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Oxford College JCRs pass motions in support of pro-Palestine encampment

Several Oxford University junior common rooms (JCRs) have passed motions expressing solidarity with the recently established pro-Palestine encampment. St Anne’s College JCR is the latest to release a public statement in support of the pro-Palestine encampment, joining a string of colleges JCRs expressing solidarity with the protesters. Within the past week, Balliol College, Corpus Christi College, Jesus College, St Hilda’s College, Somerville College, University College and Wadham College (through their Student Union) have all passed JCR motions, frequently accompanied by a public statement, which show support...

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Features

The 2024 BNOC List

"Here it is! After three weeks of voting, the results are in. With slight adjustments made according to which BNOCs gave consent to be on the list and the addition of some whose fame strictly speaking surpasses that of BNOC-hood, the list is true to those initial nominations."

Making Art in the Age of Generative AI

When they told us that AI is coming for people’s jobs, most of us didn’t think that they were talking about artists. Our popular imaginings of artificially intelligent futures often seem to bracket the...

Flights to Rwanda? Navigating political, economic, and moral turbulence 

“Batshit crazy”, was how one cabinet minister (James Cleverly) described the Rwanda policy.  In his former role as chancellor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was characteristically more reserved, saying “it won’t work”.  Human rights organisations...

Philosophy and Technology: Science’s moral afflictions

On March 28th in a dingy Manhattan courtroom, unrepentant crypto-mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison. This landmark sentence came after an appeal by his lawyers against Bankman-Fried’s conviction in November 2023 on seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to launder money.  MIT-educated Bankman-Fried was co-founder...

2024: The year of elections

In his classic 19th-century work Democracy in America, the politician-cum-philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville looked to the democratic system in America with deep envy. In this system, he perceived a largely egalitarian society in which the virtues of industry and social cooperation contributed to America’s functional democracy; a state which...

“Diesmal schweigen wir nicht!” (“We won’t be silent this time”)

Germany’s right-wing factions push forward In another spectacular repeat of European history, a group of right-wing politicians met with an Austrian neo-Nazi last November in a small German town called Potsdam, known for being the seat of residence of Prussian kings and the German Emperor until 1918 The meeting ignited...

Profiles

‘Theatre is, at its best, one of the most democratic of the arts’

I had the chance to sit down with Gregory Doran, Oxford University’s Cameron Mackintosh visiting professor and the former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, to talk all things Shakespeare, contemporary theatre and the importance of accessibility in the Arts. Greg Doran is Oxford University’s Cameron Mackintosh visiting professor...

An interview with Federico Enciso, Paraguay’s First Openly Gay Politician 

I am not going to lie. I myself was pretty much oblivious to Paraguay’s existence before being introduced to the documentary, 108: Cuchillo de Palo. Set during Stroessner’s dictatorship, it goes in search of the truth surrounding the director’s uncle, a gay ballet dancer who was found dead in...

Culture

A Future in the Light of Darkness review: Imagined engines of desire

Modern Art Oxford’s exhibit Frieda Toranzo Jaeger: A future in the light of darkness counters the potential for automated vehicles and social media algorithms to consume our future reality. With her work Toranzer Jaeger creates a space where one can explore and affirm an alternative future in which Audis, Teslas,...

Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poet’s Department: Who tortures the poet?

The most tortured love affair on Taylor Swift’s new album is her relationship with her audience. Following its release on April 19th, the album’s reviews were marked by a shared preoccupation with the autobiographical element of her work. This extends beyond speculation as to which ex-lover any given song...

Life

Siblings: there’s a fine line between love and hate

After watching a Tiktok that said we have already spent the majority of the time we get to ever have with our siblings by the time we leave home, I ran into my brother’s room, misty-eyed, ready to spend some quality time together. I was immediately reminded why this...

The great outdoors: Oxford’s best green spaces

As the sun emerges from its miserable winter enclave, so do students from their rooms, shedding the weighted blankets and hot water bottles of the colder months to enjoy the sun. As we flock to revel in these warmer months, here are some of the best natural spaces around...