The British Academy Lectures
Since 1908
Delivered by the most outstanding academics in the UK and beyond, the British Academy’s flagship lecture programme showcases the very best scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. Held at the British Academy and across the UK, these landmark occasions offer students, scholars and specialists a chance to expand their networks and learn about the latest developments in their field.
Around 10-12 British Academy Lectures take place each year. Information on future lectures is available. A record of most past lectures, including recordings and published texts, is also available. Many are given in named series – usually associated with endowments received by the Academy.
Lecture partners for 2025-27:
- Cardiff University
- Coventry University
- Newcastle University
- Nottingham Trent University
- Queen’s University Belfast
- University of Bristol
- University of East Anglia
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Glasgow
- University of Leicester
- University of Manchester
6 Oct 2026 - Coventry
Living with Rainfall: Fogs, Mists, Vapours in Irish History, 1800 – present
In the towns and cities of western seaboard of Ireland, it rains more than 250 days a year, a notable wetness of the air which shifts from swirling moisture to pounding rain as weather systems roll in from the Atlantic. This lecture will explore these distinctive, damp, landscapes, and examine …
8 Oct 2026 - Belfast
Hearing Heat: An anthropology of sound for the Anthropocene
Among humanity's planetary companions. cicadas, well over 3000 known species, are notably thermometric. Heat turns them on. And that follows is a remarkable sonic presence, whose amplified power exceeds their size by a factor of thousands.
22 Oct 2026 - Glasgow
Brain asymmetry: the facts and why they matter
Every brain in the animal kingdom is asymmetrical, and this lecture explores why, tracing the evolutionary origins and distinct purposes of the divided brain and how it shapes human self-understanding.
