FEATURED
A View from the Bridge at the Oxford Playhouse: Reviewed
“As the play nears its calamitous final moments, even this meagre display gets stripped down, pared away into a blank space: by privileging sparsity, the play allows the emotional force of its characters to take centre stage.”
WHAT’S NEW
To What End at the Burton Taylor Studio: Reviewed
“Instead of one mad Danish prince, in To What End every character loses it, rolling in and out of a meta understanding of their roles. What’s the point of the…
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‘So am I looking at a sex addict?’ And a lost art for seduction.
“Would the phone sex or any hypothetical sex have been better if we hadn’t had the pillow talk, or explanations about our, at the time, very sorry lives?” Adrien Grün…
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Mayor Mamdani: A New Hope
“It really is nice to feel like someone who could be your neighbour is the one in charge, like it’s not so unreachable now. It feels like stuff that actually…
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Pebble
‘Perfectly round,/ the pebble lies upon/ the sand’ Alice Henderson’s poem about the cycles of nature.
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Your College Auntie: Hello, Freshers!
“Hello dearies! Your favourite agony aunt in all the land is BACK – and this year, as well as being your college auntie, I’ve become a real auntie too” Your…
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I, Medusa: Reviewed
“Gray brings sidelined voices to the fore by centring black pride, and if you’re a keen reader of retold Greek mythology, I would recommend adding Gray’s novel to your list.”…
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Oxford
ChatGPT vs. Your Tutor – Freshers Take the Floor at the Oxford Union
Vincent Chang reports on the Freshers’ Debate at the Oxford Union, reflecting on his own experience as a participant and the arguments made by others. Image by Roger Askew via the Oxford Union Facebook page, used with permission.
Angela Rippon Set to Perform at Christ Church Cathedral
Esther Boon reports on the recent announcement that Angela Rippon is set to perform at Christ Church Cathedral for Macmillan’s annual carol service. Image by Number 10, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.
Conference of Common Rooms meets for the first time this term
The Conference of Common Rooms met in the HB Allen Centre on the night of Tuesday 28 October to discuss the next round of Oxford SU motions. Luke Erly reports from the conference and explores the motions.
opinion
The Reality of Studying Languages at Oxford
“But, like, what do you actually do?” This seems to be a universal question faced by modern languages students. Contrary to popular belief, we do not merely spend our days perusing Quizlet and revising obscure grammar rules. While I do my fair share of both, the view that studying a language revolves entirely around, well,…
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Freshers Shouldn’t Take All the Blame for Freshers’ Flu
It is Week Two of Michaelmas, and half my friends have gone missing. Not to the Bodleian for an impromptu reading week (we wish), but to their beds, armed with a thermometer, industrial quantities of paracetamol, and the vain hope that the lecture presentations on Canvas can help us survive through our paper. Welcome to…
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What Do You Want To Do With Your Language Degree?
Not too rarely, I’m asked the question, “What do you want to do with your degree?” As any humanities student at Oxford knows, there is never really an answer. I could decide to follow the linear career path for someone in my position and pursue translation or teaching, but I would rather not. Studying a…
Keep readingGlobal Affairs
Louvre Heist: Paris in Shock After €88 Million Theft
Paris awoke last week to the kind of headline usually confined to cinema. In a meticulously planned operation, thieves audaciously stole jewels worth an estimated €88 million (around £75 million) from the Louvre Museum. Executed in broad daylight within the hallowed Galerie d’Apollon, the robbery has left the French capital reeling and has…
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Has a permanent ceasefire in Gaza finally been reached?
On 8 October, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to take action to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, according to a series of steps outlined in the ‘Implementation Steps’. After hostilities began following October 7, this announcement culminated several months of negotiation and two previously attempted…
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Outside OX1 Week 3: Jamaica, Cameroon and Poland
The Editor’s Note Welcome back to this week’s edition of Outside OX1! The term is truly underway as we have hit November, and if you’re like me, you’re sitting wondering where all the time has gone. As preparations for Bonfire Night begin, why not take a break from your essays, deadlines, labs and…
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COLUMNS
Risk Appetite: On Eating Alone
“Eating alone, I could better savour the spiciness of the chilli oil and the crunch of the scallion pieces. Maybe tomorrow, I’d find another group to eat lunch with.” Valerie Wu discusses eating alone and the importance of having time to ones self sometimes. Image by Guian Bolisay, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Luddite Renaissance: A Case for Limiting Laptops in the Classroom
“Laptops are Janus-faced things. They are at once enhancers and detractors of learning.” Noah Petts argues for the limiting of laptops in the classroom. Image taken by Noah Petts, used with permission.
Ovary It – Losing my Cycle, Losing Myself
‘My menstrual cycle hates me and, honestly, the feeling is mutual.’
CULTURES
Light and Labour at The Ashmolean
“With our modern-day overexposure to art online, we can see hundreds of paintings any time, which can desensitise us to the effort that goes behind each piece. Paintings hold within…
In Praise of Love at the Burton Taylor Studio: Reviewed
“For a play that tackles heavy subjects such as death, refugee trauma, and the post-war generation’s jadedness, In Praise of Love still brims with moments of levity and irony as…
The Detention at the Michael Pilch Studio: Reviewed
“By the time the play was over, I had a big smile on my face, and the profound feeling that I needed this. The Detention was, for me, the ultimate…
LIfestyle
10 Health Tips to Survive and Thrive this Michaelmas
“Among certain circles, I’ve become known as Oxford’s unofficial health-guru, so it was no surprise when The Oxford Blue reached out to me for a piece answering your burning lifestyle…
Breakups and Burnout: A guide to term-time heartbreak
“The college environment might seem the worst place possible to go through a breakup.” Judith Hamilton tells her story of heartbreak, and offers advice to others going through the same…
Celebrity Wine – The Good, the Bad, and the Pricey
From offerings by Gordon Ramsey to Snoop Dogg, Jack Wharton shares a humorous review of the celebrity wines on the market.
Identity
Self-Study: Not Just A Stereotype
“It’s an incredibly exhausting experience, one I wish I’d never have to go through” – Dhillon Lalji explores the impact of his need to self-question.
Diaries of a Thought Son: “I’m (almost) feeling 22”
“I think first and foremost, in the last year I’ve really come to understand the true meaning of friendship” – Jaami Al-Choudhury reflects on some life lessons ahead of turning…
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