14 January 2008

Stars line up for Saturday lectures

Internationally acclaimed author Jung Chang, television historian Dan Snow and Victoria & Albert Director, Mark Jones, head the list of names presenting the University of Dundee’s annual series of Saturday Evening Lectures for 2008.

Dan Snow, who alongside his father Peter has presented the successful `British Battlefields’ and `20th Century Battlefields’ series for BBC, will deliver the first lecture on January 26th, examining the difficulties of presenting history on television.

Dr Jung Chang will mark International Women’s Day on March 8th with her lecture `Mao: The Unknown Story’. The `Wild Swans’ author spent ten years researching the background to Mao Zedong’s rule in China and has produced a brilliant biography of the leader of China’s Cultural Revolution.

The 2008 lectures - presented by the University in association with Borders bookshops and Apex Hotels - once again cover a diverse range of subjects, from the impact of Victorian sporting life on Scotland’s Highlands to the challenges of human embryo research.

Mark Jones, Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, will present a lecture on the role of the V&A and museums in contemporary society, while round-the-world traveller Jason Lewis will recount his 13-year adventure on Expedition 360.

There will also be a special Churchill Commemoration Lecture, on Friday May 9th, from historian and Churchill expert Andrew Roberts to mark the centenary of Winston Churchill’s election as a Dundee MP.

"We are delighted to welcome such a distinguished range of speakers for this year’s series of Saturday Evening Lectures," said Joan Concannon, the University’s Director of External Relations.

"This year’s series is among the strongest we have ever put together and we look forward to some thought-provoking, engaging and entertaining lectures over the coming months. We have a very loyal audience who come to the Saturday lectures, therefore to avoid disappointment I would advise people to make sure they book tickets early as we are already seeing strong interest across the whole series and some of the events will certainly sell out very soon."

The Saturday Evening Lecture Series is one of the longest-running public lecture series in Scotland. Entry to all of the events if free.

For the first time this year an e-ticketing scheme has been introduced where tickets can be booked online. To register for e-tickets visit: /externalrelations/events/sels/2008/sels2008.html then click on the link that says "Request your e-tickets here" underneath the Saturday Evening Lecture Series logo.

Tickets are also available by contacting events@dundee.ac.uk or calling the events office on 01382 388046.

All lectures take place at 6 pm on the stated day in the New Teaching Block, Old Hawkhill.

The full series of Saturday Evening Lectures 2008 is:

26 January 2008
Dan Snow - `Television History: A Contradiction?’

2 February 2008
Sir John Lister Kaye - `The Balmorality Epoch, the impact of the Victorian Sporting Tradition on the Landscape and natural history of the Highlands.’

16 February 2008
Professor Christopher Barratt - `The opportunities, challenges and dilemmas of 'liberal' framework of human embryo research.’

1 March 2008
Mark Jones, Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum - `The V&A and the role of museums in contemporary society’

8 March 2008
Dr Jung Chang - `Mao: The Unknown Story’

19 April 2008
Jason Lewis - `Expedition 360: A Human Powered Navigation Circumnavigation of the Planet’

Friday 9 May 2008
Churchill Commemoration Lecture
Andrew Roberts - `Churchill and his Detractors’

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