Academy of Ideas

BOOK LAUNCH: Family life seems to be increasingly under attack. Some argue that a lack of authority in both the classroom and the home has resulted in rising numbers of children reporting concerns about their mental health. Others argue that parents pose a threat to children’s development, stifling their ability to become their true selves. Families being locked up together during the pandemic has sparked concerns among commentators that a rise in child abuse and neglect is inevitable. So serious is parenting for some that even White House terrier Kellyanne Conway quit her role citing concerns about parenting during the pandemic. For now, she said, it’ll be ‘less drama, more mama’. Nancy McDermott and Dr Jan Macvarish discuss.

EDUCATION FORUM: Is our school system too obsessed with exams to the detriment of our young people’s intellectual development? Or, for all their potential flaws, are exams the most egalitarian and meritocratic form of student assessment? David Perks, principal of East London Science School and Alex Standish, Geography teacher trainer and author, discuss.

BOOK CLUB: Not just the story of one wedding, but of many, this compelling story offers insights into issues of race, prejudice and identity while maintaining its firm belief in the compensatory power of love. Through a delicate interweaving of past and present, North and South, black and white, The Wedding unfolds outward from a single isolated time and place until it embraces five generations of an extraordinary American family. It is an audacious accomplishment, a monumental history of the rise of a black middle class, written by a writer who lived it. Wise, heartfelt, and shattering, it is Dorothy West’s crowning achievement. Helen Searls introduces this book club. 

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: In the past six months, citizens have had their right to protest quashed, their free speech attacked (with restrictions on social media about alternative public-health messages) and their ability to ‘mingle’ made illegal. In any other situation, this would be unthinkable. Does living under a virus mean having to sacrifice our civil liberties? Is it right to push back on the idea that anyone who questions new restrictions is a ‘covidiot’ or even unsympathetic to the seriousness of the virus? Should we be worried about the effects of asking citizens to ‘snitch’ on each other in an already atomised and isolated public sphere? And does the government’s rush to implement ever-tighter rules on social interaction set a dangerous precedent - especially if dealing with pandemics becomes part of the ‘new normal’? Silkie Carlo, Luke Gittos, Patrick O’Flynn, Ruth Smeeth and Claire Fox discuss. All Academy of Ideas online events are free - if you are in a position to be able to donate, we’d greatly appreciate your support: http://www.academyofideas.org.uk/donate

SOCIAL POLICY FORUM: Beyond Covid, there are a number of arguments put forward in favour of WFH, from improving wellbeing to cutting down CO2 emissions. It certainly looks hip – as well as a bit Silicon Valley – to write off physical proximity as old-fashioned, and to greet a new regime that is mostly WFH as ‘inevitable’. But what of the wider consequences? Might not your job be shifted elsewhere, where work comes cheaper? What of the impact on high streets and the wider economy? Which of these changes are a consequence of the virus and which were coming anyway? Will they be a temporary arrangement to be abandoned with the passing of the pandemic or will they become a permanent fixture of the New Normal? Adam Garrie, Para Mullan, James Woudhuysen, Dave Clements and Mo Lovatt discuss.

SCOTLAND SALON: Is the Hate Crime Bill an important new protection for vulnerable groups? Does it go too far in attempting to do so? Could the bill’s critics be reassured by more precise language? Conversely, should the Scottish government be legislating at all to restrict free speech, even when it is offensive and designed to stir up hatred? Can we distinguish between words and actions? Should the very notion of a ‘hate crime’ be challenged? Jim Sillars, Dr Carlton Brick and Laurence Fox discuss. (With guest appearance from John Cleese.)

ECONOMY FORUM BOOK LAUNCH: Reactions to the coronavirus pandemic have escalated the pre-existing tensions between the US and China and among different Western nations. Confrontations between political globalists and mercantilist nationalists - between supporters of the rules-based international order and proponents of overt protectionism - are fuelling ever-stronger international resentments. Coupling argumentative rigour with a pragmatic, plainspoken approach, Phil Mullan charts a novel, democratic way past dangerous and self-defeating confrontations towards a future of open international collaboration based on popular participation within nation states. With its clear-eyed assessment of the opportunities and challenges of a more interconnected world - an assessment in which the economic internationalisation underpinning globalisation theories is neither romanticised nor vilified - Beyond Confrontation sets a judicious tone for the big geopolitical themes of our times. Phil Mullan and Rob Lyons discuss.

SCOTLAND SALON: Some commentators, politicians and business leaders seem to see the main role of schools and universities as preparing young people for work. Others see schools as a means to mould students to make them better citizens. Many educators have focused on the damage to children and young people’s mental health caused by the pandemic and subsequent lockdown and believe we should focus on a more therapeutic approach within the learning environment. Have we given up on knowledge for knowledge’s sake? Professor Lindsay Paterson and Dr Penny Lewis discuss.

ARTS & SOCIETY FORUM: What future do the arts have after the economic disruption wrought by the lockdown and post-lockdown precautionary measures? Theatres, concert venues, cinemas and festivals may be the worst hit, having lost months’ worth of box-office revenues. What should the role of government be in aiding the recovery of the arts? Should the government increase subsidies? Is this an opportunity for completely rethinking the arts, as some people are suggesting, clearing out the dross to allow the pearls to shine through? How do we create an environment in which the arts can thrive again? Jonathan Baz, Manick Govinda, Mo Lovatt, Joel Mills and Alison Small discuss.

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: Have voters really given up on politicians and the political system more widely? Is there any possibility of the country rallying around the president or is politics simply hopelessly divided? Is America’s position as the leading global power under threat and what impact will this have on the elections? What is needed to inject political direction into the 2020 elections? Sohrab Ahmari, Dr Richard Johnson, Wendy Kaminer, Helen Searls and Michael Tracey discuss.