Keble Social Sciences Group

Introduction

This group brings together graduates and Fellows in the social sciences to (1) discuss their work, (2) collaborate and exchange ideas including in informal settings; (3) advance research and interaction between the social sciences; (4) provide a body in which Professorial Fellows in the social sciences can interact with Keble graduate students; (5) showcase the research of Keble social scientists.

An official function each term will allow graduate students and fellows in the social sciences at Keble to dine together, at which occasion an invited and distinguished guest speaker will discuss and debate a topic relevant to the social sciences. The format will generally be a seated dinner in one of the SCR rooms (such as the De Breyne Room) at which a brief paper will be presented informally, followed by substantial questions, discussion and debate.

Dinners

Dinners will be held in one of the SCR rooms. The dinners will be for graduates and fellows in the social sciences on a first come first accepted basis. Numbers will usually be limited to 25 and the night will be set in advance so not to clash with any other Keble event. Once the evening has been set a speaker will then be contacted.

Members

The membership of the KSSG includes all Keble Fellows and Keble graduate students in the social sciences. The three course dinners will usually involve a short presentation by the speaker, followed by moderated discussion and debate during dinner across a large table.

1. All Keble Graduate Students in Social Sciences

2. Tutorial Fellows:

• Dr Lisa Bendall (Archaeology)
• Dr Morgan Clarke (Anthropology)
• Dr Edward Harcourt (Philosophy)
• Dr Dan McDermott (Politics)
• Professor Ed Peel (Law)
• Dr Ali Rogers (Geography)
• Dr Kevin Sheppard (Economics)
• Dr Howard Smith (Economics)
• Dr Richard Washington (Geography)

3. Professorial Fellows:

• Professor Jerker Denrell (Management)
• Professor Chris Gosden (Archaeology)
• Professor Steve Rayner (James Martin Institute)

4. Research Fellows:

• Dr Lambros Malafouris (Creativity)
• Dr Andrew McCarthy (Logic)

5. Fellows by special election

• Professor Jonathan Zittrain (Law)
• Dr Howard Jones (Economics and Finance)

6. Emeriti Fellows:

• Dr Larry Siedentop

7. Honorary Fellows:

• Lord Adonis
• The Right Hon Ed Balls MP
• The Hon Justice Heydon AC
• Dr George Richardson

Past Events 

Michaelmas Term 2011 Dinner: Sir Nicholas MacPherson A Treasury View of the Economic Crisis

On Wednesday 9^th November, Sir Nicholas MacPherson, Permanent Secretary to Her Majesty’s Treasury and a central figure in current UK economic policy, spoke on the topic “A Treasury View of the Economic Crisis”. Sir Nicholas gave a very insightful and eloquent overview of the economic crisis, its historical causes, and its rapidly changing nature from credit crunch to sovereign debt crisis.  In a wide ranging discussion, he answered questions on the future of the Eurozone, the options for avoiding recession, the role of inflation and devaluation, and the responses of different political systems in responding to the debt crisis.

Hilary Term 2011 Dinner: Lord Trimble Reflections on Peace Processes

On Thursday 10^th March, Lord Trimble, Nobel Peace Prize winner and a central figure in the Northern Ireland Peace Process, spoke about “Reflections on Peace Processes”.  Lord Trimble was introduced by the Warden, who had also played a role in the peace process during his time as Permanent Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office. David Trimble went into fascinating detail on his time as a negotiator of the Belfast Agreement in 1998 which was successful in bringing to a close a 30 year period of violent conflict. He pointed out that the peace process became possible once each side in the conflict had put to one side the hope of an outright victory over the other. The discussion was highly informative and hugely entertaining, with some very funny anecdotes about key figures in British and Irish politics. In a wide ranging discussion David Trimble answered questions on a wide range of peace processes across the world, emphasising the caveats in trying to draw general conclusions about peace processes. 

 
Trinity term 2010 dinner: Sir Ian Blair 

On 26 May 2010 Sir Ian Blair, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, spoke about ‘Policing: continuity, consensus and controversy’. In an eloquent account of the history of policing Sir Ian explained the creation of the Metropolitan Police Force by Sir Robert Peel in 1829, and the continuing task to marry the competing objectives of operational independence and accountability. We can see today an example of these conflicting objectives in the debate surrounding current proposals for elected police chiefs. Sir Ian noted the importance of a proper public debate on such important issues. Indeed, a discussion on the role of the police force in general was long overdue. The last Royal Commission on the police took place in 1962, before police even used wireless radios, and before many of today's threats, such as that from terrorism, had materialized. Sir Ian's talk was followed by a lively and wide-ranging discussion over dinner, which included combating cybercrime, tackling corruption, local versus national policing, and the response by the Metropolitan Police to the events of July 2005. This was a highly stimulating and informative evening - in fact, Sir Ian revealed to those present the identity of Jack the Ripper, but we have agreed to keep this information to ourselves. Congratulations to Sir Ian who is about to become a crossbench peer following the recent Dissolution Honours.

Michaelmas term 2009 dinner: Professor Richard Susskind OBE

On 25th November 2009, Professor Richard Susskind, author of the international bestsellers "The Future of Law" and "The End of Lawyers?" spoke to Keble Social Scientists about the future of the legal profession and lawyers. Professor Susskind presented a powerful thesis that questioned the monopoly that lawyers have over legal services. Why, he asked, have clients historically tolerated partners of law firms charging large fees for work that could be done, skilfully, by a junior lawyer trained in that area? Why have other professions experienced commodification yet lawyers have been previously immune? How will lawyers respond to the major changes that are being forced upon the law by the impact of technology? He also discussed the major impact that the Legal Services Act 2007 will have on the practice and future of law and the possible model of "Tesco law". For 3 hours over dinner and dessert these ideas were vigorously debated but one story was left lingering in the minds of attendees who cast doubt on the future painted by Professor Susskind: in 1996 when Professor Susskind wrote that in a decade most legal business would be conducted by email his suggestions were described as absurd and deranged. People listen more closely now.  

Hilary term 2009 dinner: Dr John Thanassoulis and Professor David Vines

On 4th March 2009, Dr Howard Smith organised a dinner for Keble Social Scientists to debate and discuss the micro and macro economic theory of the credit crunch. Dr John Thanassoulis and Professor David Vines led the discussion of how we have arrived in this state and what we can do about it. Dr John Thanassoulis is a widely published University Lecturer in Economics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Christ Church College. He is a well known radio and media commentator on the credit crunch. Professor David Vines is Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Balliol College. He is also Adjunct Professor of Economics in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University, and a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research. David's research is on macroeconomics and international economics and he also works on the prevention and resolution of international financial crises. After stimulating presentations by both speakers, there was much debate about the rise and reinvigoration of Keynesian theory and the manner of future regulation of the City.

Michaelmas term 2008 Dinner: Justice Grant Hammond

On 26 November 2008, Justice Grant Hammond of the New Zealand Court of Appeal was the guest at the Michaelmas Term Social Sciences Dinner. Justice Hammond brought to the discussion broad legal experience including his time as a partner in a large New Zealand law firm, as a Professor of Law at a number of American and Canadian Universities, as a former Chairman of a Canadian law reform agency and as former Professor and Dean of Law at the University of Auckland. He spoke eloquently about “Judges, Juries and Social Science Research” including some woeful stories of jury decisions in cases in which he had been involved as well as some frightening social science research into jury decision making. One highly controversial New Zealand case involved the conviction by a jury of a short, slim man for the murder of a much larger man (whose body was never found) by allegedly throwing him over a 6 foot boat railing out at sea. As usual the joint discussion over dinner was wide ranging. The group canvassed the question of whether juries should be abolished including debate about the relationship between juries and democratic accountability: one political scientist observed that we defend democracy passionately even though empirical evidence suggests many voters are not particularly well informed- should juries be any different? Discussion also ranged over the topic of the legitimacy of judges deciding broad ‘political’ issues and their ability to interpret economic and social research and statisticswith very interesting contributions from one participant who is completing a D.Phil on this topic.

Trinity term 2008 Luncheon: Professor Des King

On Friday 6 June 2008 Professor Des King (author of the bestselling 'Separate and Unequal: Black Americans and the US Federal Goverment' chaired a panel discussion and debate on Senator Obama's race policy. After a viewing of Obama's famous race speech (in the wake of the Jeremiah Wright affair) graduates and Fellows engaged in a lively debate on the future of race relations in the United States and the likely effect of an Obama Presidency.

Trinity Term 2008 Dinner: Professor Vernon Bogdanor

On April 23, 2008, Professor Vernon Bogdanor gave a talk entitled 'Britain's New Constitution' in which he discussed various aspects of constitutional reform in Britain, including devolution, a bill of rights, and parliamentary control of executive power. Vernon Bogdanor is a Professor of Politics and Government, and Fellow of Brasenose College. He is also a Fellow of the British Academy, an Honorary Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies, and in 1998 was awarded a CBE for his contributions to constitutional history.The talk was given in the midst of an ambitious Labour Government package of constitutional reform proposals and debate over whether to adopt a written constitution. Professor Bogdanor argued that, notwithstanding the many difficulties relating to codification, a written constitution may well be desirable for, among other reasons, the idea that the rules of any 'club' ought to be clear and accessible for its members. He also explored themes such as the declining public interest in constitutional affairs, and the centripetal forces within current devolution arrangements. Towards the end of his talk, he posed the provocative question of whether all such debate over constitutional reform, and the proposed reforms themselves, would ultimately make a serious difference to the governance of Britain. After a short reply from Nick Barber, Law Fellow of Trinity College, the group was launched into an hour and a half of lively discussion that lasted through dinner, dessert, and the last drop of wine.

Michaelmas Term 2007 Dinner: Professor Robin Dunbar

For its Michaelmas meeting, the Keble Social Sciences Group was honoured to have Prof. Robin Dunbar as its invited speaker. Prof. Dunbar is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford. He arrived in Oxford on October 1st, having previously held the post of Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Liverpool. A Fellow of the British Academy, he is co-director of the Academy’s Centenary Research Project ‘Lucy to Language: The Archaeology of the Social Brain’. His books include “The Human Story” (2004) and “Grooming, gossip and the evolution of language” (1996). Prof. Dunbar led a lively discussion on the nature of sociality. By placing humans within the animal kingdom, he explored the interplay between biological constraints- how the size of the brain affects the number of relationships we can keep track of- and cultural manifestations- in relation to the categorisation and nature of these relationships; he argued that our big brains have evolutionarily evolved to cope with large group sizes and social networks. For three full hours, with just a break for dinner, he answered questions from the 33 graduate students and fellows present representing a wide spectrum of Social Sciences, such as Economics, Politics, Law, Archaeology, Anthropology, Geography and the Internet Institute. Topics discussed included the sizes of communities such as Gore-Tex factories, the Hutterites, military units and Kibbutzim; the effects of modern technology (internet social networking sites, travel and telephones) on the nature and distances of friendships; the cognitive demands of monogamy on penguins and wasps; as well as the cultural specificities of human relationships, which are often mediated through objects. As Christmas draws near, I’m sure we will all be calculating the number of recipients of our Christmas cards: will they be anywhere near 150, the theoretical maximum number of relationships we can keep track of on a personal level, as Prof. Dunbar has suggested.

Trinity Term 2007 Dinner: Professor Duncan Watts

On 26th April 2007, Professor Duncan Watts from Columbia University spoke to the Keble Social Sciences Research Group and answered questions over dinner. The topic was his work on the small world phenomenon – the idea that that everyone in the world can be reached through a short chain of social acquaintances. In a wide ranging questions and answer session we learned why so many social (and non-social) networks share this almost universal characteristic and the issues that arise in measuring and modelling connectedness – as in the speakers email ‘small world experiment’. The event was very well attended with students and faculty drawn from each of the social science subjects at Keble.

Hilary Term 2007 Speech by Justice Callinan

Following a speech last year by his colleague, Justice Dyson Heydon (Justice of the High Court of Australia and Honorary Fellow of Keble), on Monday 23 April 2007, Justice Ian Callinan of the High Court of Australia spoke to Keble lawyers and social scientists about the development of a right to privacy in Australian and English common law. His Honour began with the question of whether rugby great Andrew Ettingshausen should be able to sue for the infringement of his right to privacy when he was secretly photographed naked in the showers and the photos were published by a leading magazine. To many, this proposition seemed unremarkable but his Honour explained the trenchant opposition that this progressive development of law has seen in England and Australia before advocating a model for the development and recognition of a future right to privacy. His speech, which will be published later in the year in the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, will be a benchmark for the undoubted future consideration of this area of law. The audience at Keble included leading academic experts in the area of tort law and a lively debate following with Justice Callinan rebuffing suggestions that judges are not in a position to assess whether society had moved to a position (since the rejection of a right to privacy in 1937) where there is an increased need for recognition of an individual’s privacy or that recognised wrongs such as infringement of confidence provide sufficient legal protection.

KSSG launch Hilary 2007: Dinner with Professor Joe Nye

On Thursday 1st February 2007, the first dinner of the Keble Social Sciences Group was convened. The goal of the group is to bring together the fellows and graduates in the Social Sciences to discuss their work and to debate the work of others. On this evening, 25 graduates and fellows gathered to dine and discuss the notion of ‘soft power’ and American influence in world affairs with Professor Joe Nye from Harvard University. A former American Rhodes Scholar, Professor Nye served as Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs, Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and Deputy Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology. Professor Nye also served as Deputy to the Undersecretary of State in the Carter Administration, Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs in the Clinton Administration, and was one of the leading candidates for the position of National Security Advisor had John Kerry won the 2004 election. At the same time as all his work

for the State, Professor Nye published dozens of leading articles and books, and the one in the spotlight at Keble was Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (2004). Over a 4 course dinner, Professor Nye discussed and debated the meaning and operation of ‘soft power’, a term which he coined in the late 1980s and which is now in widespread usage to describe the ability to influence and affect others without direct coercion. For almost 3 hours, with only a brief break during main course, he entertained with debate and discussion from almost every person at the table. After a very thorough debate, many were thoroughly convinced by Professor Nye’s thesis that thinking of power in narrow military or economic terms was counter-productive to foreign policy and strategy.

If you would like to find out more about this group and forthcoming activities please contact Dr Howard Smith