Daily schedule
After registration on Sunday afternoon, we invite you to a welcome meeting in the Amersi Lecture Theatre in New Quad, where you will meet your tutors. Join us in Deer Park afterwards for our opening drinks reception, followed by dinner in Brasenose’s historic dining hall (informal dress).
Seminars take place on weekday mornings. Most afternoons are free, allowing you time to explore Oxford, enjoy a variety of optional social events (see details below), or to sit back and relax in one of the college's atmospheric quads.
Your course culminates on Friday evening with a closing drinks reception and gala farewell dinner at which Certificates of Attendance are awarded. For this special occasion smart dress is encouraged (no requirement to wear dinner suits or gowns).
Social programme
We warmly invite all Inspiring Oxford students to take part in our optional social programme, with all events provided at no additional cost. Events are likely to include:
- Croquet on the quad
- Chauffeured punting from Magdalen Bridge
- Expert-led walking tours of Oxford
- Optional visit to an Oxford Library or the Ashmolean Museum
- River Thames afternoon cruise
- Quiz night in the college bar
- Scottish country dance evening (where you do the dancing!)
Seminars and field trip
Monday
From the Big Bang to the Birth of Earth
Themes: Natural Systems and Earth History
- Examine the origins of matter and energy in the Big Bang and trace the formation of the Solar System.
- Investigate the cosmic synthesis of the chemical elements that constitute the building blocks of life.
- Discuss the early evolution of planetary systems and the conditions required for habitability.
Key Question: How does situating Earth within a cosmic framework influence our understanding of planetary evolution and the uniqueness of life?
Tuesday
Deep Time and Planetary Beginnings
Themes: Understanding Geological Time and Early Earth
- Develop a conceptual framework for interpreting geological time and its implications for planetary change.
- Analyse the processes that governed the early differentiation and stabilisation of the Earth and its neighbours.
- Evaluate the mechanisms by which long-term climate stability has been maintained on a geologically active planet.
Key Question: What insights can deep time provide into the persistence, and fragility, of Earth’s life-supporting systems?
Wednesday
Dynamic Earth: Tectonics, Chemistry, and the Biosphere
Themes: Plate Tectonics, Chemical Cycles, and the Evolution of Life
- Explore the theory of plate tectonics as a unifying framework for understanding Earth’s geological activity.
- Examine global biogeochemical cycles and their role in sustaining planetary equilibrium.
- Consider the origins and diversification of life in the context of Earth’s evolving geophysical environment.
- Assess the causes and consequences of mass extinctions as agents of evolutionary innovation.
Key Question: To what extent are life and the planet co-evolving systems?
Thursday
Field Excursion: Observing Earth’s History Through Objects and Exhibits
Themes: Scientific and Cultural Perspectives on Natural History
- Full-day study visit to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, London.
- Engage directly with geological, biological, and astronomical collections that illustrate key themes from the course.
- Reflect on the role of museums in curating and communicating scientific knowledge about Earth and the cosmos.
Key Question: How do scientific institutions mediate our perception of time, nature, and progress?
Friday
The Anthropocene and Beyond
Themes: Human Civilisation, Planetary Resources, and Future Trajectories
- Investigate the geological and environmental signatures of human activity.
- Analyse the exploitation and stewardship of Earth’s natural resources; its 'treasure chest.'
- Explore humanity’s role in shaping planetary futures, both on Earth and in space exploration.
Key Question: Can human society reconcile its technological ambitions with the limits of planetary sustainability?
