LMH Oxford Summer Programmes

While the world has been moving increasingly towards greater inter-connectivity through trade, infrastructure, communications, and migration, criticism of ‘globalisation’ has been growing ever louder, with many blaming it for inequality, cultural marginalisation, and political disaffection. Through the lenses of philosophy, politics, and economics this course will explore these competing dynamics and equip you to understand some of the most significant political phenomena of our time.

How does the brain process information, make decisions, and learn? Computational Psychologists seek to answer these questions by using algorithms and mathematical models to simulate and analyse the mechanisms behind mental processes. The field has been highly influential on Artificial Intelligence research and development, as data scientists attempt to convincingly recreate human thought, speech, and behaviour in machines, a challenge Alan Turing called the ‘Imitation Game’. Introducing Computational Psychology, Computational Neuroscience, and AI, this course offers a fascinating insight into these exciting and forward-looking interconnected fields of research.

Through predictive text, translation tools, and smart devices natural language processing (NLP) is increasingly a part of our day-to-day lives, and in large language models like Chat-GPT we see the enormous future potential of this exciting area of research. This advanced course examines the theoretical concepts of NLP and its current and potential future application in diverse domains.

Taking its cue from the First Folio (1623), the book that preserved many of Shakespeare’s plays for posterity, the course spends one week on each of the main genres in which the author wrote and introduces students to key questions raised by plays such as The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Richard III, Hamlet, and Othello, among others. Join this course for a deep dive into the world and words of William Shakespeare with some of the world's most prominent researchers in the field.

How can we see cities and their buildings as a means of understanding history and society? In this course you will examine the everyday built environments of cities in Britain (and beyond). Through careful engagement with architectural history, we can read the planning and development of urban spaces as a reflection of the identities of the social groups who use them.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing humankind is anthropogenic climate change, the rapid warming of the earth’s temperature driven by the consumption of fossil-fuels and emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In this course you will explore climate change as a disruptive legal phenomenon, examining how it is understood as a societal issue and how legal systems have responded to it. You will examine the conflicts these responses have generated and the varied potential pathways forward.

Museums: What are they good for? The Ashmolean, since it opened its doors in 1683 as the world's first ever public museum, has informed and been informed by every development in museum scholarship, collecting practice, and object-centred teaching and learning. In this course, we’ll explore the origins of the modern museum and trace the development of the Oxford collections as a paradigm for the assembly of a material analogue for every kind of historic and scientific record.

What inspired the emergence and flowering of the fantasy genre in the 20th and 21st century? Oxford - historic, beautiful, and timeless seat of learning - is closely associated with the genre. Towering figures of fantasy literature, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, were both professors at the University of Oxford, and many more, like Diana Wynne Jones or Philip Pullman, were educated at Oxford or, like J. K. Rowling, influenced by its literary products and settings. Oxford and the Rise of Fantasy offers a unique opportunity to examine the fantasy genre from its earliest origins to the present day, exploring at each stage the influence of Oxford and its writers.

Knowledge of the subject of International Law is vital, not just to those who hope to become lawyers, but to anyone who intends to be a well-informed citizen. The course begins with an introduction to international law as a discipline. We will consider the sources and subjects of international law, and we will explore the settlement of international disputes and enforcement of international law, including in relation to human rights. We will discuss international legal institutions such as the United Nations Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the International Law Commission, and the International Criminal Court.

What are the causes of the vast differences in wealth between nations? Why have certain societies prospered whilst others still grapple with poverty? Will inequality between the developed and developing worlds be permanent? This course addresses these questions, allowing you to understand today's global economy through a historical perspective.

Does the law protect or undermine our freedom? Which legal doctrines govern our speech, assembly, property, and personal autonomy? This course offers the opportunity to explore these questions and more through an introduction to the legal dimensions of freedom..

In this very special course, students benefit from access to and engagement with the extraordinary collection in the Ashmolean and other local sites, learning from direct encounters with treasures of modern British art. With lectures will be delivered by Oxford academics and field-leading experts, you will examine the art and literature of the period and take part in unique site visits. You also have the opportunity to visit auction houses and galleries to learn from specialists about the art world today and the place of British modernism in the contemporary market.