For World Homeless Day 2022, Uncomfortable Oxford partnered with several charities to host an awareness-raising event, combining an awareness-raising wlaking tour about Oxford's social and eocnonmic inequalities in the past and present and a charities' fair showcasing the work done locally.

The talk told the story William Thomas Beckford’s wealth and his ultimate financial decline which led to the sale of his vast Fonthill Abbey estate and its contents, highlighting how Warwickshire was not a provincial, isolated county but rather connected to the global institution of slavery.

It explored how Charlecote Park and the Lucy family, though not directly involved with slavery and imperialism, benefitted from them and how the display of these objects projected social status in the 18th century.

Historian Dr. Joseph O'Mahoney asked us why is being gay legal in some countries and punishable by years in prison in others? Historical and statistical research reveals that the major factor is British colonialism.

Dr. Tracey Johnson talked about 'Building Black Arts Demos': a presentation on the life of African American sculptor, Augusta Savage, and her role in developing Black Arts Education in New York City. 

An interactive talk with Uncomfortable Oxford and FemThinkDo exploring the entanglements between empire-making and the feminist movement, including the story of Makereti.

The Weston Library

We hosted three stalls that highlighted how we place ourselves in the world and different approaches to mapping.

Uncomfortable Oxford participated in the Ideas Festival this past October to launch our brand new Uncomfortable Literature Tour.

In collaboration with the Oxford Climate Justice Campaign (OCJC), UnOx ran a free 'Protest' tour calling for university divestment.

To celebrate International Women's Day, UnOx ran a free walking tour highlighting women's history in Oxford.

Oxford Scholar Seamus Nevin discussed his research on Cecil Rhodes and the Irish Independence Movement at this special lecture, in collaboration with the Museum of Oxford.

Using a number of newly discovered sources, this talk shed fresh light on a highly significant, yet understudied episode in British imperial history, and posed questions about the relationship between Irish nationalism and British imperialism.

This talk covered the career of a Black British music hall star known across Europe as a glamorous cross-dressing diva: Her story gives us a fascinating glimpse into how Black women performers could make careers for themselves in the face of racial and gendered stereotypes:

Director and researcher Olivia Durand gave a lecture for the Museum of Oxford on the historical policing of women by the University of Oxford, raising the question of a woman's safety and legitimacy on the streets.

Local Oxfordshire historian Liz Woolley gave a talk on the life and legacy of Olive Gibbs, former Lord Mayor of Oxford

Throughout the festival, we developed 5 self-guided Uncomfortable Scavenger Hunts of Oxford's neighbourhoods, highlighting their rich histories and local initiatives.

Ressources still available on this page.

In collaboration with Common Ground, our first Discussion Cafe showcased 'Activism in Oxford', hightlighting the history of activism in the city and university, while meeting modern activists still fighting for change. 

Uncomfortable Oxford teamed up with the School of Geography for a special lecture on Halford Mackinder, given by expert Gerry Kearns.

UnOx ran 'Uncomfortable Object' talks at the Ashmolean Museum as part of the Windrush Day events.

In collaboration with the Oxford Hub, UnOx ran a special children's tour tour for children participating in the Branch Up Program.

Ayahs were colonial caregivers, mostly from South Asia who were hired to help colonial English families with their young children. Many of them were employed to look after young children on the long ship journeys between India and Britain. On arrival to the UK, there were an astounding number of these women who were abandoned by these families, who no longer required their service, with no pay, no shelter, and no way to get back home - which they were often falsely promised. In London, this resulted in the Ayahs’ Home to be opened in Hackney. The talk zent over the efforts to have this story recovered and memorialised, in particular through Farhana Mamoojee's efforts to grant the place a Blue Plaque, successful in 2022.

The second iteration of our collaboration with Kolkata-based Immersive Trails, the virtual tour highlighted how the connection between Britain and India was framed by a corpus of representations and theories aimed at othering indigenous agency and culture while building the colonial relationship.

Researcher Urvi Khaitan gave a talk on the intersection between empire, famine, labour, and gender in India during the Second World War.

Uncomfortable Oxford held an interactive virtual tour of Pitt Rivers Museum, focusing on modes of (dis)collecting, display, and critical analysis of the museum space.

For International Women's Day 2020, we teamed up with the Oxford Rape Crisis Centre and the Student Union to offer a free walking tour focusing of histories of women in Oxford and women that made history.

As part of the Being Human Festival 2019, we ran 'Death at Teatime' event in collaboration with the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities.

On International Memorial Day for Japanese Military 'Comfort Women', join us for a movie screening of an award-winning film tracing the lives of three survivors in their complex experiences, trauma, and fights for justice.

UnOx contributed a display to the 'Uncomfortable Histories - Artistic Responses' Exhibition hosted at the Backlit Gallery in Nottingham from May 04-26th.

As part of is mandate to continue facilitating public outreach and engagement, UnOx hosted an open workshop on 'Teaching Public History'.