Event Archive
This is an archive of past events within the Department of English Studies. Please see our current events for forthcoming activities.
Some of our public events are recorded and are available as podcasts via our Research English At Durham blog.

‘Watch Thou For the Mutant!’: Literature and Science in the Postwar Era
In the postwar era, science was the source of wild and imaginative terrors: Darwinism, genetics and atomic radiation combined into a heady mix in the minds of science-fiction writers. This lecture explores the monsters, mutants and aliens of postwar science-fiction from B-Movies to bestsellers, inspired by developments in science and commenting on pressing political and cultural fears. A particularly good example is John Wyndham, author of catastrophes like The Day of the Triffids (1951) and The Chrysalids (1955). Expect cloned Nazis in flying saucers, mutant telepathic children and eight foot walking plants that eat people... Look out - it's behind you!
The Durham Late Summer Lecture Series is designed to showcase postgraduate research in the Department of English Studies to a general audience from both within and outside of the university, and to offer PhD students and post-docs in the Department of English Studies an opportunity for lecturing and aims to provide valuable experience for later job applications.
Contact late-summer.lectures@durham.ac.uk for more information about this event.
READ Blog
Research in English At Durham (READ) blog showcasing the the literary research emerging from the Department of English Studies
Events
We host a large number of conferences, lectures and seminars each year, many of them open to the public. Find out more on our Events page.
Podcasts
Many of our public lectures, seminars and conferences are recorded, and can be listened to as podcasts.
Next Event
- 20th January 2021
- Sensory Experiments in Nineteenth-Century Literature
- Online (Zoom)
- Dr Erica Fretwell (University of Albany) and Dr Shannon Draucker (Siena College)