A landmark charity for London’s independent intellectual, political and cultural life. Over 200 years of apostasy, radicalism and rebellion, all under one roof.
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Upcoming Events
September 2018
White Slaves to “Hard Girls”, Increasing Criminalisation and its Consequences 1885-1960 | Wednesday 26th September
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES.
We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and are issuing full refunds. This has not affected the last two talks in Prostitution, Pimping and Trafficking series, which you can still purchase tickets for.
Thinking on Sunday: How to Rig an Election | Sunday 30th September
Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas present an eye-opening study which offers a sobering overview of corrupted professional politics, while providing fertile intellectual ground for the development of new solutions for protecting democracy from authoritarian subversion.
October 2018
Women and Humanist Photography | Wednesday 3rd October
This short course explores women’s contribution to Humanist Photography – a mid-century style of documentary photography concerned with everyday life and people. Through discussion, presentations, and practical tasks, discover some of the female photographers who were a key part of this movement.
From “Yellow Ticket” to “Bourgeois Evil”, Prostitution in Russia 1900-1930 | Wednesday 3rd October
Dr Siobhán Hearne traces the transition from Tsarist regulation of prostitution to Bolshevik ambitions to completely eradicate the “Bourgeois Evil”, which they saw as totally incompatible with women’s equality.
“London Presence” and “What We See” | Thursday 4th October
The exhibition has two parts – “London Presence” and “What We See”. London Presence is an exhibition of photographs by participants from Grace Gelder photography workshops at Conway Hall. What We See is a group show by people ages 8-18 who have attended Young Photographers London workshops within the last year, led by Grace Gelder & Niaz Maleknia.
Contemporary Prostitution, Politics and Policy | Wednesday 10th October
This talk by Professor Roger Matthews is sixth in the series Prostitution, Pimping and Trafficking, curated by Deborah Lavin.
Thinking on Sunday: Undercover – The True Story of Britain’s Secret Police | Sunday 14th October
Rob Evans reveals the secret group of police spies and forty years of state espionage monitoring British protest groups. They used sex, intimate relationships and drugs to build their credibility. They betrayed friends, deceived lovers, even fathered children. And their operations continue to-day.
Thinking on Sunday: The Ethical Stripper | Sunday 28th October
Forget everything you’ve heard about strippers: this talk is an antidote to stigma, shame and stereotyping. Stacey Clare has been part of the misunderstood and misrepresented world of UK strip clubs since the age of 22. She opens-up about her work and experiences with this candid and critical perspective of the industry.
The First Resort: Pamphleteering and Politics in Early Modern Britain | Wednesday 31st October
Prof Joad Raymond discusses how dreamers of a better world used pamphleteering to communicate alternative political ideas and challenge power in early modern Britain.
Victorian Blogging – Writing Wrongs | Wednesday 31st October
A series of six Wednesday evening talks on pamphleteering, contemporary blogging and some of the myriad issues covered in Conway Hall’s largely 19th century pamphlet collection, curated by Deborah Lavin, featuring Prof Joad Raymond, Dr Joseph Kelly, Dr Gregory Claeys, Prof David Nash, Viv Regan and Deborah Lavin.
November 2018
The Elimination of Slavery from the Whole World: Problems of Anti-Slavery in Victorian Britain | Wednesday 7th November
Dr Joseph Kelly examines the problems faced by the slavery abolition movement in Britain after the 1830s in their efforts to eliminate slavery from the face of the Earth.
Marx, Morris and Utopia | Wednesday 14th November
Dr Gregory Claeys considers whether, despite Marxism’s well know rejection of earlier Utopian socialism, Karl Marx might be termed a Utopian thinker, and how some of his ideas were adapted but also built upon by the English socialist William Morris.
Blasphemy, the Individual and the State: From Historical Flashpoint to Contemporary Grievance | Wednesday 21st November
Prof David Nash traces the long battle to abolish the Blasphemy Laws in England, from the seventeenth century to their abolition in 2008 and how the concept of blasphemy affects us all today.
Thinking on Sunday: Secrets and Lies – The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories | Sunday 25th November
Karen Douglas will discuss why conspiracy theories are popular, who is more likely to believe them (and why), and what some of the potential consequences of conspiracy theories are for politics, health, and the environment.
Annie Besant and the Liberal, Radical, Socialist and Feminist Opposition to Birth Control in the 19th Century | Wednesday 28th November
The story of birth control is usually told as one of almost linear progress against blinkered bigotry. Deborah Lavin reveals how opposition to contraception may have been blinkered and bigoted, but it was also often liberal, radical, socialist and feminist.
December 2018
The End of the Wild World Web? Internet Freedom in the 21st Century | Wednesday 5th December
This talk by Viv Regan is last in the series Writing Wrongs, curated by Deborah Lavin as part of the Heritage Lottery funded project Victorian Blogging.