LSE: Public lectures and events

Speaker(s): Professor Simon Hix | Presented by the Harold Laski Chair and Professor of Political Science, Simon Hix, this lecture will discuss the political and economic ramifications for Britain and Europe following the EU Referendum results. Professor Simon Hix is one of the leading researchers, teachers, and commentators on EU politics and institutions in the UK. He has published over 100 books and articles on various aspects of EU, European, British and comparative politics. He regularly gives evidence to committees in the UK House of Commons and House of Lords, and in the European Parliament, and he has advised the UK Cabinet Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office under both Labour and Conservative administrations.

Speaker(s): Branko Milanovic | The talk will discuss empirically recent changes in global income distribution, creation of a “global middle class”, stagnation of median incomes in the West and propose Kuznets cycles as a useful tool to understand these changes and their future evolution. Branko Milanovic (@BrankoMilan) is Senior Scholar at the Luxembourg Income Study Center, and Visiting Presidential Professor, Graduate Center, City University of New York. His new book is Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization. Robert Wade is Professor of Political Economy and Development in the Department of International Development at LSE.

Speaker(s): Professor Joseph Henrich | The ability of human groups to socially interconnect and learn from one another has allowed us to create ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have enabled successful expansion into myriad environments. Drawing insights from lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, mobile hunter-gatherers, neuroscience, ancient bones, and the human genome, Joseph Henrich, author of The Secret of Our Success, will discuss how our collective intelligence has propelled our species’ evolution. Joseph Henrich (@JoHenrich) is a professor at Harvard University in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, and holds a Canada Research Chair at UBC, where he's a professor in both Economics and Psychology. His research focuses on cultural evolution, and culture-driven genetic evolution. He’s conducted fieldwork in Peru, Chile and in the South Pacific. In 2004 he won the Presidential Early Career Award (USA). Timothy Besley is School Professor of Economics and Political Science & W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at LSE. 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): Elizabeth Crawford, Dr Ann Dingsdale, Jane Grant | Some people are inclined to begin a subdued kind of agitation for the franchise: the evolution of the women’s suffrage movement, 1866-1928. From its quiet and uncertain beginnings in 1866 the women’s suffrage movement gathered momentum through the 19th century until in the early 20th it became one of the topical issues of the day. This lecture will discuss the evolution of the suffrage societies through which the campaign was conducted, the women who signed the initial petition and the history and legacy of The Fawcett Society today, upon which this initial petition was founded. Elizabeth Crawford (@womanandsphere) is author of The Women’s Suffrage Movement: a reference guide 1866-1928. Ann Dingsdale (@AnnDingsdale) is historian and textile artist, researching and celebrating the 1866 suffrage petition signatories. Jane Grant is author of In the Steps of Exceptional Women: the story of the Fawcett Society. Martin Reid (@LibraryReid) is Head of Academic Services, LSE Library. His team is responsible for teaching and research support and includes activities such as collection development, academic liaison, information skills training and enquiry services. The British Library of Political and Economic Science (@LSELibrary) was founded in 1896, a year after the London School of Economics and Political Science. It has been based in the Lionel Robbins Building since 1978 and houses many world class collection, including The Women's Library.

Speaker(s): Mmusi Maimane, Dr Kate Orkin | The institutions of South Africa’s democracy are under strain, making the miracle of South Africa’s democracy more vulnerable and fragile than perhaps any time since its inception in 1994. The Leader of the Opposition in South Africa will discuss the challenges faced in trying to root democracy in a divided, unequal and economically unstable society. Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) is currently the Leader of the Opposition in South Africa’s National Assembly and the Democratic Alliance’s Federal Leader. He was formerly the DA’s Deputy Federal Chairperson, DA National Spokesperson and the Leader of the DA Caucus in the City of Johannesburg Municipal Council. Dr Kate Orkin is the Peter J Braam Junior Research Fellow in Global Wellbeing at Merton College and the Department of Economics, University of Oxford. She works on the drivers of voter turnout in South Africa and Kenya, and more broadly on how information and behaviour change interventions can complement existing social protection and labour markets programmes in South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia. Professor Tim Allen is Head of the Department of International Development, Director of the Africa Centre and Research Director of the Justice and Security Research Programme at LSE. The Institute of Public Affairs (@LSEPubAffairs) is one of the world's leading centres of public policy. We aim to debate and address some of the major issues of our time, whether international or national, through our established teaching programmes, our research and our highly innovative public-engagement initiatives. The LSE Africa Centre (@AfricaAtLSE) strengthens LSE’s long-term and ongoing commitment to placing Africa at the heart of understandings and debates about global issues.

Speaker(s): Catherine Audard, Professor Geoffrey Bennington, Professor François Noudelman | What does it mean to take philosophy beyond academia and into the public sphere? What is the value of philosophy in the contemporary world? In this event, held to mark 20 years of 'thinking in public' for the Forum, the panel will address the complex relations between philosophy, politics, and the public space. How has the project of thinking in public changed? Does it have a future? Catherine Audard is Visiting Fellow at LSE and Chair of the Forum. Geoffrey Bennington is Asa G Candler Professor of Modern French Thought, Emory University. François Noudelmann is Professor of Philosophy, l’Université Paris VIII. Danielle Sands (@DanielleCSands) is a Lecturer in Comparative Literature and Culture at Royal Holloway, University of London, and a Forum for European Philosophy Fellow. 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): Dr Chris Bickerton | For most of us today, 'Europe' refers to the European Union. At the centre of a seemingly never-ending crisis, the EU remains a black box, closed to public understanding. Is it a state? An empire? Is Europe ruled by Germany or by European bureaucrats? Does a single European economy exist after all these years of economic integration? And should the EU have been awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2012? Critics tell us the EU undermines democracy. Are they right? In this talk political scientist Chris Bickerton will discuss his new book, The European Union: A Citizen's Guide, which aims to provide an answer to all these key questions and more at a time when understanding what the EU is and what it does is more important than ever before. Chris Bickerton (@cjbickerton) is a University Lecturer in politics at the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge, and a Fellow in politics at Queens' College, Cambridge. He has previously taught at Oxford, University of Amsterdam, and Sciences Po in Paris. His books include European Integration (2012) and he writes regularly for Le Monde Diplomatique. Julian Hoerner (@JulianMHoerner) is LSE Fellow in EU Politics at the European Institute. His research interests include the role of national parliaments in the European Union, Eurosceptic parties and the internal coordination of EU policies in the member states.

Speaker(s): Dr Laura Bear, Anna Coote, Dr Andrea Muehlebach, Dr Carly Schuster | This panel discussion will look beyond the present into a future without austerity. Participants will discuss the proposals for a social calculus to be applied to government policy and sovereign debt relations as proposed in Laura Bear’s recent book, Navigating Austerity: currents of debt along a South Asian River (Stanford University Press 2015). How can we develop new forms of policy and politics that prioritise social rather than financial aims for government spending? How might we reform financial institutions so as to give precedence to longer-term goals than those set by market? What can be done to reduce the inequality generated by austerity policies in the UK and across the world? Can we imagine utopian institutions and social movements that could generate abundance, mutual and environmental protection? Laura Bear is Associate Professor of Anthropology at LSE and author of Navigating Austerity: Currents of Debt along a South Asian river. Anna Coote is Head of Social Policy at the New Economics Foundation. Andrea Muehlebach is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto and author of The Moral Neoliberal: Welfare and Citizenship in Italy. Carly Schuster is a lecturer and researcher at Australian National University. Her Chicago PhD in Anthropology won the Richard Saller Prize for most distinguished dissertation in the Division of Social Sciences. Deborah James (@djameslse) is Professor of Anthropology at LSE and author of Money from Nothing: indebtedness and aspiration in South Africa. LSE's Anthropology Department (@LSEAnthropology), with a long and distinguished history, remains a leading centre for innovative research and teaching. We are committed to both maintaining and renewing the core of the discipline, and our undergraduate teaching and training of PhD students is recognised as outstanding.

Speaker(s): Sam Smethers | Discover the present and future feminist agenda for the Fawcett Society, reflections on progress achieved, what we learn from history and the likely challenges ahead. Sam will also address the resurgence in feminism and the associated backlash, the discrimination experienced by different generations of women both historically and today, and the challenges for Fawcett of remaining relevant for today and tomorrow. Sam Smethers (@Samsmethers) is Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society and a voluntary sector specialist. Mary Evans is LSE Centennial Professor at the Gender Institute. Her work is interdisciplinary and crosses boundaries between the social sciences and humanities. The British Library of Political and Economic Science (@LSELibrary) was founded in 1896, a year after the London School of Economics and Political Science. It has been based in the Lionel Robbins Building since 1978 and houses many world class collection, including The Women's Library.

Speaker(s): Professor Alan Sked | This talk will include an analysis of the failings of the EU and the advantages of Brexit. Alan Sked is Emeritus Professor of International History at LSE. He is an expert on European and British history and his books have been translated into several European languages as well as Chinese and Japanese. His whole academic career was spent in the International History Department although between 1981 and 1991 he was Convenor of LSE's postgraduate European Studies Programme, which converted him to Euroscepticism. He has also had a political career, co-founding the Bruges Group and founding and leading the Anti-Federalist League which became the UK Independence Party. He no longer supports the party but does support the cause of Britain quitting the EU. Janet Hartley is Professor of International History and Head of the Department of International History at LSE. The Department of International History (@lsehistory) is one of the top five university history departments in the UK.

Speaker(s): Professor Tariq Ramadan | In our globalised world, pluralism is a fact and equality, a hope. We need to start with the basic statement reminding every one of us that we are all equal and we should be treated with the same dignity, whatever our gender, our colour, our religion or our social status. This is elementary, yet forgotten day in, day out. Tariq Ramadan (@TariqRamadan) is a Swiss academic, philosopher and writer. He is Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University, a Senior Research Fellow at St Antony’s College (Oxford) and Doshisha University (Kyoto, Japan); Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies, (Qatar); Director of the Research Centre of Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) (Doha, Qatar), President of the think tank European Muslim Network (EMN) in Brussels and a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. His research interests include the issues of Islamic legislation, politics, ethics, Sufism and the Islamic contemporary challenges in both the Muslim-majority countries and the West. He is active at both academic and grassroots levels. Craig Calhoun (@craigjcalhoun) is Director and President of LSE. He is a world-renowned social scientist whose work connects sociology to culture, communication, politics, philosophy and economics.

Speaker(s): Juli Huang, Professor David Lewis, Professor Amartya Sen | This panel will discuss why gender indicators for Bangladesh have shown a marked improvement despite various development indices not reflecting a similar upswing. Juli Huang (@Juli_Q_Huang) is a PhD candidate at LSE’s Department of Anthropology. David Lewis (@lewisd100) is Head of LSE’s Department of Social Policy. Amartya Sen is Thomas W Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. He is the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics and an LSE Honorary Fellow. Naila Kabeer (@N_Kabeer) is Professor of Gender and Development in LSE’s Gender Institute. The South Asia Centre works with individuals, organisations, think tanks, the media, governments and parastatal institutions to debate South Asia amidst its constituent countries and with the world at large through multi-faceted dialogue and debate, and position it as a dynamic global region influencing wider challenges and powers. LSE’s Gender Institute (@LSEGenderTweet) is the largest gender studies centre in Europe. With a global perspective, the Gender Institute’s research and teaching intersects with other categories of analysis such as race, ethnicity, class and sexuality; because gender relations work in all spheres of life, interdisciplinarity is key to our approach. Eva Colorni was an economist whose work and passion were concerned with analysing and redressing inequality. After her untimely death in 1985 Amartya Sen established the Trust to commemorate Eva’s life and work and to reflect and further her belief in the possibility of social justice. For further information please see Eva Colorni Trust.

Speaker(s): Professor Tim Besley, Professor Sir Paul Collier | This panel of experts will explore the major challenges that state fragility poses for creating an environment conducive to sustained and inclusive economic growth. Tim Besley is School Professor of Economics and Political Science and W. Arthur Lewis Professor of Development Economics at LSE. Paul Collier is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy, University of Oxford and Director of the International Growth Centre. Robin Burgess is Professor of Economics and Director of the International Growth Centre at LSE. The International Growth Centre (IGC) (@The_IGC) aims to promote sustainable growth in developing countries by providing demand-led policy advice based on frontier research. The IGC directs a global network of world-leading researchers and in-country teams in Africa and South Asia and works closely with partner governments to generate high quality research and policy advice on key growth challenges.

Speaker(s): Dr Igor Lukšić | Many believe that this is by far the best time in history a human being can be born. Growing life expectancies, ever better medical aid and care for the elderly, IT revolution opens new windows of opportunities. But does the youth globally share this sentiment? Are those under 25 who make up almost half of the world's population happy with what their life has to offer? We have been strong on adopting agendas but not so strong in delivering them. What are we doing wrong? Nowadays, complex challenges such as contemporary and protracted conflicts, dire humanitarian situations, migration/refugee flows, spread of international terrorism and violent extremism are testing our ability to protect the United Nations Charter and ensure effective protection of civilians, especially the most vulnerable. Dr Lukšić will ask how to ensure an effective and efficient UN system to address existing and emerging challenges; what further reforms of the UN system are needed to be fit for purpose in order to have more impact on the ground; what the role and priorities of the next Secretary General should be to make the UN more effective, efficient and relevant; and how to achieve sustainable peace and security, foster development and protect human rights. He will deliver his vision of the 21st Century UN, as he announced, a vision about youth. Igor Lukšić (@I_Luksic) is the candidate of Montenegro for the position of UN Secretary General and outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro. Born in 1976, in Bar, Montenegro where he finished elementary and high school, he graduated in June 1998 from the University of Montenegro, Faculty of Economics in Podgorica, Entrepreneurship department. He obtained a Master’s Degree at the same institution in October 2002 (thesis: Spontaneous Order and Transition) and a Ph.D. in September 2005 (thesis: Transition – Process of Achieving Economic and Political Freedoms). Prior to his current roles he served as Prime Minister from 2010-2012 and Minister of Finance from 2004-2010. Erik Berglof (@ErikBerglof) is the Director of the Institute of Global Affairs at LSE. The Financial Markets Group Research Centre (@FMG_LSE) at LSE is one of the leading centres in Europe for academic research into financial markets. 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.

Speaker(s): Professor Jonathan Faull | Jonathan Faull (@FaullJonathan) has worked in senior positions across the European Commission for most of the period of the UK’s membership. His wide experience on the ‘inside’ gives him a privileged view on Britain’s performance in the European Union: its interests and strategy. This will be relevant to the follow-up after the referendum, whether Britain votes to stay or leave. Jonathan Faull is Professor of Law at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the College of Europe. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) is celebrating its Twenty Fifth Anniversary in 2016. It is a centre for research and graduate teaching on the processes of integration and fragmentation within Europe. In the most recent national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) the Institute was ranked first for research in its sector.