Talks, Debates & Lectures taking place at Conway Hall
Come and take a drop down the rabbit hole of occult politics in the twenty-first century with Gary Lachman and find out the post-truths and alternative facts surrounding the 45th President of the United States.
Join the London Fortean Society in London’s dark heart for a day of modern monsters and urban myth. Our cityscapes are full of strange wonders, terrors and tales. Talks include tales of Spring-heeled Jack, Slenderman, subterranean lore, the Crying Boy and the Hackney Bear.
Why do people not vaccinate themselves or their children? Dr Andrea Kitta’s research draws on ethnography, media, Internet and narrative analyses to explore the vernacular explanations used in inoculation decision-making.
Dharshini David follows the incredible journey of a single dollar to reveal the truths behind what we see on the news every day, and to see how the global economy really works.
For the fifth in this co-hosted meeting series, join us for a discussion with David Wood, Indra Adnan and Dr Lina Dencik about whether the age of big data and artificial intelligence will mean the demise of democracy as decisions are taken over by the algorithms of big data and artificial intelligence.
Cathi Unsworth interweaves the true stories of the Hagley Woods mystery of 1943 and the trial of Helen Duncan, the last woman to be prosecuted for witchcraft in the UK, in 1944.
Journalist, broadcaster and eco lifestyle expert Lucy Siegle provides a powerful call to arms to end the plastic pandemic along with the tools we need to make decisive change. Her book ‘Turning the Tide on Plastic’ is a clear-eyed, authoritative and accessible guide to help us to take decisive and effective personal action.
This talk examines forced prostitution as a form of gender-based violence within and beyond the conflict zone. Drawing on Iraq and Syria, Dr Stacy Banwell demonstrates how a lack of employment opportunities caused by conflict, alongside increasing engagement with neo-liberal policies, forces women into the global sex trade.
From the moment syphilis appeared in Europe at the end of the 15th century and its direct connection to sex was worked out, prostitutes were blamed while male clients were viewed as hapless victims. Kevin Brown will discuss how gendered attitudes informed the health debate around syphilis from 1495-1945.
Blaming prostitutes for venereal disease in the military, the Liberal government decided on a gendered policy of incarcerating infected prostitutes, while letting their infected male clients remain free. This talk, by Dr Jane Jordan, demonstrates how the feminist Josephine Butler and her Ladies demanded a rethink.
In the 1880s, Victorians imagined prostitutes as ‘white slaves’, exploited and helpless. In the 1950s, politicians declared prostitutes were ‘hard girls’. This talk by Dr Julia Laite demonstrates how these very different images of prostitution engendered different policies and laws; with different consequences.
Next year’s conference, The Playing Human, is taking shape and will take place on 27-28 September 2018.
