SUMMER SCHOOL OVERVIEW
Our three-day residential school takes place in London on 11 to 13 July and is open to anyone aged 18 to 30, regardless of whether you are based in the UK or beyond.
Anyone interested in getting to grips with issues of freedom and free speech is welcome to apply and we aim to bring together attendees with a wide range of interests and diverse views.
Attendees will hear talks from experts on the history and philosophy of freedom, including revisiting ideals and classic texts. You will have the chance to explore complex moral and ethical issues, debate contemporary hot topics and discuss the limits to freedom. There will be plenty of time to meet, network and socialise with speakers and your peers, as well as attending the annual Living Freedom dinner.
A full topic guide including outline descriptions of all talks and debates, speaker biographies and links to specially collated readings, podcasts and videos will be provided in advance. To gain an idea of the experience you can expect at Living Freedom Summer School, including testimonials from attendees and speakers, please see our special Living Freedom Summer School 2023 review, including the programme, readings, photos and links to videos and podcast recordings, here.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The cost of providing a place at the summer school is £500. This includes accommodation in central London and attending the annual Living Freedom dinner.
However, each attendee will pay just £50, a massive reduction of £450.
This is because Living Freedom uses a targeted scholarships programme funded by our donors and partners, which will ensure that we can select attendees on merit, irrespective of their financial circumstances.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
PLENARY LECTURES & DEBATES
- Is there a ‘right side of history’? The war against the past
- Defending freedom in an age of ‘extremism’
- The strange death of private life: did the internet kill privacy?
- How can Gen Z win its freedom?
- Deepfakes to smartphones: arguing for freedom in a digital age
TALKS: MORAL MAZE OF FREEDOM
- Defending civilisational values
- The decolonisation debate
- Why do we need freedom in the arts?
- Religious freedom: where do we draw the line?
- ‘Hate marches’ to school exclusion zones: what are the limits to protest?
DEBATES: FREEDOM AND ITS LIMITS
- Tolerate or ban? Anti-Semitism on campus
- Artistic freedom in an age of cultural boycotts
- Misinformation, impartiality and the media
- Should academics be activists?
- Damned by extremes? Populism versus centrism
THE CLASSICS: SHORT TALKS AND SEMINARS
- Hannah Arendt: What is freedom?
- Immanuel Kant: What is Enlightenment?
- Mary Wollstonecraft: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
LETTERS ON LIBERTY: SHORT TALKS AND SEMINARS
- Toleration and gay liberation
- Pubs: defending the free house
- Beyond the Harm Principle
SPEAKERS INCLUDE
Dr Tim Black, columnist, spiked
Dr Stefanie Borkum, Hannah Arendt Study Group
Dr Jennie Bristow sociologist; co-author, The Corona Generation
Dolan Cummings, writer and editor; author, Taking Conscience Seriously
Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert director, Don’t Divide Us
Neil Davenport writer; author, Letter on Liberty: Pubs: Defending the Free House
Wendy Earle convenor, Arts and Society Forum
Claire Fox director, Academy of Ideas
Professor Frank Füredi author, The War Against the Past
Amy Gallagher presenter, New Culture Forum; writer and presenter, Madness and the War on Reality
Dr Julius Grower Ann Smart Fellow in Law, University of Oxford
Timandra Harkness writer and broadcaster; author, Technology is Not the Problem
Thomas Harris director of data and impact, Free Speech Union
Ryan Hoey author, Letter on Liberty: Toleration and Gay Liberation
Denise Fahmy, co-founder, Freedom in the Arts
Inaya Folarin Iman journalist and commentator; director, Equiano Project
Dr Tiffany Jenkins author, Strangers and Intimates: The Rise and Fall of Private Life
Helen Joyce journalist; director of advocacy, Sex Matters
Rosie Kay co-founder, Freedom in the Arts
Professor Eric Kaufmann director, Centre for Heterodox Social Science, University of Buckingham
Khadija Khan journalist and commentator
Rob Lyons author, Letter on Liberty: Beyond the Harm Principle
Jan Macvarish, education and events director, Free Speech Union
Harry Saul Markham junior research fellow, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy
Charlie Peters journalist; GB News Investigates Reporter
Abhishek Saha, professor of mathematics, Queen Mary University of London
Max Sanderson assistant managing editor, The Guardian
Dr Edward Skidelsky director, Committee for Academic Freedom
Cath Walton former BBC journalist with a focus on impartiality and women’s rights
Ella Whelan journalist; co-convenor, Battle of Ideas festival
Dr Joanna Williams author, Why Woke Won
Yair Zivan editor, The Centre Must Hold
HOW TO APPLY
The deadline for applications has now passed. Successful applicants will be notified by Wednesday 12 June, at which time a fee of £50 will be payable.
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.