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Humanities Society

Humanities Society

The Humanities Society talks provide a forum for stimulating ideas across the boundaries between the Humanities and other fields of study.

Humanities Society

Our Society

The Humanities Society is made up of a lively group of students, researchers and fellows, who come together throughout term to discuss exciting developments in the arts, humanities or social sciences.

Who can join

All College members (students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows, and scholars) are welcome to attend our events and join our society. The talks are also open to the wider University community and the general public. We define the Humanities in a broad sense to include history, religion, philosophy literature, languages, law, economics, political science, music and fine arts.

What we offer

We offer a programme of international and interdisciplinary interest, featuring talks on a range of cultural contexts and themes, from a range of historical periods and perspectives. The talks provide a platform both for eminent academics as well as early and mid-career scholars at the forefront of their disciplines.

Many of our speakers are from Cambridge, creating interactions between »ÆÉ«ÊÓÆµians and the wider scholarly community at the University, but we also invite speakers from further afield including, in recent years, from Italy, Germany, Israel, South Africa and the US.

How talks work

The talks are organised and coordinated by the Humanities Society Committee. We do our best to make our events informal and inclusive. For each event there is an opportunity to mix with the speaker and other attendees over drinks before and after the talk. Following the talk we usually take the speaker to Formal Hall, and College members (and their guests) are very welcome to join us and continue the conversation over dinner.

 

Lent Term 2025

Tue 6 MayDr Soung-U KimStandard language ideology, linguistic nationalism and marginalisation: the case of South Korea
Tue 20 May  
Tue 27 May  
Tue 3 JuneDr Toby SimpsonHow Jewish refugees founded and sustained The Wiener Holocaust Library, 1934-2011
Tue 10 JuneDr Caitlin Jensen‘Like a sandstorm roaring in its violence’: Perceptions of weather in ancient Egypt

Keep up to date with our events by signing up to .

 

Committee Members

Please feel free to contact any of us if you have any questions about our events or suggestions for speakers.

What's on

A bustling street in South Korea at dusk, lined with glowing neon signs in Korean, colorful storefronts, and overhead wires crisscrossing the sky.

Standard language ideology, linguistic nationalism and marginalisation: the case of South Korea

06/05/2025 at 17.30

What are the consequences of standard language ideology and linguistic nationalism?

A group of eight adults dressed in formal 1940s-style clothing and hats pose together outside a building.

How Jewish refugees founded and sustained The Wiener Holocaust Library, 1934-2011

03/06/2025 at 17.30

How is it possible that Jewish refugees from Nazis were able to create and sustain one of the world’s most important independent archives?

A group of travelers with camels rests near the Great Sphinx and pyramids of Giza at sunset, under a dramatic, cloud-filled sky.

‘Like a sandstorm roaring in its violence’: Perceptions of weather in ancient Egypt

10/06/2025 at 17.30

How can anthropological theory help us understand how ancient cultures interpreted and responded to weather phenomena?