10-Minute Talks

Classical liberalism, in the tradition of the philosopher John Rawls, upholds the value of equal basic liberties and the fair exercise of political power in societies where citizens have diverse and sometimes conflicting beliefs.  In this talk, Professor Sari Hanafi FBA explores the contemporary implementation of liberalism by social scientists, policymakers and decision takers in a time of increa...

What happens when we centre disabilities as a driving subject of intellectual, personal and political inquiry?   Professor Dan Goodley FBA unpacks depathologisation in the university and the impact it can have on how we understand knowledge, power, and belonging.   Drawing on critical disability studies, this talk challenges the pathologising assumptions embedded in higher education and asks who b...

A common criticism of social media is that groups of people are creating echo chambers that exclude different perspectives, but these echo chambers are a goal encoded in these platforms’ software, not an accident.    Wendy Chun FBA unpacks the role of homophily – the idea that similarity breeds connection, that ‘birds of a feather flock together’ – in how social media networks are designed. What c...

The 19th century became the age of the first information revolution. Driven by colonial and imperial geopolitics, rapid technological innovation, and the rise of mass print culture, news began to travel faster and farther than ever before. And so did questions of truth, authenticity and reliability. So, what can Victorian writers teach us about navigating misinformation today?   How did they respo...

Cervantes’ groundbreaking novel, Don Quixote, is a comic but profound meditation on dreams, disillusionment and the blurred line between illusion and reality Its legacy is less timeless than differently meaningful across time, from the tragic idealism identified by the Romantics ( the term “quixotic” originates from Cervantes’ protagonist) to the metafictional complexity engaged with by modern cri...

A cosmology or worldview is the framework of beliefs and attitudes through which we interpret and make sense of the world, including how we think about our relationship with the environment. What can the worldviews of successful civilisations of the past teach us about sustainable technological and economic advancement?   Professor Shadreck Chirikure FBA explores how our current challenge of unsus...

Cities are central to both the problems and solutions of the climate crisis.   Climate change is often seen as a global issue that can only be resolved at the international negotiating table, but research shows that its causes and solutions are profoundly urban. Geographer Harriet Bulkeley FBA explains how experimental action in cities can empower local groups beyond government and policy, and con...

In 1922, the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings astounded archaeologists and the public alike. Beyond the ornate treasures, the tomb of the famous pharaoh offered insight into the daily life and diet of Ancient Egyptians. In this 10-Minute talk, Salima Ikram FBA delves into the findings of Tutankhamun’s chamber and what these reveal about resources, culinary practices, and...

“Gender studies as a discipline is by definition interdisciplinary, drawing from several paradigms, and it is defined by a set of debates and problematics, not by statements of doctrine or settled truths.” In this 10-Minute Talk, Judith Butler FBA discusses the conceptual contributions of gender as a field of study to a wide range of areas of research and teaching, and to social analysis and movem...

"How did Sir Walter Raleigh invent the potato?” In this 10-Minute Talk, Rebecca Earle FBA takes up Philomena Cunk’s question to explore the global history of the potato and explain why we should care.   Speaker: Professor Rebecca Earle FBA  10-Minute Talks are a series of pre-recorded talks from Fellows of the British Academy screened on YouTube and also available on all podcasting platforms. http...

From a fake news report claiming a French victory to fictional memoirs and literary retellings, the Battle of Trafalgar’s legacy in France became shrouded in myth over the following years of the Nineteenth Century, particularly around the identity of the man who shot Nelson. In this 10-Minute Talk, Dr David McCallam recounts how the French responded to the crushing defeat in 1805 with satire and s...

In a post-truth world, can we always trust data? And what about our human biases? Walking us through ‘the ladder of misinference’, Alex Edmans FBA outlines how statistics and studies can feed misinformation, and the tools we need to resist and make informed choices.  You can learn more from Professor Edmans on the subject in his recent book ‘May Contain Lies’ https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455479...

Eugenics is a coercive ideology with a destructive history over the course of the 19th and 20th Centuries. But did support for eugenics die out after the Second World War?   Unpacking the movement and its roots in academia, Rebecca Sear FBA explores the question of whether we are witnessing a resurgence in eugenics today.   Speaker: Rebecca Sear FBA, Professor and Director of the Centre for Cultur...

What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? Who discovered them? And why are they important? Professor Philip Alexander FBA explores the history of the scrolls, and their role in uncovering the beginnings of Western Mysticism.  Want to learn more from the British Academy? Check out our Folklore Reimagined season on our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/seasons/folklore-reimagined/   Speaker: Profess...

What really happened when a breakdown of the legal system in the English Civil War fuelled a series of witch-hunts? In this 10-Minute Talk, Professor Ronald Hutton FBA delves into England's witch trials and Matthew Hopkins, the self-proclaimed Witchfinder General.  For more from The British Academy’s Folklore Reimagined season, visit our website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/seasons/folklor...

Classical music is often wrongly considered to be unaffected by political and social change. Exploring Franz Schubert’s ‘Die Forelle’, Laura Tunbridge FBA considers the cultural history of a song and the importance of a piece of music changing over time – both in sound and meaning.   Speaker: Professor Laura Tunbridge FBA, Professor of Music, University of Oxford  This podcast is for informative a...

‘Salvator Mundi’ is a painting surrounded by mysteries. In this talk, Professor Martin Kemp FBA explores evidence that it is indeed a work of Leonardo Da Vinci, the painting’s key components, and the alleged whereabouts of the ‘Salvator Mundi’ today.   Speaker: Professor Martin Kemp FBA, Emeritus Professor of the History of Art, University of Oxford; Honorary Fellow, Trinity College, Oxford  This...

What exactly is the work of a neuropsychologist? In this 10-Minute Talk, Professor Barbara Sahakian FBA unpacks some of her key work over the years and more recent ventures – from developing early models of memory testing to now transforming psychological tests into game apps.   Speaker: Professor Barbara Sahakian FBA, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, Department of Psychiatry and MRC/Wellcom...

Japanese theatre has, from its beginnings, encouraged audience participation – from formal fan-clubs to lessons on dancing and chanting. Hear Professor Drew Gerstle FBA take us through the key characteristics of Kabuki, Bunraku and Noh theatre and the ways viewers interacted with these 14th-17th century performances, both as patrons and amateur practitioners.   Speaker: Professor Drew Gerstle FBA,...

How do we understand empire in the modern age? In this 10-Minute Talk, Professor Gurminder K Bhambra challenges the idea that modern nation-states emerged as a result of the break-up of empire, and instead invites us to rethink what defines empire entirely. By considering different colonial processes and the impact these have on how we understand empires, Bhambra unpacks the specific characteristi...

While books are often thought of as victims of war, looted or burned in libraries, in this 10-Minute Talk Professor Andrew Pettegree suggests an alternative narrative: books are essential in the waging of war. Sharing insights from his recent publication, ‘The Book at War’, Pettegree explores the active role of books in wartime from the Napoleonic era to the Second World War.  Speaker: Professor A...

Expanding on her book, ‘Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy’, Professor Annette Gordon-Reed unpacks the evidence around this contested relationship and the role of historians in erasing the narratives of enslaved people. Exploring the ‘American dilemma’, this talk investigates the contradiction between Jefferson’s commitment to equality and his ownership of enslaved people....

What is it that makes great works from the past endure in the present? In this 10-Minute Talk, Professor Sir Jonathan Bate FBA explores Shakespeare’s legacy and his continued cultural presence over time. From influencing Jane Austen’s writing, to inspiring modern-day TV and film adaptations like 1999’s ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ and 2023’s ‘Anyone but You’, or providing a means for avoiding cens...

Sign language and how we use it and implement it into society has developed rapidly in the last 50 years, from little-to-no representation in education in the 1970s to the British Sign Language (BSL) Act 2022 and a new British Sign Language GCSE to be taught from 2025. In this 10-Minute Talk, Professor Bencie Woll FBA unpacks her research and involvement in understandings of language development,...

In the West, emotions are often understood through the philosophy of cognition and experimental psychology – separated from the world of art and aesthetic. However, in pre-modern India, aesthetic and emotion were deeply intertwined. In this 10-Minute Talk, Professor Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad FBA discusses how the aesthetics of drama and literature were key to understanding emotions in the Sanskrit t...