22 December 2010

Saturday Evening Lecture Series 2011

An exciting line up of international speakers from the worlds of academia, literature, and the media has been announced for the upcoming season of the University of Dundee's popular Saturday Evening Lecture Series.

The Saturday Evening Lecture Series will celebrate its 87th Anniversary in 2011, and will run from February through to May.

'We are delighted to be presenting another series of entertaining, informative and thought-provoking talks from some brilliant speakers,' said Judith Barnard, Director of External Relations at the University.

'The Saturday Evening Lectures have been getting more and more popular and I am sure 2011 will see this trend continue. Our speakers will cover diverse areas including climate change, human adventure, social history, genealogy, and autism.'

The first lecture in the 2011 series takes place on Saturday, 5th February, when Bang Wong, creative director of the Broad Institute at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and adjunct assistant professor at John Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US, visits Dundee.

His talk, 'Showing the Unseen' will explore how art and design have been used to enable scientific discovery throughout history.

The Saturday Evening Lecture Series is Scotland's oldest continuous free public lecture series. It attracts thousands of people each year to hear varied and thought-provoking lectures from prestigious, world-class speakers.

The series will continue on 19th February when New York Times writer Graham Bowley will read from and discuss his book ‘No Way Down’, which deals with the true story of a group of 30 climbers who conquered the summit of K2 only for 11 to perish during the descent, and contains heart wrenching stories of human tragedy.

On 5th March, Phoebe Caldwell, a leading expert in the field of autism, will explore how autistic people can be helped to communicate better, and the 2nd April will see Nick Barratt explore the challenges that 21st century media interest in personal and social history, exemplified by programmes such as ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and ‘Tracing Your Roots’ present to historians.

The series will conclude on 7th May, when Professor Rob Duck, Dean of the School of the Environment at the University of Dundee, will examine ‘This Shrinking Land: Climate Change and Britain's Coast'.

More information about all events, and the speakers, is available at SELS 2011 webpage.

All lectures will be held in the Dalhousie Building at 6pm on the dates shown above. Drinks receptions will follow each lecture, and where appropriate, book signings will be held.

Overflow theatres may be in use if lectures are heavily subscribed, so be sure to arrive early if you would prefer to be seated in the main lecture theatre.

Tickets are available from the University's Online Store, or by calling the Events Office on 01382 388564.

Notes to editors:

SELS events scheduled for 2011 are:

• 5th February: Bang Wong - 'Showing the Unseen'.
• 19th February: Graham Bowley - 'No Way Down'.
• 5th March: Phoebe Caldwell - 'Autism and Communication: Wanting to be with people?'
• 2nd April: Nick Barratt - 'Family History and the Media: Challengers facing researchers and archives in the 21st Century'.
• 7th May: Robert Duck - 'This Shrinking Land: Climate Change and Britain's Coast'.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902