Our third season of lectures began in 2016: here are the details of all the talks and how you can find out more about the speakers.

 

         LECTURES 2016-17

Thursday 29th September 2016

An Evening with David Raeburn 

Distinguished scholar and dramatist David Raeburn made the journey from New College Oxford to retell Sophocles’ timeless tragedy, Oedipus Tyrannus, and he thrilled his audience with powerfully evocative recitations from the ancient Greek. You can read all about the talk on our blog “Blind in the darkness” and buy David’s translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses here.

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Thursday 20th October 2016

Ben Kane: The Massacre in the Forest – Rome’s Greatest Defeat? 

Ex vet and now full-time author Ben Kane marched his way (in mail and helmet, complete with Roman dagger) to deliver his talk on the disaster of the Teutoberg Forest, a gripping story of death, endurance and pragmatism. Our blog I hope we recognise him… details Ben’s visit and make sure to look out for his latest work on his books page.

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Thursday 17th November 2016

Dr Andrew Birley: Vindolanda – Life on the Edge of the Empire

Director of Excavations at the famous Hadrian’s Wall site, Dr Birley gave a fascinating insight into life at the Roman fort and our youngest member, Jonah Crouch, wrote a great blog about the lecture – read all about it here: Shoes and Seats!

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Thursday 5th January 2017

Dr Michael Scott: Presidential Lecture

The Invisible Cities of Naples, Florence and Venice 

Our President returned for the third time to give us a sneak preview of his BBC One documentary series ‘Invisible Cities’, which he co-presented with Alexander Armstrong, and afterwards, we celebrated the occasion with a lovely meal at EGO Lytham alongside eighty members. Catch up here: how many firemen…

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Thursday 2nd February 2017

Dr Michael Wood: In the footsteps of Alexander the Great – further reflections on an epic journey 

In February, our largest audience yet (passing the 300 mark!) welcomed the acclaimed broadcaster, author and historian Michael Wood. He treated us to a non-stop tour of Asia as we retraced the footsteps of Alexander the Great, who travelled further east than ever before. “You’ve got to walk it first” captures the depth of Michael’s expertise and infectious enthusiasm.

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Thursday 16th March 2017

Dr Gail Trimble: Virgil’s Aeneid – between Homer and Rome 

Dr Gail Trimble of Trinity College, Oxford, gave us an excellent analysis of Virgil’s epic masterpiece, exploring the literary and political context of the legendary story of Aeneas and our blog Arma Virumque Cano explores her main points. Dr Trimble, of University Challenge fame, was great fun and shared some of her tips for retaining knowledge with our student members!

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Thursday 20th April 2017

Natalie Haynes: Honour Amongst Thebes 

Former stand-up comedian turned author, Natalie Haynes brought all of her humour and passion to tease and educate the audience as they learnt all about the dangers of life in mythological ancient Thebes: find out how to avoid death (if you can) here – ‘If you go down to Mt Cithaeron today, you’re sure of a big surprise’.

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Full 2016-17 programme:

LSA CA Lecture Programme 2016-17 (pdf)

LSA CA Lecture Programme 2016-17 (word)