Events

Overview
The Pharos Tuesday Seminars for Spring 2026

The tenth anniversary of the EU referendum is fast approaching and many will be focused on how Brexit has, or has not, changed the economic and political world. But what if the most important change was not to institutions, political parties and the economy, but to us? This lecture series explores how the referendum, and its aftermath, sparked a form of ‘tribal politics’ that reshaped how people saw themselves, each other and the wider world. The first lecture looks at how the referendum created two powerful and enduring political identities in Britain: Leavers and Remainers. Why did an issue of such little interest to so many people suddenly become the key way that people identified themselves and others? The second lecture turns to the consequences of this transformation. Why did Leavers and Remainers dislike, look down on and discriminate against people simply because they belonged to the other group? And how did those brand-new political identities come to change our views of not just other people, but reality itself? The final lecture explores the resilience and future of tribal politics in Britain. Why did some people embrace their identity so fervently while others did not, and what does this tell us about both the future of British politics but also political divides in other countries at other times?

James Tilley is a Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. He is the author of two books and numerous articles that investigate how we form political attitudes and make political choices. His latest book, co-authored with Sara Hobolt, is Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain and will be published by Oxford University Press in March 2026. He regularly makes documentaries for BBC Radio 4 on all aspects of political attitudes, from primate politics to conspiracy theories, the most recent being a five-part series titled ‘The kids are alt-right?’.

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

Overview
The Pharos Tuesday Seminars for Spring 2026

The tenth anniversary of the EU referendum is fast approaching and many will be focused on how Brexit has, or has not, changed the economic and political world. But what if the most important change was not to institutions, political parties and the economy, but to us? This lecture series explores how the referendum, and its aftermath, sparked a form of ‘tribal politics’ that reshaped how people saw themselves, each other and the wider world. The first lecture looks at how the referendum created two powerful and enduring political identities in Britain: Leavers and Remainers. Why did an issue of such little interest to so many people suddenly become the key way that people identified themselves and others? The second lecture turns to the consequences of this transformation. Why did Leavers and Remainers dislike, look down on and discriminate against people simply because they belonged to the other group? And how did those brand-new political identities come to change our views of not just other people, but reality itself? The final lecture explores the resilience and future of tribal politics in Britain. Why did some people embrace their identity so fervently while others did not, and what does this tell us about both the future of British politics but also political divides in other countries at other times?

James Tilley is a Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. He is the author of two books and numerous articles that investigate how we form political attitudes and make political choices. His latest book, co-authored with Sara Hobolt, is Tribal Politics: How Brexit Divided Britain and will be published by Oxford University Press in March 2026. He regularly makes documentaries for BBC Radio 4 on all aspects of political attitudes, from primate politics to conspiracy theories, the most recent being a five-part series titled ‘The kids are alt-right?’.

These lectures will focus on significant high points and important low points in the history of the Jews from the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE to 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Christian Spain. Emphasis will be on the importance of understanding Jewish history as an integral part of the history of the European West. Just as the unfolding of Jewish history cannot be assessed without appreciating the contexts in which Jews participated in their host societies, so the history of medieval Europe is much better understood if account is made of the role played by Jewish communities, as well as evolving Christian attitudes towards Jews and Judaism. Much of what we can learn from studying medieval Christian-Jewish/ Jewish-Christian relations is relevant for today's troubled world.

Anna Sapir Abulafia FBA is Professor Emerita of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions in the Faculty of Theology and Religion and a Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. The main focus of her research is the interaction of medieval Christianity and Judaism within the broad context of twelfth and thirteenth-century theological and ecclesiastical developments.

These lectures will focus on significant high points and important low points in the history of the Jews from the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE to 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Christian Spain. Emphasis will be on the importance of understanding Jewish history as an integral part of the history of the European West. Just as the unfolding of Jewish history cannot be assessed without appreciating the contexts in which Jews participated in their host societies, so the history of medieval Europe is much better understood if account is made of the role played by Jewish communities, as well as evolving Christian attitudes towards Jews and Judaism. Much of what we can learn from studying medieval Christian-Jewish/ Jewish-Christian relations is relevant for today's troubled world.

Anna Sapir Abulafia FBA is Professor Emerita of the Study of the Abrahamic Religions in the Faculty of Theology and Religion and a Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. The main focus of her research is the interaction of medieval Christianity and Judaism within the broad context of twelfth and thirteenth-century theological and ecclesiastical developments.

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).

The Pharos Monday Lectures for Spring 2026

Lecture 1: The Sound of Music in Ancient Greece

Lecture 2: Archimedes’ Eureka

Lecture 3. Catullus and his Lesbia

Lecture 4. Aspasia, Teacher of Socrates

It is sometimes thought that answers to big questions in classics are either known or beyond solution - questions such as what Greek music sounded like, or the true identity of Catullus’s Lesbia. In this series Prof Armand D'Angour will address four such questions and show that even today it’s possible to provide new and convincing answers to problems that many scholars had given up on.

Armand d'Angour is Professor of Classics and a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. His work has ranged across wide areas of Greek culture, especially music and lyric poetry. His works include Socrates in Love (Bloomsbury 2019) and How to Innovate: An Ancient Guide to Creative Thinking (Princeton 2021).