Open Lectures 2022/23
The Centre for Open Learning's Open Lecture series is back for 2022/23 - book your FREE place now!
Open Lectures are back at COL!
Last year’s Open Lectures were enjoyed by so many, we decided to bring you some more!
With such a diverse range of Short Courses, our colleagues have designed a range of exciting Open Lectures, offering you the chance to get a taste for a subject area you have an interest in.
And the best thing is – they’re completely FREE to join!
If you do find a subject that inspires you, booking for our short courses is also now open across all terms of the 22/23 academic year so you're sure to find space in a subject you like!
Dr Mohamad Janaby - Teaching Fellow in Law
Wednesday 21 September 2022 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
(Explore relevant courses)
Does the use of force to maintain international peace and security still work? The current situation in Ukraine would suggest not, however this open lecture will explore the regime, its mechanisms and any possible solutions that should be internationally adopted to maintain international peace and security.
David Wingrove | Tuesday 25 October 2022 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
Teaching Fellow in Film Studies, Literature and Opera
(Explore relevant courses)
Take three of the great foundational works of Gothic fiction – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson...and join us to explore the ways an artificially created being – the creature, the portrait, the secret alter ego – becomes a dark and forbidden ‘shadow self’ for the tortured male protagonist. Tracing these stories through their influence on popular culture and film, we will examine how three 19th century authors anticipated (or even surpassed) the work of 20th and 21st century psychologists.
Dr John Gordon | Wednesday 30 November 2022 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
Teaching Fellow in Philosophy and Humanities -
(Explore relevant courses)
Commentators have alluded to 'the Scottish divided self'. What does it mean to be a divided self - and is this a characteristically Scottish condition? In this lecture John Gordon will draw on the work of Adam Smith, James Hogg, RL Stevenson, Muriel Spark, RD Laing and others in an attempt to answer these questions.
Dr Reena Sastri | Thursday 9 February 2023 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
Teaching Fellow in Literature & Cultural Studies
(Explore relevant courses)
Do you love poetry? Do you love love? Then this open lecture is for you! You will explore how poetry’s distinctive characteristics—rhyme, soundplay, pacing, metaphor, and in particular address to a ‘you’—make space for complexity of feeling and reciprocity between lover and beloved.
You do not need any prior knowledge to join this lecture and discussion will be very much encouraged!
Cole Bendall | Thursday 23 February 2023 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
Teaching Fellow in Music
(Explore relevant courses)
As part of the Estonian identity and culture, the country has embraced singing. With a history of occupation and a fight for independence and self-determination, choral singing was used as a means of expressing group identity, including movements and composers that were in favour of Soviet values (at least on a surface level), and those who were vehemently against the Soviet occupation.
Drawing upon his recent doctoral research, in this lecture Cole Bendall (Teaching Fellow in Music) provides an illustrative introductions to issues in 20th century Estonian composition and culture, profiles major composers such as Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis, and provides a critical assessment of the role choirs played – and continue to play – in the framework of forming Estonian national identities.
Jon Place | Thursday 9 March 2023 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
Teaching Fellow in Arts and Humanities -
(Explore relevant courses)
Did you know comics are over 100 years old?! We certainly know how popular they have become over the last century - from American Superheroes to Japanese Manga and everything in between.
But how did comics, the so-called 9th art, evolve into what they are today? And in which direction they will go in the future? Explore the weird and wonderful word of experimental comics at this intriguing Open Lecture!
Dr Morna Finnegan| Thursday 23 March 2023 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
Teaching Fellow in Social Anthropology
(Explore relevant courses)
What drives the extraordinary human capacity for empathy? What generates our interest in sharing and caring? Using evidence from a variety of hunter-gatherer cultures across Africa and Amazonia as case studies, this lecture will explore alternative models for the development of morality, beyond political systems based on socially dictated punishment.
What lessons can we learn from the Mbendjele about our current relationships with power? Find out by joining this fascinating Open Lecture!
Past Lectures
David Wingrove | Thursday 4 November 2021 (19:00-20:15)| Free | ONLINE
How has our myth of the vampire changed – in the space of just 200 years – from an object of revulsion and terror to an icon of erotic and pop cultural obsession? How did we get from the ancient vampire lore of Europe and the Middle East to the glitzy superstar images of Anne Rice and Twilight? Drawing on literature and painting, film and TV, this one-hour lecture will trace the Undead from their mythological roots all the way to the vampires we know and love today.
Watch the Bloody Marvellous! The Vampire as a Cultural Icon recording here:
Dr Brian McGrail | Thursday 09 December 2021 (19:00-20:15) | Free | ONLINE
How relevant is the work of Adam Smith and Karl Marx to the 21st century? On the basis of ‘textbook’ or popularised accounts one would be forced to conclude ‘not very’! But are such accounts accurate and, therefore, fair? Using a number of contemporary examples, this lecture will question widely-accepted ideas about the work of Smith and Marx, and highlight inaccuracies by returning to the original writings. The path is then cleared for a thorough reassessment.
Pushpi Bagchi | Thursday 20 January 2022 (19:00-20:15) | Free | ONLINE
The discipline of Design is generally understood to have evolved with mass manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. This narrative offers one perspective on the evolution of Design as a discipline and culture, specifically, a Eurocentric one. By navigating my experiences of studying, researching, and practising design across Britain, India, and Sri Lanka, alongside current discussions to decolonise Design, this talk visually reflects on what it might mean to develop a hybrid design practice.
- Video: Open Lecture Series - Developing a Hybrid Design Practice
- Open Lecture Series - Developing a Hybrid Design Practice
From Deep Time to the Capitalocene: Sediments, Soils, and the Geoarchaeology of Inhabited Landscapes
Nikolaos Kourampas | Thursday 10 February 2022 (19:00-20:15) | Free | ONLINE
Dr John Gordon | Thursday 24 March 2022 (19:00-20:15) | Free | ONLINE
Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Sloth and Pride are the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’.
Where did this list of sins originate? How have these sins functioned in European culture - and why do they continue to fascinate in our secular times?
In this lecture John Gordon will attempt to answer these questions.
Recording will be available soon