Einstein's Dice and Schrödinger's Cat
Sunday
21
June
2015
Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of how Einstein and Schrödinger searched, first as collaborators and then as competitors, for a theory of everything that transcended probabilistic quantum mechanics.
Let Me Play The Lion Too
Sunday
21
June
2015
Join actor Michael Pennington as he is interviewed by Michael Cordner on how to be an actor.
Waterloo: The battle
Sunday
21
June
2015
It’s 200 years since the Battle of Waterloo. This talk will give an overview of the battle and the strategy involved.
Crime and Terrorism
Saturday
20
June
2015
A panel of experts will debate the issues around religion, crime and terrorism.
'The Woman With No Number'
Saturday
20
June
2015
Auschwitz survivor, Iby Knill, tells the story of her family as the threat from the Nazis closed around them in occupied Europe.
In Bed with the Queen
Saturday
20
June
2015
Learn about the politics of intimacy, sexual slander, conspiracy and suspicion which centred on the Queen Elizabeth I’s body and her bedchamber.
Surveillance, Snowden and Security
Saturday
20
June
2015
A panel of experts will debate the issues around surveillance and security with particular reference to the Edward Snowden case.
In the Family Way
Saturday
20
June
2015
Learn about the experience of illegitimacy from the Great War to the Swinging Sixties, a story not only about shame and appalling prejudice, but about discoveries, triumphs, and the every-day strength of the human spirit.
Eating and Drinking in Anglo-Saxon England
Saturday
20
June
2015
Dr Debby Banham explores what we can find out about Anglo-Saxon food and drink, and how. There will also be an opportunity to try some bread and Eoforwic Ale, both made to Anglo-Saxon recipes.
Stories of The First World War
Saturday
20
June
2015
Children’s author, Hilary Robinson, will read and explain the background to her two picture books Where The Poppies Now Grow and The Christmas Truce which were published to commemorate the centenary of The First World War.
Darwin: A life in poems
Saturday
20
June
2015
The poet Ruth Padel reads from her poetry collection Darwin: A Life in Poems, on the life, thought, and marriage of her great great grandfather Charles Darwin.
The Future of Cyber Security
Saturday
20
June
2015
A panel of experts, chaired by BBC News Technology Correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, will discuss the importance and future of cyber security.
Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A strange romance
Saturday
20
June
2015
In an age where first ladies are under ever-increasing pressure to perform and conform, Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance offers a portrait of one who refused to do either, in a society which demanded she do both.
Cracking the code
Saturday
20
June
2015
Renaissance historian, Professor Bill Sherman, and a panel of experts will discuss coding and decoding through the ages.
The 2015 Richard Hall Symposium
Saturday
20
June
2015
In 2014 the JORVIK Viking Centre marked three decades of welcoming visitors to the site of the Coppergate dig, an undertaking that revolutionised approaches to Viking-era England. But where do we stand in 2015? This conference will bring together heritage professionals and researchers in to explore a range of current themes in early medieval research, as well as the impacts of this research in the public sphere.
Was Waterloo a German victory?
Friday
19
June
2015
Brendan Simms describes how the battle of Waterloo was decided by the Second Light Battalion, King’s German Legion, which was given the deceptively simple task of defending the Haye Sainte farmhouse, a crucial crossroads on the way to Brussels. He argues that their actions decided the most influential battle in European history
Music: A child’s hidden language
Friday
19
June
2015
How does a child who cannot speak express her innermost feelings? Musician and Jessie’s Fund founder Lesley Schatzberger explains how music, in opening gateways to communication, can be so much more than an art form.
Vanishing for the Vote - Yorkshire and beyond
Friday
19
June
2015
The Liberal government, which still denied women the vote, ordered every household to comply with its census requirement on Sunday 2 April 1911. So suffragette organisations urged women to boycott this census. Jill Liddington explores the boycott in York and across the three Ridings.
How the Tories took Britain to the brink
Friday
19
June
2015
Award-winning Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee and former director of public reporting at the Audit Commission David Walker on Cameron's Coup
Rethinking the Coinage of Roman Britain
Friday
19
June
2015
We can discover a great deal about the past from coins, but within archaeology they are often marginalised and misunderstood. This engaging talk will tackle the broader aspects of Roman Britain, coinage, and Romanisation, before presenting Barry’s ideas, data, and discoveries.
Lost in the Library
Thursday
18
June
2015
Discover the data which books can reveal and consider the secrets lost to history through the destruction of library collections.
Prostitution in Victorian York
Thursday
18
June
2015
What do we know about nineteenth-century prostitution in York? Frances Finnegan discusses her research in this area, revealing what the records of the time can tell us, and examining the history of York’s attempt at reform.
Mad Men and Bad Men
Thursday
18
June
2015
Sam Delaney will be talking about his dark, revealing and frequently hilarious new book Mad Men and Bad Men: What Happened When British Politics Met Advertising. This is a hugely entertaining behind-the-scenes tour of the election campaigns of the last four decades which examines how a bunch of unelected, unaccountable admen ended up running British politics.
Finds from Fishergate
Thursday
18
June
2015
Excavated in Fishergate and stored for many years in the basement of Mecca Bingo, the Fishergate archive sheds new light on Anglian York. This exciting archive is available for the very first time for the public to see and handle.
The Life and Legacy of George Bradshaw
Thursday
18
June
2015
Dr David Turner explores the life and legacy of George Bradshaw, who wrote Bradshaw’s Railway Companion, and reveals that behind the ‘Bradshaw’ branding is a surprising story.
The Abuse of Hot Liquors
Thursday
18
June
2015
BBC food historian Annie Gray will talk about three influential foodstuffs from 17th century Britain, from their medicinal beginnings, to the myths that surrounded them, to their adoption as core parts of our diet. By the end, you’ll never look at a steaming mug of your chosen pick-me-up in quite the same way again.
Exploring Learning Global Cultures
Thursday
18
June
2015
This event is for those involved in International Education of any sort, whether school, Further Education or Higher Education to bring their research and ideas to an Unconference to discuss the differences and similarities between Global learning cultures.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Wednesday
17
June
2015
One hundred and fifty years after the extraordinary, imaginative feat of Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of The Earth, David Whitehouse embarks on a voyage of scientific discovery into the heart of our world.
The Author’s Effects
Wednesday
17
June
2015
Join Nicola Watson of the Open University as she explores the ways that celebrated authors’ lives have been imagined in the writer’s house museum, looking at a series of extraordinary literary objects – from Shakespeare’s quill to Burns’s bed.
Freedom Regained: The possibility of free will
Wednesday
17
June
2015
Do we have free will? This is a question that has puzzled philosophers and theologians for centuries, and has only become more complex with recent advances in neuroscience and genetics as Julian Baggini explores.
The Weather Experiment
Wednesday
17
June
2015
Robert FitzRoy is one of the forgotten heroes of 19th -century science. In his time he was known for founding a controversial governmental office, the Meteorological Department, which issued weather predictions or ‘forecasts’. This talk revisits FitzRoy’s weather experiment, one of the most notorious scientific experiments of the Victorian age.
Medicine’s Painful Past
Wednesday
17
June
2015
Due to unforeseen circumstances, this lecture has been cancelled. We apologise for any disappointment this may cause.
The US and the Rest of Us
Wednesday
17
June
2015
A review of America’s influence in the world since 1945. Did the US change from a saviour to an imperial bully, then dwindle into a mere entertainer, an exporter of kitsch? And are we all Americans now?
Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st Century
Wednesday
17
June
2015
In this fascinating and entertaining talk, Hugh Aldersey-Williams reveals what we can learn about our lives now by re-examining how Sir Thomas Browne understood the times in which he lived. How we might apply Browne’s questioning curiosity to our contemporary beliefs and how surprising the results could be.
Unveiling Secrets of the Museum
Wednesday
17
June
2015
Join the writers, directors and curators of the production In Fog and Falling Snow and discover how they explored the last 200 years of railways in York.
Drone Society
Tuesday
16
June
2015
Discover all about wearable drones and drone artists, and explore why if 2014 was the year of the ‘selfie’, 2015 is the year of the ‘Dronie’.
What’s New with the Vikings?
Tuesday
16
June
2015
Come and find out the most recent research on the Vikings including Viking camps, war cemeteries, commerce, and migration.
Is Anybody Out There?
Tuesday
16
June
2015
For more than 50 years, giant radio telescopes have looked for signals from extra- terrestrial civilisations. We’ve discovered some amazing astronomical phenomena but so far nothing that looks like a message from space. Tim O’Brien from Jodrell Bank will discuss what the future might hold for our attempts to answer the question: “Are we alone in the Universe?” The talk will begin at 7pm with a presentation for the Schools’ Physicist of the Year Awards.
Blue Note: 75 Years of the Finest in Jazz
Tuesday
16
June
2015
Writer and jazz producer Richard Havers discusses Blue Note Records, the iconic jazz label. An illustrated talk featuring music that tells the story of the label.
The Map of Russia, 15th–19th Centuries
Tuesday
16
June
2015
The lecture will follow the geographical evolution of the Russian state between the 16th and the 19th centuries, taking in the 14th and the 15th centuries as crucial for the formation of the geographical nucleus of Russia.
Women in Early Buddhist Inscriptions (South Asia, 300 BCE – 300 CE)
Tuesday
16
June
2015
In this talk, Alice Collett will survey some early South Asian inscriptions made by Buddhist women, and discuss what they reveal to us about the lives of Buddhist women living in South Asia some 2,000 years ago. The talk will focus on inscription sites in North and Central India and Sri Lanka, and will include images of ancient Buddhist monuments and cave sites.
Medieval City: A canvas for contemporary art
Tuesday
16
June
2015
Join York Curiouser’s Co-Artistic Directors Hazel Colquhoun and Lara Goodband with a panel of curators, artists and academics who will discuss and present ideas about the Medieval city as a canvas for contemporary art.
William Smith: The father of English geology
Tuesday
16
June
2015
The work of geologist, William Smith, showed the way to read the history of the earth by making a connection between fossils and the layers of rocks they were in. Find out more about Smith and his ground-breaking 1815 geological map.
Introduction to Geological Maps
Tuesday
16
June
2015
In this hands-on session discover about how geological maps can help you explore the secrets beneath your feet.
Agincourt 1415: Truth and myth
Monday
15
June
2015
Professor Anne Curry, the world’s leading expert on the battle of Agincourt, reveals the fruits of her researches into the most famous English victory of the middle ages, which celebrates its 600th anniversary this year on 25 October.
The Mysteries of Mother Shipton
Monday
15
June
2015
Who really was Mother Shipton? Did she really foretell Wolsey’s downfall and the siege of York, not to mention the internet, air travel and, famously, the end of the world? Find out more about this legendary wisewoman and what her foresight might mean for us today.
Mini magnetospheres
Monday
15
June
2015
One of the biggest dangers while travelling in space is exposure to potentially lethal bursts of radiation from the sun. Ruth Bamford, from RAL Space, will discuss how to protect astronauts with Star Trek-style deflector shields, and the importance of these shields on future manned missions to Mars. The talk will begin at 7pm with an awards presentation for the winners of the Astrocampus Astrophotography competition.
Let’s Talk About Meat
Monday
15
June
2015
A panel of experts, chaired by Kevin Brennan from Quorn Foods, will debate behaviour change in relation to food, and, specifically, meat-eating.
Eoforwic, Jorvik and the Viking Centre
Monday
15
June
2015
Peter Addyman describes the archaeological search for Eoforwic and Jorvik in 1970s and 1980s York. Massive excavations in Coppergate revealed Anglian and Viking-age structures; find out how this led to the creation of York’s world-famous Jorvik Viking Centre.
The Biography of a Biographer
Monday
15
June
2015
Historian Ruth Scurr delves into the private life of the John Aubrey, one of the pioneers of modern writing, a journalist before the age of journalism, who witnessed the Civil War and the Great Fire of London in the company of some of the influential men and women, high and low, whose lives he would make his legacy.
You Are What You Eat
Monday
15
June
2015
A panel of experts will debate whether you are what you eat.
The Coinage of Eoforwic
Monday
15
June
2015
Anglian York - Eoforwic - was one of the richest and most important towns in England. Come and discover what York's hidden coins reveal about life, kings and religion in the early medieval town.
Curating Savage Beauty: Alexander McQueen
Sunday
14
June
2015
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty is the first and largest retrospective of McQueen’s work to be presented in Europe. Join Claire Wilcox, Senior Curator, Victoria and Albert Museum to hear more about this exciting exhibition.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park: Culture and well-being
Sunday
14
June
2015
Join founding Executive Director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park as he describes YSP’s activity and its contribution to the well-being of culture, communities and individuals.
Future Cities: How will we live next?
Sunday
14
June
2015
What might your city look like in 2065? In this talk, Professor Nick Dunn from Lancaster University will explore what new technologies and lifestyles may mean for our cities.
A Zoo of Galaxies
Sunday
14
June
2015
Karen will talk about how our knowledge of the different types of galaxies has evolved since we first understood they were objects outside our own Milky Way galaxy.
Let There Be Light!
Sunday
14
June
2015
Why is our sun yellow not blue, how can police sirens tell us about other galaxies, and how did pigeons get in the way of one of the biggest scientific discoveries? Find out with live demonstrations and hands-on activities: from hidden messages and special glasses to lasers and plasma balls!
Europe 1600–1815 in 1000 objects
Sunday
14
June
2015
Join us for a talk by lead curator of the V&A's galleries on the art and design of 17th and 18th century Europe.
Waterloo: Followers of Fashion
Sunday
14
June
2015
Wives used to follow their officer husbands to the battle and at Waterloo, many civilians watched from the sidelines. Find out what an elegant lady of 1815 would be wearing. See real dresses and accessories from the museum’s collection.
In Space, No-One Can Hear You Scream!
Sunday
14
June
2015
How do we get into space? And once we’re there, what happens to our bodies? Why can’t we breathe in space? Just how cold is it up there? And why is it that in space, no one can hear you scream? Find out all this and more with live demonstrations and hands-on activities including boiling blood, exploding marshmallows and a rocket launch!
The Occult Roots of Modern Psychology
Saturday
13
June
2015
This talk provides an overview of historical links between elite science and the marvellous, and reconstructs the involvement of some of the founders of modern psychology in research on telepathy and spiritualism.
Alice in Wonderland 150 Years On: The story of Alice
Saturday
13
June
2015
It is 150 years since the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in 1865, transforming children’s literature, childhood and nonsense. To mark this, Professor Robert Douglas-Fairhurst (Oxford), will be talking about his new book The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland with Hugh Haughton, editor of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Dr James Williams.
Relics of the Reich
Saturday
13
June
2015
Many of the buildings and sites associated with the Nazis are still there but what has happened to them? Author Colin Philpott explores what these places tell us about Germany now.
John Wedgwood Clarke: Poetry reading
Saturday
13
June
2015
York Curiouser poet John Wedgwood Clarke will read poems about York and the Yorkshire landscape including work from his 2013 collection Ghost Pot described as ‘a masterpiece that rewards continual rereading’ by Bernard O’Donoghue.
Unveiling Secrets of the Museum
Saturday
13
June
2015
Join the writers, directors and curators of the production In Fog and Falling Snow to discover how they explored the last 200 years of railways in York.
Art Theft and Looting through History
Saturday
13
June
2015
Looting has often been a little-examined motivation for some of the major conflicts throughout history. In his talk, art dealer Ivan Lindsay, explores looting from the Romans to the Nazis.
From Stone Age to Phone Age
Saturday
13
June
2015
In this talk, historian and historical consultant to CBBC’s multi-award winning Horrible Histories, Greg Jenner, guides us through the story of how our basic rituals and routines have evolved since the Stone Age.
Scepticism and Tolerance in pre-modern Islam
Friday
12
June
2015
There is a long tradition of both skepticism and tolerance in pre-modern societies of the Islamic world, present in their classical literatures – worth exploring in times of extremes.
Scandal, Sex, and Sedition
Friday
12
June
2015
To his admirers Charles Pigott was a ‘bold and free-spoken man’; to those who knew him from Newmarket Whig gambling circles, he was someone rather less reputable...
Secrets, Discoveries & Medicine
Friday
12
June
2015
This roundtable will debate pharmaceutical innovation in relation to clinical trial openness, patents and Intellectual Property from an inter-disciplinary perspective.
Augustus: From Revolutionary to Emperor
Friday
12
June
2015
Adrian Goldsworthy tells the story of how Augustus rose from an obscure teenager to become Rome's first and greatest emperor, and the most powerful man in the world.
Andrew Davies in Conversation
Friday
12
June
2015
Celebrated screenwriter and adapter of many literary works for the screen, Andrew Davies, will be joining us to discuss some of his many high-profile projects for the screen.
Baghdad: City of peace, city of blood
Friday
12
June
2015
Join Justin Marozzi to discover the compelling story of Baghdad, a city that for 500 years was the centre of world civilisation.
The Mysteries of Identical Twinning and how they can help in Education
Friday
12
June
2015
Identical twins share all of their genes and are usually brought up in the same home and attend the same schools. In spite of their shared biology and experience they are often strikingly different from each other in their abilities, behaviour and choices. Kathryn Asbury will share stories from the 16-year-old twins who took part in her latest study and will draw implications from this research for schools and teachers.
The Three Minute Thesis Competition
Friday
12
June
2015
Three Minute Thesis is York’s research communication competition. PhD students from across the disciplines have three minutes to communicate the impact of their research to an audience made up of school pupils, teachers, members of the general public and industry.
Astrobiology: Hunt for alien life
Friday
12
June
2015
Join Dr Lewis Dartnell on a tour of the other planets and moons in our solar system which may harbour life, and even further afield to alien worlds we've discovered orbiting distant stars, to explore one of the greatest questions ever asked: are we alone...?
Back to the Beer-Hall: More Anglo-Saxon poetry
Thursday
11
June
2015
Following the great success of last year’s ‘Beer and Beowulf’ event, we invite you back to the beor-sele or beer-hall of the Duke of York pub for another evening of Anglo-Saxon poetry and Anglo-Saxon ale.
Secrets of the Dead: The science of who you are
Thursday
11
June
2015
Our identity is very personal to us but it is something that we willingly share every single day of our lives. But what happens when we are no longer alive to verify our identity? How can we still communicate our identity from beyond the grave?
Anglo Saxon Astronomy
Thursday
11
June
2015
If astronomy books are to be believed nothing much astronomically happened during the Anglo-Saxon period. This lecture will attempt to show if that belief is true!
Melodrama and Medical Horror Stories
Thursday
11
June
2015
This talk discusses how the US Public Health Service sponsored a medical research study in Guatemala that involved infecting thousands of vulnerable people with sexually transmitted diseases between 1946 and 1948, and how the US government came to apologise for it in 2010.
Art and Work in Conversation
Thursday
11
June
2015
A discussion evening, led in part by researcher and writer Luke Layzelle. The event will aim to initiate a conversation on the differences and affinities between the work involved in arts based practice and wage labour.
Rowntree York Revealed
Thursday
11
June
2015
The ‘York Remembers Rowntree’ project has uncovered hundreds of stories from former Rowntree employees – come along and find out more about what Rowntree means to the people in York.
The Art of Stone in Anglian York
Thursday
11
June
2015
Jane Hawkes will explore the innovative nature of the public art of stone sculpture produced in and around York in the seventh through ninth centuries, considering the impacts of its originally coloured appearance, varied sculptural forms and distinct iconographies.
Fifty Active Years After Fifty®
Thursday
11
June
2015
Join John Fisher to discover how medical engineering is encouraging the body to regenerate itself making fifty active years after fifty a realistic expectation for many people.
Simon Pope on Walking as Art
Thursday
11
June
2015
Artist Simon Pope will talk about how we can form new types of community through engaging with material aspects of the city.
Egyptian Mummies: Secrets and discoveries
Wednesday
10
June
2015
Professor Joann Fletcher of the University of York’s Department of Archaeology reveals some of the new discoveries and hidden secrets uncovered during her work as part of the University’s ‘Mummy Research Group’.
Mapping Anglian York
Wednesday
10
June
2015
Evidence for Anglian York is buried deep beneath the city. The Anglian period covers almost four and half centuries and charts York’s decline in the post-Roman period to its rise as a centre for Christianity and international commerce. But what did it look like?
Healing at a Distance
Wednesday
10
June
2015
What can the history of old technologies like the telephone and the television teach us about the future of telemedicine? This lecture reframes current debates over the promise and perils of telemedicine by examining the successive ethical challenges posed from the late 19th century to the present.
Ancient Sparta: How odd?
Wednesday
10
June
2015
Apart from Athens, no other ancient Greek city plays so prominent a role in the long development of the Classical tradition than Ancient Sparta. But how different, or odd, was Sparta, really?
The Yellow Peril: The rise of Chinaphobia
Wednesday
10
June
2015
Christopher Frayling will uncover the origins of popular prejudices about China through films, plays, pantomimes, music-hall, popular fiction, and especially the characters of Dr Fu Manchu who first appeared in 1912.
The New ‘Alpha Territory’
Wednesday
10
June
2015
Richard Webber looks at the lifestyles of London’s super-rich, examining the impact of their wealth on neighbourhoods which were previously the preserve of traditional elites.
York’s Finest: The Ormside Bowl
Wednesday
10
June
2015
A very special chance to discover the story of one of the Yorkshire Museum’s most celebrated treasures, the Ormside Bowl, and an opportunity to handle Anglian and Viking artefacts from the collections.
Dictators for Dinner
Wednesday
10
June
2015
What do dictators eat? Join authors Victoria Clark and Melissa Scott as they discuss their book Dictators’ Dinners: The Bad Taste Guide to Entertaining Tyrants, an investigation into what some of the world’s most notorious 20th-century despots have enjoyed most at their dinner table, and with whom. Here we learn of their foibles, their eccentricities and their frequent terror of being poisoned.
The Quantum Universe
Tuesday
9
June
2015
Quantum physics describes a very strange and counter-intuitive world, where tiny particles act as if they are in several places at the same time. Jeff Forshaw will present the crazy rules that control the behaviour of a quantum particle and show how they impact upon questions about the world around us.
Introducing the Ancient Greeks
Tuesday
9
June
2015
Who were the ancient Greeks? They gave us democracy, philosophy, poetry, rational science, the joke. But what was it that enabled them to achieve so much? Expertly researched and elegantly told, this indispensable introduction unveils a civilisation of incomparable richness and a people of astounding complexity.
Universities and social and solidarity economy
Tuesday
9
June
2015
An opportunity to find out more about York St John University’s project into the ‘social and solidarity economy’ (economy where society profits) including a discussion of the values driving this people-centred economy and the ethos and role of the university in its teaching, research and practice.
Truth, Trust and Trysts
Tuesday
9
June
2015
How do we best accommodate the vital need for truth, and what are the occasions when it does more harm than good? What are the uses, the necessities, and the limits of trust?
