Diploma in Creative Writing alumna Elisabeth Gifford's first novel Secrets of the Sea House has been shortlisted for the Crown award, historical novel debut 2014. Her second novel, Return to Fourwinds, came out in September. Elisabeth describes it as 'a very English novel, set between the wars, and looking at the effects of keeping secrets. A lot of it is based in Oxford around some family history and was also written in Oxford during the diploma course.'

MSt in Creative Writing alumnus Patrick Toland has won a Templar Porfolio Award. His pamplet of poems was published in October 2014 with a launch at the Derwent Poetry Festival and reading at Keats House.

MSt alumnus Stephanie Scott's short story Pulau Brani (written while at Oxford) has won the Writers' Village International Short Fiction Award 2014 and £3000. It is published on the Writers' Village website.

MSt student Agnes Davis been been shortlisted for the Creative Medicine Unboxed Prize 2014, a single £10,000 prize for a creative work that explores the interface between art and medicine.

MSt student Kiran Millwood Hargrave has signed two-book deals with both Knopf Random House (USA), and Chicken House (UK and Europe) Her debut novel The Cartographer's Daughter will be published simultaneously in these territories in 2016, with a second title appearing in 2017.

MSt alumnus Sabyn Javeri's novel Nobody Killed Her will be published next May by Bloomsbury in the UK, USA and India.

MSt tutor Jane Draycott won the 2014 Open International Hippocrates prize

MSt student Alex Strnad won the International Jane Martin Poetry Prize, judged by John Fuller.

MSt tutor Roopa Farook's short story, We're in Heaven, has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize (from over 5000 entries).The judge was Andrew Miller, who recently won the Costa for PURE. This is her second Bridport shortlisting - the last one was for her poetry.

MSt course director Clare Morgan's short story Charity is anthologized in the Library of Wales (Parthian) 2-volume anthology STORY (ed. Dai Smith). This publication aims to put together the best stories from Wales in the last century and first decade of this century.

MSt alumni Pat Toland and Elizabeth Thompson were both shortlisted for the Forward Prize ) for their poems Drive and Four Types of Migraine.

Judges Dame Margaret Drabble, Tibor Fischer and Helen Oyeyemi selected the winning short story. The prize, now in its fourteenth year, is awarded for the year's best unpublished short story.

Alice's story, Ray the Rottweiler, was praised by Margaret Drabble as a 'haunting but wholly convincing story about people on the margins of society, coping as best they can with difficult lives. It is authentic, offbeat and touching, with a strongly individual narrative voice. 'Tibor Fischer thought it 'a poignant tale', and Helen Oyeyemi felt the story was 'engaging, affecting, speaking vividly of the unexpected sympathies that emerge between people.'

Jolly, on winning, said: 'I am honoured to have been awarded this prestigious prize and I would like to thank the RSL and V.S. Pritchett's family for creating this opportunity for writers. This prize comes at an important moment as I am crowd funding for my memoir Dead Babies and Seaside Towns which will be published by Unbound in 2015. In my rural childhood there were many odd and difficult people like Ray who lived at the end of long country lanes. I suppose my question is - now that traditional rural life has all but evaporated, what place can there be for people like him?'

Alice is also publishing a memoir called Dead Babies and Seaside Towns about her experiences of stillbirth and surrogacy. The memoir will be published by new independent publishing company Unbound and Alice has already raised 75% of the funds she needs for the book. If you would like to subscribe the details are here: unbound.co.uk/books/dead-babies-and-seaside-towns

The V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize was founded by the Royal Society of Literature at the beginning of the new millennium to commemorate the centenary of an author widely regarded as the finest English short story writer of the 20th century, and to preserve a tradition encompassing Pritchett's mastery of narrative.

In addition to her £1,000 prize, Alice also appeared at an RSL event with author A.L. Kennedy on Tuesday 11 November. The winning story will appear in the RSL Review and will be published in Prospect Magazine.

• For more about the Royal Society of Literature and the V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize, please see: rslit.org/v-s-pritchett
• For more about Alice Jolly, please see: www.alicejolly.com, and to read about her upcoming memoir Dead Babies and Seaside Towns, which is being published through crowd-sourcing, please see unbound.co.uk/books/dead-babies-and-seaside-towns
• Our Master's in Creative Writing programme is structured as a clustered learning format of five residences, two guided retreats and one placement over two years, and it attracts students from around the world. For more information, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/mstcw

The programmes below have scheduled open evenings in 2012. All evenings (except those marked with an *asterisk) are held at Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JA. Please click on the links provided to visit the course description page for full details of the course and how to book your place on the open evening. (Some courses will also offer virtual open events, and this will be stated on the course page.)

MSt in History of Design*
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/msthd
15th November and 21st February
11.00-12.30

Foundation Cert in English Literature
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/fcel
9th January and 17th April
18.00-20.00

MSt in Literature and Arts
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/mla
14th January* 14.00

Undergraduate Certificate in Archaeology
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/certa
17th February -18.30-20.30

Undergraduate Diploma in British Archaeology Mod 2
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dipba
17th February - 18:30-20.30

Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/pchs
17th February - 17.00-19.00

Undergraduate Certificate in the History of Art
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/certha
18th February - 18.00-20.00

Undergraduate Diploma in English Local History Mod 2
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dipelh
2nd March - 18.30-21.00

Undergraduate Diploma in History of Art
Modules 2 (High Renaissance to Baroque) and 4 (Modern and Contemporary Art)
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dipha
4th March - 18.00-20.00

Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dipcw
5th March - 18.30-20.00

Undergraduate Certificate of Higher Education
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/certhe
10th March - 18.00-20.00

Foundation Cert in History
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/fch
12th May - 18.00-20.00

*held at Kellogg College

Diploma in Creative Writing alumna Elisabeth Gifford's first novel Secrets of the Sea House has been shortlisted for the Crown award, historical novel debut 2014. Her second novel, Return to Fourwinds, came out in September. Elisabeth describes it as 'a very English novel, set between the wars, and looking at the effects of keeping secrets. A lot of it is based in Oxford around some family history and was also written in Oxford during the diploma course.' See her website, www.elisabethgifford.com for more information.

MSt alumnus Patrick Toland has won the Templar Porfolio Award. They will publish his pamplet of poems in October 2014 with a launch at the Derwent Poetry Festival and reading at Keats House.

MSt alumnus Stephanie Scott's short story, Pulau Brani (written while at Oxford) has won the Writers' Village International Short Fiction Award 2014 and £3000. It is published here: www.writers-village.org/winners-2014-1.php

MSt student Agnes Davis been been shortlisted for the Medicine Unboxed Creative Prize 2014, a single £10,000 prize for a creative work that explores the interface between art and medicine. For more information see https://plus.google.com/+medicineunboxed/posts/1AALsXAMoAG?cfem=1.

MSt student Kiran Millwood Hargrave has signed two-book deals with both Knopf Random House (USA), and Chicken House (UK and Europe) Her debut novel The Cartographer's Daughter will be published simultaneously in these territories in 2016, with a second title appearing in 2017.

MSt alumnus Sabyn Javeri's novel Nobody Killed Her will be published next May by Bloomsbury in the UK, USA and India.

MSt tutor Jane Draycott won the 2014 Open International Hippocrates prize.

MSt student Alex Strnad won the International Jane Martin Poetry Prize, judged by John Fuller.

MSt tutor Roopa Farooki's short story, We're in Heaven, has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize (from over 5000 entries).The judge was Andrew Miller, who recently won the Costa for PURE. This is her second Bridport shortlisting - the last one was for her poetry.

MSt course director Clare Morgan's short story Charity is anthologized in the Library of Wales (Parthian) 2-volume anthology STORY (ed. Dai Smith). This publication aims to put together the best stories from Wales in the last century and first decade of this century.

MSt alumni Pat Toland and Elizabeth Thompson were both shortlisted for the Forward Prize with their poems Drive and Four Types of Migraine.

• For more information on our two-year, part-time Diploma in Creative Writing, please see www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dipcw
• For more information on Master's in Creative Writing programme, please see www.conted.ox.ac.uk/dipcw

The prize is awarded to the student (or students) on the Foundation Certificate in English Literature deemed by examiners to have been awarded the highest marks on their first year of the course. The Prize, named after benefactor Joyce Leech (a former student of the Foundation Certificate) is given to mark and celebrate Joyce's enjoyment of many years of Continuing Education.

Pictured are Joyce Leech, benefactor, with Susan Knights (left) and Marie Harrison (right)

This year's awards were presented at a reception taking place during the Foundation Certificate's Shakespeare Summer School, on 19 September.

The Joyce Leech Prize takes the form of a cheque in the amount of £250, along with the gift of an appropriate book or books, valued at £50. This year's two winners received equally high marks, and will divide the prize between them.

Award recipient Sue Knights said, 'It is a measure of the high regard in which this course is held that a former student has kindly and generously established this prize, which I am delighted to receive.

'The course also brings its won rewards. For me, the chance to study a subject I love in a challenging way has been invaluable. The excellent quality of the teaching, the ability to develop thoughts and skills, the camaraderie of my fellow students, had all added to the experience. It has been an affair of the heart and mind, and I'm looking forward to the fun of year two.'

Marie Harrison said, 'The Foundation Certificate in English Literature has been a stimulating, challenging experience thus far and I am greatly looking forward to the second year. The value offered by the course is enormous: not only do we receive teaching from experts in the field who are also sensitive to the needs of mature students, but we have access to the full range of undergraduate lecture in the English Faculty at the University. In addition to this, the Bodleian libraries offer unparalleled resources for learning. What more could a student of English Literature want?'

For more about the Foundation Certificate in English Literature, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/fcel

Another student on the Foundation Certificate in English Literature, Sandra Young, talks about the course in a feature entitled 'Wake-up Call' in the October 2014 edition of Good Housekeeping magazine: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/wakeupcall

2014 has been a year of commemoration for the wars and unrest of the twentieth century: the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War; the anniversaries of 1944, final full year of the Second World War and the opening battles of the Vietnam War in 1954; the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994.

The 2014 annual Design History Society conference (hosted at Rewley House, 4-6 September 2014) reflected upon the relationship of design and craft both to conflict and to hopes for peace and justice. The Department's Academic Convenor was Dr Claire I R O'Mahony Course Director for the MSt in the History of Design.

International scholarship
Objects and sites designed for war and peace offer a vibrant nexus of case studies and debates through which to examine the place of conflict in our collective memory.

Design for War and Peace attracted 120 scholars from 19 countries around the globe to meet at Rewley House to share and to discuss their new research. Professors and doctoral candidates; practitioners, museum and heritage professionals and independent scholars presented 65 academic papers, framed by 3 invited keynote lectures generously funded by the Design History Society and the University of Oxford's John Fell Fund.

Four strands of parallel sessions focused principally on conflicts from the First World War to the present day and reflected the interdisciplinarity of design history's explorations of a wide range of objects, places and intellectual traditions across a diverse geography of theatres of conflict.

The cross-fertilization of war and peace studies, which have often been segregated, was a highlight and distinctive methodological premise of the conference.

Panels were composed of three speakers with each speaker presenting a 20-minute paper in succession. The Conference timetable (pdf) provides details of the intellectual frameworks as well as a full list of titles for the presentations given at the conference.

For full information about this conference, please visit www.conted.ox.ac.uk/events/warpeace.php

Audio and Video recordings of the sessions
The three keynote lectures were filmed and may be viewed through the links below. Most of the academics who presented their new research generously gave permission to podcast their 20-minute papers which are available as a new series in the Continuing Education section of Oxford University's iTunes U and also on University's podcasts website.

These recordings are a digital conference proceeding, made possible through generosity of the University of Oxford's John Fell Fund, and the administrative work of History of Design Master's student Vega Bantock, with technical support by the Department for Continuing Education IT team.

Learn more:

• Our Master's in the History of Design programme, at: conted.ox.ac.uk/msthd
• The Design for War and Peace conference at: conted.ox.ac.uk/events/warpeace.php
• Podcasts of the lectures: podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/design-war-and-peace-2014-annual-design-history-society-conference

Joining a growing number of academic authors (and reflecting a global trend in academic publishing) Marianne decided to publish the book herself, as an e-book. Below, she explains why this route was the right choice for her - and for her readers.

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'I have just published an e-book. It is called Critical Reasoning: A Romp Through the Foothills of Logic. It is not available in hard copy.

'Writing an e-book was a leap of faith. Cambridge University Press published my last book (Bioethics: An Introduction). They did the peer-reviewing, editing, proof-reading and marketing. They have the clout that gets academic books noticed.

'For my e-book I had to do everything. Members of the Faculty of Philosophy volunteered for peer-reviewing, a friend (who once edited a section of a national newspaper) edited it, pedantic students proof-read it. Another friend, Chris, actually put the book online (developing some wonderful widgets to make the ibook interactive). I am marketing it myself.

'So why subject myself to such work and worry? Why not take the easy way out?

'There are three answers: the price, the environment and the future.

(a) The Price

'Bioethics: An Introduction is beautiful. I am proud to have written it. But it cost £29.99 in softback, £60 in hardback and I want to write books people can afford, books to which everyone has access.

'My podcasts have been downloaded over 4 million times. I get fanmail from all over the world. I have over 2000 Friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter. Many of those who write, or who 'friend' or follow me, are from developing countries. They impress on me their burning desire to learn.

'These people do not live in university cities with excellent libraries and well-stocked bookshops. They are not near Departments for Continuing Education that have open access classes and regular Open Days. For such people £29.99 (plus postage and packaging) is not pin money.

'My e-book costs £5.99. It is available to anyone with internet access. I think this is brilliant.

(b) The Environment

'Since writing Bioethics: An Introduction I have been hugely conscious of the global warming that is leading to climate change. Whether or not this change is man-made (I believe it is) it is clearly happening. Trees soak up the carbon emissions that are a concomitant of our profligate lifestyle.

'I don't know how many trees Bioethics used up. But no tree has been felled in the production of Critical Reasoning: A Romp Through the Foothills of Logic.

(c) The Future

'The Open Access Movement hopes to make all published academic papers available freely on the internet. The movement is growing. Nearly all research funding bodies now require papers that emerge from the research they fund (often courtesy of the taxpayer) to be published on the web within six months of publication.

'Until now if you wanted to read an academic paper you had to be a member of a university whose library subscribed to the journal in which the paper was published. Or you had to pay £37 for 24 hours of access.

'I think the Open Access movement is brilliant. I want to contribute to it. I want the fruits of academic research to be available to everyone who wants to read it.

'I realise, of course, that my e-book is not accessible to those without access to e-readers. I am sorry about this. I do not want to exclude anyone. But most people in this situation could access the web if they chose. The people who cannot afford £29.99 do not have choice in the matter.

'So I have written an e-book. It has taken me way out of my comfort zone. I know nothing about marketing, and who knows? It might bomb badly. To which I say, 'Oh well'. To me, the value in publishing an e-book is that it lets me deliver the information into the hands of more people who want to improve their reasoning skills - and who might not otherwise be able to afford it - in the most accessible and environmentally sustainable format possible. And by this measure, I am already declaring Critical Reasoning: A Romp Through the Foothills of Logic a success.'

• iBooks (for Mac users): https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/critical-reasoning/id900680424
• Amazon (for Kindle users): www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MSUX7E6
  Description on Amazon: This book will help you to reason critically; to recognise, analyse and evaluate arguments and to classify them as inductive or deductive. It will introduce you to fallacies (bad arguments that look like good arguments) and, in two optional chapters, to the rudiments of formalisation. Linked to Marianne Talbot's hugely successful Critical Reasoning podcasts (downloaded 4 million times from iTunesU!), and full of exercises and quizzes, the book was written to satisfy demand from fans of the podcasts. Marianne is the Director of Studies in Philosophy at Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education.

Cities have become the central platform for sustainable futures on the international stage, and must adapt to the immense pressures presented by climate change, poverty, economic shifts, technology, demographics and migration, conflict and competition for limited resources and energy.

The new part-time DPhil in Sustainable Urban Development, aimed at current professionals, will present opportunities to engage with cutting-edge Oxford researchers, and to follow these rapidly evolving issues to an advanced level, enabling fresh analysis, expertise and insight to channel back into innovative practice.

DPhil Director Dr Johanna Waters (pictured) comments: 'We are looking for bright, passionate, and motivated individuals to pursue topics of professional interest through a research degree. We are seeking individuals for whom part-time study at doctoral level would complement and enhance their professional practice, bringing to it an important intellectual perspective.'

The DPhil will appeal to those that will have gained a first rate MBA, LLM, MSc or other higher degree in a related field. Successful candidates can expect to craft a research proposal, which they will then implement through a period of intense field-work and data gathering, before analysing their results and presenting their thesis.

'The DPhil Programme will involve extensive, in-depth research and engagement with a range of academic sources,' says Dr Waters, 'the ultimate aim is to advance the field of research in sustainable urban development and to change the way in which urban spaces are engaged with in practice.'

In conjunction with the DPhil, the flagship part-time MSc in Sustainable Urban Development combines industry and academic expertise to create unique, cross-disciplinary collaborations between leading University of Oxford scholars and industry experts. The MSc is delivered in partnership with the Prince's Foundation for Building Community and is recognised under the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors University Partnership.

Staff, students and alumni from the Sustainable Urban Development Programme reflect upon and discuss sustainable urban development in a recent video commissioned by the Department for Continuing Education, where the programme offered

For further information:

• The DPhil in Sustainable Urban Development
• The MSc in Sustainable Urban Development
• Students from our Sustainable Urban Development programme appear in the 'Student Spotlights' pages on our website. Read about the student experience of the Master's in Sustainable Urban Development from the perspective of an architect and an urban designer.
• For information on all our programmes in Sustainable Urban Development, including short courses and how to apply, visit conted.ox.ac.uk/sud or contact us on +44 (0)1865 286951 and sud@conted.ox.ac.uk

This year we are very pleased to welcome ten new Commonwealth Scholars from these regions to our International Human Rights Law Master's programme - thanks to generous funding by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission of the United Kingdom. These Scholars are actively engaged in fieldwork, tackling human rights abuses worldwide.

Achieng Akena, from Kenya, works with disenfranchised communities who are denied citizenship. Sanoj Rajan is a Law Professor who does pro bono work for the International Criminal Justice programme in Kinshasa, Congo. Khaled Saifullah monitors and reports freedom of expression violations against journalists and media workers in Bangladesh and South East Asia. Lydia Munyiva Muthiani advocating for victims of sexual and gender-based violence in Kenya. Swagata Raha lectures and works on behalf of children's rights in India. Sylvester Uhaa advocates for the rights and dignity of prisoners in Nigeria. High Court lawyer Maherin Khan works in Bangladesh, and intends to focus on women's and children's rights.

While the student named above are able to talk about the work they do, several others of our Commonwealth Scholars work with human rights abuses which are far too sensitive to speak about in a publicly available website.

Sanoj Rajan, who is Professor and Head of Department at the School of Law, ITM University, India and an Associate Faculty with Harvard Humanitarian Initiative at Harvard University, says, 'My career graph has always been a switch between academics and practice. Every time, I come out of a job, I come out not only with a wealth of experience and knowledge I acquired from it, but also with a realization that I need to update myself with the new developments in this field. My candidature in Mst. In Human Rights is a follow-up of this realization, where I hope to learn from the teachers, peers and practitioners I will come across in the next two years.'

Khaled Saifullah (pictured) currently works with human rights organisation ARTICLE 19, in Bangladesh and South Asia on freedom of expression abuses against journalists and media workers. While at Oxford,' says Khaled, 'I look forward to building lasting connections with classmates as well as professors, all of whom are passionate human rights advocates from all over the word. I hope to learn innovative ways of human rights advocacy. Applying this learning, I want to establish a legal NGO in Bangladesh to tackle human rights violations using creative methods.'

In September 2014, Khaled wrote a policy brief advocating reforms in the vagrancy laws of Bangladesh. Previously, he worked as a researcher for the Rana Plaza writ petitions, which sought to prosecute those liable for the worst garment industry disaster in history, and consulted for the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Development Programme on safe migration and violence against woman. He also offers pro-bono research support to Bangladesh Legal Aid and Service Trust, a leading legal aid NGO in Bangladesh, for its human rights litigations.

This year we welcome two High Court lawyers - Maherin Khan and Lydia Muthiani join us from Bangladesh and Kenya respectively - along with a group of respected academics and researchers: Sanoj Rajan is Head of Department at the School of Law, ITM University, India and an Associate at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; and Swagata Raha is Senior Legal Researcher at the Centre for Child and the Law within the National Law School of India University, Bangalore.

We know from experience that this course promotes lasting connections between students and academics, and that the participants - whether they be lawyers, researchers, or practitioners from the field - a unique viewpoint from the world of human rights law. Faculty and students alike look forward to an exciting couple of years ahead.

For further information:

• International Human Rights Law Master's programme
• International Human Rights Law Summer School - over four weeks, faculty, participants and invited guests create an international camp where key contemporary challenges to the protection of human rights and dignity are placed into focus.
• A student perspective on the course can be found in our Student Spotlight pages: read Guantanamo Bay detainees' defence lawyer Jason Wright's story.

At Oxford University, the title of Professor is awarded on the basis of an academic's research, and stipulates that it must be of outstanding quality, and have led to a significant international reputation.

Though the recognition is new, Tom has been with the Department for some years, having joined us in 1990 as a University Lecturer in Modern History and Politics.

Of his Professorship, Tom said, 'I was delighted and honoured to receive this recognition from the University. As the title indicates, my research has been mainly concerned with the interface between Britain, Europe and the wider world during the twentieth century. My initial work on the Spanish Civil War has lead me over time into many other areas, such as political Catholicism, the relationship between Britain and China, and the rise of human rights activism. One of the great pleasures of being Director of Studies in History and Politics at OUDCE has been that I have been able to share my interest in the Spanish Civil War with so many students over the years'

Professor Jonathan Michie, Director of the Department, said, 'Tom Buchanan has made a tremendous contribution to the University of Oxford over the years, most notably to its Department for Continuing Education, but also more widely. His research and publications have been thoughtful and insightful, and student feedback on his teaching is invariably enthusiastic. This is indeed a most well-deserved honour.'

Though the award of Professor is based on an academic's research, Tom is very well known (and much appreciated) by more than two decades' worth of students for his teaching ability.

Valery Rose, a former student on the Foundation Certificate in History who first met Tom in 2005, said, 'Tom's Spanish Civil War course was particularly inspiring, and although he covered many new and complex issues, his seminars were always accessible and they generated much discussion within our group. In our personal tutorials Tom took the time to nurture our academic understanding and development and his criticism was always constructive and encouraging. As a direct result of the course and Tom's teaching, several members of our year group went on to study History at degree level and beyond, and we all emerged with a much richer appreciation of what historical study has to offer'

For more information:

• Professor Tom Buchanan's profile page
• The Foundation Certificate in History
• Read what students have to say about the Foundation Certificate in History

1. The competition is free and open to anyone.
2. Entries should be on the subject of 'Creative Writing Classes.'
3. Length: 1000 words.
4. Deadline for entries: midday, March 1st 2010.
5. Entries must be typewritten on A4 paper, with double line spacing and a margin and fixed with a paper clip, not a staple. The pages must be numbered.
6. All entries must be anonymous and accompanied by a sealed envelope containing the entrant's name and address. Do not put your name on your entry.
7. The decision of the judges is final and correspondence will not be entered into.
8. Please keep copies of your entries as they cannot be returned.
9. Entries to be sent to:

Creative Writing Competition
Oxford University Department for Continuing Education
Ewert House,
Ewert Place,
Banbury Road,
Summertown,
Oxfordshire,
OX2 7DD

• First prize: one free place on a twenty-week creative writing course (worth £270), or; one free place on a twenty-week screenwriting course (worth £335) Please note: the winner must be able to travel to Oxford for a weekly class in order to take up the prize; there will be no substitution.
• Runners-up:  Two runners up will be awarded £50 course gift vouchers from the Department for Continuing Education.

Mr Abigail (pictured, second from right), who was a student on the Archaeology in Practice course run by Dr Wendy Morrison, wins £100 and a free day school. Professor Jonathan Michie, Director of the Department President of Kellogg College presented the winner with the prize at a small ceremony that took place at Rewley House on 12 December 2014.

The runners up, Mrs Francesca Helen Jones (pictured right, above) and Mr Adrian Rosser (to Mr Abigail's right), received a free day school each.

Speaking of his experience on the course and his prize-winning assignment, Vaughan said, Archaeology in Practice was my self-indulgence on retiring after 31 years as a schoolmaster. I was hoping to put scraps of knowledge gleaned as an armchair archaeologist into a coherent academic framework, a goal which Wendy Morrison's excellent course more than fulfilled. It was a real pleasure to be taught by someone so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about her subject, with a wide range of practical experience and just the right mix of rigour and irreverence. In keeping with the whole character of the course, my prize-winning assignment consisted of a series of analyses of the results of several different pre-excavation techniques: magnetic survey, aerial photography and field-walking.

Amongst the invited guests were weekly class tutors, course directors and the partners of the prize winners. The presentation was followed by a three course lunch in the Rewley House dining room. The Prize has been funded by Dr Russell Mawby, philanthropist and the chairman emeritus of the Kellogg Foundation.

The Department's very wide range of archaeology courses includes day schools, weekly classes (both face to face and online) and award bearing courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. There are currently eight online courses in Archaeology.

• For more information on our weekly classes in Oxford and surrounding communities, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/weekly
• For more information on our online courses, which are open to anyone anywhere in the world, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/online

In The Place of Baptism in Anglo-Saxon and Norman Churches (30th Deerhurst Lecture), Dr Paul Barnwell, Director of Studies in the Historic Environment, explored changes in the location of baptism within church buildings during the 11th and 12th centuries, and related them to the development of sacramental theology.

Dr David Griffiths, Reader in Archaeology, gave the 21st Whithorn Lecture, Early Medieval Whithorn: The Irish Sea Context, in which he examined the relationship of 5th to 12th-century Whithorn to other settlements in southwest Scotland and around the Irish Sea.

Both lectures (which were delivered in September 2013) have just recently been published. Proceeds from sales of the lecture transcripts will be used to support further research and maintenance at St Mary's Church, Deerhurst, and for the Whithorn Trust.

Details for obtaining the published lectures are available online:

The Place of Baptism in Anglo-Saxon and Norman Churches by P. S. Barnwell (Deerhurst Lecture 2014) Price: £4.00 at: deerhurstfriends.co.uk/publications/

Early Medieval Whithorn: The Irish Sea Context by David Griffiths (Whithorn Lecture 2013) Price: £4.00 at ninian.org/content/2013-early-medieval-whithorn-irish-sea-context

• Learn more about our courses in Architectural History
• Learn more about our courses in Archaeology

This prestigious annual award, which includes a prize of 50,000 euros, is awarded to architects in recognition of their conservation of architectural and landscape heritage. The prize is sponsored by Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Trust and the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame.

Javier (standing on the right in the picture) wins this prize together with his associate Inigo Salona (standing left). Javier expresses 'gratitude for the recognition of more than three decades of architectural work.' (Thanks to photographer Miguel Ángel Manzano for permission to use this photograph)

'This prize gives encouragement to architects that practice classical architecture and take seriously into consideration our architectural heritage,' he says. 'Classical architecture is very rational, on top of being very elegant and beautiful.'

Javier joined the MSc in Sustainable Urban Development in 2011 with more than 30 years' experience as a professional architect and academic, seeking to embellish his practice with an understanding of sustainability.

'Classical architecture, in the widest sense, constitutes a real lesson nowadays, especially when much contemporary architecture seems to be ignorant of it's the context. The MSc provided me with many interesting perspectives on our world. We have been defending a sustainable approach to architecture ever since, and the MSc is a positive tool indeed.'

For more information about the MSc in Sustainable Urban Development please visit www.conted.ox.ac.uk/msud or email sud@conted.ox.ac.uk or phone +44 (0)1865 286951.

BES sponsorship will enable the workshop to be delivered with a significant subsidy with further special rates for currently registered students and charity workers.

'It is fantastic that the British Ecological Society has supported this training course,' explains Dr Jocelyne Hughes, the academic organiser and director of the Ecological Survey Techniques Programme. 'This funding enables us to make the training accessible to as wide a range of people as possible.'

Set in Wytham Woods - Oxford's 'living laboratory' - the workshop will offer a unique opportunity to explore woodland ecology and management in one of the world's most widely researched areas of woodland. The expert tutors, Dr Keith Kirby, who was presented with the 2014 CIEEM Award for his 'lifelong contribution to the advancement of woodland management', and Mr Nigel Fisher, the conservator of Wytham Woods, will give an unparalleled insight into the woods.

'Woodlands are important to everyone - for recreation, for science, for wood products and of course for wildlife,' says Dr Hughes. 'Teaching the next generation how woodlands tick and how to manage them is fundamental to their survival.'

For more information about Woodland Ecology and Management please visit the workshop webpage at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/wem or contact us on envman@conted.ox.ac.uk and +44 (0)1865 286953.

A new book, Sir George Gilbert Scott 1811 - 1878, is the third title in the Rewley House Studies in the Historic Environment series, published by Shaun Tyas for the Department of Continuing Education and is a milestone collection of essays reviewing the life and achievement of the great Victorian architect Sir George Gilbert Scott.

This new book is the proceedings of a conference held at Rewley House in 2011, two hundred years after Scott's birth. The two other titles in the series are The Medieval Great Houseand Country House Technology.All three titles are available from publisher Shaun Tyas, whose contact details are given below.

Edited by Dr Paul Barnwell (the Department's Director of Studies in the Historic Environment), Geoffrey Tyack and William Whyte, Sir George Gilbert Scott 1811 - 1878 is available in hardback (cloth-bound with a colour dust wrapper) with handsome illustrations, 256 pages, including the index and bibliography. The book is published at the retail price of £40.

Table of Contents

Foreword, vii;
1. 'Sir Gilbert Scott: Eminent Victorian', by Gavin Stamp (1 - 21);
2. 'Scenes from Clerical Life: the Young Scott', by ChrisMiele (22 - 48);
3. 'Scott as London Church Builder', by Geoff Brandwood (49 - 69);
4. 'Scott and the Wider World: the Colonial Cathedrals, 1846 - 74', by G. A. Bremner (70 - 90);
5. 'Scott and the Restoration of Major Churches', by Claudia Marx (91 - 111);
6. 'Scott in Oxford', by Geofffrey Tyack (112 - 133);
7. 'Scott and Cambridge', by Simon Bradley (134 - 157);
8. 'The Country Houses of Sir Gilbert Scott', by Peter Howell (158 - 171);
9. 'George Gilbert Scott: State Architect?', by M. H. Port (172 - 192);
10. 'From Paper to Stone: George Gilbert Scott's Design Process at the University of Glasgow', by Kimberley Frost (193 - 212);
11. 'Scott's Office and its Influence', byWilliamWhyte (213 - 229);
12. 'Scott Two Hundred Years On' by Geoffrey Tyack and William Whyte (230 - 237);
Further Reading (238 - 239);
Index (240 - 248).

Copies may be ordered from the publisher post-free within the UK, or through any bookseller. Please download an order form, or contact the publisher, Shaun Tyas: 1 High Street Donington, Lincolnshire, PE11 4TA telephone 01775 821542 email: shaun@shauntyas.myzen.co.uk

What was summer school like in the 19th century?
Things were run a little differently back then: Continuing Education didn't have a permanent home, for one thing, as we only acquired Rewley House in 1927. Students of the 19th century took lodgings around the city (there were many boarding houses right here on Wellington Square, in fact) and attended lectures in the colleges. Many students opted to stay on for a number of weeks of private study after the Summer Meeting was over.

The pictures speak a thousand words
A look at the photographs from the first Summer Meetings tells us much about these early summer students.

First, that there were a lot of them! Over nine hundred people attended that first 1888 Summer Meeting, and over a thousand came for 1889 (pictured, photo taken on the grounds of Balliol College).

Half (if not more) of these students were women.

One of the early lecturer, Michael Sadler (who served as our Director in the late 19th century) estimated that two-thirds of extension students were women. (Oxford Extension was a series of weekly lectures that were delivered across England, starting in 1878 - the name 'Extension' is derived from the idea that the teaching is 'extended' beyond the University.)

The Summer Meetings drew students from the broader Extension programme - so it's reasonable to assume that the Summer Meetings had the same ratio. Remember, these were days in which opportunities for women to pursue higher education were limited: the University only opened its first women's colleges - Somerville and St Hilda's in 1879.

A glance at the clothes people are wearing in these old photographs tells us much about their social standing, and this also mirrors Sadler's observations of the Extension programme. The women, with their elegant dresses and rather elaborate hats, are clearly middle and upper-middle class.

The men, on the other hand, are more modestly dressed, and are likely a mix of clerks and working class. Sadler, writing of the Extension programme, notes 'one man employed as a mason at a distance [who] walked sixteen miles rather than miss one lecture'. The Department's programmes filled an eductational void for many.

As for age of these students: the youngest might be in his or her 20s. At the upper end, we can only hazard a guess; but many appear to be in their 60s or perhaps even 70s.

Learning and socialising
Back in the 19th century, part of the allure of the Summer Meetings was that they offered an opportunity to meet and mingle with people from all over the country.

Considering that towns and villages were likely more self-sufficient (and therefore probably more insular) back then; and given that forms of mass media were limited to the newspaper and stereo view cards, it's fair to say that the Summer Meetings offered participants a breadth of information and social interaction that was completely unavailable to them at home.

Add to this the opportunity of visiting Oxford's renowned colleges and environs and you have the perfect holiday: learn new things, meet new people and explore new places.

And today?
As anyone who knows our summer schools has already guessed, there is a reassuringly strong thread of continuity between the students and summer schools of the past and those of today.

People still come to Oxford in large numbers each year. Last year's summer schools saw some 870 students in total. 277 of them participated in our Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA, which is our longest running summer school and direct descendent of the Summer Meetings), and 383 attended The Oxford Experience - many of them for more than one week.

The structure of our summer schools remains largely unchanged - for the most part, they are one week in duration, with lectures in the mornings, afternoons left free for study, tutorials and for exploring the many wonders of Oxford and the surrounding region.

Additionally, these days we offer several longer, more intensive summer schools for those students who want to specialise in a single subject. Specialist summer schools in English Literature, History, Politics and Society, Creative Writing, International Politics, English Language Teaching, Human Rights Law and Theology last two or three weeks. Student on these programmes live, eat and study in an Oxford college, as do students on our Oxford Experience Summer School.

Our ratio of women to men is about the same as it was back in the 19th century - and the age range is still extremely broad. Thanks to improved medicine and lifestyle options, the top end of the age range is quite a lot higher these days.

Probably the biggest change is that our student cohort has become extremely international. The 19th century Summer Meetings attracted their students from all over the UK, and a few students from Europe; last year's 2014 summer schools drew students from more than 55 countries around the world.

Students in the late19th century arrived in Oxford primarily by train, a significant number of them having travelled many hours, or even days to reach us. Today's students may arrive by air, sea, car, train or bus - and the distances they travel to join us have certainly increased, though it could be argued that the amount of time spent getting to us may be about the same. A half day spent on a train in the 19th century coming from Carlisle? Its equivalent may well be the half day it takes to travel from New York.

In over 125 years, the essentials have remained unchanged
We may see fewer long gowns, high collars and bowler hats on today's summer school participants - but the spark that created those early summer schools endures. Bringing people of all ages and all backgrounds together, and providing a little fuel to fire their common interest in learning and their abiding curiosity and energy: it's an alchemy that turns the weeks of summer into the rarest pleasure.

We look forward to welcoming our 2015 summer students!

For more information about our many summer programmes, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/summerschools

With the support of the Oxford Programme for the Future of Cities and the African Studies Centre at Oxford, the workshop will bring together colleagues from Oxford and other African, UK/European and North American institutions to share their knowledge across a wide range of disciplines and to expand the network of discussions.

The future of Africa's urbanization hinges upon the prospects of infrastructure development. Policymakers, investors and business-oriented think-tanks imagine a future where progress and development will materialize through significant investments in large-scale infrastructure projects. These include creating digital 'smart cities', generating energy across regional 'power pools', or developing transnational 'transport corridors' interconnecting roads, railways and ports.

There are also aspirations for new 'eco', 'carbon-neutral', 'sustainable' urban expansions, suburbs or even whole new 'cities' to exist alongside current structures. The new 'smart' and 'sustainable' cities promise to herald transitions to more climate-resilient futures.

As necessary as these infrastructures and urban projects may be for improving the quality of life of Africans, it is unclear whether these imagined futures are 'the stuff of dreams or nightmares', as South African scholar Vanessa Watson described it.

The workshop will take infrastructure as a focal point for a critical, reflective and pluralizing discussion about ways of researching and theorizing Africa's urbanization across disciplines and multiple epistemological perspectives and sites.

For more information on Idalina Baptista's research, please visit her staff profile: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/baptista

This new course examines the rapidly evolving field of financing for sustainability in the context of climate change, with a particular focus on urban infrastructures around the world.

The transition to a low-carbon economy is happening now,' explains Dr Idalina Baptista, Co-Director of Financing Urban Sustainability at the Department. 'Billions of dollars will be needed to finance new - and retrofit old - infrastructure that is climate-resilient and overall sustainable'.

It emerges from an exciting new partnership between the Department's Sustainable Urban Development Programme and the Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment.

Dr Caitlin McElroy, Co-Director of Financing Urban Sustainability at the Smith School tells us: 'This partnership is a wonderful opportunity to deliver on the strengths of both the Smith School and the Department for Continuing Education. In joining our research approach with the in depth knowledge of the Sustainable Urban Development team we have the opportunity to provide a course unique in its scope and framing.'

'Partnerships like this are vital for strengthening the University's ability to engage with professionals on today's most pressing challenges.'

The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment is a leading interdisciplinary academic hub focused upon teaching, research, and engagement with enterprise on climate change.

'It's been great to work with colleagues at the Smith School,' says Idalina. 'We've developed synergies and enhanced our collective expertise on urban and finance issues, crafting an exciting and insightful short course on financing urban sustainability.'

The Sustainable Urban Development Programme offers part-time study for practitioners engaged in urban development who seek globally-focussed professional development opportunities. The Programme's flagship part-time MSc, and newly launched part-time DPhil, combine with the short course in Financing Urban Sustainability to provide leading multidisciplinary and international perspectives on sustainable urban research and practice.

'We need to understand how to take sustainability into account in project development and assessment,' says Idalina. 'And we need to figure out how to leverage the necessary funding to make it happen.'

For information about Financing Urban Sustainability, including our early booking rate and how to apply, visit www.conted.ox.ac.uk/fus or contact us on +44 (0)1865 286951 and sud@conted.ox.ac.uk