Uncomfortable Oxford

Uncomfortable Oxford is a social enterprise, activist and tour guide organisation operating in the city of Oxford, England. Founded in 2018 by Oxford University DPhil history students Paula Larsson and Olivia Durand,[1] the goal of the tours was to highlight the history of imperialism, gender and class inequalities within the city.[2][3] The organisation also create podcasts, blogs, host speeches and give platforms to historians specialising in British imperial history. Activists from Uncomfortable Oxford were heavily involved in the 2020 protests to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes outside Oriel College, Oxford after the killing of George Floyd,[4][5] with many of their tours starring or being centred around Rhode's legacy.[6]

Uncomfortable Oxford
GenreTour guide organisation
Social enterprise
Founded2018
FounderPaula Larsson,
Olivia Durand
Headquarters
Oxford
,
UK
Key people
Waqaz Mirza (Executive Director)
Websitehttps://www.uncomfortableoxford.co.uk/
Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum is one of several academic institutions in Oxford working in tandem with Uncomfortable Oxford to teach the public about British imperial history

In 2019 Uncomfortable Oxford received a High Commendation from the Vice Chancellor's Social Impact Awards for "exceptional achievement and commitment to positive social change",[7] for which it was awarded with funding from the AHRC-TORCH which was awarded by The Oxford Centre for the Research in the Humanities.[8]

Activity

Oxford city tours

Uncomfortable Oxford holds five regular tours in addition to seasonal and specialist events, though the themes and routes change regularly. These tours include;[8]

  • The Uncomfortable Oxford Tour - A general guide to the city highlighting the most prominent controversies including the Cecil Rhodes statue outside of Oriel, war memorials, statues, and discussions on the politics of historical memory.
  • The Oxford and Empire Tour - A tour focusing specifically on the links between imperialism and Oxford University and how the university helped facilitate the expansion of the British Empire.
  • Follow the Money - A tour designed to highlight the ethnical debates concerning the sources of funding of Oxford's academic institutions.
  • Uncomfortable Literature - A tour focusing on Oxford's publishing and literature history, and the controversies surrounding Oxford's authors such as Lewis Carroll, as well as highlighting authors who were overlooked due to their gender, race or nationality.
  • Uncomfortable Ashmolean Tour - A tour which takes place within Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum.

Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic Uncomfortable Oxford began hosting online tours for a discounted price, featuring their regular tour guides within video meetings using 360 camera angles of Oxford landmarks to illustrate their subjects.[9]

Collaborations with Oxford institutions

Uncomfortable Oxford has conducted numerous collaborations with a large number of Oxford institutions including; the Ashmolean Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum, Project SOUP, Branch Up [Oxford Hub], Wadham College, the Oxford Climate Justice Campaign, Experience Oxfordshire, the Bodleian Library, the Department of Geography, and the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities.[10]

In late 2020 Uncomfortable Oxford started to conduct collaborations with the Oxford Museum of Modern Art to highlight the work of female anthropologists who had worked within Oxford.[11]

References
  1. Duke, Imogen (7 January 2020). "1000s attended 'Uncomfortable Oxford' history events in 2019". Cherwell. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. Cassidy, Tiffany (28 February 2020). "In Britain, these Oxford walking tours focus on often-glossed-over parts of the city's history". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  3. Mararike, Shingi (25 August 2019). "Step this way to discover Oxford's unpalatable past of imperialism and inequality". The Times. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  4. Goldsbrough, Susannah (19 June 2020). "Uncomfortable Oxford: meet the student group asking the city to confront its colonial past". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  5. Gregory, Andy (9 June 2020). "Cecil Rhodes protest – live: Oxford students demand removal of colonialist's statue, as Labour councils to review public monuments". The Independent. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  6. Kidd, Patrick (25 January 2020). "Meander through Oxford's dark past is more than a woke walk". The Times newspaper. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  7. Hub, Oxford (11 June 2019). "Vice-Chancellor's Social Impact Awards 2019". Oxford Hub Blog. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  8. Larsson, Paula; Durand, Olivia (10 January 2020). "Uncomfortable Oxford". The Oxford Research Center in the Humanities. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  9. University, Standford (23 November 2020). "Uncomfortable Oxford Tour". Stanford University. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  10. Oxford, Enterprising (2019). "Oxford Case Studies – Uncomfortable Oxford". eship. ox. ac. uk - Oxford University. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  11. Art, Oxford, Modern (7 November 2020). "Uncomfortable Oxford: Untangling Narratives". Modern Art Oxford. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
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