Global Transformations Lecture Series begins April 3

01/04/2008

Global Transformations Lecture Series begins April 3

The Global Transformations lecture series recognises that universities must put themselves at the heart of the changing role of education and understand, articulate and respond to global transformations. As an international university with an intercultural mission, Richmond constantly seeks to understand and better explain these global transformations.

The series will begin on 3 April 2008 with a lecture by Lord Watson of Richmond CBE. His lecture, ‘English as a Global Language’, is based on his recent book ‘Jamestown: The Voyage of English'.

Jamestown: The Voyage of English

"It was the 'little acorn' of the English language planted at Jamestown that grew to become the tallest of oaks - the common language of the greater part of the North American continent"

From the book’s Foreword by HRH The Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh KG KT, President of the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth.

In this vivid and compelling account Lord Alan Watson defines and describes the global significance of the arrival on America’s East Coast in 1607 of the Godspeed, the Susan Constant and the Discovery. These three ships carried the ideas and the language which would shape the modern world. Lord Watson tells the story of a precarious venture that nearly failed. But it succeeded against the odds, planting the seeds of representative government, capitalism and the rule of law. These ideas were expressed in a language which had just reached a peak of power and vitality – the English of Shakespeare, Tyndale and Cranmer’s Prayer Book. The year 1607 marks the start of the voyage of English from the language of 4 million inhabitants of the British Isles to its role as today’s working language of the global village used by almost 2 billion people world-wide.

Jamestown: The Voyage of English is essential and exciting reading for all who seek to understand the significance of 1607. It explains the past and raises vital questions for the future.

Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/482.aspx