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
Monday
The Georgian World
An overview of Britain during the long eighteenth century, a period marked by rapid social, political, and cultural transformation. The session introduces key themes of modernity, empire, class, and identity that underpin the course.
The Temple of Liberty: The Print Revolution & the Art of Caricature.
An examination of the print culture that shaped Georgian public life. The rise of satire and caricature, exemplified by artists such as William Hogarth and James Gillray, reflected and influenced political discourse, social commentary, and notions of liberty.
Tuesday
Society, Economy, and the Political Nation
Merchants, Masters and The Mob: Society, Economy and Class.
A study of the complex social hierarchy of Georgian Britain. The growth of commerce, the emergence of a powerful middling class, and the persistence of economic inequality will be explored alongside the tensions between urban and rural life.
The Westminster World: Politics and Politicians.
An analysis of the political culture of the period, focusing on the workings of Parliament, the influence of patronage, and the evolving concept of representation. The session considers how political authority was negotiated and contested within an expanding public sphere.
Wednesday
Culture, Leisure, and the Urban Underworld
Beaus, Bucks and Macaronis: Pleasures and Pastimes.
This session investigates the culture of leisure and consumption in the Georgian world. Through fashion, sociability, and performance, we consider how identity and status were constructed and displayed.
Bilkers, Busnappers and Blue Ruin: Crime and the Underworld.
An exploration of crime, punishment, and the emergence of new forms of urban disorder. The session situates the underworld within broader debates about morality, poverty, and the early development of policing and penal reform.
Thursday
Gender, Representation, and the Monarchy
Maids, Molls and Mistresses: Georgian Women and The Gender Divide.
An examination of women’s roles and representations in Georgian society. Themes include domesticity, sexuality, labour, and authorship, with attention to how women navigated and challenged gendered expectations.
Farmer George and The Fat Adonis: Depicting the Royal Family.
A study of royal image-making and its public reception. The contrasting figures of George III and the Prince Regent illustrate shifting ideas about monarchy, virtue, and spectacle in an age of increasing media scrutiny.
Friday
Empire, Identity, and Transition
National Pride and National Prejudice: Britain and the World Outside.
This session situates Britain within its global context. Through trade, colonisation, and conflict, you will examine how national identity was shaped by engagement with, and domination over, the wider world.
The Shape of Things to Come: The Dawning of the Victorian Era.
A concluding reflection on the transition from Georgian to Victorian Britain. The session considers continuities and ruptures in social attitudes, cultural forms, and political ideals, marking the emergence of a distinctly modern sensibility.
