LSE: Public lectures and events

Speaker(s): Eric Schmidt | Five years on from his 2011 MacTaggart lecture in which he traced Britain's computing heritage and called for the inclusion of computer science (CS) in the National Curriculum, Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt will discuss progress in CS education and digital skills, and the opportunities that flow from the next wave of British computing innovation in machine learning. Join Eric in conversation with Professor Chrisanthi Avgerou. Eric Schmidt (@ericschmidt) is the executive chairman of Alphabet, responsible for the external matters of all of the holding company's businesses, including Google Inc., advising their CEOs and leadership on business and policy issues. Eric joined Google in 2001 and helped grow the company from a Silicon Valley startup to a global leader in technology. He served as Google’s Chief Executive Officer from 2001-2011, overseeing the company’s technical and business strategy alongside founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Under his leadership Google dramatically scaled its infrastructure and diversified its product offerings while maintaining a strong culture of innovation. Chrisanthi Avgerou is Professor of Information Systems at LSE’s Department of Management and Programme Director of LSE’s MSc Management, Information Systems and Digital Innovation. She is interested in the relationship of ICT to organisational change and the role of ICT in socio-economic development. She has served in various research and policy committees on information technology and socio-economic development of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) from 1996 until 2012. The Department of Management (@LSEManagement) is a globally diverse academic community at the heart of the LSE, taking a unique interdisciplinary, academically in-depth approach to the study of management and organisations. In 1951 J Lyons and Co, an innovative British catering company famous for its teashops, ran the first practical business application and pioneered the world’s first business computer. In subsequent years, LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) computers were adopted by a host of blue chip companies at home and abroad. Today, the LEO Computer Society consists of former employers of LEO Computers and its succeeding companies, men and women who have worked with an LEO computer, and anyone who has an interest in the history of the company.

Speaker(s): Dr Brian Klaas | For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the world is becoming less democratic. With Donald Trump a major contender for the White House and the Brexit referendum flying in the face of expert recommendations, the value of democracy is now being questioned. Why are the world's despots thriving, and how can the West start winning the global battle for democracy? Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) is a Fellow in Comparative Politics at LSE and author of The Despot’s Accomplice. He is an expert on global democracy, democratic transitions, political violence and volatility, and elections - and the economic risks of all these challenges. Jonathan Hopkin (@jrhopkin) is Associate Professor of Comparative Politics in the Department of Government at LSE. The Department of Government (@LSEGovernment) at LSE, one of the largest political science departments in the UK.

Speaker(s): Professor David Stasavage | In today’s social climate of growing inequality, why are there not greater efforts to tax the rich? David Stasavage asks when and why countries tax their wealthiest citizens.David Stasavage (@stasavage) is Julius Silver Professor in the Wilf Family Department of Politics at New York University. David Soskice is Professor of Political Science and Economics in the LSE Department of Government. The International Inequalities Institute at LSE (@LSEInequalities) brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to lead critical and cutting edge research to understand why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas across the world, and to develop critical tools to address these challenges.

Speaker(s): Irina Bokova | In this lecture, Irina Bokova will explore the challenges of an increasingly turbulent world, and the role of the United Nations and international organisations in sustaining a rules-based international order and strengthening effective global governance. Irina Bokova (@IrinaBokova) has been the Director-General of UNESCO since 15 November 2009, and was successfully re-elected for a second term in 2013. She is the first woman and the first Eastern European to lead the organisation. Professor Michael Cox is Director of LSE IDEAS and Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE. LSE IDEAS (@LSEIDEAS) is a foreign policy think-tank within LSE's Institute for Global Affairs.

Speaker(s): Laura Bates | Laura Bates will talk about the everyday sexism project, with a particular focus on students at university, and women in the workplace. Laura Bates (@EverydaySexism) is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, a collection of more than 100,000 women's daily experiences of gender inequality. She is the author of two books, Everyday Sexism and Girl Up. Anne Phillips is the Graham Wallas Professor of Political Science in the Department of Government. The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Taskforce was established in September 2015 to conduct a root-and-branch review of EDI issues at the School, to generate policy proposals, and to initiate changes around the institutional architecture and campus culture in order to maximise equity, diversity and inclusion across the School.

Speaker(s): Thomas Frank | Financial inequality is one of the biggest political issues of our time: from the Wall Street bailouts to the rise of the One Percent, who between them control forty-percent of the US wealth. So where are the Democrats - the notional 'party of the people' in all of this? Author Thomas Frank will examine how the Left in America has abandoned its roots to pursue a new supporter - elite professionals - and how this unprecedented shift away from its working-class roots ultimately deepens the rift between the rich and poor in the US. Thomas Frank is an author and former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and Harper's, and the founding editor of The Blaffer. His latest book is Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? Peter Trubowitz (@ptrubowitz) is Professor of International Relations and Director of the US Centre at LSE. The United States Centre at LSE (@LSE_US) is a hub for global expertise, analysis and commentary on America. Its mission is to promote policy-relevant and internationally-oriented scholarship to meet the growing demand for fresh analysis and critical debate on the United States.

Speaker(s): John Crace, Professor Catarina Dutilh Novaes, Professor William | Even in so-called ‘mature’ democracies, political discussion often turns ugly. Recently we have seen accusations of deception and name-calling in the EU referendum debate, of negative campaigning in the London mayoral election, and of unrestrained personal attacks in the US election. Does such behaviour fall short of an ethical standard for public discussion, or is it an essential feature of political life? We bring together a panel of political philosophers, argumentation theorists, and political commentators to debate this question. John Crace (@JohnJCrace) is a journalist, critic, and satirist at The Guardian. Catarina Dutilh Novaes (@cdutilhnovaes) is Professor of Theoretical Philosophy and Rosalind Franklin Fellow at the University of Groningen. William Outhwaite is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University. Jo Phillips is a journalist, author, and former spin doctor. Peter Dennis is Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and 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): Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah | Kwame Anthony Appiah delivers the 2016 BBC Reith Lectures, focusing on four themes: colour, country, culture and creed. In this first lecture he will challenge conventional thinking about religion and identity. Kwame Anthony Appiah (@KAnthonyAppiah) is a British-born, Ghanaian-American philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist. He specialises in moral and political philosophy, as well as issues of personal and political identity, cosmopolitanism and nationalism. Professor Appiah has taught at Yale, Cornell, Duke, and Harvard universities and lectured at many other institutions in the United States, Germany, Ghana and South Africa, as well as at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris; and from 2002 to 2013 he was a member of the Princeton University faculty, where he had appointments in the Philosophy Department and the University Center for Human Values, as well as being associated with the Center for African American Studies, the Programs in African Studies and Translation Studies, and the Departments of Comparative Literature and Politics. In January 2014 he took up an appointment as Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University, where he teaches both in New York and in Abu Dhabi and at other NYU global centers. Sue Lawley is one of Britain's best known broadcasters and journalists. Her programme portfolio has always been varied - from current affairs to chat shows. Nationwide and Tonight were the first national television programmes she presented for the BBC - then came general elections, the Six and Nine o'Clock News, Question Time, Wogan and her own interview show on television.

Speaker(s): Beatrix Campbell, Professor Peter Hallward, Dr Edward Kanterian | Winston Churchill famously described democracy as ‘the worst form of government except for all the others that have been tried’. While not exactly a resounding endorsement, something like this sentiment is strongly held by most people in Western societies. Those who challenge it are branded ‘extremists’ or ‘ideologues’, with special suspicion reserved for those who incorporate unfamiliar cultural or religious beliefs. However, there have always been those who think alternatives to democracy are possible, and indeed preferable. So what are the philosophical arguments in favour of democracy, and do they stand up to scrutiny? Beatrix Campbell (@beatrixcampbell) is a writer, journalist, and political activist. Peter Hallward is Professor of Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University London. Edward Kanterian is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Kent. Peter Dennis is Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE and 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): Professor Marc Hetherington | Marc Hetherington examines why Americans today viscerally dislike and distrust the party opposite the one they identify with more than at any point in the last 100 years, and how these negative feelings are central to understanding the political dysfunction and gridlock that has gripped the US for the past decade. Marc Hetherington is Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, studies the American electorate, with a particular focus on the polarization of public opinion. Peter Trubowitz (@ptrubowitz) is Professor of International Relations and Director of the US Centre at LSE. The United States Centre at LSE (@LSE_US) is a hub for global expertise, analysis and commentary on America. Its mission is to promote policy-relevant and internationally-oriented scholarship to meet the growing demand for fresh analysis and critical debate on the United States.

Speaker(s): Richard Armstrong, Adrian Ellis, Tiffany Jenkins | A panel discussion considering the roles and responsibilities of museums as cultural dialogue takes on a new urgency in diverse national contexts. How do museums engage with and reflect the world they inhabit? Richard Armstrong has served as the Director of the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum and Foundation since November 2008. Armstrong works with senior staff to maximize all aspects of the Foundation’s operations: permanent collections, exhibition programs, acquisitions, documentation, scholarship, and conservation. Previously, Armstrong was The Henry J. Heinz II Director of Carnegie Museum of Art, where he also served as Chief Curator and Curator of Contemporary Art. From 1981 to 1992, he was a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he organized four Biennials, as well as several other exhibitions. Adrian Ellis is a global thought leader in international arts and culture whose work spans the fields of cultural strategy, policy, and economics. He is Founding Director of AEA Consulting, one of the world's leading arts, culture and entertainment consulting firms. Prior to founding AEA, he served as Executive Director of The Conran Foundation in London, where he planned and managed the creation of the Design Museum. Tiffany Jenkins (@tiffanyjenkins) is an academic, broadcaster and columnist, and author of Keeping Their Marbles: How Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums and Why They Should Stay There. She has been a visiting fellow at LSE, Department of Law and was previously the director of the Arts and Society Programme at the Institute of Ideas. JJ Charlesworth (@jjcharlesworth) is an art critic, writer and commentator. JJ studied fine art at Goldsmiths College, London, in the mid-1990s, before turning his hand to criticism. His writing on artists, reviews and commentaries on art, culture and politics have appeared in many publications including ArtReview, Art Monthly, Flash Art, Modern Painters, Time Out London, the Daily Telegraph and online platforms art-agenda and ArtNet News. Since 2006 has worked on the editorial staff of ArtReview, and is currently the magazine's publisher. He has lectured and taught extensively, and in 2016 completed his PhD - a study of art criticism in Britain during the 1970s. 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. Founded in 1949, ArtReview (@ArtReview_) is one of the world’s leading international contemporary art magazines, dedicated to expanding contemporary art’s audience and reach. Aimed at both a specialist and a general audience, the magazine features a mixture of criticism, reviews, reportage and specially commissioned artworks, and offers the most established, in-depth and intimate portrait of international contemporary art in all its shapes and forms.

Speaker(s): Jonathan Fenby, Yu Jie, Gideon Rachman | Financial Times columnist Gideon Rachman discusses his new book Easternisation: War and Peace in the Asian Century. Join the debate on how far the growing wealth of Asian nations is moving the international balance of power away from the West. Jonathan Fenby (@JonathanFenby) is co-founder of Trusted Sources and author of Will China Dominate the 21st Century? Yu Jie (@Yu_JieC) is China Foresight Project Manager and Dahrendorf Senior Research Associate at LSE IDEAS. Gideon Rachman (@gideonrachman) is a Financial Times columnist. His new book is Easternisation: war and peace in the Asian century. Michael Cox is Director of LSE Ideas and Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE. LSE IDEAS (@LSEIDEAS) is a foreign policy think-tank within LSE's Institute for Global Affairs.

Speaker(s): Andy Beckett, Professor Matthew Goodwin, Faiza Shaheen | After a summer dominated by a bruising leadership contest, what is the future for the Labour party in Brexit Britain? Can it recover from the turmoil that followed the referendum result, or is it doomed to split? A panel of leading political historians and social scientists will place the turmoil in historical context, consider the threats to Labour’s electoral support exposed by the Brexit referendum, and examine the relationship between party members and MPs. Andy Beckett is a Guardian writer and historian. Matthew Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) is Professor of Politics at the University of Kent and Senior Visiting Fellow at Chatham House. Faiza Shaheen (@faizashaheen) is Director of the Centre for Labour and Social Studies. Robin Archer is Director of the Ralph Miliband Programme at LSE. The Ralph Miliband Programme (@rmilibandlse) is one of LSE's most prestigious lecture series and seeks to advance Ralph Miliband's spirit of free social inquiry.

Speaker(s): Professor Kent Deng | China had the first intensive economic growth ever recorded in world history. What were the factors and dynamics behind this remarkable growth? Kent Deng is Professor of Economic History at LSE. Janet Hunter is Saji Professor of Economic History. Her research interests focus on the economic history of modern Japan in comparative context. She is currently working on the economic history of natural disasters, with a major project analysing the economic impact of the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. The Department of Economic History (@LSEEcHist) is home to a huge breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise ranging from the medieval period to the current century and covering every major world economy.

Speaker(s): Sir Paul Nurse | In this talk, the 8th Sir Karl Popper Memorial Lecture, Sir Paul Nurse will discuss how the philosophical works of Karl Popper have informed the practice of his own scientific research activities, indicating where it has helped and where it has required modifications. Sir Paul Nurse is an English geneticist, President of the Royal Society and Chief Executive and Director of the Francis Crick Institute. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the protein molecules that control the division of cells in the cell cycle. Jason Alexander is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method. The Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method (@LSEPhilosophy) at LSE was founded by Professor Sir Karl Popper in 1946, and remains internationally renowned for a type of philosophy that is both continuous with the sciences and socially relevant.