Far reaching effects

Iwan Morgan, Emeritus Professor of United States History at University College London, will look at the reasons and the far-reaching effects of the election in an INSIGHTS public lecture on 7 November. He first gave an INSIGHTS lecture on the subject in 2016 when President Trump was elected.

Professor Morgan a is distinguished fellow of the Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford. He was awarded the British Association of American Studies Honorary Fellowship in 2014 in recognition of his contributions to the discipline over the course of his career.

The new season of lectures, which runs until January, features speakers discussing issues ranging from Archaeology to the circular economy.

Dr Martin Farr, co-chair of INSIGHTS Public Lectures said:

“As ever our Autumn programme ranges widely, and includes politics, science, history, engineering, and medicine. It opened with reflections on the UK election, marked Black History Month, and will discuss the election of the first female US President or the return of President Trump, and concludes with that much-loved landmark of the region, the Angel of the North. November alone features lectures on disability, recycling, and astronomy. As ever, all lectures are free, and open to all.”

Restore and rejuvenate

On 14 November, Professor Anusha Shah, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, will give her lecture, Making connections for a nature- and people-positive world. She will look at why the engineers and infrastructure professionals of today and tomorrow should focus not on building assets, but connections – and how this approach could provide humanity with multiple benefits and restore and rejuvenate nature, rather than just do less harm to it.

Professor Shah, a specialist in water and environmental engineering, is the first person of colour and third woman to be elected as president in over 200 years of ICE history. 

Professor Tom Shakespeare will review evidence that disabled people suffer inequities in health and explore how healthcare can be inclusive of all, in his lecture When healthcare harms: Why inclusive treatment of disabled people can avoid health inequities, on 28 November.

Professor Shakespeare is Professor of Disability Research at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a Fellow of the British Academy. His books include Disability Rights and Wrongs, Disability - the Basics, and The Ha-ha. He has trained medical students about disability for nearly 35 years at Bristol, Cambridge, Leicester, Newcastle and Oxford universities, and the University of East Anglia, as well as with the World Health Organisation. 

One of the North East’s most famous landmarks will be discussed by Professor Anne Whitehead and David de la Haye, from Newcastle University, in their talk Sounding the Angel: Recording the grassroots memorial site at the Angel of the North, on 3 December. Their year-long project asked what the Angel means to those who commemorate their loved ones there, and how the site helps them to navigate grief. It featured field recordings of the site with interviews with people who left tributes.

Dr Chris Harrison will take the audience on a journey of astronomical objects from stars to supermassive black holes in his talk A multi-sensory journey to a black hole: Using sound to enhance data exploration, accessibility, and immersive education. The Newcastle University astrophysicist will discuss how sound can provide an alternative method of exploring and communicating data and for making astronomy more accessible on 21 November. Unless otherwise stated, INSIGHTS public lectures are held in-person in the Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, NE1 7RY. All events a free and open to all, but pre-booking is required. Bookings for lectures will open at 10.00am one week before the event.