Events

Of the many images we have of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the one that continues to define him is as the revolutionary author of The Social Contract, whose political philosophy played a critical role in the French Revolution.

Rousseau was far more than just a renegade philosopher, but his treatises on society and education frequently eclipse his significant contributions to literature, music theory and composition. It is this holistic view of Rousseau that UCL aims to highlight and celebrate on the 300^th anniversary of his birth.

With this in mind, I popped down to the UCL Art Museum to hear Dr Avi Lifschitz, Lecturer in European History at UCL, give a talk on the Images of Rousseau, and the contrasting perspectives, and representations, we have of him today.

Born in Geneva in 1712, Rousseau was pretty different from other philosophers at the time. Taught at home by his father, he was a voracious reader, devouring all the books in his local library and often reading throughout the night with his father.

Religion also featured prominently in the young Rousseau’s life. Moving frequently around France and Switzerland as a young man, he continued to entertain thoughts of a clerical career, with his religion a strong theme in many of his most famous works.

(more…)

In 1825, a group of men that included Whigs, reformers and lawyers came together to found a university in London aimed at those excluded from the two established English universities Oxford and Cambridge – where teachers and students were required to be subscribing Anglicans.

To mark the anniversary of UCL’s foundation on 11 Feb 1826 – when it went by its original name the University of London – this lunch hour lecture by Professor Rosemary Ashton (UCL English Language & Literature) looked at the opposition to the new university among Tory politicians and journalists, especially in the ultra-Tory newspaper John Bull.

The new university was designed to have “all the leading advantages of the two great universities” and “no barrier to the education of any sect”. The intention was to exclude theological teaching from the curriculum and have no form of religious test for entrance.

The media ‘against’

John Bull took against the idea with vitriol and had a longstanding campaign to ridicule those behind it. Sweeping, exaggerated warnings of threat to church and state were driven by a fear of working-class revolution in the vein of the French model.

(more…)

Without a doubt, Film Night at the Grant Museum was the most entertaining event that I’ve attended at UCL. On 6 December, they screened the 1958 sci-fi/horror cult classic, The Blob.

Dr Joe Cain holds court. A senior lecturer at UCL by day, he is an avid film fan by night. And possibly by day at weekends.

This is the first ‘On The Big Screen’ event at UCL that I’ve attended, despite this being the 21^st showing. However, it’s clear that the event attracts a regular following, and by the time I arrive the large Darwin Lecture Theatre is almost full. All ages are represented in the crowd, and the mood is both jovial and excited.

In what seems to be a regular feature, Dr Cain gives a short but engrossing introduction of the film we’re about to watch. He’s clearly done his homework, as he talks us through the background of the production, the foibles of the film, and gives us tips on what to look out for.

(more…)

Related to the much-maligned minnow, many are unaware that zebrafish are in fact one of the giants of the genetics world. While more-well known, and controversial, model organisms continue to dominate the limelight, the humble zebrafish continues to plod along in the background. But a current exhibition at UCL’s Grant Museum on zebrafish and their role in science aims to change all that.

Well-understood, easily observable, and with many similarities to mammalian physiology, it should be no surprise that zebrafish studies have resulted in such a huge number of advances in a plethora of different fields. Ranging from development biology, to toxicology and evolutionary theory, its composition makes it an ideal model organism for studies of vertebrate development and gene function.

Yet despite all the incredible work, outside of the scientific community zebrafish continue to live an anonymous existence, tucked away in their domestic tanks in homes across the world.

(more…)