Uncomfortable Oxford LTD is a social enterprise and tour guide organisation operating in the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England, with sister branches in York and Cambridge. Founded in 2018 by Oxford University

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

history students, the goal of the tours was to highlight the history of imperialism, gender and class inequalities within the city. The organisation also creates podcasts, blog articles, runs workshops and outreach programs, and hosts public lectures. In 2022 a second branch was founded in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

called Uncomfortable Cambridge, and in 2023 a branch in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

was founded called Uncomfortable York.

History

Founding and origin

Uncomfortable Oxford was founded in late 2018 by two history

students belonging to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, Paula Larsson and Olivia Durand, with the goal of highlighting the city's links to imperialism, gender and class inequality. Both students met each other at a Public Engagement with Research Summer School in 2018, led by The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH). Here they drafted plans for walking tours of Oxford which would raise discussions on imperialism, inequality, and oppression, using tours highlighting the city's built environment. According to Oxford University's Faculty of History, guided walking tours of this nature were rare throughout the UK and had never before been given in Oxford, though similar tours existed in Bristol, London, and Liverpool.

First walking tour

The first Uncomfortable Oxford tours were given the city's ''Ideas Festival in 2018'', wherein 300 people took in the guided walking tours featuring landmarks with connections to colonialism such as The Codrington Library,

Rhodes House Rhodes House is a building part of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on South Parks Road in central Oxford, and was built in memory of Cecil Rhodes, an alumnus of the university and a major benefactor. It is listed Grade II* on ...

, Oriel College's statue of Cecil Rhodes, the Tirah Memorial in Bonn Square, the

Weston Library The Weston Library is part of the Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, reopened within the former New Bodleian Library building on the corner of Broad Street and Parks Road in central Oxford, England. Histo ...

, and the

Oxford University Museum of Natural History The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...

. These tours involved over 300 people and raised £750 in tips, all of which was donated to a local charity called Homeless Oxfordshire.

Further activity

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

Oxford city tours

Uncomfortable Oxford holds various tours in addition to seasonal and specialist events, though the themes and routes change regularly. Examples of the tours offered by Uncomfortable Oxford include; * ''The Uncomfortable Oxford Tour'' - An introduction to Oxford's historical legacies of inequality, violence, and imperialism, including war memorials, statues, and discussions on the politics of memorialisation. * ''The Oxford and Empire Tour'' - Highlights links between imperialism and Oxford University, including how the university helped facilitate the expansion of the British Empire. * ''Follow the Money -'' Covers ethical debates concerning the funding sources of Oxford's academic institutions. * ''Uncomfortable Literature -'' Focuses on Oxford's publishing and literature history as well as highlighting authors history has overlooked due to their gender, race or nationality. * ''Uncomfortable Ashmolean Tour'' - A tour which takes place within Oxford University's Ashmolean Museum, which question the narratives of museum displays. Due to the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Uncomfortable Oxford began hosting online tours within video meetings using 360 camera angles of Oxford landmarks to illustrate their subjects. According to the

Times of Malta The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...

, over 20,000 people had participated in Uncomfortable Oxford walking tours between 2018-2023.

Other activities

Though guided walking tours of Oxford are the central focus of Uncomfortable Oxford's activities, the organisation has branched out into projects involving podcasts, hosting history lectures, and has a run a number of workshops and outreach programs.

Collaborations with Oxford institutions

Uncomfortable Oxford has conducted numerous collaborations with a large number of Oxford institutions including;

Pitt Rivers Museum Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford in England. The museum is located to the east of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and can only be accessed ...

, Project SOUP, Branch Up xford Hub

Wadham College Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, the Oxford Climate Justice Campaign, Experience Oxfordshire, the Bodleian Library, the Department of Geography, and the Welcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities. The Ashmolean Museum sponsored Uncomfortable Oxford tours of their museum. In late 2020 Uncomfortable Oxford started to conduct collaborations with the

Museum of Modern Art, Oxford Modern Art Oxford is an art gallery established in 1965 in Oxford, England. From 1965 to 2002, it was called The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford. The gallery presents exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. It has a national and internationa ...

to highlight the work of female anthropologists who had worked within Oxford.

Reception

In 2019 ''The Oxford Student'' gave a positive review, remarking the tours were a rewarding experience despite the solemn atmosphere, before giving a second positive review in 2022. In 2020 the ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' gave a review of Uncomfortable Oxford highlighting how open discussions were built into the design of Uncomfortable Oxford tours. In 2023 the Oxford University student newspaper ''Cherwell'' gave a glowing review of Uncomfortable Oxford tours, saying that the organisation "leads fantastic tours around the university, seeking to generate discussions about racial inequality, gender and class discrimination, and the university’s Imperial legacy." That same year, following an invitation from Uncomfortable York, the student newspaper ''

York Vision ''York Vision'' (previously known as ''yorkVision'' and ''York Student Vision'') is one of two student newspapers at the University of York. Vision is a registered society of, and is funded by the University of York Students' Union (YUSU). Or ...

'' gave a positive review of one of their tours, describing the experience as "an immensely thought-provoking and educational experience."

Sister branches

Cambridge (2022)

In April 2022 a new branch of Uncomfortable Oxford was founded in the English city of

under the name Uncomfortable Cambridge, and was launched alongside Cambridge Festival. The first batch of tours were free entry, with guests being encouraged to instead donate to a homeless charity called Jimmy's Cambridge.

York (2023)

In May 2023 another branch was founded in

, England, with support from both the Rowntree Society and the University of York's Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP).

References

External links

* * {{official website, https://www.oxfordmagictours.com// 2018 establishments in England Tourism in Oxford Tour guides Companies based in Oxford