Wadham Symposium 2026 – FORCE

On Saturday 7 February, we held the Wadham Symposium 2026 on the theme of force.

The Wadham Symposium is an annual cross-college, interdisciplinary event, originally conceived and coordinated by Professor Jane Garnett, Emeritus Fellow in History and History of Art, which has been running in college since 2011. Each year, a theme is chosen for its multiple resonances in different fields and for its topicality in relation to current geopolitical or existential concerns. This year's theme, force, proved to be especially fertile ground for discussion and exchange across a range of disciplines. Short presentations were given by a mixture of undergraduates, visiting students, professors, postgraduates, post-docs, lecturers, fellows and alumni, each of whom responded to the theme from various vantage points – amongst the speakers, there was representation from Law, English, Medical Sciences, Evolutionary Anthropology, Music, and History. The programme also featured a live performance by artist and Wadham college alumnus, Alexander Stavrou.

Each presentation sparked new ideas within the room, stimulating lateral thinking and allowing the discussion to build and grow across the day. The result was a lively, respectful and engaging atmosphere of collective intellectual exchange: a coming together across borders, with trust, openness and curiosity, to see where lines of collaborative thought might take us. These discussions and debates did not only take place during the formal sessions. As well as a full day of lively conversation, participants also stayed for a highly enjoyable dinner, which was held in the Old Library. Another important aspect of the Symposium is accessibility: the event is generously subsidized by the College, so that participants are only asked for a modest contribution towards the cost of refreshments.

This year, the Symposium also featured a mini-exhibition – two prints generously lent by the College Librarian, Tim Kirtley. The prints, which were made by Tim during a hand press printing workshop at the Bodleian, were of the first page of the first folio of The Tempest, a play which is itself a drama of multiple varied and powerful forces. The two versions of the same print were taken on the same press, with the same force applied. However, each one is slightly different. The print made on dry paper came out slightly patchy, while the print made on the slightly damp paper came out much clearer, deeper and crisper. The prints drew our attention to is the other half of the equation of force, a theme that was returned to throughout the day - that is, that we should not only consider the forces that are most obviously exerted or imposed, but also the counterforces at work in all that we do, how we might look again at objects, at images, and at the world around us to notice and discover new agents of force, and the potential to direct force in new ways and in new directions. Despite not being able to attend the Symposium, Tim also put together a video of clips from the Library’s Wadham Library Films Series, which speak to the Symposium’s chosen theme of force.

We are very grateful to all the members of college who presented at this year’s Symposium, to all the participants who came along and gave up a day of their weekend to take part, and to all the college staff who supported the event. The day was a greatly encouraging affirmation of the meaning of collegiality and intellectual community, and we very much look forward to next year’s event.