Shelley Letters Return to Univ from the Master
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ISSUE 21 TRINITY 2005 Shelley Letters return to Univ From the Master In this column, I always seem to be Every member of Univ knows that countering the latest Percy Bysshe Shelley was a press story. Last time member of Univ from 1810 – 1811; the story was that that he was the author of an Oxford was going anonymous pamphlet entitled flat out to recruit full The Necessity of Atheism; that, when fee-paying foreign interrogated by the Fellows, he students in place of refused to confirm or deny his home students. Lord Butler authorship; and that he was sent of Brockwell There were then two down. He then went to Italy, lived further stories, also false. One was that a rackety life, wrote his poetry, Oxford was giving up tutorials and the assisted Mary Shelley in writing other was that the governance reform Frankenstein, and was drowned in proposals would result in colleges losing a boating accident 10 years later. their independence. Most recently, Now, nearly 200 years later, some hitherto unknown letters have been discovered, written Oxford has been in the news because Congregation passed a resolution by Shelley and his friend Thomas Hogg, which provide strong corroborating evidence of opposing a mandatory system of their authorship of The Necessity of Atheism. They were written in the winter of 1810 - 11, assessment proposed in the new from Univ and from Shelley’s home. They Vice-Chancellor’s consultative document contain the arguments and some of the on Academic Strategy. language which appeared in The Necessity of Atheism. They were written to Ralph Oxford is indeed buzzing at present Wedgwood, son of Thomas Wedgwood, cousin and it is difficult to give a true picture of Josiah. Ralph Wedgwood was himself the of what is happening in 300 words inventor of carbon paper, patented in 1806, or so. Let’s start with the facts, as I see them. which Shelley employs to make a copy of one of the letters. The letters discuss Wedgwood’s ideas It is not novel to say that, like other of a universal language and alphabet, covering universities, Oxford is under pressure in language, numbers and music, which he all sorts of ways, through having to patented in 1806, and in which Shelley and reconcile the inadequate resources Hogg rehearse their ideas about the creation provided by the Government – even Courtesy of Christie’s Images of the universe. with the rise in tuition fees to £3,000 in 2006 – with the increasing demands The story of the discovery of these letters is itself an exciting story. They were saved only upon us. One of these pressures is the by the vigilance of the person who, when clearing the attic of two deceased elderly men, Research Assessment Exercise, next due found them amongst papers relating to the Staffordshire potteries and the Wedgwood in 2008, which ties government financial family. They must have been retained by Ralph Wedgwood who may have been under support to research output. the impression (perhaps deliberately In an effort to put Oxford in a better fostered by Shelley) that he was position to meet these pressures, the corresponding with a Fellow of new Vice-Chancellor has produced some Univ, since he endorsed one of the proposals for debate, both on academic letters ‘Revd. Percy B. Shelley’. strategy and governance. In view of the close connection of Debate has certainly ensued, and will these letters with Univ and Shelley’s continue. Apart from the resistance of time here, there was obviously a many academic staff to being more strong case for Univ acquiring closely managed, opposition to the them. Through very generous governance proposals has focused on support from the Leventis a proposal to create for the first time Foundation and in cooperation with a governing body of trustees drawn the Bodleian Library, the College bid from outside the university. for the papers at the auction at Oxford needs to debate these issues. Christie’s on 8 June. We were While there is a Scylla to be navigated successful in acquiring them and so past, there is also a Charybdis and cool they will now return to Oxford, heads will be needed to find a way their original home. Courtesy of Christie’s Images between them. Around the College The Master’s SUNDAY EVENING GUESTS this Strandmann, Fellow in Modern European and music recital at the home of Robert term included Colin George (1949), who History (since 1977), Bill Sykes, College (1964) and Karen Boyd. Pireeni performed his one man show “A Passion for Chaplain (since 1978), and Prof Glen Sundaralingam (1986) and her husband Acting”, and Tam Dalyell, who gave an Dudbridge, Shaw Professor of Chinese (since Colm Ó Riain performed tracks from their impassioned talk on “Iraq and Iran”. 1989). Hartmut and Bill (pictured below left) recent album Bridge across the Blue Tam Dalyell has been succeeded as Father of will be celebrating their careers at Univ with (www.bridgeacrosstheblue.com). Pireeni also the House by Rt. Hon. Alan Williams (1954) current and old College members at special read one of her early poems written looking and we have a well-balanced group of 3 other gatherings later in the summer. Also leaving from her room at Stavertonia. Meanwhile Old Member MPs – James Plaskitt (1973, are Dr Ian Rumfitt (Fellow in Philosophy), Sean Denniston (1987) and Neville Rosen Labour), Andrew George (1980, Lib. Dem.) Dr Barbara Kowalzig (Fellow in Ancient (1951) hosted drinks for the academic and Philip Hammond (1974, Conservative). History) and Dr Verity Platt (Stevenson JRF in outreach visit of Dr Catherine Stoodley Classics). Dr Rumfitt will be taking up a chair (Special Supernumerary Fellow in Univ will be welcoming many NEW FELLOWS at Birkbeck College, London; Dr Kowalzig has Neurophysiology) to Boston, before a special at the start of the next academic year. been awarded a Leverhulme Early Career talk given by Sir Richard Dearlove (“C”) to Dr Tiffany Stern, currently a Reader in English Fellowship; and Dr Platt has received a Oxbridge New England alumni and friends at at Oxford Brookes University, will take up the Research Councils UK Fellowship at Exeter the Cambridge Boat Club. Beaverbrook and Bouverie Fellowship in University. There will be tributes to the leaving English Literature and Language. Dr Stern was The 2005 GARETH EVANS MEMORIAL Fellows in the College Record. an undergraduate at Merton and did her LECTURE, Non-Catastrophic Presupposition Ph.D. at Cambridge. She is a Shakespearean Michael Failure, was given in May by Prof Stephen scholar, with a particular interest in Chappell Yablo, of MIT. Gareth Evans, a Philosophy performance and rehearsal. Dr Oliver Zimmer (1999, Current Fellow of Univ for 11 years from 1969, died in will join the College’s historians as the Fellow Lecturer in 1980 at the age of 34. The lectures are a in Modern European History. Dr Zimmer is Engineering) testament to Evans’s life and to his work, currently a Reader at Durham. He studied for has been which remains enormously influential 25 years his first degree in Zurich and took his Ph.D. selected by the after his death. He co-edited Truth and at L.S.E. His research focuses on the NOISE (New Meaning with Prof John McDowell (Emeritus development of nations and nationalism in Outlooks in Fellow), who also completed Gareth’s book Europe from 1760 until 1940. Appointed to a Science and The Varieties of Reference (in incomplete three-year Fellowship in International Relations Engineering) manuscript form at the time of the latter’s is Rahul Rao, a Rhodes Scholar currently Campaign, as death) which constitutes a major studying at Balliol, who moved to Oxford in one of ten UK contemporary development in Philosophy 2001 from the International Law School of role models to of Language. raise the profile India in Bangalore. Roz Savage (1986), who will become the first of science and Also joining the College are several RESEARCH solo female ever to compete in the ATLANTIC engineering FELLOWS. Jason Lotay will be the Science JRF; ROWING RACE when she sets out on and encourage young people to consider the he has studied at both St Edmund Hall and 27 November to row from the Canaries to range of careers available in these subjects. Christ Church, and his research field is Antigua, will be mooring her ocean rowing Michael is a Doctoral student undertaking Pure Mathematics (differential geometry). boat alongside the Univ Barge at Henley this research, in collaboration with Dr Stephen Dr Natalia Nowakowska will be the Stevenson year. For further details of her epic challenge Payne (former Fellow in Engineering), into the JRF in the Arts; her research field is the history and to offer support, please visit formation of bubbles in scuba divers. Their and culture of late medieval and Renaissance www.rozsavage.com study should help to make diving safer, by Poland, and her former Oxford college is providing a better understanding of bubbles The travel scholarships fund in memory of Lincoln. Lindsay Whitfield, currently at in the body and therefore the risks of a diver ROGER SHORT (1963) was launched at a St Antony’s and formerly of the University of getting the bends. For more info, visit dinner in April. It was attended by Victoria North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will hold the www.noisenet.ws Short; the Turkish Ambassador; the Permanent research fellowship within the Global Secretary of the Foreign Office; and others of A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS by Professor Glen Economic Governance programme. Her Roger’s friends and family. Professor Anthony Dudbridge (Shaw Professor of Chinese) will be research includes a particular focus on Ghana Bryer gave a talk on Turkey.