Roscoe Lecture Series [Liverpool John Moores]

'William Roscoe (1753-1831) was the son of a publican who indelibly transformed the cultural life of Liverpool. Described as "Liverpool’s greatest citizen", he was a man of many talents: a champion of freedom for all, a poet, writer, scholar, patron of the arts, bibliophile and botanist ... The Roscoe Lecture Series was launched in November 1997 to provide an open platform for debate on topics of public interest. Today, they are one of the UK’s largest public lecture series, regularly attracting audiences of over 800 people. The Roscoe Lectures play an important part in the intellectual life of Merseyside, helping to foster informed debate, broaden horizons and perspectives, and uphold the crucial spirit of intellectual inquiry and free speech in which Roscoe passionately believed.'