New College Essay Society - Trinity Term 2024

Last week, New College Essay Society held their Trinity Term gathering in the Warden's lodgings. Their guest speaker was British theatre director, Tim Supple.

The event, which was organised by Aria Banerjee Watts, asked the question "Whose Story?". The Society had a record eight applications for speakers for this event and, from those who applied, the chosen student speakers were:

• Eleanor Grant from the JCR (English, Year 1) who discussed "Folk Revivalism in Oxford" and
• Nick Arndt from the MCR (MPhil International Relations) who spoke about "Memory Politics and State Identity".

Tim Supple's guest talk was entitled "Should I Stay or Should I Go: questions of an international theatre director". In this talk, Tim focused on three questions: one which was personal, one which was artistic and one which was political/ethical. Through these, he reflected on his career, whether or not theatre is a national art form, the unique characteristics of theatre, and whether stories can be owned.

Following the meeting, Aria said:

The event went fabulously well and Tim had a lovely time. We had lots of amazing questions and the discussion continued into the college bar! 

The New College Essay Society

The NC Essay Society, established in 1868, has a long history of eminent speakers, with the likes of Isaiah Berlin, Tony Benn, and H.L.A. Hart all having been associated with the society over the last 155 years. The society aims to promote interdisciplinary thinking and for current students to explore ideas outside of their degree subject. We invite guest speakers from a range of fields (academia, journalism, the arts etc) whose work is interesting for all students to hear about. Each meeting has a theme, recent meetings- “Lies and Liars” or “The World’s a Stage”- but these are kept broad so students and the guest speaker can interpret the topic however they would like.