SUMMER SCHOOL OVERVIEW
Our three-day residential school was open to anyone aged 18 to 30 regardless of whether you were based in the UK or beyond.
Attendees heard talks from experts on the history and philosophy of freedom, helping us to understand freedom of conscience and free will in the twenty-first century. With Progress now seen as dangerous, we debated the implications for freedom, and explored innovations such as generative technologies and ChatGPT. There were 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.
FINAL REPORT
You can read our report on Living Freedom Summer School 2023, including the final programme, readings, feedback, photos and links to recordings, here.
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 INCLUDED
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
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.