The 2019 Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh are only 3 weeks away! Dame Mary Beard will give the first of her six lectures on Monday, 6 May. As she herself describes the lectures, “This lecture series explores why the classical world still matters and what ethical dilemmas the study of classics raises (and has always raised). Taking six particular themes, it hopes to show how antiquity can continue to challenge the moral certainties of modernity.”

The lectures will be held in the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre at the University of Edinburgh and seats are already filling up quickly. Like in past years this blog will be active alongside the lectures to facilitate further discussion of Beard’s lectures online. The videos (and audio) of each lecture will be posted here shortly after they have been given and a number of contributors will offer their reflections to further facilitate conversation. Whether you are able to attend the lectures in person or are only able to engage from a distance all are most welcome to join in on the online discussion. For further details on how to join the conversation see How to Engage.

Dame Mary Beard’s lectures entitled “The Ancient World and Us: From Fear and Loathing to Enlightenment and Ethics” promise to be of interest to a wide-ranging audience and to be a timely opportunity for reflection on current ethical situations in light of what we can learn from the ancient world.