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
February 2019
Feminism in Camden in the 1970s and 80s | Monday 4th February
The exhibition explores feminist activism through posters from Women’s Liberation Workshops in the borough and how the arts and especially theatre contributed to the local feminist scene. Ends 30th April 2019.
Radicals, Rebels, and Revolutionaries of the 19th century | Thursday 21st February
A six-week course examining the often hidden or forgotten contribution of radicals, rebels, and revolutionaries to the development of ground-breaking ideas and campaigns in the nineteenth century such as human rights, birth control, women’s rights, the right to vote, republicanism, and free speech.
March 2019
Windrush – Brent’s Pioneering Generation | Tuesday 12th March
Windrush – Brent’s Pioneering Windrush Generation traces the arrival of Empire Windrush and explores Brent’s Carribean Heritage through the eyes of its residents. Using photographic portraits and unique stories collected from residents, it celebrates 70 years of the United Kingdom’s Caribbean Diaspora.
Bridging the News Gap | Saturday 23rd March
There’s a problem with our local news. In many areas, the capacity of local newspapers is withering and standards are declining. Join this workshop to hear from Tom Sanderson of the CIJ and Dr Tom Sykes, co-founder of an outlet pioneering a new way of building independent local journalism, to learn the skills, tools and techniques that can help you advance accountability in your own local area.
April 2019
Thinking on Sunday: Denial, Denialism and Post-Denialism – Why is Speaking Truth so Difficult? | Sunday 7th April
How does denialism work and why is post-denialism replacing it? And how can they be combatted? In this talk, Keith Kahn-Harris, author of Denial: The Unspeakable Truth, argues that a solution will only be possible when we come to terms with the truth of our darker desires.
Thinking on Monday: Vagina – A Re-Education | Monday 15th April
We urgently need to talk about women’s sexual and reproductive health, about our experiences of sex and pregnancy and pain and pleasure. In this Thinking-on-Monday talk, Lynne Enright, author of Vagina: A Re-Education, does just that.
Incendiary Words and Rebellious Campaigns: 1840-1890 and 1940-1990 | Thursday 25th April
A free 6-week course by David Rosenberg focusing on London’s radical and rebellious writers, pamphleteers, journalists and activists whose words challenged the status quo in several arenas between 1840-1890 and their counterparts 100 years later between 1940-1990.
Thinking on Sunday: London Housing – Corruption and Crisis | Sunday 28th April
Despite a widespread acceptance that we are living through a housing crisis, little seems to be being done to improve the living conditions of Londoners. George Turner discusses what is driving London’s housing market to dysfunction and reveals how the house building industry has managed to exploit the crisis in order to turn an enormous profit.
May 2019
Thinking on Sunday: Examining Intelligence – Novelists on Education and Mental Ability | Sunday 12th May
How do you rate your own intelligence? In these three short talks Dr Michael Collins, Dr Sara Lyons and Dr Natasha Periyan will discuss how novelists such as Thomas Hardy, Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence, and Mark Twain think about intelligence both in and out of the classroom.
Women of Westminster – The MPs Who Changed Politics | Sunday 19th May
In 1919 Nancy Astor was elected as the Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton, becoming the first woman MP to take her seat in the House of Commons. Rachel Reeves MP writes of the inspirational achievements of women in parliament over the course of the past 100 years.
YouTubers: How YouTube shook up TV and created a new generation of stars | Monday 20th May
Chris Stokel-Walker lifts the lid on YouTube’s culture and influence based on his book ‘YouTubers’. The first independent, in-depth book investigating YouTube. He investigates the past, present and future of the world’s most popular video sharing website and its impact on society.
June 2019
Thinking on Sunday: Who Owns England? | Sunday 2nd June
From secret military islands to tunnels deep beneath London, writer and activist Guy Shrubsole unearths truths concealed since the Domesday Book about who is really in charge of this country – at a time when Brexit is meant to be returning sovereignty to the people.
Thinking on Sunday: Lowborn – Growing Up, Getting Away and Returning to Britain’s Poorest Towns | Sunday 16th June
Kerry Hudson discusses her book Lowborn with James Bloodworth, author of Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain. Lowborn is a powerful, personal, agenda-changing work of non-fiction on poverty in Britain – a unique book that we all need to pay attention to.