Annual Fund

Oxford graduates make a tremendous contribution to the economy and society, and here at the University we recognise that our alumni play an invaluable role in supporting our engagement with the challenges that face the world today. I am writing to you as the Director of The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH), to tell you about the exciting and important work we are doing, and to ask for your support.
TORCH was launched earlier this year to enable Oxford’s humanities scholars to work across disciplines, colleges and with non-University partners to address historic issues and contemporary concerns through world-class research. Based in the newly refurbished Radcliffe Humanities building, we provide small grants and space to bring together academics from the humanities, social sciences, sciences and medicine to explore topics as wide-ranging as medical ethics, the environment, world literature, dance and race relations. So far, over 200 scholars are involved in more than 20 research programmes, far exceeding our goals for TORCH’s first few months.
We have a vibrant programme of public engagement, which allows TORCH to share and showcase its research with wider non-academic audiences, from secondary school students to government policy-makers. For example, over the summer we hosted the inaugural Humanities UNIQ Summer School, giving state school students a real flavour of Oxford undergraduate life with lectures, seminars and workshops. Looking ahead, we are finalising preparations for a major series of events beginning in January 2014, called ‘Humanities and the Public Good’, which will bring together leading scholars in the arts, humanities and sciences with public figures to consider the role of the humanities in society today, and to discuss the relationship between research and public life.
In the short time that TORCH has been active, I have been touched by the generosity – both financially and in kind – of scholars, members of the public, and many new friends. I hope very much that you will join them in helping TORCH reach its full potential, stimulating innovative research that is available to, and for the benefit of all.
Dr Stephen Tuck
TORCH Director
TORCH was launched earlier this year to enable Oxford’s humanities scholars to work across disciplines, colleges and with non-University partners to address historic issues and contemporary concerns through world-class research. Based in the newly refurbished Radcliffe Humanities building, we provide small grants and space to bring together academics from the humanities, social sciences, sciences and medicine to explore topics as wide-ranging as medical ethics, the environment, world literature, dance and race relations. So far, over 200 scholars are involved in more than 20 research programmes, far exceeding our goals for TORCH’s first few months.
We have a vibrant programme of public engagement, which allows TORCH to share and showcase its research with wider non-academic audiences, from secondary school students to government policy-makers. For example, over the summer we hosted the inaugural Humanities UNIQ Summer School, giving state school students a real flavour of Oxford undergraduate life with lectures, seminars and workshops. Looking ahead, we are finalising preparations for a major series of events beginning in January 2014, called ‘Humanities and the Public Good’, which will bring together leading scholars in the arts, humanities and sciences with public figures to consider the role of the humanities in society today, and to discuss the relationship between research and public life.
In the short time that TORCH has been active, I have been touched by the generosity – both financially and in kind – of scholars, members of the public, and many new friends. I hope very much that you will join them in helping TORCH reach its full potential, stimulating innovative research that is available to, and for the benefit of all.
Dr Stephen Tuck
TORCH Director