Oxford Conference on the Political Economy of Islam and Muslim Societies

AALIMS Conference: 15-16 May 2015

Oxford Conference on the Political Economy of Islam and Muslim Societies

Venue

The Workshop and Conference will be taking place on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 May 2015 at theOxford Department of International Development, Queen Elizabeth House 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB.

You will find details of where we are located here:

Registration

There is no fee for registering for either the Graduate Student Workshop (on the morning of Friday 15 May); or for the Conference on the Political Economy of Islam and Muslim Societies (on the afternoon of Friday 15 May and Saturday 16 May). However, if you are planning to attend, please let Nicola Shepard () have a note of the following:

- Your name, institution, position and contact details;

- Whether you plan to attend both the workshop and conference; and
- Whether you are happy for your e-mail address to be included in a list of participants that will be available on the day.

Travel/how to find us

You will find directions to the University of Oxford here:

There is a downloadable map of central Oxford here: The Department is marked as no. 21 (in dark blue).

By air

London (Heathrow LHR)

Heathrow is the most easily accessible airport from Oxford. There is a good, reliable coach service which departs from Heathrow to Oxford roughly every 20-30 minutes with a journey time of around 60-90 minutes. Details can be found at:

The coach departs from stand 15 at the Heathrow Central Bus Station (which is a short walk from Terminals 1, 2 or 3); or from stand 10 outside Heathrow Terminal 5. If you are arriving at Heathrow Terminal 4, you should allow extra time to transit (

The cost of an adult single ticket is £23 or a period return is £29. You can pre-book tickets ( or you can simply pay the coach driver in cash.

London (Gatwick LGW)

The same company offers a regular coach service from Gatwick ( or there is a convenient train route requiring only one change at Reading (
Coaches depart from Gatwick North and South Terminal every hour ( The journey takes around 2-2.5 hours (depending on the time of day and traffic conditions), and the cost of an adult single is £28 or period return ticket is £37. You can pre-book tickets ( or you can simply pay the coach driver in cash.

If you opt for the train, this departs from the station at Gatwick South Terminal (take the shuttle between North and South). The journey takes around the same time as the coach. Tickets are available from the station or online ( or .

BirminghamInternational (BHX)

Birmingham is only an hour away from Oxford by train, with a direct line from Birmingham International station to Oxford. Trains depart roughly every hour, although arriving late at night can be a problem since the last train leaves Birmingham at around 10.15 pm. Details are available from National Rail (

London (Stansted STN)and London (Luton LTN)

There are coach services from London Stansted to Oxford, or from London Luton to Oxford, offered by National Express Coaches ( However, the journey time is around 3-4 hours, and the services are not as regular as from Heathrow or Gatwick.

Arrival by coach from London (and the London airports)

Two companies offer very regular services from London: Oxford Tube ( and the Oxford Bus Company (

The coaches from Heathrow, Gatwick and London drop off at a variety of stops in Oxford. If you plan to come directly to Queen Elizabeth House on arrival, it is probably best to get off at the stop on High Street (

There is a map of the central Oxford bus stops here:

It is a short walk (5-10 minutes) from High Street to the Department of International Development (which is immediately opposite Harris Manchester College). You’ll find a link to a map showing directions here:

(The simplest route is to cross to the north side of High Street; walk back in the direction the bus has come from until you reach the junction with Longwall Street and turn left up Longwall Street; take the second left into Jowett Walk; follow to the end and Queen Elizabeth House is the building on the corner. The entrance to Reception is just around to the right, in Mansfield Road.)

If you have luggage and opt to stay on the coach until the final stop (Gloucester Green), there is a taxi rank very close to the coach station (please ask for directions from the driver).A taxi to the Department should take 5-10 minutes and cost around £5-7.50.

By train

It is around a 20 minute walk from the Oxford Rail Station to Queen Elizabeth House: or there is a taxi rank immediately outside. The journey time is around 10 minutes and will cost in the region of £7.50.

By car

If you are planning to arrive by car, please be warned that parking in central Oxford is pretty difficult. We may be able to reserve a parking space for you at the Department, however: please let Nicola Shepard know if you need this ().

Accommodation

Oxford has a huge range of accommodation, but this does get very booked out in the spring/summer. We’re listing below a few ideas of places to stay. In general, the centrally-located hotels are quite expensive, but in walking distance to Queen Elizabeth House. If you select somewhere further out, you would be advised to make sure it is close to one of the main roads leading into town (the Banbury or Woodstock Road to the north; the Botley Road to the west; the or Abingdon Road to the south; or the Cowley, Iffley or St Clements/London Roads to the east) as these all have good, regular bus services down them.

Cheap and cheerful:

YHA:

Backpackers Hostel:

University accommodation:

To book college rooms on a B&B basis:

University Club:

Rewley House (Continuing Education):

Top of the range:

Old Parsonage:

Randolph:

Old Bank:

Mid-Range:

Eastgate:

Parklands:

Cotswold Lodge:

Oxford Spires Four Pillars:

B&B:

Red Mullions: [regular bus service]

Galaxie Hotel: [regular bus service]

Marlborough House Hotel: [regular bus service]

Slightly out of town chains:

The Oxford Hotel:

Holiday Inn:

Contacts on arrival in Oxford