Academy of Ideas

#LockdownDebates: Love under lockdown - are we finished with intimacy?

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: What is it like to fall in love in today, when there seems to be so many more factors involved in intimacy than the feelings of two people? Is the isolation and atomisation of love (or lack of it) in lockdown new, or merely an extreme catalysing of a familiar trend in modern dating? How do we balance the desire to right the wrongs of the past, with an understanding that the intimate encounters we often cherish the most are the ones that took us by surprise? As John Fowles wrote in The French Lieutenant’s Woman, while it’s often futile to be nostalgic, was love and intimacy more hopeful when we were less concerned with controlling the outcome, when ‘strangers were strange, and sometimes with an exciting, beautiful strangeness’? Or are we stuck in an arcane view of how love works – should we be open to a new definition which ditches a reliance on uncontrollable feelings like butterflies in your stomach or sweat on your brow? How risky is it to fall in love today – and what does love and intimacy mean in an increasingly risk-averse society? Claire Fox, Samantha Davies, Ralph Leonard, Emily Hill and Ella Whelan discuss.

#Arts&Society: What is the future of classical music in the UK?

ARTS & SOCIETY FORUM: At one time, classical music was rigorously defended – both by the sector and within wider society – because of its unique stature as the epitome of the European music tradition and its alignment with Enlightenment ideals. But who defends classical music today? Should it be defended? Is it time to shake up the genre, make it more accessible, and embrace the sentiment of John Gilhooly, director of Wigmore Hall who says, “In many ways all this is a purification, a chance to start again.” Or is there something intrinsic to the genre that we should seek to preserve? Do we still believe in the transcendental qualities of high art and the concept of art for arts’ sake? Should we defend our traditions or embrace the new normal and move with the times? Gabriella Swallow,  Stephen Johnson, Ivan Hewett and Dolan Cummings discuss.

Book Launch: The Corona Generation, with Jennie Bristow

BOOK LAUNCH: In their latest book, The Corona Generation, author Jennie Bristow and her daughter Emma Gilland consider the effects of lockdown on the generation currently coming of age: the demographic currently known as ‘Generation Z’. In this online book launch hosted by the Academy of Ideas, the Parents Forum and the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies, Jennie and Emma talk to Ella Whelan.

#LockdownDebates: Big Tech - platform, publisher or poison?

LOCKDOWN DEBATE: What should be the role of social media today? If the public square – universities, schools, workplaces, pubs, parks and polling booths – are under some form of lockdown or restriction, is the internet the only viable place to quickly and freely share ideas? And, if so, should we begin to understand Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or Reddit as publishers, platforms or (virtual) public spaces? What kind of regulation – if any – do we need to ensure healthy debate, and what are the legal implications for such changes? In short, in a world when everyone (even David Attenborough) seems to have an online presence, what role does Big Tech play today – and what should it be in the ‘new normal’ of the post-pandemic world? Discussed by Rob Lyons, Andrew Orlowski, Timandra Harkness and Nico Macdonald.

#PodcastOfIdeas: new year, new normal?

Two weeks into the new year and one week into a new lockdown, the Academy of Ideas team come together (via zoom) to look at the key questions posed by the pandemic. How balanced has the discussion been around lockdown - has free speech suffered? What changing role have the media or the police played? What are the long-term effects of lockdown, from the economy to public will? And what is our route out of this - vaccine, resilience or a reinvigoration of freedom?

#EducationForum: Exploring Head, Hand, Heart by David Goodhart

Smart people have become too powerful. That’s the claim made by social commentator David Goodhart in his latest book Head, Hand, Heart: The Struggle for Dignity and Status in the 21st Century. 
The talent to pass exams and handle information efficiently, he argues, has become the gold standard of human esteem. Those with a generous helping of such aptitude have formed a new class – a ‘mass elite’ – which now shapes society in its own interests. For those employed in manual work or the caring professions it’s another matter.
“It is becoming harder to feel satisfaction and self-respect living an ordinary, decent life, especially in the bottom part of the income spectrum”, writes Goodhart.
Brexit and Trump have frequently been criticised because of the low intelligence or poor education of their working-class voters. Yet the recent wave of Covid-related school closures and exam cancellations suggests that academic values aren’t all-conquering either.
The pandemic has seen a re-evaluation of the importance of blue-collar workers and the caring professions, such as in the weekly ‘Clap for Carers’ during the height of the crisis. However, it has also seen those protesting against masks and lockdowns labelled as low-information ‘Covidiots’.
So to what extent is Goodhart’s distinction between Head, Hand and Heart helpful in understanding the contemporary tensions in education? Is he correct to claim that we have reached an era of ‘peak Head’ in which a meritocracy based on educational achievement is counter-productive? Or can one believe in high intellectual standards and the importance of exams without excluding those who have little aptitude for them?
Is a school system which embraces both the academic and non-academic possible – or are these distinctions meaningless anyway?
To consider these and other questions, this Academy of Ideas Education Forum event took the form of a book group on Head, Hand, Heart. Gareth Sturdy gives a short introduction to the book before opening up the meeting to round-table discussion.
How does one argue effectively for a schooling system which accords dignity and status to the non-academic, while upholding academic standards?

#LockdownDebates: Conquering Covid - is there a better way?

LOCKDOWN DEBATES: During the summer, the lockdown measures imposed in March were dismantled piece by piece. We were even encouraged in August to ‘eat out to help out’. But in the past few weeks, more and more restrictions have been imposed across countries and regions, including the return of lockdown in Wales and Ireland. Can we continue to live with lockdowns and restrictions, or should we find different ways to manage the risk? Indeed, how do we decide? Should we adopt a ‘consequentialist’ approach, adding up the ‘best guess’ costs and benefits of each policy and choosing the one that causes the least harm? Do we choose to emphasise rights and freedoms and live with the consequences as best we can? How should we move forward? Emily Barley, Rob Lyons and Alan Miller discuss.

#EconomyForum: Tilting at windmills - are there downsides to a ‘green recovery’?

ECONOMY FORUM: The idea of a green recovery from the current slump almost seems like a self-evident good. Who would not want the economy to reach and then exceed the levels of output achieved before the Covid-19 pandemic? And who would not support a cleaner environment or the creation of large numbers of jobs? But dig a little deeper and it becomes clear that things are not as straightforward as they seem. What, for example, are advocates of a green new deal arguing for when they call for a ‘reset’ of the economy? Is the new economy they envisage as positive as it first sounds? Why do they put so much emphasis on tackling inequality? Daniel Ben-Ami and Rob Lyons discuss.