Spring 2016 | Public lectures and events | Video

Contributor(s): Professor Ian Morris | 20,000 years ago, the average person stood a 10-20% chance of dying violently. Today, the chance is under 1%. We have cut rates of violent death by 90% by creating large organisations that impose peace; but the main method for creating these organisations has been war. In effect, violence has slowly been putting itself out of business. The broad trends suggest that this process will probably continue. Ian Morris is Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at LSE IDEAS for 2015-16. Professor Danny Quah (@DannyQuah) is Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre. LSE IDEAS (@LSEIDEAS) is a foreign policy think-tank within LSE's Institute for Global Affairs. This event is part of Lectures+, a collaboration between LSE SEAC and LSESU UN Society that seeks to enhance the experience of public events at LSE for students, speakers and guests, and will feature an element of interactive engagement between Professor Ian Morris and the audience. To participate, please download ResponseWare (Android or iOS) to your internet capable device ahead of the event.

Contributor(s): Professor Christine Delphy, Professor Sylvie Tissot | On a rare visit to London, Professor Christine Delphy, one of the world's most influential feminist thinkers, joins us for the first UK screening of this world acclaimed film about her life, Je ne suis pas féministe mais... followed by a Q&A with one of the directors and Delphy herself. This event is partnered with a fuller discussion, Feminism in Transnational Times: a conversation with Christine Delphy, between Delphy and Tissot on 10 February - a rare chance to hear this icon of feminist politics discuss her life and work with Sylvie Tissot. Christine Delphy is a French sociologist, feminist, writer and theorist, and co-founder of Nouvelles questions féministes with Simone de Beauvoir. Sylvie Tissot is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Paris-8. 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.

Contributor(s): Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor John Dupré, Dr Bonnie Evans | Our panel will offer perspectives from neuroscience, history and philosophy on autism: How has our understanding of autism evolved? Why is autism so often linked with scientific and mathematical talent? Does this mean that some minds are ‘wired’ for science (and others not)? Is autism really a disorder, or just an aspect of human ‘neurodiversity’? Simon Baron-Cohen (@sbaroncohen) is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. John Dupré is Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Exeter. Bonnie Evans is Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Fellow at Queen Mary, University of London. Bhismadev Chakrabarti (@bhismadev) is Associate Professor of Neuroscience, University of Reading. 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.

Contributor(s): Martin Schulz | Turbulent times, multiple challenges, permanent crisis mode. Can Europe cope? Are nation states better off alone? Is the EU just a scapegoat? Join us at this lecture to find out why Martin Schulz thinks that the EU, despite its present bad shape, remains the answer to global problems and needs fixing not ditching. Martin Schulz (@EP_President) is President of the European Parliament. He was born in 1955 and grew up in Hehlrath Germany. Aged 31, he was elected as the youngest mayor of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1994, Martin Schulz has been a Member of the European Parliament. In 2004 he was elected group leader of the Socialists and Democrats. He has been President of the European Parliament since 2012. On 1 July 2014 he was re-elected President, becoming the first President in the history of the European Parliament to be re-elected for a second term. Craig Calhoun (@craigjcalhoun) is Director and President of LSE. The LSE European Institute (@LSEEI) was established in 1991 as a dedicated centre for the interdisciplinary study of 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.

Contributor(s): Professor Kevin Anderson | Despite high-level statements to the contrary, there is little to no chance of maintaining the global mean surface temperature increase at or below 2 degrees Celsius. Moreover, the impacts associated with 2°C have been revised upward sufficiently so that 2°C now more appropriately represents the threshold between 'dangerous' and 'extremely dangerous' climate change. Kevin Anderson will address the endemic bias prevalent amongst many of those building emission scenarios to underplay the scale of the 2°C challenge. In several respects, the modeling community is actually self-censoring its research to conform to the dominant political and economic paradigm. However, even a slim chance of 'keeping below' a 2°C rise now demands a revolution in how we consume and produce energy. Such a rapid and deep transition will have profound implications for the framing of society, and is far removed from the rhetoric of green growth that increasingly dominates the climate change agenda. Kevin Anderson (@KevinClimate) is Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester. Tim Dyson is Professor of Population Studies in the Department of International Development at LSE. The Department of International Development (@LSE_ID) promotes interdisciplinary post-graduate teaching and research on processes of social, political and economic development and change.

Contributor(s): Rosa Prince | Until recently, Jeremy Corbyn was barely known outside political circles, yet last summer he rode a wave of popular enthusiasm to win the Labour Party leadership by a landslide, with a greater mandate than any British political leader before him. So how did this very British iconoclast manage to snatch the leadership of a party he spent forty years rebelling against? Who is he and where did he come from? And what exactly happened over the space of an extraordinary summer to propel an old lefty called Jeremy to inspire and excite hundreds of thousands of people, and breathe new life into the socialist ideals that he, almost alone, has held true to for so many years? Journalist and author Rosa Prince will in this lecture talk about her new book Comrade Corbyn: A Very Unlikely Coup: How Jeremy Corbyn Stormed to the Labour Leadership. Rosa Prince (@RosaPrinceUK) is an award-winning political journalist and a member of the team that broke the 2009 expenses scandal. Having worked in the Lobby for the Daily Mirror and Daily Telegraph for more than ten years, Rosa also served as US Correspondent for the Telegraph, and is a frequent commentator on political television and radio channels including Sky News, the BBC and Radio 5Live.

Contributor(s): Giles Duley | One Second of Light is Duley’s latest book, covering his work on the effects of conflict and humanitarian disaster over the last decade. Duley’s work has mostly been in partnership with NGO’s and charities, such as EMERGENCY UK. Duley will talk about the relationship and the role of photography in advocacy and raising awareness. Giles Duley (@gilesduley) was born in 1971 in London. After 10 years as an editorial photographer in the fashion and music industries in both the US and Europe, Duley now focuses his work on humanitarian projects. Although documenting challenging, and at times, horrific situations, Duley captures the strength of those who fight their adversity rather than succumb. His photographs draw the viewer to the subject, creating intimacy and empathy for lives differing from ours only in circumstance. In 2011, while working in Afghanistan, Duley stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED). He was severely injured, losing both legs and an arm. The Department of International Development (@LSE_ID) promotes interdisciplinary post-graduate teaching and research on processes of social, political and economic development and change.

Contributor(s): Fyodor Lukyanov | Leading Moscow analyst Fyodor Lukyanov argues that it's time to redefine the Europe – Russia relationship based on a pragmatic understanding of respective interests and capabilities. Fyodor Lukyanov is editor of Russia in Global Affairs. Vladislav Zubok is Professor of International History at LSE and Chair of Europe and Russia and Ukraine Working Group Dahrendorf Forum. LSE IDEAS (@LSEIDEAS) is a foreign policy think-tank within LSE's Institute for Global Affairs.

Contributor(s): Professor Paul van Gardingen | How can ecosystem management in developing countries contribute to poverty alleviation, as well as to inclusive and sustainable growth? Paul van Gardingen (@espa_director) is UNESCO Chair of International Development at the University of Edinburgh and Director, Ecosystem Services for Poverty Alleviation Programme. Giles Atkinson is Professor of Environmental Policy, Department of Geography & Environment, LSE. The LSE Department of Geography & Environment (@LSEGeography) is a centre of international academic excellence in economic, urban and development geography, environmental social science and climate change. The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (@GRI_LSE) is a research centre at LSE. The Institute’s research looks at the economics of climate change, and aims to inform policy and academic debate.

Contributor(s): Claire Fox, Sarah Hannett, Daniel Winterfeldt | Drawing on a mix of personal experience and professional insight, speakers from the City, the bar and the bench will discuss contemporary barriers to the advancement of LGBT+ people in the legal profession and how those barriers may be overcome. Claire Fox is a family practitioner at Pump Court Chambers, Co Chair of the Bar Lesbian and Gay Group and sits on the Equality and Diversity Committee of the Bar Council. Sarah Hannett (@SarahHannett) is a Barrister at Matrix Chambers. Daniel Winterfeldt is Head of International Capital Markets at CMS Cameron McKenna LLP and is founder and Co-Chair of the InterLaw Diversity Forum. Chris Thomas is Assistant Professor of Law at LSE. LSE Law (@lselaw) is an integral part of the School's mission, plays a major role in policy debates & in the education of lawyers and law teachers from around the world.