Think-In-Kingston
Thinking Allowed!
2 March to 31st March
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” Like John Steinbeck’s rabbits, Think in Kingston, the borough’s annual Festival of Ideas, has grown to become a month long event that provides much-needed space for public engagement, argument and reflection. It returns in March for a fifth edition of enlightening discussions and thought-provoking debates.
Think in Kingston is organised by the borough's Arts Office. We are delighted to welcome back the Institute of Ideas for another special debate and we should also like to thank our many partners for their generous support: Borders, Kingston University, The Surrey Comet, the journal CITY and its publishers Routledge, Kingston Philosophey Cafe and Kingston Adult Education and Transition Town Kingston - a new group of concerned citizens attempting to bring about meanful change to prepare our local community for the low carbon economy.
Think in Kingston events take place at various venues around the borough.
Most events are free, but seat reservations for free events can be made online on the home page www.kingston.gov.uk or tel: 020 8547 5205 (answerphone only). Tickets for Anarchy in the Middle Ages and the Art of Living (both £6) in person from the Rose Theatre box office, tel 0871 230 1552.
Copies of the published programme will be available from libraries, guildhalls, tourist info centre, sports centres, Rose Theatre, Borders and other arts venues.
Programme Details
Event |
Further Details |
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Eduardo Mendieta: Can we need what we never had?Monday 2 March, 7pm
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Professor Mendieta is a professor of philosophy at the State University of New York, at Stony Brook. During the spring of 2009 he will be a resident fellow at Durham University's Centre for Advanced Study. His most recent book is Global Fragments, in which he applies an interdisciplinary approach to understanding 'one of the most fundamental experiences of globalization: the mega-urbanization of humanity'. In this lecture, Professor Mendieta will illustrate his theme drawing on this work. Chaired by Bob Catterall, Editor of CITY, sponsored by Routledge in association with Borders. |
Music Nationalism, National Music: Liszt and BartokTuesday 3 March, 7pm
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Meirion Hughes and Robert Stradling are two leading historians of music. Their critically acclaimed The English Musical Renaissance, 1840-1940 (Music & Society) examines the creation of a national musical identity. In this lecture, they turn their attention to the works of Liszt and Bartok and the impact that they had on Hungarian national identity under the Austrian Habsburg Empire. Chaired by Barrie Selwyn Principal, Kingston Adult Education. |
Adrian Atkinson: Cities After OilTuesday 10 March, 7pm
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The really brutal question is: will there be cities – or suburbs, as we know them now – after oil? It is a question that, Adrian Atkinson argues, we have to face now. Once an architect, Atkinson graduated into urban and thence environmental planning. Having always maintained a foot in academe, Atkinson has been asking with increasing intensity: why does our age fail to respond to the clear unviability of the direction in which it is going? What might be done to reconstruct a viable world after the 'collapse'. Chaired by Bob Catterall, Editor of the journal CITY, supported by Routledge publishers. |
Dinner’s Dirty Secrets: Is it ethical to eat?Wednesday 11 March, 6.30pm(refreshments from 6pm)
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In a debate chaired by Dr Ros Taylor, Director of Kingston University’s new Centre for Sustainable Development, two leading experts in fair trade and farming will delve deeper into the economic, environmental and social impacts of our diets. Dr Taylor will be joined by Sjoerd Vogt, whose work on fair trade has led him to explore the environmental concerns linked to food miles and Dr Frances Harris, who combines an academic career in sustainable development with part-time practical farm management in Hertfordshire. Arranged in association with Kingston Fairtrade and Kingston University. |
The Goddess in All FaithsWednesday 11 March, 7pm
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Bernadette Vallely aims to construct a thought provoking evening – accessing deep knowledge of pre-Christian Goddess faiths, offering evidence of the Goddess in all cultures and visioning a new veneration of the Mother in all her Divinity. Bernadette Vallely is a United Nations Global 500 Laureate and international writer, awardwinning social entrepreneur and co-founder of the London Goddess Temple. |
Kingston Philosophy Cafe presents:Dr Mark Vernon: Philosophy and the Art of LivingThursday 12 March, 6pm – 7.30pm Circle Bar, Rose Theatre, 24-26 High Street, Kingston KT1 1HL |
If you had bumped into Socrates or Plato wandering the streets of ancient Athens 2,500 years ago, the founders of Western philosophy would probably have looked more like monks than professors. They tried to think clearly. But thinking, for them, was only the first step to living a better life, and the search for enlightenment. So what might philosophy have to offer us today, as we seek not only to live but to live well? What has it to say about the good life, and how to find it? Dr Mark Vernon is an author, journalist, broadcaster and editor. Tickets £6 in person from Rose Theatre Box Office 0871 230 1552 or online www.rosetheatrekingston.org |
Dominic Sandbrook: America Under Obama – a bright new future?Tuesday 17 March, 7pm Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Kingston KT1 2EE |
Barack Obama's election was supposed to mark a bright new dawn in American history. But what change has he really brought in his first weeks as President? Where does he come from, and what does he stand for? And what can we expect from America over the next few years? The writer and historian Dominic Sandbrook takes a first look at President Obama's opening days in office, and asks how he fits into the grand sweep of modern American history. |
Anarchy in the Middle Ages: Tom Hodgkinson & Princes in the Tower |
Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson discusses the various heretical movements of the Middle Ages, from the Brethren of the Free Spirit to the Beguines. He argues that medieval people were far less downtrodden than is commonly thought, and that they had their John Lennons and Johnny Rottens just as we do today, ever ready to attack injustice and celebrate anarchy and freedom. Tom also touches on the rebellious spirit of the Troubadours, the great secular love poets of the 12th and 13th centuries. Early music will be provided by Princes in the Tower – three superb medieval minstrels. Tickets £6 in person from Rose Theatre Box Office 0871 230 1552 or onlinewww.rosetheatrekingston.org |
Music on the Move: Technology and the remapping of the selfThursday 19 March, 7pm Borders, Market Place, Kingston KT1 1JT |
Dr Michael Bull, media lecturer at the University of Sussex, has studied the mobile Photo music revolution since the arrival of the Sony Walkman in the late 1970s. In this talk he will draw on his research into the Apple iPod trend and assess its impact as the first cultural icon of the 21st century. He will discuss how this revolutionary technology is now being used to create a social community out of the once solitary iPod experience. Chaired by Barrie Selwyn, Principal, Kingston Adult Education. |
Institute of Ideas debate:Are we over-protecting children?Tuesday 24 March, 7pm Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Kingston KT1 2EE |
Following the Baby P tragedy, child protection is in the spotlight again. As politicians and pundits suggest myriad new procedures to prevent future deaths, is society in danger of becoming over-obsessed with child safety, when in truth such terrible events are rare? The vetting of adults who work with children was designed to weed out paedophiles, but has resulted in many volunteers resigning. Meanwhile, parental concern about their offspring’s safety means children rarely play unsupervised outdoors. Are over-protective adults unintentionally creating a nation of cotton-wool kids? Is risk aversion damaging children, or should children’s safety trump all other concerns? Speakers include: Free entry, but booking advisable |
Climate Change and Military ConflictWednesday 25 March, 7.30pm
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Dr Stuart Parkinson is Executive Director of Scientists for Global Responsibility. In tonight’s talk he will review the current state and likely future impacts of climate change and show how climate change is not only exacerbated by military activity (through its large carbon emissions) but also increases the potential for military conflict. Possible solutions will be considered and contrasted, such as ‘technofixes’ and ‘sustainable security’. Stuart Parkinson is an environmental scientist who has advised UK negotiators to the UN Climate Change Convention. Organised by Kingston Peace Council. |
Kingston: City, Suburb or What?Thursday 26 March, 7pm
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Is Kingston just a suburb? If so, is there anything wrong with that? Or is it an historic town re-inventing itself for the 21st century, something more like a city? Or what? A discussion of these questions will be introduced by four speakers whose work gives them different insights into the nature and potential of Kingston. They are: Stephen Unwin, Artistic Director of the Rose Theatre; Barry O’Mahony, Deputy Leader of the Council; Dr Vesna Goldsworthy, Director of Kingston University’s Centre for Suburban Studies and Melanie Flory, Founding Director of PeaceHelix. Chaired by Bob Catterall, Editor of the journal CITY. Sponsored by Routledge in association with Borders. |
Transition Kingston: a vision for our futureThursday 26th March 7pm to 9pmC-SCAIPE, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Kingston KT1 2EE |
Transition is an international movement to inspire local, community-based responses to the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil. Formed in May 2008, Transition Town Kingston (TTK) is currently raising awareness of these issues and bringing people in Kingston together to plan how best to act. TTK advocates practical actions, such as local food and energy production, to increase Kingston's 'resilience' to external shocks and take us towards a positive, happy and sociable future after oil. Join members of TTK to discuss ways to create a 'vision' for Kingston and help plan for a public visioning event, to be held during Kingston's Paint The Town Green festival in May. All welcome – no prior knowledge needed. |
Dr Thomas Dixon: Evolution versus Creationism: A Very American Conflict?Monday 30 March, 7pm Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Kingston KT1 2EE |
As we celebrate the anniversaries in 2009 of the birth of Charles Darwin and the publication of On The Origin of Species, Thomas Dixon, Senior Lecturer in History at Queen Mary’s College, University of London, will talk about Darwin’s work and religious beliefs and the Victorian context of On The Origin of Species, as well as how and why creationism took off in 20th-century America and the “Intelligent Design” debates. His recent book is Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction. Presented by the South West London Humanist Group. |
Asylum Seekers in Kingston: Myths and RealityTuesday 31 March, 7pm
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The UK is home to just 2% of the world’s refugees, the vast majority of whom are found in the far less affluent countries. During the period 2002 – 2007, the number of applications for asylum fell from 84,130 to 23,430. Nevertheless, refugees continue to generate a lot of controversy, with much of the debate being ill informed. Kingston Refugee Action is working to assist people who have come to the UK fleeing situations that none of us would wish to experience. An informative debate led by Rebecca Mears and Jennifer Tankard, Director and Chair respectively of KRA. |
Disclaimer
The Royal Borough of Kingston wishes to encourage intelligent, informed discussion about contemporary issues and supports Think in Kingston accordingly. The views expressed during Think in Kingston do not, however, necessarily reflect those of the authority.