British Academy announces autumn events programme

The British Academy has unveiled its autumn programme of 20 free events which showcase some of the most exciting thinking from across the humanities and social sciences.

Highlights include founder of the Everyday Sexism project, Laura Bates, discussing her new book, Girl Up; a performance of the works of the First World War poet Ivor Gurney, and a chance to meet the authors shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. The British Academy will also open its doors as part of Open House London in September, offering a rare opportunity to explore the Georgian terrace which was once home to Prime Minister William Gladstone.

The next in the British Academy Debates series will seek to tackle what is increasingly being seen as a major challenge for our time: Inequalities. At events in London, Edinburgh, and Brussels, leading academics, experts and commentators will discuss why inequality is rising, how this matters and what can be done.

Being Human, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, returns in November. Organised by the University of London’s School of Advanced Study, in partnership with the British Aca demy and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the festival will explore the theme of ‘Hope & Fear’ with nine days of activities and events.

All events are free to attend, although registration may be required. You can see the full events programme here: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/events.

Full listings below:

Wednesday 14 September, 6-7.15pm
The Sir John Cass’s Foundation Lecture
Whatever happened to lifelong learning? And does it matter?
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Professor John Bynner (UCL Institute of Education) considers the social and technological changes lying behind the idea of lifelong learning in Britain and globally. The British birth cohort studies demonstrate the benefits accompanied by a learning divide. What prevented progress? Where does lifelong learning go next?
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/whatever-happened-lifelong-learning-and-...

Saturday 17 September, 10am-5pm
British Academy Open House Tour
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Discover the home of the British Academy as we open our doors for Open House London 2016. Explore the Grade I listed Nash-designed terraced houses, previously home to William Gladstone, and also used as a home for wounded soldiers during the First World War. Guided tours will take you through the art, architecture and history of 10-11 Carlton House Terrace from their nineteenth century beginnings to the present day.
Part of Open House London 2016.
Free. No registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/british-academy-open-house

Thursday 22 September, 6-7.15pm Joint British Academy/British Psychological Society Lecture
The stress test
The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG
Stress can change the brain in positive as well as negative ways. As we remember 1916 and the millions of men who suffered traumatic brain injury, Professor Ian Robertson (Trinity College Dublin) outlines how we can use the understanding of how this happens to help brain-injured people recover.
In partnership with the British Psychological Society.
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/stress-test

Wednesday 28 September, 6-7.15pm
Keynes Lecture in Economics
Globalisation and inequality
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
The causes of rising income inequality have been debated for 20 years. Recent research is shedding new light on the role of globalisation in shaping inequality. This lecture will start with a historical account, and end with the most recent insights.
Speaker: Professor Elhanan Helpman FBA (Harvard University).
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/globalisation-and-inequality

Thursday 29 September, 6-7.30pm
Thinkers for our time: Thomas Malthus
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
In 1798 Thomas Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle of Population was published. Over 200 years later, many of the issues at the heart of it are still prevalent in our society. What influence has his work had since it was first produced? Does his thinking still have a place in modern society and the issues we face in tackling social, economic and political inequalities? This event is the third in the British Academy’s ‘Thinkers for our time’ series.
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/thinkers-our-time-thomas-malthus

Tuesday 4 October, 6-7.30pm
British Academy Debates: Inequality: Good for the rich, bad for the economy?
The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
What impact does inequality have upon a nation’s economic prosperity? Do big disparities in wealth and income signal a strong and healthy economy and society, or do they in fact hinder economic growth and sustainability? Join a panel of experts as they discuss these issues.
Organised in partnership with the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/inequality-good-rich-bad-economy

Thursday 6 October, 6-7.30pm
Poet of the Great War: Ivor Gurney
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Ivor Gurney (1890 - 1937) was both a poet and a composer. In this event celebrating National Poetry Day, talks, poetry readings and songs combine in a sequence exploring Gurney's responses to literature, landscape, history, memory and the First World War.
Speaker: Dr Philip Lancaster (University of Exeter).
Part of the First World War Centenary, led by the Imperial War Museum
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/poet-great-war-ivor-gurney

Monday 17 October, 6-7.30pm
All work, no pay: Generation intern
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
For many young people, the internship has become the route to professional work. Yet the work is temporary, largely unregulated and often unpaid, leading critics to question whether the practice is exploitative. How might we envisage new models for internship culture, what might they look like, who could benefit and what potential might be realised as a result?
In association with The Culture Capital Exchange.
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/all-work-no-pay-generation-intern

Wednesday 19 October, 6.30-8pm
British Academy Debates: Can reversing inequalities revive politics?
The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
Tension between the equality of voting rights and the distribution of wealth can emerge in different ways. But how far can this tension be contained if inequality rises? And can current problems of democracy (like declining voting participation) be partly attributed to growing inequality?
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/can-reversing-inequalities-revive-politics

Thursday 20 October, 6-7.15pm
Elie Kedourie Memorial Lecture
The Arab–Israeli conflict and the making of public international law
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
To many the role of international law in the Arab–Israeli conflict has been insignificant. But is this really the case? This lecture will illustrate the profound impact of the conflict on shaping international law and argue that much of this was both wise and of abiding value.
Speaker: Professor Joseph Weiler (European University Institute (EUI) and NYU Law School).
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/arab-israeli-conflict-and-making-public-...

Tuesday 1 November, 6-7.15pm
Raleigh Lecture on History
Stages of papal law, 385-1917
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Popes started issuing decrees modelled on those of Roman emperors while the Empire in the West was still going strong and the tradition of papal legislation continues to this day. No legal system in world history has had so long a living history. In this lecture, Professor David D’Avray FBA, (University College London) will trace its evolution from the 4th to the early 20th century.
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/stages-papal-law-385-1917

Tuesday 8 November, 6-7.30pm
British Academy Debates: Decent wages, decent work: how can we improve job quality in Europe?
Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique,Rue Ducale 1, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
Employment in Europe has become increasingly polarised into high- and low-skilled work. With more people forced into low-paid, temporary or part-time positions, what are the implications for their lives and well-being? Should the worst affected, often the young and migrants, accept that any job is better than no job? Or does poor quality employment present a cause for concern for companies, society and the economy?
Organised in partnership with the Académie royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique.
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/decent-wages-decent-work-how-can-we-impr...

Thursday 10 November, 6-7.30pm
Meet the authors: the Baillie Gifford Prize shortlist
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
In the final run up to the 2016 winner being announced, the shortlisted authors for this year’s Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction discuss their books. The Baillie Gifford Prize (previously the Samuel Johnson Prize) is the UK's premier prize for non-fiction books, covering subjects from current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts. Past winners of the £20,000 prize include Antony Beevor, Margaret MacMillan and James Shapiro.
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/meet-authors-baillie-gifford-prize-short...

Thursday 17 – Friday 25 November
Being Human Festival 2016 – ‘Hope & Fear’
Various locations around the UK
The UK's only national festival of the humanities is back! For 9 days in November venues across the country will be exploring how the humanities inspire and enrich our lives. From classics, history, languages, literature, philosophy and beyond - expect big questions, big debates and engaging activities exploring the theme ‘Hope & Fear’.
Being Human is led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the British Academy and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Find out more: www.beinghumanfestival.org

Thursday 17 November, 6-7.30pm
Immigration: what next?
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Immigration continues to be central to the political and media agenda - playing a major part in the EU referendum debate in the UK - while the refugee crisis has had dramatic repercussions across Europe. Join this panel as they discuss findings from the European Social Survey and ask, what do we know about the public's attitudes to immigration? What kind of migration policy does the public want, and can policy actually deliver a solution?
Part of Being Human Festival 2016
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/immigration-what-next

Tuesday 29 November, 6.30-8pm
British Academy Debates: Reducing global inequality: how do we achieve a fairer world?
The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals aim to transform the world for the better by 2030. Closely interlinked, these 17 goals cover a range of issues - from reducing inequality within and among countries to achieving gender equality. How do nations realise this vision of a shared future with equality and opportunities for all?
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/reducing-global-inequality-how-can-we-ac...

Thursday 1 December, 6-7.15pm
Albert Reckitt Archaeological Lecture
Scythian elite burial mounds in the Eurasian steppe: new discoveries
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
The nomadic Scythians during the first millennium BC brought significant changes to the Eurasian steppes. For their elites they built monumental burial mounds full of gold. But recent research lets us understand these as places of memory and complex rituals too.
Speaker: Professor Dr Hermann Parzinger FBA (Prussian Cultural Heritage Organization)
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/scythian-elite-burial-mounds-eurasian-st...

Schweich Lectures on Biblical Archaeology. Re-excavating Jerusalem: archival archaeology
Tuesday 6 December, 6-7.15pm
The Bronze and Iron Age towns: reflections from the archive
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
Re-excavating Jerusalem from Dame Kathleen Kenyon’s records (1961-1967) gives insights for the whole lifetime of the city. Despite some limitations, such archives are increasingly relevant. The main discoveries relating to the earliest life of the city are already published, but the archive offers additional information.
Speaker: Dr Kay Prag (University of Manchester)
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/re-excavating-jerusalem-archival-archaeo...

Wednesday 7 December, 6-7.15pm
Transitions under Rome, Byzantium, Islam and the Crusades
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
The story of Jerusalem is remarkable for the number of periods of transition; the impact of cultural change, of opposing political and religious ideologies are given vibrant testimony in the archaeological record. This most studied of cities offers endless challenges to the understanding of change.
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/re-excavating-jerusalem-archival-archaeo...

Thursday 8 December, 6-7.15pm
The Islamic city: Archaeology and the human story
The British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH
The archive provides a wealth of evidence for the later occupation of the city, from an Umayyad palace to the Crusader Hospital of St John. The traces of the inhabitants of the city during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods – revealed in cisterns, middens and cesspits – bring to life the historical record.
Free, no registration required. For more information, visit
http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/re-excavating-jerusalem-archival-archaeo...

Friday 9 December, 6-7.30pm
Laura Bates: Girl Up
Part of the British Academy Inequalities Season
Leading journalist, author and founder of the Everyday Sexism blog, Laura Bates speaks about gender inequality and her new book, Girl Up.
Free, please register online: http://www.britishacademy.ac.uk/laura-bates

Editor’s notes:

1. For further information, images, interviews with any of the participants or press seats at any of the events, please contact the Press Office on [email protected] or 020 7969 5227.

2. The British Academy for the humanities and social sciences. Established by Royal Charter in 1902. Its purpose is to inspire and support high achievement in the humanities and social sciences throughout the UK and internationally, and to promote their public value. For more information, please visit www.britishacademy.ac.uk.
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