We are pleased to share this year's Roger Scruton Memorial Lectures. Now on its third year, this annual series of free public lectures honours Scruton's legacy by inviting eminent public intellectuals to speak on four topics of civilisational importance. Each lecture and conversation will take place in the Sheldonian Theatre at the University of Oxford during October 2023 from 5 pm - 6:30 pm (British Summer Time). These events are free, but require advance registration to attend. For those unable to attend in-person, lectures will be recorded and made available online at a later date.
18 October 2023
‘Why Statues Fall: the Primordiality of Iconoclasm’
Alexander Stoddart In Conversation with Sir Simon Jenkins and Paul Lay
Alexander Stoddart FRSE is a world-renowned sculptor, art critic and Honorary Professor at the University of the West of Scotland. In 2008 he was appointed as Her Majesty The Queen’s Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland and is now His Majesty The King’s Sculptor in Ordinary. He lives and works in Paisley, Scotland. Stoddart’s large-scale monumental statuary is to be found most notably in Edinburgh and the United States of America.
Sir Simon Jenkins is an eminent editor, author and journalist. He was editor of the Evening Standard from 1976-78 and The Times from 1990-92. He has broadcast with the BBC and currently writes a twice-weekly column for The Guardian. He was knighted for services to journalism in 2004 and was chair of the National Trust between 2008-14. Jenkins is the author of over twenty books including England's Thousand Best Houses (Allen Lane, 2003), England's Hundred Best Views (Profile, 2013) and, most recently, Cathedrals: Masterpieces of Architecture, Feats of Engineering, Icons of Faith (Rizzoli, 2022).
Paul Lay is a highly distinguished historian, author and critic. He is Senior Editor at Engelsberg Ideas. He is a former editor of History Today, reviews for The Times, the Telegraph and Literary Review, and is the author of Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of Cromwell’s Protectorate (Head of Zeus, 2020), which was shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize.