Book at Lunchtime: Veteran Poetics: British Literature in the Age of Mass Warfare, 1790–2015 In this first full-length study of the war veteran in literature, Kate McLoughlin draws new critical attention to a figure central to national life. Offering fresh readings of canonical and non-canonical works, she shows how authors from William Wordsworth to J. K. Rowling have deployed veterans to explore questions that are simultaneously personal, political, and philosophical: What does a community owe to those who serve it? What can be recovered from the past? Do people stay the same over time? Are there right times of life at which to do certain things? Is there value in experience? How can wisdom be shared? Veteran Poetics features veterans who travel in time, cause havoc with their reappearances, solve murders, refuse to stop talking about the wars they have been in, and refuse to say a word about them. Through this last trait, they also prompt consideration of possible critical responses to silence.

A panel discussion with Karin Amatmoekrim, Margaretta Jolly, and JC Niala, exploring the politics and poetics of writing an activist life. Karin is an award-winning novelist, and TORCH Global South Visiting Fellow. She will speak about her biography of Anil Ramdas. Margaretta is Professor of Cultural Studies and directs the Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research at Sussex. She will speak about her project Sisterhood and After: An Oral History of the UK Women’s Liberation Movement, 1968-present'. JC is an award-winning screen and stage writer, cultural producer and an activist. Her work has been featured on BBC2, BBC Radio 4, CBS in the US, ABC in Australia among other media outlets.

This event celebrates the publication of Professor Derek Attridge's work The Experience of Poetry with a book launch panel discussion. The Experience of Poetry asks, was the experience of poetry—or a cultural practice we now call poetry—continuously available across the two-and-a-half millennia from the composition of the Homeric epics to the publication of Ben Jonson's Works and the death of Shakespeare in 1616? How did the pleasure afforded by the crafting of language into memorable and moving rhythmic forms play a part in the lives of hearers and readers in Ancient Greece and Rome, Europe during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and Britain during the Renaissance?

This event is part of the 'Writers Make Worlds' series, Professor Attridge will offer a response to the panellists.

About the book:

In tackling these questions, this book first examines the evidence for the performance of the Iliad and the Odyssey and of Ancient Greek lyric poetry, the impact of the invention of writing on Alexandrian verse, the performances of poetry that characterized Ancient Rome, and the private and public venues for poetic experience in Late Antiquity. It moves on to deal with medieval verse, exploring the oral traditions that spread across Europe in the vernacular languages, the place of manuscript transmission, the shift from roll to codex and from papyrus to parchment, and the changing audiences for poetry. A final part investigates the experience of poetry in the English Renaissance, from the manuscript verse of Henry VIII's court to the anthologies and collections of the late Elizabethan era. Among the topics considered in this part are the importance of the printed page, the continuing significance of manuscript circulation, the performance of poetry in pageants and progresses, and the appearance of poets on the Elizabethan stage. In tracking both continuity and change across these many centuries, the book throws fresh light on the role and importance of poetry in western culture.

This lecture by Sara Ahmed draws on interviews conducted with staff and students who have made complaints within universities that relate to unfair, unjust or unequal working conditions and to abuses of power such as sexual and racial harassment. It approaches complaint as a form of diversity work: the work some have to do in order to be accommodated. Making a complaint requires becoming an institutional mechanic: you have to work out how to get a complaint through a system. It is because of the difficulty of getting through that complaints often end up being about the system. The lecture explores the significance of how complaints happen 'behind closed doors,' and shows how doors are often closed even when they appear to be opened.

Book at Lunchtime: Art and Political Thought in Medieval England c.1150-1350 Images and imagery played a major role in medieval political thought and culture, but their influence has rarely been explored. This book provides a full assessment of the subject. Starting with an examination of the writings of late twelfth-century courtier-clerics, and their new vision of English political life as a heightened religious drama, it argues that visual images were key to the development and expression of medieval English political ideas and arguments. It discusses the vivid pictorial metaphors used in contemporary political treatises, and highlights their interaction with public decorative schemas in English great churches, private devotional imagery, seal iconography, illustrations of English history and a range of other visual sources. Meanwhile, through an exploration of events such as the Thomas Becket conflict, the making of Magna Carta, the Barons' War and the deposition of Edward II, it provides new perspectives on the political role of art, especially in reshaping basic assumptions and expectations about government and political society in medieval England.

A roundtable discussion exploring the ways in which writers, artists and musicians have both responded to and created conceptions of 'place' throughout history. Thursday 16th May 2019. People's Landscapes: Beyond the Green and Pleasant Land is a lecture series convened by the University of Oxford's National Trust Partnership, which brings together experts and commentators from a range of institutions, professions and academic disciplines to explore people’s engagement with and impact upon land and landscape in the past, present and future.

The National Trust cares for 248,000 hectares of open space across England, Wales and Northern Ireland; landscapes which hold the voices and heritage of millions of people and track the dramatic social changes that occurred across our nations' past. In the year when Manchester remembers the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre, the National Trust's 2019 People’s Landscapes programme is drawing out the stories of the places where people joined to challenge the social order and where they demonstrated the power of a group of people standing together in a shared place. Throughout this year the National Trust is asking people to look again, to see beyond the green and pleasant land, and to find the radical histories that lie, often hidden, beneath their feet.

At the second event in the series, Creative Landscapes, panellists explore the ways in which writers, artists and musicians have both responded to and created conceptions of 'place' throughout history, considering the role of taste, nostalgia and imaginary spaces in our understanding of landscape today.

Speakers:

Alice Purkiss, National Trust Partnership Lead, University of Oxford (Welcome)

Helen Antrobus, Contemporary Arts Programme Manager, National Trust (Introduction)

Grace Davies, National Public Programme Curator, National Trust (Chair)

Kate Stoddart, Independent Curator, Project Manager and Mentor

Dr Rosemary Shirley, Senior Lecturer Art Theory and Practice, Manchester Metropolitan University

Craig Oldham, Designer and Creative Consultant

Professor Fiona Stafford, Professor of English Language and Literature, University of Oxford

For more information about the People’s Landscapes Lecture Series and the National Trust Partnership at the University of Oxford please visit: www.torch.ox.ac.uk/national-trust-partnership

A roundtable discussion of the history of land access and ownership, exploring how this has both physically and politically shaped our land and our access to it. People’s Landscapes: Beyond the Green & Pleasant Land is a lecture series convened by the University of Oxford’s National Trust Partnership, which brings together experts and commentators from a range of institutions, professions and academic disciplines to explore people’s engagement with and impact upon land and landscape in the past, present and future.

The National Trust cares for 248,000 hectares of open space across England, Wales and Northern Ireland; landscapes which hold the voices and heritage of millions of people and track the dramatic social changes that occurred across our nations' past. In the year when Manchester remembers the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo massacre, the National Trust’s 2019 People’s Landscapes programme is drawing out the stories of the places where people joined to challenge the social order and where they demonstrated the power of a group of people standing together in a shared place. Throughout this year the National Trust is asking people to look again, to see beyond the green and pleasant land, and to find the radical histories that lie, often hidden, beneath their feet.

At the first event in the series, Contested Landscapes, panelists discuss the history of land access and ownership, exploring how this has both physically and politically shaped our land and our access to it.

The Speakers:

Alice Purkiss | National Trust Partnership Lead | University of Oxford (Welcome)

Helen Antrobus | National Public Programme Curator | National Trust (Chair)

Dr Briony McDonagh | Lecturer in Human Geography | University of Hull

Helen Wright | Visitor Experience Manager - Peak District | National Trust

Dr Stephen Mileson | Research Fellow | University of Oxford

Kate Ashbrook | Chair of Trustees | Ramblers

For more information about the People’s Landscapes Lecture Series and the National Trust Partnership at the University of Oxford please visit: www.torch.ox.ac.uk/national-trust-partnership

Helen Antrobus, National Public Programme Curator, National Trust, gives the closing remarks for the 2019 Women and Power conference. 6th February 2018 marked the centenary of the passing of the Representation of the People Bill.

After years of struggle and campaigning, the right to vote in general elections was granted to all men aged 21 and over, and to some women over 30. It took women a step closer to the full and equal enfranchisement which would finally be achieved ten years later, with the Equal Franchise Act of 1928. The centenary commemorations throughout 2018 celebrated much more than legislative change. Indeed, the Representation of the People Act felt almost secondary as the constitutional suffragists and militant suffragettes themselves took centre stage. The purple, white, and green of Emmeline Pankhurst’s Women’s Social and Political Union covered the country, whilst the leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, was honoured with a statue in Parliament Square – becoming the first woman to be commemorated there.

Stories of hardship, humour, violence, and solidarity were collected from archives, as heritage, academic and cultural organisations across the country led the commemorations. The history of the women’s suffrage movement was told through books, exhibitions, events, plays, and processions. Many of the stories discovered, or re-discovered, were the product of collaboration – for example, the National Trust’s ongoing partnership with researchers at the University of Oxford – and were interpreted and shared in innovative ways with audiences old and new.

With support from the government’s Women’s Vote Centenary Fund Grant Scheme, the National Trust marked the anniversary with ‘Women and Power’: a national, cross-property programme which saw historic sites across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland tell a wide range of stories; from anti-suffrage supporters such as Lord Curzon at Kedleston Hall and Octavia Hill, to prominent suffrage campaigners such as the Mander family at Wightwick Manor, and Edith Craig at Smallhythe Place. Experiencing this activity first-hand, visitors came away feeling invigorated, politically engaged, and with a transformed understanding of the history of women’s suffrage.

The suffrage centenary encouraged a broader conversation about contemporary feminism, equality and representation across the National Trust and beyond, engaging visitors and non-visitors alike. It has also inspired a series of questions and challenges about the legacy of the centenary year including: how can we maintain this momentum, and how can we continue to champion the stories of women, encourage debate, and inspire change?

The Women and Power conference will allow colleagues across the heritage, cultural, and academic sectors to reflect on our practice and on our research, and will enable us to discuss how we can continue to celebrate and commemorate the women who shaped our history through suffrage and beyond.

It will allow us to reaffirm our commitment to researching and telling the stories of previously lost and marginalised women, and to think collectively about how we can integrate them into broader national narratives.

Panel debate with Hilary Carty, Director, Clore Leadership Programme, Kate Clark, Visiting Professor in Heritage Valuation, University of Sussex and Sara Wajid, Head of Engagement, Museum of London. Chaired by Virginia Tandy, Co-Founder, Women Leaders in Museums Network.

This roundtable session will explore the presence of women in senior roles in heritage organisations through the lived experience of the first generation of female museum leaders. What difference have these women made to how heritage is managed, preserved, and constructed? What barriers have they encountered? How have these women helped others to succeed? This session will draw on the findings of three projects which have all sought to make a difference for women working in the sector: the Women Leaders in Museums Network; the Confidence Choice and Connections programme; and the Changing the Narrative initiative.

Chaired by Virginia Tandy, co-founder of the Women Leaders in Museums Network, this discussion with current heritage leaders will explore the ways in which this cohort of women have worked together to support each other and encouraged other women to put themselves forward for leadership roles in the sector. Together they will explore what is needed in

future to ensure the representation of women’s experiences.

Hilary McGrady, Director-General, National Trust, gives a talk for the 2019 Women and Power conference. 6th February 2018 marked the centenary of the passing of the Representation of the People Bill.

After years of struggle and campaigning, the right to vote in general elections was granted to all men aged 21 and over, and to some women over 30. It took women a step closer to the full and equal enfranchisement which would finally be achieved ten years later, with the Equal Franchise Act of 1928. The centenary commemorations throughout 2018 celebrated much more than legislative change. Indeed, the Representation of the People Act felt almost secondary as the constitutional suffragists and militant suffragettes themselves took centre stage. The purple, white, and green of Emmeline Pankhurst’s Women’s Social and Political Union covered the country, whilst the leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, was honoured with a statue in Parliament Square – becoming the first woman to be commemorated there.

Stories of hardship, humour, violence, and solidarity were collected from archives, as heritage, academic and cultural organisations across the country led the commemorations. The history of the women’s suffrage movement was told through books, exhibitions, events, plays, and processions. Many of the stories discovered, or re-discovered, were the product of collaboration – for example, the National Trust’s ongoing partnership with researchers at the University of Oxford – and were interpreted and shared in innovative ways with audiences old and new.

With support from the government’s Women’s Vote Centenary Fund Grant Scheme, the National Trust marked the anniversary with ‘Women and Power’: a national, cross-property programme which saw historic sites across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland tell a wide range of stories; from anti-suffrage supporters such as Lord Curzon at Kedleston Hall and Octavia Hill, to prominent suffrage campaigners such as the Mander family at Wightwick Manor, and Edith Craig at Smallhythe Place. Experiencing this activity first-hand, visitors came away feeling invigorated, politically engaged, and with a transformed understanding of the history of women’s suffrage.

The suffrage centenary encouraged a broader conversation about contemporary feminism, equality and representation across the National Trust and beyond, engaging visitors and non-visitors alike. It has also inspired a series of questions and challenges about the legacy of the centenary year including: how can we maintain this momentum, and how can we continue to champion the stories of women, encourage debate, and inspire change?

The Women and Power conference will allow colleagues across the heritage, cultural, and academic sectors to reflect on our practice and on our research, and will enable us to discuss how we can continue to celebrate and commemorate the women who shaped our history through suffrage and beyond.

It will allow us to reaffirm our commitment to researching and telling the stories of previously lost and marginalised women, and to think collectively about how we can integrate them into broader national narratives.