Gresham College

The shapes of the orbits of many planets and comets orbiting their mother-ship stars are well known to be circles or ellipses (an idea that was explained by Isaac Newton). But we now understand that, depending on the history and the energy of the orbiting system, other geometric shapes are possible and indeed frequently observed.

Uploaded 10-06-26

This talk will explore how simple changes to the circumstances can make dramatic differences to the shapes of the orbits, all of which belong to a special family of shapes known as the conic sections.

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Half a million people in the UK are on the autistic spectrum, all finding it hard to make sense of the world around them. The disorder impacts both the highly intelligent and the profoundly learning disabled (including Dame Stephanie Shirley's late son).

Uploaded 30-08-11

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the on the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/a-is-for-autism

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a...

In 1955, the World Health Organization announced an ambitious plan to eradicate malaria from the face of the earth. Now, nearly sixty years later, malaria still afflicts some 250 million people of whom over a million, mostly children, die each year. What went wrong?

Uploaded 17-05-12

In this lecture, Professor Frank Cox of Gresham College and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine will attempt to answer this question against a background of the history of malaria until 1955, what happened between 1955 and 1978 when the eradication plan was abandoned and finally where this leaves us today...

The 2014 scandal over Rachel Dolezal's lying about being of African-American heritage reignited debates about the politics of hair. It has been followed by numerous books with titles such as Don't Touch My Hair.

Uploaded 10-06-26

This lecture explores how hair has been seen as symbolic of empowerment, deviance, and identity. It looks at the role of big business in promoting grooming products (including scalp-damaging chemicals); the hair grooming regulations of the military; and the political significance of facial hair.

A lecture by Joanna Bourke, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric 31 October

The...

From the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the 1880s, British industrial might and British command of the oceans underpinned the 'imperialism of free trade', in which economic interests of various kinds were paramount. In the industrial era, the major non-European empires, notably the Chinese, Japanese and Mughal states, failed to keep pace with this expansion of European influence, and the lecture discusses the reasons for this failure. New European empires emerged following the collapse of the old, and gradually European states found themselves intentionally or otherwise involved in converting economic and trading interests into imperial administration. Existing centres...

After the largest financial crisis in the history of the capital markets, what changes do we need to promote liquidity recovery? As authorities world-wide seek a safe framwork within which we can behave as entrepreneurs, what insights can Equities offer Over-The-Counter markets and vice-versa? Investors and Exchanges empowered with choice of on-and-off-orderbook mechanisms, dark and light, will innovate electronic trading to diversify by geography and asset class. Come and learn the bold ideas shaping the new landscape.

Uploaded 13-12-11

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:<...

All universities are anxious to raise funds and some have come under criticism for accepting funds from despotic regimes which are seeking credibility and influence. What are the limits of fundraising? British universities have also acquired a reputation for hosting extremist speakers and for failing to control racial and religious hatred on campus, in the name of academic freedom and freedom of speech. What are the ambits of freedom of speech? Why is campus life threatening to some students, and what should universities do about it? Student complaints are on the increase. The Coexistence Trust has come into being...

This event, jointly hosted with the British Society for the History of Mathematics, will focus upon the relationship between mathematics and money, from coinage through to cryptocurrencies.

Uploaded 11-06-26

A lecture by Norman Biggs 21 October

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website...

Studying the history of spectacles brings together the twin themes of technological development and mankind's increasing understanding of physical optics, but it is as much about charting different historical attitudes to the face and one's appearance before others. Only if we attempt to understand the cultural influences and motivations for wearing (or not wearing) spectacles do we gain an accurate picture of why some developments in eyewear styles were so slow to gain speed and why ideas of fashion have always caused some people to prefer suffering over the available relief.

Uploaded 12-04-12

The...

Before he became King of England in 1603 James I had never set foot in an English royal palace. What he found when he did was a mixed blessing: he may have liked the grandeur and riches, but he hated the stuffy formality. His answer was to create an entirely new sort of country residence devoted to hunting, reading and relaxation with his male favourites.

Uploaded 10-06-26

Architecturally incoherent these places may have been, but James's remarkable forgotten country houses tell us a huge amount about the man and the dawn of the Stuart age.<...

Examples of cancers caused largely by infections include cervical cancer, some liver cancers, and gastric cancer. If the infection can be prevented, or treated, the cancer can also be prevented. When the immune system is damaged, including by infections like HIV, cancers increase. Understanding the importance of the immune system has led to new avenues for the treatment of cancer.

Uploaded 10-06-26

This lecture will also consider one of the fastest moving areas of cancer treatment, stimulating the immune system to attack cancers.

A lecture by Chris Whitty, Gresham Professor of Physic 30...

Like James I, King William III was fundamentally unhappy with the stuffy formality of England's vast crumbling royal estate. But unlike James, who virtually abandoned Edinburgh, William maintained a second court, and a parallel suite of royal houses, in the Netherlands.

Uploaded 11-06-26

Mostly ignored by English historians, these houses are the key to understanding the style that we now know as William and Mary, and its impact on England.

A lecture by Simon Thurley 10 June

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College...

Most information from outer space reaches us at the speed of light and this governs our understanding of time and evolution in the cosmos. When we observe the Universe, we are 'looking back in time': we see the Universe as it was, not how it is. This is actually very helpful as we seek to discern and understand cosmic history and how the Universe has changed since earlier times.

Uploaded 10-06-26

A lecture by Katherine Blundell OBE, Gresham Professor of Astronomy 23 October

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available...

Dr Nicholas Ostler argues for the preservation of the world's endangered languages, considering historical examples of threatened languages that have been wiped out (like Gaulish) and those that have been rescued from extinction (such as Basque).

Uploaded 30-08-11

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the full conference's page on the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/symposium-rare-and-endangered-languages

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made...

The extraordinary story of this neglected quarter of London that in the late 19th century boasted seven major hospitals, of which only one survives today.

Uploaded 13-04-12

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-lost-hospitals-of-london-st-luke%E2%80%99s

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website.
http://www.gresham.ac.uk
<...

THE 2019 ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLIN MATTHEW MEMORIAL LECTURE

Uploaded 10-06-26

PART OF OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH SERIES

In the years after 1945 successive British governments set out to weaponise the nation's immigration policy. To maintain historic ties to the Old Commonwealth, and shore up Britain's position as a 'world power' they encouraged and even subsidised the emigration of over a million Britons while simultaneously recruiting thousands of East Europeans for new lives in Britain.

Yet in 1948, with the arrival of the Empire Windrush and the passing of the British Nationality Act...

England's take off as the first industrial nation created a whole new language of building underpinned by technology and by an emerging view of the rest of the world.

Uploaded 13-02-12

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/engine-house-1760-to-1830

Gresham College has offered free public lectures for over 400 years, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. There are currently over 2,500 lectures free to access. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn from some...

Diaghilev found that the Oriental style that had been cultivated by Russian composers was a perfect match for the Parisians' love of exoticism, and he started to commission new ballets for this market niche. These were so successful that even Parisian women's fashions came under their influence. But Russian folk art and music had the same exotic appeal in Paris, and Diaghilev discovered that Stravinsky was the man to turn this new 'product' into great art that was also modernist and attention-grabbing.

Uploaded 10-06-26

A lecture by Marina Frolova-Walker, Gresham Professor of Music 29 October<...

The period before World War I saw an extraordinary burst of creativity in all the arts which has decisively effected all subsequent developments. This lecture will look at the emergence of expressionism and amongst other artists will consider in detail the work of Nolde, Jacob Epstein and Roualt.

Uploaded 03-11-11

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-explosion-of-modernism

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or...

Algorithms, loosely translated, are systems for doing things. Algorithms are thus the link from pre-history to the modern world - without algorithms we would have an inanimate universe without all the mess and complexity of real life. It turns out that the history of algorithms is messy.

Uploaded 11-06-26

There are also general theories of algorithms, and those ideas are not messy at all; they are very beautiful, powerful and should be required reading for the internet age.

A lecture by Richard Harvey 20 October

The transcript and downloadable versions of...

Margaret Thatcher sought to solve the deep-seated problems of the British state outside the parameters of the postwar settlement. The main ideological victims of the collapse of the postwar settlement were One Nation Conservatism, the paternalistic ethos of Churchill and Macmillan, and the belief in government intervention, the idea that governments could fine-tune the economy to secure full employment.
Margaret Thatcher's governments encouraged the spread of ownership so that Britain could become a property-owning democracy and a capital-owning democracy. Thatcherism seemed for a time to be in accordance with the trends of social change and by the end...

For a decade after the execution of Charles I the Stuart courts were based in the Low Countries and France. Always short of money, but determined to maintain splendour and dignity, Charles II rented a series of mansions and used them as the headquarters of the exiled monarchy.

Uploaded 11-06-26

These hitherto unknown royal 'palaces' became the nursery of courtly fashion and etiquette where the king and his courtiers developed tastes that were to fundamentally fashion the art and architecture of Restoration England.

A lecture by Simon Thurley 18 March

The...

A lecture on the philosophy behind the modern Olympic Games.
What are the core ideals and values behind a world-wide celebration of sport? Can an approach to life be derived from its values? What implications does this have for the Olympics' touching on ethics and politics?

Uploaded 09-02-12

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/olympism-ethics-and-politics

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so...

Bethlem Hospital was an integral part of London's charitable provision for the poor in medieval and early modern times. Hand in hand with public benevolence went great public interest in the objects of charity. Until 1770, the Hospital was open (at specified times of the week) to any member of the public who wished to see inside, and 'poor boxes' were strategically placed near the entrance for donations. Bethlem was by no means the only early modern hospital to permit this level of public access to its inner workings, but it is probably the best known for having done so...

THE 2019 GRAY'S INN READING

Uploaded 10-06-26

Lord Kerr intends to address the recent decision in Stocker v Stocker and the challenges which confront judges when required to take on the role of a jury in applying a common-sense approach to the meaning of words. He will try to consider and reflect on the essential role of the Courts in upholding individual rights and how best this role can be performed whilst also ensuring that decisions accord with society's broader expectations of justice.

A lecture by Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore PC QC, Justice...

Dr Mark Turin discusses his own experience of preserving and revitalising the Thangmi language in Nepal. He discusses the problems encountered, both cultural and political, but also the great benefits that await if we can preserve the many endangered languages of the world.

Uploaded 30-08-11

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the full conference's page on the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/symposium-rare-and-endangered-languages

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or...

It is commonplace for governments to complain that the cost of healthcare is rising. Various reasons are put forward: some claim that modern medicine is inevitably more expensive; some claim that the ageing population is the cause of the problem; others opine that the only option is rationing.

Uploaded 11-06-26

But what are the opportunities for using Information Technology to reduce the cost of healthcare? And what might our healthcare system look like in 10 years time if we make judicious investments in technology?

A lecture by Richard Harvey 4 June

The...

It is time for the banking and financial sectors to stop apologising and start changing. But how?
Professor Costs outlines three key themes for change needed in order to estable a "New Normal" for how we operate in the commerical and financial world: a re-ordering of our priorities, the respect the ethical, and the creation of a better spirit in which to carry out business.

Uploaded 09-05-12

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-new-normal-rebalancing-our-priorities

Gresham...

In contrast to their stark socio-economic and environmental differences, the communities of Harbury, UK and Sekenani, Kenya are building 'collaborative ecosystems' that are helping people and their environment to flourish.

Uploaded 10-06-26

With similar ideas on issues as wide-ranging as energy generation to the creation of well-being, these two communities are actively engaged in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goal 17, 'to revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development' through a new community twinning approach.

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/globalpartnerships/

A lecture by Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Frank Jackson Foundation Professor...

A cultural and medical history of tuberculosis, and its threat to the world today.

Uploaded 16-04-12

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/twenty-first-century-threats-tuberculosis

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website.
http://www.gresham.ac.uk



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After the UN Climate Action Summit in September, our Environment Professor will be talking to three experts about whether we still have a meaningful chance of averting a climate catastrophe, and how we can get there. The Extinction Rebellion protests pushed climate up the news agenda early in 2019, but what has happened since then, and what is happening globally?

Uploaded 10-06-26

Professor Vicky Pope will discuss the challenges of climate modelling and reduction of emissions; Dr Damien Short will talk about why we need to legislate against Ecocide; and Professor Geoffrey Beattie will discuss...

Traditionally a lawyer's own views and political affiliation are irrelevant to the pursuit of the legal process.

Uploaded 11-06-26

This lecture will examine - and celebrate - the work of lawyers who have crossed the usual lines and worked for political change. It will look at the life of South African advocate Bram Fischer, who defended Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia trial, and was himself prosecuted for sabotage and sentenced to life in prison.

It will consider modern examples of lawyers paying a heavy price for political engagement, as well as the...

Professor Ben Quash questions the place of 'the sublime', as defined by Immanuel Kant, in contemporary Christian art.

Uploaded 26-04-12

This talk was a part of the Gresham College conference, 'Thinking Theologically about Modern Art'. The full conference can be accessed on the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/seminar-thinking-theologically-about-modern-art

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website.
http://www.gresham.ac...

A lecture to mark the publication of Robin Wilson and Raymond Flood's new book. Mathematics pervades our daily lives. Our credit cards and the nation's defence are kept secure largely due to the properties of prime numbers, and mathematics is intimately involved whenever we fly in an aeroplane, predict the weather or analyse data. But what mathematics is involved, and who first introduced it?

Uploaded 03-11-11

Raymond Flood and Robin Wilson describe some interesting mathematicians' contributions.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
...

PART OF OUR BLACK HISTORY MONTH SERIES

Uploaded 10-06-26

A choir of ex-slaves, raising funds to build their University, toured America from 1871, suffering discrimination and hardship. They came to England, were treated with respect and sang to Queen Victoria and Gladstone. Spiritual songs are folk music and belong to us all, but because they came out of such horrific suffering it's hard to know how to sing them.

This lecture tells the tale of the singers whose courage and enterprise brought them to the world. The songs they sang include Steal Away...

Why are there so many different scoring systems in operation in sport? We look at how structuring matches into a series of sets affects the relative roles of luck and skill in determining the winner of the contest. Did table tennis make a significant change to the game when it changed its scoring system? We also look at events like the decathlon where points are awarded for performances in different disciplines to see what sort of decathlete is most likely to win given the present points system.

Uploaded 22-05-12

The transcript and downloadable versions...

In the age of exploration, Catholic missionaries fanned out across the world, meeting with extraordinary success but also extraordinary opposition: nowhere more so than in Japan, where the fast-growing Catholic community was brutally suppressed in the early seventeenth century.

Uploaded 11-06-26

This lecture will explore how this bloody crisis shaped myths of Japanese cruelty and cults of Catholic sanctity in Europe, while also precipitating the 250-year 'closing' of Japan and the intense piety of a small remnant of underground Japanese Christians.

A lecture by Alec Ryrie 11 March

The transcript and...

The pervasive scope of the European Convention of Human Rights has been demonstrated by the furore over the voting rights of prisoners. Is the ECHR a vital cornerstone necessary to protect individual liberties against an encroaching state and the rule of the mob, should it be replaced with a British Bill of Rights or does all Human Rights legislation create more problems than it solves?

Uploaded 31-08-11

This lecture will look at whether the ECHR can continue in its current form and how it might be developed in response to discussion about parliamentary sovereignty...

Jonathan Bate will explore the life and work of the original celebrity poet - Lord Byron.

Uploaded 10-06-26

He will show how Byron was simultaneously a Romantic and an anti-Romantic, and how his influence spread to almost every corner of Europe, from the Russia of Pushkin to the Greek War of Independence.

A lecture by Sir Jonathan Bate, Gresham Professor of Rhetoric 11 June 2019

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/byron-age-of-sensation

Gresham College...

"Brain Reconstruction: The next biomedical breakthrough, or a biological impossibility?" by Professor Jack Price, Professor of Developmental Neurobiology and Head of the Centre for the Cellular Basis of Behaviour, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London.

Uploaded 09-05-12

How close are we to true brain reconstruction? Professor Jack Price details the latest advances in this field of neuroscience, as well as covering the conceptual and regulatory obstacles that researchers face.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website:
http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/brain-reconstruction-the-next-biomedical-breakthrough-or-a-biological<...