DkIT’s Dr Annaleigh Margey delivers 2024 Thomas Harriot Lecture at Oriel College, Oxford
Dr Annaleigh Margey, Head of Humanities at DkIT, was recently selected to give this year’s Thomas Harriot Lecture at Oriel College, Oxford on Thursday 14 November 2024.
Thomas Harriot was a mathematician and natural philosopher from Oxfordshire, who attended Oxford and earned his BA in 1580. He was employed by Sir Walter Raleigh to teach navigation and prepare sea captains for the 1585 Roanoke expedition, later writing A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, the first published English account of America.
Dr Margey’s lecture focused on “Thomas Harriot, Cartography, and Ireland.” It explored Harriot’s time, especially his cartography output, in Munster. Through her lecture, Dr Margey sought to situate Harriot’s contributions in the wider context of surveying and mapping in sixteenth-century Ireland, focusing in particular on mapping for military subjugation, the reconnaissance of lands, and the establishment of plantation.
Speaking about the event, Dr Margey said:
“I was delighted to be invited to deliver the Annual Thomas Harriot Lecture at Oriel College on his time in Ireland. Harriot showcases the intrinsic connections between Ireland and the New World in the sixteenth century, with his exploration, surveying and mapping on both sides of the Atlantic, helping to increase understanding of landscapes amongst officials and settlers.”
