Oriel College, University of Oxford, announces 2019 Holberg Laureate Paul Gilroy, Professor of Humanities at University College London, as the speaker for the 2024 Rex Nettleford Lecture.
Professor Paul Gilroy, Founding Director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation at University College London, will give the 2024 Rex Nettleford Lecture on Colonialism and its Legacies at Oriel College, Oxford.
It is the third year Oriel College has held a lecture named in honour of the late Rex Nettleford, an alumnus of the College and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies. The lectures aim to contribute to the advancement of academic research into the legacies of colonialism in all its forms.
One of the foremost theorists of race and racism working and teaching in the world today, Gilroy was awarded the Holberg Prize “for his contributions to critical race studies, post-colonialism and related fields” in 2019. His lecture at Oriel College will be on “The Evolving Political Significance of Studying Africa’s Diaspora.”
After Gilroy’s lecture, there will be a prize ceremony for winners of the annual Rex Nettleford Essay Prize. Each year, the competition invites year 12 students at UK schools or colleges to submit essays on the enduring influence of colonialism and uncomfortable questions posed by it.
The 2024 Rex Nettleford Lecture will take place in the Harris Lecture Theatre, Oriel College, Oxford, from 5.30 to 6.30 pm on Thursday 16 May. The event is free to attend, and everyone is welcome, though it is recommended attendees register in advance.