We are at a crossroads. Covid-19 has wreaked havoc but also offers the potential for radical change.

Ian Goldin explains why bouncing back to business as usual would be disastrous, leading to escalating inequality, potentially more devastating pandemics and escalating climate change. Drawing on the experience of history, Ian identifies how during the Second World War the welfare state and new world order was created to build more cohesive societies and overcome global threats.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ODdjNjMwNzYtM2YwNy00YjZlLWExZjktZTkzNzEyM2IyZTlh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22dba96655-073e-4567-8091-56aefb536e7f%22%7d

‘Politics’ and ‘political’ are widely used as labels in speaking of social situations in which there is conflict. A more precise understanding of politics will be defended in which it appears as just one form of rule. Following Aristotle’s usage, it is argued that not all forms of rule of states are political in the full sense. This approach entails a challenge whether Catholic Social Thought can accommodate an adequate account of conflict.

The series

For Trinity Term we are focussing on research methods. The aim of these sessions is really to excite an interdisciplinary audience of graduates to understand how different methods are being used creatively across the social sciences. The panel discussions will be held during the first four weeks of term and will focus on ‘interviews’ in week 1, ‘numbers’ (quant methods) in week 2, ‘archives’ in week 3, and ‘ethnogrpahy’ in week 4.

Panellists:

Hans Kundnani writes: “Historically, being European meant being white. After World War II, a new European identity emerged around the European Union, but it too had a civilising mission and was based on forgetting the history of European colonialism and its relationship with European integration. More recently, as ‘pro-Europeans’ have become more defensive, there has been a civilisational turn in the European project.”

This seminar is organised jointly with the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University and the UNDP Human Development Report Office. This seminar will be held online. Registration via: https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcodeyhrTooGNFV5740BEutxRQ4YM8CYrkt

Peter Specht from Creandum will be giving a much anticipated talk on Thursday 13th May at 6PM via Zoom about how to think about talent acquisition and hiring for pre-seed ventures. Creandum is a venture capital advisory firm based in Stockholm, San Francisco, and Berlin, and has funded 100 companies including Spotify, Klarna, and Bolt. As Principal of the Berlin office, Peter is responsible for discovering Europe’s most innovative startup companies and for strategically advising the fund’s portfolio companies on their international journey.

Oxford China Conversations 2, chaired by Professor Patricia Thornton. The Oxford China Conversations series will be inviting scholars at the University of Oxford and beyond to engage in discussions of key questions within the study of Chinese politics, history, and contemporary society. Each session will feature three world-renowned experts offering their views on a select question, moderated by a faculty member of the University of Oxford China Centre. Our goal is to foster conversation and debate that will be of interest to specialists while remaining accessible to a broad public audience.