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The Reith Lectures

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Dec 5, 1990 • 29min

Paradoxes & Pluralism

Dr. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth explores the language of religion in his fourth Reith Lecture on 'The Persistence of Faith'. In this lecture Dr. Jonathan Sacks puts forward the idea of a society which speaks both a public language of citizenship as well as a local language of community in this lecture entitled 'Paradoxes of Pluralism'. Expanding on this concept of pluralism, he asks whether it has diluted religion or created cultural space for the individual.
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Nov 28, 1990 • 28min

The Family

Dr. Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth explores the importance of the family relationship in his third Reith Lecture on 'The Persistence of Faith'. In this lecture entitled 'The Family', Dr. Jonathan Sacks investigates the persistence of the religious institution of marriage in the modern secular age. He explores the values of the nuclear family as a framework for how we understand society and wonders how the new age of increased divorce, co-habitation, single parents and same sex relationships, will affect the concept of the family. He evaluates whether it is a good or bad thing for the family unit be eroded.
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Nov 21, 1990 • 30min

The Demoralisation of Discourse

Dr Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, explores religious ethics in his second Reith Lecture in the series 'The Persistence of Faith'. He investigates whether today's moral dramas centre more on the free-self than the saint or the hero. In this lecture entitled 'The Demoralisation of Discourse', Dr Jonathan Sacks focuses on how modern morals are founded in faith. It is his belief that without the objective standards of religion we would have no coherent language of ethics.
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Nov 14, 1990 • 29min

The Environment of Faith

Dr Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, lectures in his first Reith Lecture on the 'The Persistence of Faith'. Explaining how he believes that the moral framework provided by religion is still the best alternative to the personalised, free-market ethics which prevail today.In this lecture entitled 'The Environment of Faith', Dr Jonathan Sacks considers the state of Britain's religions. He asks; have modern cultures forgotten their faith forever?
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Dec 20, 1989 • 30min

Towards the Light

French poet Jacques Darras delivers his final Reith Lecture from his series entitled 'Beyond the Tunnel of History'.In his fifth and final Reith Lecture entitled 'Towards the Light', Jacques Darras finds a clue to our shared European future in an early cross-Channel cultural interaction: the 'School of Light'. The school was established by Irish monks in the medieval city of Laon and Jacque Darras explains that learning from the past will allow us to create a unified Europe.
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Dec 13, 1989 • 28min

Remembering the Somme

French poet Jacques Darras delivers the fourth of his Reith Lectures entitled 'Beyond the Tunnel of History'. He explores the question: 'Have the enormities of the Second World War, like the Holocaust and the dropping the atomic bomb, caused us to ignore the lessons of the First?'In his fourth lecture entitled 'Remembering the Somme', Jacques Darras explores the memories of the First World War. He explains the importance of all parts of history and the need for them to be remembered.
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Dec 6, 1989 • 28min

Highways of Freedom

French poet Jacques Darras delivers the third of his Reith Lectures entitled 'Beyond the Tunnel of History'. He argues that with the opening of the Channel tunnel a new age of mobility is within everyone's grasp. Many can now follow in the footsteps of the wealthy and literary by going on their very own 'Grand Tour' of Europe. This freedom, Darras argues, will bring cultures closer together and unify Europe. In his third lecture entitled 'Highways of Freedom', Jacques Darras explores the new European nationality. He evaluates how Western and Eastern Europe alike are throwing into the melting-pot the old national territorialities of earlier history. He explains how this is creating a new mobility - and thus new freedoms - for all Europeans.
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Nov 29, 1989 • 27min

The Golden Fleece

French poet Jacques Darras delivers the second of his Reith Lectures entitled 'Beyond the Tunnel of History'. He explores the concept of multicultural cities and draws from examples. He highlights the city of Bruges during the Burgundian era as a beacon of advancement in European unification. In his second lecture entitled 'The Golden Fleece', Jacque Darras argues that the reason why it was such a prosperous city is because it was multicultural. Its multilingual artists, merchants and bankers could spread their music, painting, wines and wools all over the world. His almost mythical description of Burgundy is used as an antidote to concept of nationalism.
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Nov 22, 1989 • 29min

The Time Traveller

French poet Jacques Darras delivers the first of his Reith Lectures entitled 'Beyond the Tunnel of History'. Taking inspiration from the formation of the Channel Tunnel, Durras looks back through the shared history of France and Britain and suggests that their respective national pasts will need to be reinterpreted in the light of a shared future. In his first lecture entitled 'The Time Traveller', Jacque Darras asks the question, now that their destinies are increasingly converging within a wider Europe, how will the two cultures reconcile with each other? To answer this question he explores the embodiment of democracy within the civic squares of Europe. He uses the historic architectural landmarks to evaluate how France and Britain might still form a multicultural Europe.
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Dec 13, 1988 • 30min

The Paradox of Gorbachev's Reforms

Geoffrey Hosking, Professor of Russian History at University College London, debates the role of pluralist politics in the sixth of his Reith Lectures entitled 'The Rediscovery of Politics'.In this lecture entitled 'The Paradox of Gorbachev's Reforms', Professor Hosking explores the role that Mikhail Gorbachev has played as the General Secretary of the Communist Party for the Soviet Union and what lasting effect he will have on the State. He considers how the state will develop and asks can a totalitarian system evolve straight into a democracy?

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