SUMMER SCHOOL OVERVIEW
Our three-day residential school is open to anyone aged 18 to 30 regardless of whether you are based in the UK or beyond.
Attend to hear talks from experts on the history and philosophy of freedom, helping us to understand freedom of conscience and free will in the 21st century. With Progress now seen as dangerous, we’ll debate the implications for freedom, and explore innovations such as generative technologies and ChatGPT. There will plenty of opportunities to explore complex moral issues such as the case for reparations and the morality of borders, to revisit the classics and debate contemporary hot topics from sensitivity readers to the hecklers veto.
You can find out more about the Summer School by downloading the full programme (pdf) including short biographies of all speakers. And don’t miss our specially prepared Living Freedom Summer School 2023 Topic Guide (pdf) that includes mini-essays on each theme, along with supporting reading, podcasts and videos.
OUTLINE PROGRAMME
THURSDAY 29 JUNE
18:30 – 20:00 OPENING LECTURE
Freedom of conscience: 21st-century challenges
FRIDAY 30 JUNE
09:00 – 10:00 LECTURE
Born this way? Free will in the age of identity politics
10:00 – 10:30 BREAK
10:30 – 11:30 FREE SPEECH DILEMMAS
OPTION 1. On campus: should we veto the heckler’s veto?
OPTION 2. WhatsAppend to privacy?
OPTION 3. What’s wrong with updating old books?
11:30 – 11:45 BREAK
11:45 – 12:45 LECTURE
Dystopian or dysfunctional? The 21st-century state
12:45 – 13:45 LUNCH
13:45 – 14:45 WORKSHOPS
What the papers say
Three breakout groups to discuss the papers
14:45 – 15:15 BREAK
15:15 – 16:30 DOUBLE HEADER
The dangers of progress?
16:30 – 16:45 BREAK
16:45 – 17:45 WORKSHOPS
OPTION 1. Surveillance state: the all-seeing eye?
OPTION 2. The information wars
OPTION 3. 15-minute cities: conspiracy versus reality
17:45 – 18:00 BREAK
18:00 – 19:00 IN CONVERSATION WITH CRITICS
What is criticism?
SATURDAY 1 JULY
09:30 – 10:30 LECTURE
What does it mean to be human in a world of artificial intelligence?
10:30 – 11:00 BREAK
11:00 – 12:00 LECTURE
The ‘stolen years’: understanding the lockdowns
12:00 – 13:00 LUNCH
13:00-13:30 TWO LECTURES ON THE CLASSICS
13:30-14:15 FOLLOW-ON SEMINARS
Seminar A: Why literature matters
Seminar B: Why classical music matters
14:15 – 14:45 BREAK
14:45 – 15:45 DOUBLE HEADER
Liberty and gender: how can we talk about trans?
15:45 – 16:00 BREAK
16:00- 17:00 MORAL MAZE
OPTION 1. Reparations: should Britain make amends for its colonial past?
OPTION 2. Nation state: the morality and law of borders
17:00 – 17:15 BREAK
17:15– 18:30 CLOSING LECTURE WITH RESPONDENTS
Online harms to trigger warnings: safetyism versus freedom
This is a draft programme and may be subject to minor changes. Details of speakers to be announced soon.
SPEAKERS INCLUDE
Josie Appleton convenor, Manifesto Club
Sam Armstrong legislative affairs director, Free Speech Union
Steven Barrett barrister, Radcliffe Chambers; writer on law, Spectator
Dr Shereen Benjamin Academics for Academic Freedom, University of Edinburgh
Dave Bowden associate fellow, Academy of Ideas
Dr Jennie Bristow sociologist, co-author, The Corona Generation
Marion Calder co-director, For Women Scotland
JJ Charlesworth art critic and editor, ArtReview
Poppy Coburn freelance journalist and commentator
Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert director, Don’t Divide Us
Clive Davis chief theatre critic, The Times
Liam Deacon consultant, Pagefield
Claire Fox Academy of Ideas
Maya Forstater executive director, Sex Matters
Frank Furedi sociologist and social commentator
Sonia Gallego journalist, Al Jazeera
Dr Julius Grower Ann Smart Fellow in Law, University of Oxford
Timandra Harkness journalist, writer and broadcaster
James Heartfield author, Britain’s Empires: A History, 1600-2020
Ivan Hewett Telegraph classical music critic
Harry Howard correspondent, MailOnline
David James independent school deputy head and writer
Mark Johnson Big Brother Watch
Dennis Kavanagh director, Gay Men’s Network
Fraser Myers deputy editor, spiked
Alan Miller co-founder #together
Ella Nixon art historian
Ian Pace Professor of Music, City, University of London
Charlie Peters reporter, GB News Investigates
Nina Power writer and philosopher; senior editor, Compact
Ralph Schoellhammer political theorist, Webster Vienna Private University
Tom Scotson political reporter, PoliticsHome
Sandy Starr Progress Educational Trust
Ella Whelan co-convenor, Battle of Ideas festival
Austin Williams Future Cities Project
Dr Joanna Williams author, Why Woke Won
SUPPORTED BY
ATTENDANCE
All those who accept their place at the school commit to attending all lectures and workshops for the entire duration of the programme starting at 6pm on Thursday 29 June until the close at 7pm on Saturday 1 July. Attendees are encouraged to stay overnight on Thursday 29 June and Friday 30 June in the accommodation provided, the cost of which is included in the nominal school fee (see below).
FEES
If you’ve been selected to attend, you’ll need to pay a nominal fee of £50 before the event. This fee covers hostel accommodation in central London for two nights (including breakfasts), the Living Freedom dinner on Friday 30 June and sandwich lunches on 30 June and 1 July.
ENQUIRIES
Should you need further information, please email the Living Freedom convenor, Alastair Donald, at info@livingfreedom.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7269 9234.