Professor Sir J.H. Elliott: Comparative History, a Personal Perspective

Sir J.H. Elliott

One of the aims of the Stubbs Society is to give undergraduates more personal contact with important historians than they obtain in a library, or even in a lecture theatre, and this event, with former Oxford Regius Professor, Sir J.H. Elliott, is very much in the spirit of this endeavour. As well as having held the prestigious Regius chair, he is a winner of both the Prince of Asturias Award and the Balzan Prize, and is widely considered among the world’s leading experts on Spanish history. His books 'The Revolt of the Catalans', 'The Old World and the New', and his biography of Olivares, are seminal works in their field. And it's appropriate that Prof. Elliott should follow Adam Sisman on the term card, because he and Hugh Trevor-Roper were friends. In this talk, Professor Elliott will look back, offering a personal reflection on his career as an historian and discussing comparative history. If, as Emerson said, all history is autobiography, this talk should offer fascinating insights into both.

Friday 29 October, 8.30 pm, St. John's College, New Seminar Room.

Adam Sisman: Hugh Trevor-Roper and the Hunt for Hitler

Hugh Trevor-Roper in Tom Quad

The Stubbs Society is pleased to join with Christ Church's S.R. Gardiner Society in presenting Adam Sisman, the acclaimed biographer, who has recently turned his attention to Hugh Trevor-Roper, Oxford institution and one of the most significant historians of his generation. Sisman is a talented communicator, who brings wit, verve, and personal experience—as a friend of Trevor-Roper’s—to his subject. And his subject could hardly be more relevant: during a long career, Hugh Trevor-Roper made seminal contributions to the historiography of the English Civil War, the Renaissance, and the Second World War, demonstrating rare breadth and acuity—historical acumen which was combined with the exotic lifestyle of a socialite. From his undergraduate days at Christ Church, Trevor-Roper worked in the Intelligence Services during the war, and went on to become Regius Professor of History at Oxford, where he lectured in his striking doctoral robes, and debated on T.V. with A.J.P. Taylor. Unhappy years as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, remain highly controversial, and replete with piquant gossip. A slew of recent publications mean that Trevor-Roper's reputation is once again in the ascendant, and this talk will be an indispensable introduction to the life and work of this important figure.

October 13, 8.30 pm. Christ Church