Prof Cathy Elliott's Inaugural Lecture: "Rewilding The University"

Prof Cathy Elliott's Inaugural Lecture: "Rewilding The University"

Prof Cathy Elliott will deliver her inaugural lecture on the topic of "Rewilding The University", followed by a drinks reception. This special event honors her contributions to the pedagogy of politics, offering an opportunity to hear her insights and celebrate her impact on the department, her students, UCL and higher education more widely.

Location: Room: G.06 Sir Ambrose Fleming Lecture Theatre (ground floor adjacent to main foyer)

Could the University be a wild place? A resilient ecosystem of biodiversity, interdependent relationships, entanglements and emergence? What would it look like if we let go of command, control and management, and allowed the University to grow and thrive in ways that cannot be predicted in advance but might exceed our wildest dreams?

In this lecture, Prof Cathy Elliott will reflect on her adventures in education and leadership over the last 15 years. She will use ecological ideas about rewilding as a metaphor and provocation to think about happy accidents, unexpected successes, companionship, and growth, in her career as a proud education-focused academic. In the process, she will advocate for celebrating education, trusting teachers and students, resisting the instinct to micro-manage and control, and allowing for diversity in order to cultivate a wild and healthy institution. She will draw on her experiences of working with students to diversify and decolonise the curriculum, get outside the classroom walls, and undermine the hegemony of grades. She will also discuss her work with colleagues, tending to and cultivating teaching practice as a lifelong labour of love and care. This lecture will be infused with the joy of education, trust and support for each other, and wild hope for the future in an uncertain world.

Agenda

18:30 – Welcome, Prof Nick Witham
18:32 – Introduction, Prof Jennifer Hudson
18:40 – Lecture, Prof Cathy Elliott
19:20 – Appreciation, Dr Martin Compton and Connie Gillies
19:30 – Finish
19:30-21:00 – Drinks reception (all are welcome to attend)

Accessibility (lecture theatre)

• The corridor outside the lecture theatre(s) is sufficiently wide enough (150cm+) to allow wheelchair users to pass.
• There is step free access into the lecture theatre(s).
• The door opening width(s) is/are 75cm+ for the lecture theatre(s).
• There are designated spaces for wheelchair users within the lecture theatre(s).
• There is space for an assistance dog.
• There is not a hearing assistance system for the lecture theatre(s).
• There is not a visual fire alarm beacon in the lecture theatre(s).

More information can be found on Accessable.co.uk

Accessibility information for the drinks reception venue will be added once the location is confirmed.

Seating and Tickets

Seats are allocated on a first come, first served basis. We cannot guarantee you a seat, but it is very unusual that we have to turn someone away.