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Offensive Shakespeare

From The Merchant of Venice to The Taming of the Shrew, it’s easy to see how Shakespeare’s plays can cause offence to contemporary audiences. Is it harder to teach Shakespeare today than in the past? Have ideas about what is offensive in Shakespeare changed over time?

How to Survive a Massacre in Europe’s Wars of Religion

Europe’s Wars of Religion were fought against entire populations, and were punctuated by events remembered as atrocities: such as the siege of Leiden in 1573-4 or, most notoriously, the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacres in France in 1572.

Prohibition: A Battle in America’s Last Culture War

The lecture will show how Prohibition animated combatants on both sides, generating two Americas that were barely comprehensible to each other, and how the truce declared during depression and war would not last.

Charles I: The Court at War

During the Civil War Charles I’s court, denied access to its usual country residences, was forced to set itself up in a series of makeshift locations. The most important of these was Oxford which Charles converted into a large and well-organised courtly campus.

AI Weapons, War and Ethics

This lecture will explore fully autonomous weapons, the products of AI technology, and the arguments for and against their use.

How to be a Shakespearean Atheist

This lecture will explore how the sixteenth century found ways of distancing itself from religion.

The Theatre of Dionysus

This lecture outlines the origins of Greek drama in this historic setting, its architectural development and some of the greatest masterpieces.

What is Greek Theatre?

Prof. Edith Hall breaks down the tragedy from the comedy...

The Ending of World War I: The Road to 11 November

This lecture will re-examine how the First World War ended, anticipating the centenary commemorations in 2018. It will discuss both why Germany requested a ceasefire, and why the Allies and America granted one.

Shakespeare's Stages

Leading actor and Shakespeare scholar Michael Pennington discusses the direct effect on the dramatist's writing of the theatres he wrote for, so different from ours.

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