The upcoming Think Human festival at Oxford Brookes University, slated for 15-18 April, will feature a discussion highlighting philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe's singular opposition to Oxford University's decision to grant an honorary degree to Harry Truman, who ordered the atomic bombings of Japan. This historical detail underscores the role of academic institutions in either challenging or legitimizing state violence, even as the festival aims to "create connections between academics and the local community." The event, described by event director Prof Katharine Craik as "for everybody," proposes to bridge the gap between academic circles and the broader public through various events.
Craik stated that "being human is about openness and having an interest in other people's lives, other people's communities, other people's realities, and bringing people into conversations." This framing positions the "free" festival as a mechanism for managing the inherent contradictions between the cultural capital concentrated within institutions like Oxford and the material realities of the "local community." The festival's stated goal of fostering connections offers symbolic engagement without addressing deeper structural inequalities in access to education or the economic conditions that separate these groups.
The Academy's Role in Managing Contradictions
Among the topics presented are recently unearthed writings from novelist and former University of Oxford fellow Dame Iris Murdoch. These "lost poems," discovered in the attic of her house on 30 Charlbury Road, will be read at the Oxford Brookes University event. Emeritus Professor Gary Browning, a committee member, noted the Iris Murdoch Society's discovery of these previously unpublished works, which have since been collected in Poems from an Attic. The publication of such material, alongside discussions of Murdoch's acclaimed novels and philosophical essays, reinforces the value placed on intellectual property and cultural artifacts within established academic frameworks, often inaccessible to the wider public.
Browning will lead a discussion on 17 April titled Oxford Quartet: Women Philosophers Against the Tide, focusing on the lives and works of Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley, and Dame Iris Murdoch, all of whom attended Oxford as undergraduates in the 1930s. Browning highlighted their inclination "to be more objective in ethics and thought that we needed a strong support for ethics in philosophy." This intellectual lineage, while presented as a challenge to prevailing thought, remains largely contained within academic discourse, offering critique without structural disruption.
Confronting Imperial Violence
A critical moment within this historical review involves Anscombe's stance on Harry Truman. Browning stated that Anscombe, "after the war, [felt very strongly that Oxford University should not give an honorary degree to Harry Truman, who dropped atomic bombs on Japan, and she was virtually alone in opposing this action." This act of individual resistance directly confronted the institution's willingness to honor a figure responsible for immense state-sanctioned violence, revealing the university's capacity to legitimize imperial power. The festival's inclusion of this detail, while important, frames it as a historical anecdote rather than a contemporary critique of institutional complicity in upholding such power structures.
Other events on the program include discussions on motherhood, the legacy of new Labour, and grassroots football. A commemoration of Harriet Jacobs, described by Craik as "one of the most remarkable African-American figures of the 19th Century," is also planned. These diverse topics, while seemingly broad, can serve to diffuse focus from the systemic issues that underpin social inequality, presenting a curated selection of cultural and historical narratives that do not fundamentally challenge the existing order.
Cultivating Future Labor
The festival also includes a day event for schools on Friday, designed "to enrich the kids' preparation for A-levels, but also to broaden their knowledge and understanding more generally of humanities subjects," according to Craik. This initiative, while framed as educational enrichment, functions within the existing educational system to prepare students for their roles within the current economic order, reinforcing the pathways to higher education and specific career tracks rather than questioning the structures that necessitate such preparation. Browning described the festival as an "absolutely fantastic occasion" where "spirited conversations" occur, yet such conversations, when confined to academic settings, often fail to translate into material challenges to the distribution of power and wealth.