These free lectures are an excellent opportunity for members of the public, staff, and students to gain an insight into the research currently being undertaken by professors at UEA.

The Inaugural Lectures 2012 series begins on Tuesday, January 17, with a talk by Prof Sandy Heslop, from the School of World Art Studies and Museology, entitled ‘Medieval art, politics and people’. As Professor Heslop explains, “Medieval art was meant to delight the senses, but it also had political and moral purposes which changed over time.

“Starting at Canterbury Cathedral around 1100 and concluding in fifteenth-century East Anglia, my lecture will explore continuities and changes in patronage and audiences, ideas and aesthetics.”

Prof Janet Seeley, from the School of International Development, will discuss how HIV has changed the lives of East Africans in her lecture ‘Thirty years in the shadow of an epidemic’ on February 14.

The School of Mathematics’ Prof Shaun Stevens will introduce ‘What’s in a number?’ on February 28, and Prof Stephen Church from the School of History presents his lecture on March 13.

The series continues on April 24 with a lecture by Prof Declan Conway from the School of International Development, before Prof Bruce Lankford from the same school finishes the series on May 15, with a talk on ‘Understanding irrigation using metaphors and games: parodies, parrots or portals?’.

All events take place at 6.30pm in the Thomas Paine Study Centre Lecture Theatre at UEA, and will be followed by a drinks reception in the foyer.

For further details call 01603 591924, email events@uea.ac.uk or visit www.uea.ac.uk/events.