Gresham College Lectures

In depth analysis of the language tools in Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ and its numerous interpretations http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/theatre-and-language-samuel-beckett-waiting-for-godot

Beckett's Waiting for Godot has been interpreted in myriad ways. Some claim it is a work that explores the bleak absurdism of human life. Others have argued that it is an allegory of various kinds. These will be explored, but also the question as to what is it about the play that lends itself to such diverse interpretations? Plays are more than language. Is it in the relationship between language and the other aspects of theatre craft that the most convincing interpretation of the play lies?

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/theatre-and-language-samuel-beckett-waiting-for-godot

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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

In depth analysis of Christian Protestantism and how that shapes the contemporary world http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/what-would-jesus-do-christian-culture-wars-in-the-modern-west

Christian Culture Wars in the Modern West Europe and North America are now marginal in global Protestant Christianity, but they remain the vital test-bed of how this religion and post-industrial society can, or cannot, adapt to each other. This lecture will explain how, following the moral trauma of the Second World War, Christianity has produced both a bold, sometimes self-defeating liberalism, and also a newly assured but politically compromised conservatism; and explore the deep continuities connecting the two, and how they continue to shape the contemporary world.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/what-would-jesus-do-christian-culture-wars-in-the-modern-west
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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Support the show

Extensive overview of Britain’s rivers and the reasons for their destruction http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/britains-damaged-rivers

From the nineteenth century onwards, growth in the UK's towns and cities damaged rivers environments. In addition to shifting patterns of erosion and deposition, and pollution, engineers created straight, concrete-lined watercourses, largely devoid of life and visual interest. The scale of change, and the impacts on the water environment, began to be understood only in the 1970s, since when specialists have attempted to manage rivers in ways that maintain channel and floodplain biodiversity.

Local communities have been vital in supporting those few areas, including a couple in London, where genuine improvements have been secured. Can we restore our rivers, and how might application of the science of geomorphology maximise the chances of success?

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

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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Inspirational talk by Professor Joseph Silk FRS on the giant clusters of galaxies dominated by dark matter http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-dark-side-of-the-universe

Dark matter dominates the contents of the universe. The Milky Way is full of dark matter. Is dark matter an as yet undiscovered particle? The search for dark matter focuses on deep underground and large telescopes on the earth and in space. The most massive objects in the universe are giant clusters of galaxies that are dominated by dark matter.

Clusters are dark matter telescopes and amplify background galaxy images. Clusters are used to map the distribution of dark matter throughout the universe.

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

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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

An exploration of some spectacular failures of modern day computer-aided systems, which fail to take into account the real-world http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/computers-people-and-the-real-world

Almost nobody wants an IT system. What they want is a better way of doing something, whether that is buying and selling shares on the Stock Exchange, flying an airliner or running a hospital. So the system they want will usually involve changes to the way people work, and interactions with physical objects and the environment. Drawing on examples including the new programme for IT in the NHS, this lecture explores what can go wrong when business change is mistakenly viewed as an IT project.

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

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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

In depth analysis of the language tools in Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' and its numerous interpretations http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/theatre-and-language-samuel-beckett-waiting-for-godot
Beckett's Waiting for Godot has been interpreted in myriad ways. Some claim it is a work that explores the bleak absurdism of human life. Others have argued that it is an allegory of various kinds. These will be explored, but also the question as to what is it about the play that lends itself to such diverse interpretations? Plays are more than language. Is it in the relationship between language and the other aspects of theatre craft that the most convincing interpretation of the play lies?
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/theatre-and-language-samuel-beckett-waiting-for-godot
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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Support the show

With the in/out Europe vote to come (or having gone) what will the result mean for Human Rights? How is or has the debate been framed?

The lecture will present a review of what has happened in the courts since 2015, with an opportunity for debate.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/human-rights-whether-in-europe-or-out

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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

This lecture opens by exploring the relation between religion and morality, looking at some issues raised by writers such as Iris Murdoch and C. S. Lewis, including whether ethics can be "read off" nature, and whether some transcendent ground is necessary for ethics. We consider whether science is able to offer a firm basis for morality, engaging recent works such as Sam Harris's Landscape of Faith (2010), and Alex Rosenberg's The Atheist's Guide to Reality (2011).

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/religion-morality-and-meaning-how-do-we-know-whats-right-to-do

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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

The business methods and achievements of Lancelot “Capabilitity” Brown, Joseph Paxton and Henry Wise will be demonstrated as well as their place in British society and their relationships with their clients and employers.

Part of the Mondays at One Garden Series

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

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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk

Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Extensive overview of Britain's rivers and the reasons for their destruction http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/britains-damaged-rivers
From the nineteenth century onwards, growth in the UK's towns and cities damaged rivers environments. In addition to shifting patterns of erosion and deposition, and pollution, engineers created straight, concrete-lined watercourses, largely devoid of life and visual interest. The scale of change, and the impacts on the water environment, began to be understood only in the 1970s, since when specialists have attempted to manage rivers in ways that maintain channel and floodplain biodiversity.
Local communities have been vital in supporting those few areas, including a couple in London, where genuine improvements have been secured. Can we restore our rivers, and how might application of the science of geomorphology maximise the chances of success?
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/britains-damaged-rivers
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. There are currently over 1,900 lectures free to access or download from the website.

Website: http://www.gresham.ac.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/GreshamCollege
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greshamcollege
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/greshamcollege

Support the show