News

Cambridge Festival of Ideas prepares for a bumper first weekend

A packed programme of events focusing on the theme of ‘truth’ form part of the annual two-week celebration of arts, humanities and social sciences at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas this weekend. Over 70 events, including talks, exhibitions, and hands-on, interactive experiences, investigate some of the challenges we face...

Mythical beasts and supernatural beings go on display at St John’s

A witchcraft treatise published in the initial stages of the European Witch Craze; sworn testimony as to the real existence of sea serpents; and Elizabethan woodcut illustrations showing werewolves and unicorns as part of the natural world: With Halloween around the corner, St John’s is putting the mythical beasts and...

Separating truth from fiction: Cambridge Festival of Ideas explores the rise of fake news

The Cambridge Festival of Ideas launches today with a focus on truth, post-truth and the everything in between. Fake news has emerged as one of the buzzwords of our age. What is behind its rise? How has social media helped to spread it and have we been here before? Several events at this year's Cambridge Festival of Ideas...

The secret language of anatomy

Where is the seahorse in our brain? Why is there a Turkish saddle in our head? Why are our heart chambers named after Roman halls? A new book by Cambridge anatomists provides an illustrated guide to the mysterious vocabulary of the human body - the terms used to teach trainee surgeons and doctors about how we work. The...

Black Cantabs celebrate Cambridge's black students

Images of the University of Cambridge's 'lost and forgotten' black students will go on display next week as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas. The Black Cantabs project exhibition starts on Monday. The Black Cantabs is a historical and research focused society that aims to highlight and share the past and present...

How can we promote religious tolerance better, is a clash of civilisations inevitable, how do religious truth and scientific truth co-exist?

The theme of this year’s Cambridge Festival of Ideas is truth and a number of events will explore this from the point of view of religious truth. The Festival will also see a celebration of the legacy of the Reformation which is 500 years old this year. There will be big debates on some of the central issues facing...

Cambridge Festival of Ideas on the frontline of the technological revolution

Can machines think? Is an artificial friend a substitute for a real one? Are digital technologies making politics impossible? Can politics keep up with technology? As machines continue to take over the most important aspect of our lives, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, which launches next Monday 16 October and runs for...

From Pre-history to Brexit: History events at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas

From pre-history to Brexit: History events at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas Is history always written by the victors? How can historical truth be defended from Holocaust deniers? What is the role of empire in Brexit? Big historical questions are at the centre of this year’s Cambridge Festival of Ideas, from the history...

New heritage research centre launches at Cambridge Festival of Ideas

As part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, a series of events on rebuilding Syria, including a three-week exhibition at the Central Library in Cambridge (21 October until 11 November), are set to launch a new heritage research centre that opens this autumn at the University of Cambridge. The events, Restoring truth to...

Pirates, reindeer, magic and games: Cambridge Festival of Ideas events for children and families

Children, young people and families are invited to be a part of this year’s 10 th annual Cambridge Festival of Ideas (16-29 October) with a packed series of talks, story-telling, games, exhibitions and interactive fun. From detective hunts, decoding secret messages, and fortune telling in Ancient Rome, to piracy on the...