Spring 2014 | Public lectures and events | Video

Contributor(s): Professor Bruno Latour | Although it is still useful to insist on the distinction between science and politics, the scale and importance of ecological mutations make it more and more difficult to use it effectively. The problem is that the alternative requires a redefinition of the two terms "science" and "politics". The lecture will explore in which way an alternative definition could help us to cope with the geopolitical debates that will become more and more intense in the future. Bruno Latour is a renowned French sociologist of science, anthropologist and professor at Sciences Po, Paris and LSE Centennial Professor in the Department of Sociology.

Contributor(s): Dr Shakuntala Banaji, Carla Ferstman, Suresh Grover, Dr Biju Mathew | Key questions of human rights and impunity arise in the aftermath of the Gujarat carnage of 2002 and the rise of Narendra Modi as a national leader and politician. Shakuntala Banaji is lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. Carla Ferstman is director of REDRESS. Suresh Grover is director of The Monitoring Group. Biju Mathew is associate professor of Business and American Studies at Rider University and a cofounder/convenor of Coalition Against Genocide (CAG).

Contributor(s): Professor John Ikenberry, Professor Michael Cox | Will the future belong to the new rising powers of Asia revolving around China or the West still led by the United States? These three distinguished analysts will argue that the answer may be even more complex and significant than current protagonists in the debate believe. John Ikenberry is the Albert G Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University in the Department of Politics and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Michael Cox is founding co-director of LSE IDEAS and professor of International Relations at LSE.

Contributor(s): Professor Clare Hemmings, Professor Jeffrey Weeks | With the arrival of The Women’s Library at LSE, the Gender Institute will be running a series of 'Conversations' for which audience participation is invited. We know that public attitudes and expectations about sexuality change, but here two eminent writers on sexuality discuss the ways in which the history of sexuality is written and consider its implications. Clare Hemmings is professor of feminist theory at LSE. Jeffrey Weeks is research professor at the Weeks Centre for Social and Policy Research at London South Bank University.

Contributor(s): Professor Donatella Della Porta | From Gezi Park in Istanbul to Tahrir Square in Cairo, as well as in the heart of Europe, threatened regimes have faced down massive protests with brutal repression. But when do mass social movements go underground and choose violence? Della Porta brings to bear her extensive research into left-wing, right-wing, ethnonationalist, and religious forms of political violence to answer this question. The comparison of quite different cases of escalation allows to single out the competitive dynamics of radicalization both inside social movements and between them and the state. Donatella Della Porta is professor of political science and political sociology at the European University Institute with a distinguished record of research into social movements and political violence. Omar McDoom is assistant professor in comparative politics in the Department of Government at LSE.

Contributor(s): Ian Gordon | LSE London's 2014 Lent term seminar series begins on the 20th of January. Speakers from within and beyond LSE will focus on London's current economic and political environment London, covering relevant issues such as the private rented sector, the distribution of poverty and the densification effects of international migrants. Presenters include academics and practitioners from relevant fields. Each seminar is chaired by one of the members of LSE London, while speaker’s presentations, available podcasts and any other related documents are posted here regularly after each session.

Contributor(s): José Manuel Barroso | José Manuel Barroso is president of the European Commission, a position he has held since 2004. He was born in Lisbon and after graduating in law from the University of Lisbon, he moved to Geneva where he completed a Diploma in European Studies at the European University Institute, University of Geneva, and a Master's degree in Political Science from the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Geneva, earning an honours in both. He embarked on an academic career, working successively as a teaching assistant at the Law Faculty of the University of Lisbon, in the Department of Political Science, University of Geneva, and as a visiting professor at the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.). In 1995, he became head of the International Relations Department of Lusíada University, Lisbon. In 1979, he founded the University Association for European Studies. His political career began in 1980 when he joined the Social Democratic Party (PSD). He was named president of the party in 1999 and re-elected three times. During the same period, he served as vice president of the European People's Party. As state secretary for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation he played a key role as mediator in the signing of the peace accords for Angola in Bicesse in 1991, and as minister for foreign affairs he was a driving force in the self-determination process in East Timor between 1992 and 1995. Under his leadership, the PSD won the general election in 2002 and he was appointed prime minister of Portugal in April of that year. He remained in office until July 2004 when he was nominated by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament to the post of president of the European Commission. In June 2009 the European Council unanimously nominated him for a second term as president of the European Commission, and he was re-elected to the post by an absolute majority in the European Parliament in September 2009.

Contributor(s): Baroness O’Neill, Professor George Brock, Gavin Millar | After Leveson, this debate asks: can ethics help us think about whether we have the media needed for a healthy democracy and social fabric? How should we think about the good and harm journalism can do? Baroness O'Neill will open the debate followed by responses from George Brock and Gavin Millar. George Brock (@georgeprof) is head of journalism at City University. He is a member of the executive board of the International Press Institute and chairs the IPI's British committee. He is also a board member of the World Editors Forum. He broadcasts and lectures frequently and reviews for the Times Literary Supplement. He is a former managing editor of The Times. Onora O'Neill is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. She has written widely on political philosophy and ethics, international justice, bioethics and the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. She is also the current chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. Gavin Millar QC is co-founder of Doughty Street Chambers and a specialist in media law. He has undertaken a number of high profile defamation, privacy, contempt and reporting restriction cases and has acted for most of the major UK media organisations. He is the co-author of Media Law and Human Rights (2009) and on the board of the Centre for Investigative Journalism at City University. Nick Couldry (@couldrynick) is Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory in the Department of Media and communications at LSE.

Contributor(s): Professor Cecile Fabre, Professor Jeff McMahan | The 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I reminds us of the importance of ethics in war. Under what conditions may states wage war on each other? And what are the moral principles governing the conduct of war? Cecile Fabre is professor of political philosophy at the University of Oxford. Jeff McMahan is professor of philosophy at Rutgers University.

Contributor(s): Dr Tariq Baloch, Salim Moolan, Dr Jan Kleinheisterkamp, Dr Charles Poncet, Sir Bernard Rix, Professor Derek Roebuck, Professor Catherine Rogers, Professor Horatia Muir Watt | This event launches Jan Paulsson's newest book The Idea of Arbitration in the form of three small debates on three central issues of the book: determining arbitral jurisdiction; public policy; and the future of international arbitration. Tariq Baloch is a barrister at 3 Verulam Buildings. Salim Moollan is a barrister at Essex Court Chambers. Jan Kleinheisterkamp is an associate professor at the LSE Law Department and heads the LSE Transnational Law Project. Charles Poncet is a partner at CMS von Erlach Poncet (Geneva). Bernard Rix is a retired Lord Justice Appeal and an arbitrator at 20 Essex Street. Derek Roebuck is a senior fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and a member of IDR Group. Catherine Rogers is an associate professor at Penn State University VV Veeder QC is Essex Court Chambers). Horatia Muir Watt is professor at Science Po Paris. Jan Paulsson holds the Michael Klein Distinguished Scholar Chair at the University of Miami School of Law and he is also Centennial Professor of Law at LSE.