A B Emden Lecture
St Edmund Hall organises an annual History lecture in memory of A B Emden, a distinguished medievalist and historian of universities who was Principal of the Hall from 1929 to 1951. Established in 1992, the Emden Lecture attracts eminent historians from around the UK and beyond to speak on topics of particular contemporary relevance to a non-specialist audience. The lectures are free and also open to the public.
Recent speakers include: Professor Jeremy Adelman, Princeton University and University of Cambridge (2026), Professor Catherine Hall, University College London (2025); Professor David Armitage, Harvard University (2023); Professor Stella Ghervas, Newcastle University (2022); Professor Yuri Slezkine, University of California (2020); Professor David Edgerton, King’s College London (2018); Professor Frank Trentmann, Birkbeck, University of London (2017); and Professor Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck, University of London (2015).
Past Lectures
A B Emden Lecture 2026
Professor Jeremy Ademlan, the Henry Charles Lea Professor Emeritus of History at Princeton University and the Director of the Global History Lab at the University of Cambridge on “Depending on Strangers: Love, Fear, and the Making of the Modern World”, Friday 13 February 2026.
