LSE: Public lectures and events

Speaker(s): Professor Sammy Smooha | The contemporary Western world celebrates ethnic and cultural diversity, apparently cherishing multiculturalism and shared society. A review of the historical record of Western democracies reveals their effort to reach national uniformity and unity by using various coercive means to reduce or eliminate diversity (genocide, population control, involuntary assimilation, segregation, partition). The different strategies of three types of democracy (liberal, consociational and ethnic) will be exemplified and compared. This is a public lecture in memory of Anthony Smith. Sammy Smooha is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Haifa. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and President of the Israeli Sociological Society and won the 2008 Israel Prize for Sociology. Smooha studies Israeli society, with a focus on ethnic relations, in comparative perspective. He has published widely on the internal divisions and conflicts in Israel, and has authored and edited several books on Arab and Jewish relations. He is the Israel Institute Visiting Professor at the University of London-SOAS for the academic year 2016-17. John Hutchinson is Associate Professor in Nationalism in Europe at the Department of Government, LSE. The Department of Government (@LSEGovernment) at LSE is one of the largest political science departments in the UK. Our activities cover a comprehensive range of approaches to the study of politics.

Speaker(s): Paolo Gentiloni | Paolo Gentiloni is Prime Minister of Italy, a position he has held since December 2016. Prior to this he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr Gentiloni is a professional journalist and has a degree in political sciences. He became spokesman of the Mayor of Rome in 1993 and was the Jubilee and Tourism City Minister in the Rome City Council. In 2001, he was elected Member of Parliament and was Chairman of the Broadcasting Services Watchdog Committee. Between 2006 and 2008 he was Minister for Communications in Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s government. One of the 45 members of the national founding committee of the Democratic Party in 2007, he was re-elected in 2008 and 2013 to the Chamber of Deputies and has been member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Julia Black is Interim Director of LSE and Professor of Law at LSE. The Institute of Global Affairs (IGA) (@LSEIGA) at LSE creates a dedicated space for research, policy engagement and teaching across multiple disciplines to pioneer locally-rooted responses to global challenges. The LSE Students' Union Italian Society aims to promote the Italian culture and to raise awareness of issues concerning Italy and Europe. The Society organises public lectures and events to critically engage with the current economic, political and social situation and to celebrate the Italian heritage, both at the LSE and in London. Keep up to date with what Brexit means for the UK and the wider world at LSE Brexit blog (@lsebrexitvote).

Speaker(s): Ann Pettifor | Political economist Ann Pettifor demystifies history’s most misunderstood invention: the money system. Arguing that democracies can reclaim control over money production, Pettifor sets out the possibility of linking the money in our pockets (or on our smartphones) to the change we want to see in the world around us. Ann Pettifor (@AnnPettifor) is a political economist with a focus on finance and sovereign debt. She is the Director of PRIME (Policy Research in Macroeconomics), an honorary research fellow at City University, a fellow of the New Economics Foundation, and has an honorary doctorate from Newcastle University. She is the author of The Real World Economic Outlook and The Coming First World Debt Crisis, and co-authored The Green New Deal and The Economic Consequences of Mr Osborne. The Department of Economics at LSE (@LSEEcon) is one of the largest economics departments in the world. Its size ensures that all areas of economics are strongly represented in both research and teaching. The Centre For Macroeconomics (@CFMUK) brings together world-class experts to carry out pioneering research on the global economic crisis and to help design policies that alleviate it.

Speaker(s): Dr Eleni Karagiannaki and Dr Abigail McKnight | Editor's note: The question and answer is missing from the podcast. This lecture examines the empirical relationship between economic inequality and poverty across countries and over time, paying attention to different measurement issues. It then considers a range of potential mechanisms driving this relationship and explores policy options. Eleni Karagiannaki is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research focuses on income and wealth inequality and poverty and socio-economic mobility. Abigail McKnight is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow and Associate Director of Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion at the London School of Economics and Political Science where she has worked since 1999. Her research interests include inequality, poverty, wealth, social mobility and employment policy. Chris Goulden (@Chris_Goulden) is Deputy Director of Policy and Research at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee. He is a former social researcher at the Home Office and Cabinet Office. Chris has also been a cancer researcher in the NHS, a member of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills Policy Expert Group and a member of the Social Research Association Board. He has a MSc in social research methods from South Bank University. Chiara Mariotti (@chiaramariotti) is currently Inequality Policy Manager for Oxfam. She is an economist who works on various issues related to chronic poverty, including private sector, financial inclusion, social protection, political economy of poverty. She has previously worked for the Overseas Development Institute and her areas of interest include India, Nigeria, East Africa and South-East Asia. Stephen Machin (@s_machin_) is Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Previously he has been visiting Professor at Harvard University and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, has been President of the European Association of Labour Economists, is a Fellow of the Society of Labor Economists and was a member of the UK Low Pay Commission from 2007-13. His current research interests include inequality, education and crime, and the interactions between them. The Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at LSE (@CASE_LSE) focuses on the exploration of different dimensions of social disadvantage, particularly from longitudinal and neighbourhood perspectives, and examination of the impact of public policy. LSE Works is a series of public lectures, that will showcase some of the latest research by LSE's academic departments and research centres. In each session, LSE academics will present key research findings, demonstrating where appropriate the implications of their studies for public policy. A list of all the LSE Works lectures can be viewed at LSE Works.

Speaker(s): Professor Richard H. Pildes | A year of unpredictable political upheavals in the industrialised world promises an interesting period ahead. What are the lessons from Brexit and the Trump election for our democracy? Richard H. Pildes is the Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law at the New York University Law School. He is one of the nation's leading scholars of constitutional law and a specialist in legal issues affecting democracy. Mervyn King was Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013, and is currently School Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Lord King was made a life peer in 2013, and appointed by the Queen a Knight of the Garter in 2014. The Department of Economics at LSE (@LSEEcon) is one of the largest economics departments in the world. Its size ensures that all areas of economics are strongly represented in both research and teaching. The Centre For Macroeconomics (@CFMUK) brings together world-class experts to carry out pioneering research on the global economic crisis and to help design policies that alleviate it.

Speaker(s): John Milbank | After the collapse of modern quasi-religions, religions themselves have been ideologised, while at the same time atheism has become a politics and genuine religious elements challenge secular legitimacy. Once religion returns to influence, liberal religious tolerance is exposed as an attempt to marginalise religion. Decisions about what type and range of religion to allow and favour, if any at all, have now become inescapable. The new political fault lines are metaphysical, but we must strive to shape subtler metaphysical options as expressed by our practices of order, which now, as ever (following Eric Voegelin) ultimately claim to represent reality. John Milbank (@johnmilbank3) is Research Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics and Director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham. He is the founder of the radical orthodoxy movement and author of many books, including Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason. Matthew Engelke is Professor of Anthropology at LSE. Religion and the Public Sphere (@LSE_RPS) is a research project hosted by The Institute of Public Affairs and supported by the LSE Annual Fund.

Speaker(s): Nimrod Borenstein and Professor Adrian Moore | In the film Amadeus, Mozart remarks that ‘his composition has the exact amount of notes’, hinting at some kind of Absolute. For contemporary composer Nimrod Borenstein, there is only one solution: the right number of notes at the right place, as if his music had always existed. Are there philosophical arguments that support such claims? We bring together a composer, a pianist, a piano, and a philosopher to explore this question. With acclaimed performances of his music throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Japan, Nimrod Borenstein has achieved a remarkable feat: establishing himself as one of the leading composers of his generation on the strength of a music that internationally leading instrumentalists and orchestras love to perform and that audiences love to hear. Adrian Moore is Professor of Philosophy, St Hugh’s College, University of Oxford. With her combination of colourful Brazilian spirit and musicianship, London based pianist Clelia Iruzun is one of the most exciting musicians to emerge onto the international scene in recent years. Graduated at the Royal Academy of Music with the coveted Recital Diploma, Clelia performs throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. Her 13 CDs, with a variety of repertoire ranging from Latin-American composers to the Mendelssohn concerts, have been praised by the critics and the public. Catherine Audard is Visiting Fellow at LSE and Chair of the Forum. Just economics and politics? Think again. While LSE does not teach arts or music, there is a vibrant cultural side to the School - from weekly free music concerts in the Shaw Library, and an LSE orchestra and choir with their own professional conductors, various film, art and photographic student societies, the annual LSE photo prize competition, the LSE Literary Festival and artist-in-residence projects. For more information please view the LSE Arts website. The Forum for European Philosophy (@ForumPhilosophy) is an educational charity that organises a full and varied programme of philosophy and interdisciplinary events in the UK.

Speaker(s): Antje du Bois-Pedain, Richard Scorer and Professor Phil Scraton | Although civil law claims are subject to some temporal constraints, when it comes to criminal offences there is generally no limitation to prosecution and trial. The question of whether such time limitations should be available in the criminal law has become particularly topical in light of the large number of crimes, mainly historic sexual offences and particularly against children, alleged, and in some cases proven in court. Are there good reasons to still prosecute in such circumstances or do crimes ever go too stale? Should they be dealt with in alternative truth-finding procedures such as the, so far ill-fated, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse? Antje du Bois-Pedain is Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Centre for Penal Theory and Penal Ethics, University of Cambridge. Richard Scorer (@Richard_Scorer) is Head of the Abuse Team at Slater and Gordon Lawyers in Manchester. Phil Scraton is Professor of Criminology, School of Law, Queen's University Belfast and Head of Research on the Hillsborough Independent Panel, principal author of its definitive Report and author of Hillsborough: The Truth. Emmanuel Melissaris (@EMelissaris) is Associate Professor of Law, LSE Law. He writes and teaches on legal and political philosophy and criminal law. LSE Law (@lselaw) is an integral part of the School's mission, plays a major role in policy debates & in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world.

Speaker(s): Professor Ricky Burdett, Professor Saskia Sassen and Professor Richard Sennett | This film screening and discussion aims to disseminate the ideas of the newly authored "Quito Papers" beyond UN-Habitat's Habitat III conference and to launch Theatrum Mundi and the Kaifeng Foundation's short film that has been adapted from the text. Ricky Burdett (@BURDETTR) is Professor of Urban Studies and Director of LSE Cities. Saskia Sassen (@SaskiaSassen) is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University. Richard Sennett (@richardsennett) is Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and University Professor of the Humanities at New York University. Wendy Pullan is Professor of Architectural and Urban Studies and Head of the Department of Architecture at Cambridge University. Theatrum Mundi (@TheatrumM), based at LSE Cities, is a network of people from the performing and visual arts and the built environment disciplines. It activates projects, meetings and research in cities around the world. LSE Cities is an international centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science that studies how people and cities interact in a rapidly urbanising world. LSE Cities (@LSECities) is an international centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science that carries out research, education and outreach activities in London and abroad. Its mission is to study how people and cities interact in a rapidly urbanising world, focusing on how the physical form and design of cities impacts on society, culture and the environment.

Speaker(s): Tharman Shanmugaratnam | Inclusive growth has to be at the centre of our agenda, if we are to avoid the continued unravelling of the social compacts that have underpinned an era of open economies. It will require new strategies, redefining the role of government and reinvigorating the politics of the centre. There is also something to be learnt from international experience. Tharman Shanmugaratnam (@Tharman_S) is Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies in Singapore. He has been appointed Chairman of the Group of Thirty from Jan 2017. He also chaired the International Monetary and Financial Committee between 2011-2015, and was its first Asian chair. He served for several years as Minister of Finance, and earlier as Minister for Education. Tharman is an alumnus and Honorary Fellow of LSE. Nicholas Stern (@lordstern1) is IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the LSE and is currently the President of the British Academy. STICERD (@STICERD_LSE) brings together world-class academics to put economics and related disciplines at the forefront of research and policy. Founded in 1978 by the renowned Japanese economist Michio Morishima, with donations from Suntory and Toyota, we are a thriving research community within the LSE.

Speaker(s): Simon Glendinning, Nancy Green and Pap Ndiaye | Hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science as part of a worldwide series of events coordinated by the Institut français, the Night of Ideas will bring together leading researchers from France, the UK and Europe to discuss changing ideas of democracy, citizenship, and truth. What conceptual frameworks can we apply to understand “post-truth politics”? What light can an exercise in comparison shed on the questions that have recently emerged in our different democratic contexts? Throughout the evening three parallel series of panels will address issues of post-truth politics, contemporary urban policies in Europe’s “open cities”, the intellectual history behind our European ideals, changing models of citizenship and transnationalism, questions raised by different constitutional models, generational difference and generational injustice, the philosophy of cosmopolitism, and the narrative and emotional aspects of contemporary politics.

Speaker(s): Christophe Charle, Sudhir Hazareesingh, Laurent Jeanpierre and Ludovic Frobert | Hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science as part of a worldwide series of events coordinated by the Institut français, the Night of Ideas will bring together leading researchers from France, the UK and Europe to discuss changing ideas of democracy, citizenship, and truth. What conceptual frameworks can we apply to understand “post-truth politics”? What light can an exercise in comparison shed on the questions that have recently emerged in our different democratic contexts? Throughout the evening three parallel series of panels will address issues of post-truth politics, contemporary urban policies in Europe’s “open cities”, the intellectual history behind our European ideals, changing models of citizenship and transnationalism, questions raised by different constitutional models, generational difference and generational injustice, the philosophy of cosmopolitism, and the narrative and emotional aspects of contemporary politics.

Speaker(s): Jo Murkens, Scot Peterson, Nicolas Roussellier and Richard Toye | Hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science as part of a worldwide series of events coordinated by the Institut français, the Night of Ideas will bring together leading researchers from France, the UK and Europe to discuss changing ideas of democracy, citizenship, and truth. What conceptual frameworks can we apply to understand “post-truth politics”? What light can an exercise in comparison shed on the questions that have recently emerged in our different democratic contexts? Throughout the evening three parallel series of panels will address issues of post-truth politics, contemporary urban policies in Europe’s “open cities”, the intellectual history behind our European ideals, changing models of citizenship and transnationalism, questions raised by different constitutional models, generational difference and generational injustice, the philosophy of cosmopolitism, and the narrative and emotional aspects of contemporary politics.

Speaker(s): Richard Sennett, David Mangin, Martine Drozdz and Barbara Lipietz | Hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science as part of a worldwide series of events coordinated by the Institut français, the Night of Ideas will bring together leading researchers from France, the UK and Europe to discuss changing ideas of democracy, citizenship, and truth. What conceptual frameworks can we apply to understand “post-truth politics”? What light can an exercise in comparison shed on the questions that have recently emerged in our different democratic contexts? Throughout the evening three parallel series of panels will address issues of post-truth politics, contemporary urban policies in Europe’s “open cities”, the intellectual history behind our European ideals, changing models of citizenship and transnationalism, questions raised by different constitutional models, generational difference and generational injustice, the philosophy of cosmopolitism, and the narrative and emotional aspects of contemporary politics.

Speaker(s): David Reynolds, Florence Robine, Rotraud von Kulessa and Lea Ypi | Hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science as part of a worldwide series of events coordinated by the Institut français, the Night of Ideas will bring together leading researchers from France, the UK and Europe to discuss changing ideas of democracy, citizenship, and truth. What conceptual frameworks can we apply to understand “post-truth politics”? What light can an exercise in comparison shed on the questions that have recently emerged in our different democratic contexts? Throughout the evening three parallel series of panels will address issues of post-truth politics, contemporary urban policies in Europe’s “open cities”, the intellectual history behind our European ideals, changing models of citizenship and transnationalism, questions raised by different constitutional models, generational difference and generational injustice, the philosophy of cosmopolitism, and the narrative and emotional aspects of contemporary politics.