From liver disease to the archaeology of trees, What’s Brewing at Queen’s? brings graduate research out of the seminar room and into a relaxed, sociable setting. We spoke to the series’ organiser, Sanjna, about how this informal lecture series is creating space for curiosity, conversation, and cross-disciplinary exchange.
Sanjna
“What’s Brewing at Queen’s is an informal lecture series, designed to give current MCR (graduate) students the chance to talk about their research in a relaxed setting. The lectures are short and aimed at a non-specialist audience, with the goal of sparking conversations between members of the College across different disciplines. Queen’s students do a lot of very interesting research, and the goal is to create a space where students can learn from each other, without the pressure of a more formal academic environment.”
Where did the idea come from?
The lecture series itself was inspired by an event called “Lectures on Tap”, run in New York and other cities around the world, where academics give light-hearted lectures for a lay audience in a bar or brewery, resulting in an entertaining event which also contributes to public engagement with research. One of the highlights of Oxford’s collegiate system is access to an incredibly diverse academic community outside your own discipline, and we wanted to draw on that community in a more fun, light-hearted way.
One of the highlights of Oxford’s collegiate system is access to an incredibly diverse academic community outside your own discipline.
What does a typical evening look like and how is it different from a more traditional academic talk?
A typical evening involves a small group of College members gathering in a cosy venue – most recently the Provost’s Lodgings – to listen to short lectures by two MCR members. The lectures are always delivered over drinks and snacks, resulting in a very relaxed, fun environment, and they are usually interactive. Unlike more traditional academic talks, our lectures are aimed at a non-specialist audience, and are intended to spark discussion. The goal is to make learning accessible and fun, and some speakers have even taken a more comedic/entertaining approach to explaining their research. Since the audience is small and also made up entirely of fellow College members, the environment is more low-stakes, and we hope that this removes any pressure speakers may otherwise face while presenting in a more formal academic setting.
Why was it important to create a space where graduate students could talk about their research informally, and to a mixed audience?
Interdisciplinary conversations can have immense value: they allow one to view their research questions with a new, more diverse lens, and can be a springboard for new ideas and collaborations. Especially as students specialise in their training with higher postgraduate degrees, having access to interdisciplinary spaces becomes even more crucial. However, graduate students typically have a busy schedule with several formal academic commitments, so we felt that adding another would create more barriers to participating in these conversations. Therefore, it was important that we made the environment as relaxed as possible to encourage participation. We want this series to spark more organic conversations that continue even outside the lecture – in the MCR, Hall or Beer Cellar as well. From an audience perspective, the informal setting is also important because it creates a space where there is less hesitation to ask questions. Since the audience is assumed to be non-specialist, there are no “stupid questions” – everyone is here to learn, and all questions are welcome, which makes it easier to engage with the speaker during the Q&A.
Interdisciplinary conversations can have immense value: they allow one to view their research questions with a new, more diverse lens, and can be a springboard for new ideas and collaborations.
What kind of research topics have featured so far, and have any conversations or moments really stayed with you?
The lectures so far have spanned a breadth of topics, ranging from improving diagnostics of liver disease to alternative paradigms for understanding reparations for human rights violations. Upcoming lectures include topics such as the archaeology of trees and the mechanisms underlying inflammation. One thing that’s stood out to me has been that while disciplines vary in the questions they seek to answer, the approaches and tools they employ can be useful even beyond that discipline. For example, a speaker who was researching tree-killing in Canada was using tools and tests usually used by chemists, while another speaker studying music and the cultural experience of listening was combining approaches from musicology, the processing of sound, and audiology in her research, proving that modern-day research is a lot more fluid and interdisciplinary than one might think.
How do speakers approach explaining their research to a non-specialist audience?
We’ve had very engaging speakers so far that have done a wonderful job making their lectures accessible to non-specialists. Speakers vary in their approach to meeting this goal, but typically, lectures are devoid of jargon and technical terms and focus on the bigger picture rather than minute methodological details. There is an emphasis on providing enough context, so the audience understands the story, without getting overwhelmed by details. We’ve also had some very interesting analogies used to explain concepts, and some fantastic visual representations as well. Not all research stories are complete, and those often make for very interesting lectures, since they invite further thought and discussion, and it is fascinating to see how differently trained academics approach the same questions.
What do you think graduate students gain from organising and speaking at events like this, beyond sharing their research?
There is immense value in making your research accessible to a non-specialist audience. Doing so demands that you have a clear and focussed understanding of the problem or question your research seeks to answer, and preparing a lecture helps one narrativise one’s research into a story, which is an important skill for students to develop. Additionally, talking to students outside of your field can help you view your questions with fresh eyes, or bring to light new tools and approaches one could try as well.
If you were trying to convince someone to come along for the first time, what would you say to them?
Studying at Oxford gives you the unique opportunity to interact with brilliant people in all disciplines, who do cutting-edge research. Learning about all the latest research can be incredibly fun, and who better to learn from than the students at the very frontline of it! I’d encourage anyone who wants to learn something new, in a relaxed setting with no pressure, to come along to a lecture with an open mind.
Learning about all the latest research can be incredibly fun, and who better to learn from than the students at the very frontline of it!
What’s surprised you most about how people engage with research in this kind of relaxed setting?
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the nuanced, and often quite detailed level of engagement speakers get during the Q and A. Even in this relaxed setting, the audience is very perceptive and plays close attention. We’ve had some very interesting questions come up, not only direct questions about lecture content, but also questions that have invited further discussion beyond the scope of the short lecture and made for very interesting conversation at the drinks reception afterwards.
