Curious Minds: Enjoy
A feast for the eyes and ears
Performances, lectures, virtual tours, audiobooks, essays and more.
Settle in, relax and treat yourself to some world-class entertainment: reading, watching, and listening.
Enjoy...
National Garden Scheme
Claire O'Mahony, Associate Professor in the History of Art and Design, says: 'Design history also researches landscape design and the built environment. If you are feeling sad about not being able to visit historic and contemporary gardens, fear not for the National Garden Scheme has created a joyful set of virtual tours for us all to enjoy'. Discover the gardens of Doddington Place, the medieval Hospital of St Cross, Sandringham and more.
Yosemite National Park
Explore this natural wonder by taking a look at the park's live-time webcams, capturing views including Yosemite Falls, the Half Dome and El Capitan. The website also hosts a wealth of information about the nature and science of the park, as well as its history and culture.
Heritage Open Days
Heritage Open Days is England's largest festival of history and culture, bringing together over 2,000 organisations, 5,500 events and 46,000 volunteers. Every year in September, places across the country throw open their doors to celebrate their heritage, community and history. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – and it’s all free.
Other parts of the UK are also offering online events throughout September. For Wales visit Open Doors Online; for Scotland visit Doors Open Days; and for Nothern Ireland see European Heritage Open Days.
Stonehenge
Enjoy Stongehenge from home using the myriad of resources provided by English Heritage. Take an interactive tour of the site; read a full history of the prehistoric monument; discover the latest in-depth research; explore detailed reconstruction images; and enjoy Stonehenge Skyscape - a platform allowing everyone to experience the skies above the historical site, as if standing within the stones.
> Stonehenge: virtual tour and Skyscape
Ten-Minute Book Club
Sandie Byrne, Professor of English, recommends Ten-Minute Book Club - a new online project from the Faculty of English. As described by Karen O’Brien, Head of Humanities at the University: 'Ten-Minute Book Club aims to make a great conversation about literature possible, and to offer a quick and accessible way into some of the greatest writing by extraordinary writers from all backgrounds, guided by Oxford’s expertise on exciting authors and books'. Every Friday they will post a free literary excerpt that you can read in just ten minutes. Each extract is paired with free resources and an introduction by an expert.
Inside Science
Working on the assumption that ‘science is culture’, Dr Adam Rutherford presents BBC Radio 4's Inside Science, a weekly show that reflects how science works, how it underpins culture and how it affects you. Enjoy hundreds of 30 minute episodes and short clips across a wide range of subjects, including Neolithic baby bottles, the effect of noise on wildlife, artificial virtual reality skin, and how green are electric cars?
Poetry Archive
Listen to more than 2,000 poetry recordings from some of the world's most renowned poets with the Poetry Archive. 'Hearing a poet reading his or her work remains uniquely illuminating. It helps us to understand the work as well as helping us to enjoy it. Writers have a particular right to their own work and we are taken to a deeper level of understanding by hearing how they speak it. This is a powerful source of insight, understanding and enjoyment to all lovers of literature and a valuable resource for students of any age'. As well as recordings by contemporary poets, the collection also contains selections of classic poems recorded by contemporary voices.
India on Film 1899-1947
Ben Grant, Departmental Lecturer in English Literature, recommends the free India on Film 1899-1947 film collection on the British Film Institute (BFI) Player. The collection captures India before independence and explores lives – both Indian and British – across the subcontinent during the early 20th century. 'Comprising over 200 non-fiction films, most unseen for decades, the collection takes in temples and tigers, durbars and devil dancers, girl guides and Gandhi. The films inevitably offer a partial view of life in India; with a few exceptions, they were shot by British filmmakers. But between them they serve up revealing insights and countless indelible images.'
Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum
Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum have partnered with Google Arts & Culture to create a new digital platform, allowing users to enjoy Britain’s oldest botanic garden and 130 acre arboretum from anywhere in the world. Wander through the world’s most threatened trees with Google Street View, learn more about the behind-the-scenes research, explore the online exhibits, or browse the vast library of images all from the comfort of your home.
> Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum
Project Gutenberg
Sandie Byrne, Professor of English, recommends Project Gutenberg. This online library of more than 60,000 eBooks is all free to download or read online. No special apps are required as each can be read using your standard web browser. 'Thousands of volunteers digitized and diligently proofread the eBooks, for enjoyment and education.'
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet have created five city walking routes that you can explore using Google Maps - so you can 'pound the streets' of a new city from home. Discover Havana, Cuba; Split, Croatia; Melbourne, Australia; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Bangkok, Thailand.
> Lonely Planet: Google Maps Tours
Kurzgesagt
Tutor John Hughes recommends Kurzgesagt - a YouTube channel aiming to 'make science look beautiful'. John says that 'this has loads of really interesting videos on wider areas of science. The videos are roughly 10 minutes long (or shorter), are animated and explore questions in a concise and entertaining way'. Playlists include 'The Universe and Space Stuff', 'The Existential Crisis' and 'Human Stuff'.
British Film Institute
Claire O'Mahony, Associate Professor in the History of Art and Design, says that 'one of the challenges currently facing our students is losing access to the physical evidence and experiences at the heart of design-history research. The British Film Institute (BFI) website provides access to free archive films and shorts, including this wonderful set of featured collections - which include documentary films about key design materials and manufacturing. Some of my favourites are the textiles, steel, shipbuilding and advertising on film collections. For a real nostalgia trip enjoy the pleasures and perils in Public Information Films and The March of Time newsreels.'
The Future of Artificial Intelligence
Discover how modern neuroscience is researching the way the human brain can comprehend a working environment with The Future of Artificial Intelligence talk by Simon Stringer. Recommended by Thomas Hesselberg, Director of Studies in Biological Sciences, this talk formed part of The Future of Science Symposium, hosted by the Dunn School Graduate Student Association.
> The Future of Artificial Intelligence
The New Yorker
Tara Stubbs, AProfessor of Modern and Contemporary English Literature, recommends The New Yorker Poetry Podcast. Each month, Editor Kevin Young invites poets to read and discuss works by others as well as their own. Tara states that it’s ‘accessible and challenging at the same time, and they're all free to download. They also have a monthly fiction podcast, with readings and discussions of short fiction, hosted by editor Deborah Treisman.'
> The New Yorker Poetry Podcast
> The New Yorker Fiction Podcast
Konserthuset
Bring music into your home with this online concert hall from Konserthuset Stockholm. While the site primarily features concert films with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, it also presents other genres of Konserthuset's extensive range of performances such as jazz, chamber music and concerts for children.
Our Planet
For many years, Netflix has provided its educational documentaries free to schools. Now, the 'Our Planet' series, along with many other wonderful documentaries, are being offered for free to the world. Thomas Hesselberg, Director of Studies in Biological Sciences, recommends the eight-part documentary narrated by Sir David Attenborough as 'the "Our Planet" series gives us an incredible view of the planet's remaining wilderness areas and their animal inhabitants, across fifty countries. It's produced in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund - and there are even classroom educational resources provided.'
> Netflix educational documentaries
> 'Our Planet' educational resources
Justice
Douglas Bamford, Tutor in Philosophy and Political Economy, recommends a series of online lectures from political philosopher Michael Sandel. Justice is the first Harvard University course to be made freely available online and Douglas notes that 'these free online lectures are a good preparation for anyone interested in taking a course in political philosophy, ethics or bioethics.' The question 'what's the right thing to do?' forms the core of the course, and lectures include 'The Case for Cannibalism', 'The Good Citizen' and 'Putting a Price Tag on Life'.
Battling Bad Science
Professor Carl Heneghan, Director of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, recommends a TED Talk delivered by his colleague Ben Goldacre. Carl says, 'Battling Bad Science has had more than two million views, and is an engaging and rewarding 15 minutes in which Ben, epidemiologist and debunker, examines the ways evidence can be distorted.'
The Moby-Dick Big Read
Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is an epic novel often left unread due to its sprawling dense read. Luckily, The Arts Institute at Plymouth University has created The Moby-Dick Big Read. Recommended by Ben Grant, Departmental Lecturer in English Literature, each of the 135 chapters is read aloud by a ‘mixture of the celebrated and the unknown’ so you can listen to a new chapter at a pace to suit you.
VIDES
Carly Watson, Departmental Lecturer in Literature and Arts, is proud to share VIDES - or Volume of Interdisciplinary Essays - which is the student-produced journal of the MSt in Literature and Arts (MLA). Carly states 'every aspect of it, from the cover design to the contents, is created by the students. It is a testament to the hard work and collaborative efforts of the students, and a fitting tribute to the originator and former director of the MLA, Dr Cathy Oakes.'
Oxford University Podcasts
Oxford University Podcasts brings together over 6000 audio and video lectures, seminars, interviews, teaching resources, and more from the University - all free for everyone to enjoy. Content is added regularly and as well as watching or listening online, you can also download content for free. Not sure where to start? Then take a look at this list of recommended podcasts to get you going.
Discovering Music
Director of Studies in Music Jonathan Darnborough highlights two classical music resources for you to enjoy: ‘BBC Radio 3 has a huge archive of programmes covering composers from Adolphe Adam and John Adams to Jan Zelenka and Alexander Zemlinsky – with a good many much more familiar names in between. A good place to start exploring this rich resource is the Discovering Music series home page. Also, here is an extraordinary animated realisation of the first Prelude and Fugue from Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier. The music is beautifully performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard in a stunningly imaginative film by Alan Warburton.’
Curious Minds
Keep your brain active with these free online resources, as recommended by tutors and staff at the Department.Curious Minds: Explore
Explore museums, libraries, archives, articles and more all from your own home with these free, open access collections and resources.Curious Minds Podcast
Curious Minds: a lifelong learning podcast featuring short talks from academic staff of Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education.Curious Minds: Have a go
Hands-on free learning resources and activities to keep your brain active.