Our final seminar of the OxNet series took place last week, led by Giles Gasper. Thady Fox reflects on the session: Professor Giles Gasper portrayed history as a story of change and thus illuminated the centrality of the narrator. Therefore, history is a study of perspective before a study of reality: two concepts proved toContinue reading “OxNet Seminar 6 – History”
Author Archives: cungley
OxNet Seminar 5 – Psychology and Perception
In our penultimate seminar, Professor Hannah Smithson took us through the fascinating process of how our eyes and brains process visual information. Thady Fox has shared his reflections below: Seeing is believing. Our sight is held almost as a pure portrayal of reality, celebrated for truth in law and life. However, my trust in thisContinue reading “OxNet Seminar 5 – Psychology and Perception”
OxNet Seminar 4 – Alchemy
This week we delved into the mystical realms of Alchemy with Walker Christian, Durham University. Here are some student reflections on the session: Alchemy is undoubtedly mysterious yet not indecipherable. Walker Christian depicted how, with the right foundations and perspectives, one might distil the swathes of allegory and illustration. Adopting his approach allowed meContinue reading “OxNet Seminar 4 – Alchemy”
OxNet Seminar 3 – Cosmology
Last week, Tom McLeish, York University, took our students on a tour of the cosmos, past and present. Here are their reflections: The seminar on cosmology was very compelling, bringing to light many concepts I was unaware of and were of great interest to me. I thoroughly enjoyed this lecture, as we were shown interactiveContinue reading “OxNet Seminar 3 – Cosmology”
OxNet Seminar 2 – Cultural Transmission
Our second seminar was led by Dr Ana Dias, and discussed the notion of cultural transmission in the medieval world. Below are some of our students’ thoughts on the session: The seminar focused on how the social, cultural and religious fabric of the Iberian Peninsula of Europe changed significantly in the early medieval period due toContinue reading “OxNet Seminar 2 – Cultural Transmission”
OxNet Seminar 1 – Physics
We’ve kicked off this year’s OxNet Ordered Universe seminar series with a session on Physics run by Emeritus Professor Brian Tanner, Durham University. Some of our students have shared their reflections on the topic: “Professor Tanner’s seminar was on the subject of physics in the medieval period. Beforehand we were given information to read throughContinue reading “OxNet Seminar 1 – Physics”
Things aren’t always black and white
Seminar Four of the OxNet North East programme introduced students to the psychology of colour. They began by discussing ‘The Dress’, and whether it was white and gold, black and blue, or something else. Using an article written by David Brainard and Anya Hurlbert, students applied the concept of colour context to this phenomenon, toContinue reading “Things aren’t always black and white”
The Past is History
OxNet North East students explored the notion of History with Professor Giles Gasper, Durham University, in this year’s third OxNet Seminar. They started by discussing the question ‘Why study History?’ to which they replied – to learn from the past, because it’s interesting, and perhaps to make predictions about the future. They then explored theContinue reading “The Past is History”
Let’s Get Physical
Seminar 2 saw students exploring Physics with Brian Tanner, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Durham University. Brian introduced the students to the notion of collaborative reading, looking through Robert Grosseteste’s treatise ‘On the Rainbow’. They read about his various experiments, including looking at light refracting through a urine flask, which they replicated using a vaseContinue reading “Let’s Get Physical”
Music of the Spheres
Students launched into the seminar series by exploring the cosmos with Richard Bower, and comparing medieval and modern views on the universe. They considered questions of how it was created – was it designed by a ‘craftsman’ or did it always exist – and compared the theories of thinkers like Plato and Aristotle, and howContinue reading “Music of the Spheres”