The National Humanities Lecture

The National Humanities Lecture is an annual celebration of the humanities as a public good.

The National Humanities Lecture is a major annual event that celebrates the public value of the humanities.

Each year, we invite a leading voice in the arts and humanities to deliver a lecture that recognises the distinct value of humanities subjects to our lives, and considers pressing social and cultural questions through the unique lens afforded by humanities disciplines.

The National Humanities Lecture stands as both a celebration of the richness and insight that the humanities bring to public life and as a powerful reminder of their enduring significance in our society.

The National Humanities Lecture 2025

David Olusoga delivering the National Humanities Lecture

On 4 February 2025, Professor David Olusoga delivered the inaugural National Humanities Lecture. In a thought-provoking address, Professor Olusoga made the argument for the value of the humanities through personal reflections and a discussion of the present and future state of the disciplines.

Professor Olusoga reflected on his career and how, despite initially walking away from education, was drawn back by his interest in public history, as experienced in childhood through BBC programming and free access to museums and cultural institutions.

Criticising the attitudes of policymakers towards humanities provision, Professor Olusoga questioned why humanities subjects often have to justify their value, and criticised criteria that would prevent him from teaching history in a British classroom, despite having written history books and lesson plans used in curricula across the country.

Professor Olusoga made a powerful argument for the humanities, pointing out that the “suspicion, at times the hostility, shown to the humanities subjects clashes with the often unacknowledged and unrecognised enthusiasm for the humanities in everyday life.” The rise of genealogy and the popularity of ancestry websites, Professor Olusoga argued, demonstrate the strength of public appetite for such involvement.