see everything as it is, or do we make a best guess about reality? What can psychedelics tell us about how we perceive the world?

Wednesday 8 March 2023 6.30pm

Barrister Sam Fowles discusses whether 'wokeness' and 'cancel culture' are really a dangerous form of decadence that suffocates academic freedom and freedom of speech.

Wednesday 8 March 2023 6.30pm

A beginners guide to human rights and the law from Amnesty Society York, Lawyers without Borders and Student Action for Refugees.

Wednesday 8 March 2023 6pm

Using a selection of computer vision projects that he has worked on at York, Nick Pears will attempt to convey why the field is interesting, challenging and important - and what it promises for the future.

Wednesday 8 March 2023 4.30pm

Find out about the cadastral map of Saint-Domingue (Haiti) by René Phelipeau, which he dedicated to the comte de Vaudreuil, a prominent courtier and art collector whose father had served as governor of the colony.

Tuesday 7 March 2023 6.30pm

Find out more about Jane Morris, the wife of William Morris, and her involvement in creating this family's radical household and the Morris&Co. company.

Tuesday 7 March 2023 4pm

This event will highlight the prevalence and forms of sexual harassment experienced by Black and minoritised women, as well as structural, institutional and cultural barriers to disclosure and help-seeking.

Monday 6 March 2023 6pm

Join Monica Mayer as she discusses The Clothesline Project (1978), and her role as a founding member of feminist art collectives in Mexico.

Monday 6 March 2023 4pm

Join the School for Business and Society for a book launch of 'The War on Dirty Money' and a masterclass with one of the co-authors.

Friday 3 March 2023 5.15pm

A discussion on the future of British business with Minister Kevin Hollinrake, MP for Thirsk and Malton.

Thursday 2 March 2023 7.30pm

York Society of Engineers present the story of tunnels - from Mesopotamia to the modern day.

Wednesday 1 March 2023 4.30pm

Dr Giulia Smith discusses the paintings of Guyanese artist Aubrey Williams and how they addressed an ‘eco-crisis’ of planetary proportions and ecological challenges of the future more than 50 years ago.

Tuesday 28 February 2023 6.30pm

What exactly is happening in Iran? What is the significance of the current demonstrations and what has the international response been? What events and factors have led to this moment?

Tuesday 28 February 2023 6.30pm

An academic talks on how Psychedelics impact memory processing to produce long term effects, which may be beneficial in a clinical context.

Tuesday 28 February 2023 10am

Hear from Nature’s Lab about their journey developing a 3 dimensional organisational audit and how they’ve applied it to their business.

Friday 24 February 2023 2.15pm

The Ukraine Society hosts a forum dedicated to the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Friday 24 February 2023 2pm

Mathew Bukhi Mabele gives a seminar on inequalities in the production and dissemination of biodiversity conservation knowledge on Tanzania.

Thursday 23 February 2023 6.30pm

A thought-provoking talk that will challenge our understanding of the intersection of ethics, AI, and society.

Tuesday 21 February 2023 7pm

Discussing our ability as humans to intentionally alter the phenomenology of altered states of consciousness using different technologies.

Monday 20 February 2023 6.15pm

This round table is devoted to the war in Ukraine and its wider ramifications for the international system. We are bringing together renowned experts from outside and within the University to discuss the implications of the war.

Friday 17 February 2023 6pm

Join Luisana Barrios, Dave Arnott, Rebecca Thompson, Rob Marchant discuss nature-based farming in protected areas!

Friday 17 February 2023 12.30pm

What does Land Law have to do with sustainability? Attend this talk from York Law School at the University to find out!

Thursday 16 February 2023 7pm

How can we ensure respectful, safe, ethical, inclusive, and sustainable sourcing for psychedelic plants and materials? Are there ethical and sustainable alternatives?

Thursday 16 February 2023 6pm

Learn about how this Carbon Negative Company achieved their sustainable practices and why it is important.

Thursday 16 February 2023 12pm

The Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union: 160+ years of recording biodiversity in Yorkshire

Wednesday 15 February 2023 5.45pm

How can we break our addiction to oil? Join us for a screening of the new film The Oil Machine and conversation on our energy future.

Wednesday 15 February 2023 12pm

Tune in to find out how you can help UK Biodiversity thrive in the Anthropocene!

Tuesday 14 February 2023 6pm

Transforming our Senses for Nature Re-connection, Re-patterning and Hope.

Tuesday 14 February 2023 1.30pm

Find out more on the abuse of our soils, and how our human impact has changed it!

Tuesday 14 February 2023 11.30am

Learn with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust about how they are working to make a wilder Yorkshire!

Monday 13 February 2023 6pm

Learn from this interactive discussion about our land and sustainability from 11,000 years ago in Yorkshire!

Monday 13 February 2023 12.30pm

Gordon Eastham will explore with us the re-wilding and biodiversity work that is happening on Campus East at the University!

Tuesday 7 February 2023 6pm

Join Greg Jenner and Emma Nagouse, co-writers and co-producers of the award-winning podcast, to hear more about the processes and research involved in creating this wonderful blend of history and comedy.

Tuesday 7 February 2023 5.30pm

Fozia Bora examines the nuances of Ibn Khallikān’s method in writing one of the best known pre-modern Arabic compendia.

Friday 3 February 2023 6.15pm

Join the University's Bridge Society for an interactive session on pre-emptive bidding and weak twos.

Thursday 2 February 2023 7.30pm

Project Director Leon Guyett and Project Manager Natalie Webster will provide an overview of the history of the project, an update on the £100m+ infrastructure and other work ongoing at the moment, and what will be happening next at York Central.

Thursday 2 February 2023 6.15pm

Oliver Burkeman explores what it might mean to live with a greater acknowledgment of our temporal limitations – and why this might be a path not only to greater peace of mind, but also to doing more effective work in the world.

Thursday 2 February 2023 1pm

Erica Bergstrom talks about the OU project that has captured individual and collective experiences of death and loss that occurred during the pandemic and considers how it impacted the ways in which we make sense of dying and bereavement.

Tuesday 31 January 2023 7pm

This talk reviews different therapeutic modalities in psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, relating to its use to treat neurological disorder.

Thursday 26 January 2023 6.30pm

Tatiana Liani sheds a light on Greek-Jewish heritage and antisemitism, sharing stories of desperation and despair, but also of hope and survival against all odds.

Wednesday 25 January 2023 4.30pm

This seminar presents three artistic gardening practices that attempt to grow forms of resistance to apartheid and its afterlives in South Africa.

Tuesday 24 January 2023 7pm

The panel will explore the ins and outs of drugs behind bars and illuminate how we might think about drug use and rehabilitating prisoners.

Tuesday 24 January 2023 6.30pm

How can we make sense of our lives when we do not know where we come from? This was a pressing question for the youngest survivors of the Holocaust, whose pre-war memories were vague or non-existent.

Tuesday 17 January 2023 4pm

Find out more about why '63% of businesses found it easier to attract and retain talent with a 4 day week.'

Tuesday 10 January 2023 6.30pm

Do you remember the ‘Climategate’ email leak? Or the ‘Frankenfood’-style headlines about the perils of GM foods? What about the time the government sacked its own science advisor for challenging drug laws?

Thursday 5 January 2023 7.30pm

In this talk, Gez will review his project work from 2022 with case studies and outline his approach to conservation of our built heritage.