A programme of events celebrating the Festival’s 5th anniversary

Full details, including ticket information online at:

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/spaceForThought/LiteraryFestival2013/Home.aspx|

Philosophy by Podcast

Listen to the podcast|

Tuesday 26 February, 6.30 – 8pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

David Edmonds|, Senior Research Associate, Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford

Nigel Warburton|, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, The Open University

Chair: Kristina Musholt|, LSE Fellow, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method and Deputy Director of the Forum for European Philosophy

In the 5th century BC Socrates brought philosophy to the marketplace. Can this ancient branch of learning be rejuvenated by the technology of the 21st century? Philosophy Bites Back, a collection of conversations with leading scholars on major figures in the history of philosophy, is the second book from the team that brings you Philosophy Bites|, the hugely successful podcast that has now had 16 million downloads.

The Silence of Animals

Listen to the podcast|

Thursday 28 February, 7 – 8.30pm
Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

John Gray|, Emeritus Professor of European Thought, LSE and author of The Silence of Animals: On Progress and Other Modern Myths

Chair: George Gaskell|, Pro-Director of LSE and Professor of Social Psychology

Writers are mesmerised by forms of human extremity- experiences on the outer edge of the possible, or which tip into fantasy and myth. John Gray will explore the conundrum of our existence, which we decorate with countless myths and ideas to avoid acknowledging that we too are animals, separated from the others perhaps only by our self-conceit.

New Media and the Future of Literacy

Listen to the podcast|

Saturday 2 March, 7 – 8.30pm
Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building, LSE

Miranda Glover|, group account director for FMI Group, she specialises in brand positioning, strategic digital comms, film and social media marketing. She is the author of Meanwhile Street

Charles Leadbeater|, leading authority on innovation and creativity. He is the author of We Think: The Power of Mass Creativity

Sam Riviere|, poet. His debut collection is 81 Austerities

Chair: Ellen Helsper|, Lecturer in Media and Communications, LSE

Some people have been struck by the aphoristic potential of Twitter. Others see developments in new media as bringing the era of the literature to an end. This panel will explore the way new media impacts on traditional literary and philosophical forms of writing and reading.