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School of Politics and International Relations
   
   
  

Seminars and Conferences

We host a variety of seminars and conferences drawing on expertise from both inside the school and the wider academic and practitioner environment.

Conferences lectures and seminars are hosted by the School and Research Centres:

  • Centre for British Politics
  • Centre for the Study of European Governance
  • Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice
  • CONCEPT, Centre for Normative Political Theory
  • Institute for Asia-Pacific Studies
  • Methods and Data Institute 
David Miliband
 

  

Upcoming Events 2013

January

'The Eastside Island: Creativity, Capital and Commons in Contemporary City Space'  

David Bell, Rebecca Beinhardt, Mat Trivett, Wasteland Twinning Nottingham

21 Jan (16:30) TRENT room A19  

Contact: ldxdb@exmail.nottingham.ac.uk  

 


February

 

Chiang Mai Initiative meets global financial crisis: China between regional and global

Prof. Gerald Chan (Auckland)

14 Feb (17:00) The Hemsley room B7

 The Life of Boris Johnson 

Michael Cockerell

27 Feb (15:00-16:00) Law and Social Sciences Building B63
The behind-the scenes story of the making of a new TV documentary.

Michael Cockerell is the BBC's most established political documentary maker, with a long, Emmy award-winning career of political programmes spanning television and radio. For some years a reporter on the current affairs programme, Panorama, he now specialises in in-depth documentaries on the politics and players of Westminster. Most notably, he has made biographical profiles of Margaret Thatcher, Edward Heath, Alan Clark, Barbara Castle, Roy Jenkins, Michael Howard and David Cameron.
 

 

Bringing closer the debates on urban political economy and public management: the role of municipal government in contexts of violence in Mexico

Valeria Guarremos Meza, Cardiff University

25 Feb (16:30) The Hemsley room B7

Israel vs. Palestinian Children: Security, Morality and International Law in Asymmetric Conflict

Dr. Asaf Siniver (University of Birmingham)

28 Feb (17:00) The Hemsley room B7


 

March

Whatever Happened to Coercion? A Gramscian Critique of Metagovernance Theory

Jonathan Davies (De Montfort University)

4 March (16:30) The Hemsley room B7

Sick to Death: Disasters and Emergency Medical Services in Southeast Asia

 

Prof. Greg Bankoff (University of Hull)

7 March (17:00) The Hemsley room B7 

Passive Revolution and the Modern Prince

Peter Thomas (Brunel University)

18 March (16:30) TRENT room A19


 

July

White Heat Fifty Years On 5 July 2013

The People’s History Museum, Manchester

In October 1963 Labour leader Harold Wilson told his party conference of the importance of harnessing science to economic planning as a means of modernising British industry. Britain’s future, Wilson insisted, depended upon the country’s willingness to embrace the ‘white heat’ of the ‘scientific revolution’; and Labour, he claimed, was uniquely qualified to lead that revolution.

Wilson’s phrase has become one of the best known examples of post-war political rhetoric, something generally believed to have tapped into the spirit of a moment in which, as Wilson would later claim, a ‘New Britain’ was emerging. Many however see ‘white heat’ as words without substance, ones whose cynicism would later mock the subsequent Labour governments’ lack of achievement.

This one-day, cross-disciplinary conference, organised by the Centre for British Politics, University of Nottingham and the People’s History Museum, Manchester will mark the fiftieth anniversary of Harold Wilson’s landmark speech by exploring its political, cultural, economic and scientific context; it will also seek to assess its wider significance within recent British history and invite parallels with other ‘modernising’ moments, such as that embodied by Tony Blair, another Labour leader who wanted to lead his country into a brilliant future.

Abstracts of c.250 words should be submitted by 1st April 2013 to

Christopher Burgess

Steven Fielding

Matthew Francis

 

Previous Events 2012

 

 

 

 

 

December      

Restructuring & Resistance

Latin America Left Movements in Conflict with Capitalism

Juan Grigera (CSSGJ Visiting Fellow)

Sara Motta, Ertan Erol and Phil Roberts (University of Nottingham)

3 Dec (16:00) Hemsley room B7

Was Hannah Arendt a Virtue Ethicist?
On the role of literature in her evocation of deliberative political virtues

Ned Curthoys (Australian National University)

Highfield House Seminar Room 2
Tuesday 4 December 2012 (17:00-19:00)

Capturing Corruption: a political research agenda

5 Dec (16.30 – 18.00) Law and Social Sciences Building B1

Prof Paul Heywood & Dr Jonathan Rose, School of Politics & IR



 

 

 

 

 

 

November   

Q & A with David Miliband

 

Coates Auditorium, Nottingham, University Park

Wednesday 14th November 2012 (13:00-14:30)

 

Blog about the visit.

 

The Making of Global Capitalism

 

CSSGJ Annual Lecture 2012

Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin, York University, Canada

16 November (16:00) A30 Lecture Theatre, Arts Centre

Blog about the lecture.

When do external actors influence processes of democratisation?

Dr Tina Freyburg, ETH Zurich and Warwick University

14 Nov (16:30 - 18:00) Law and Social Sciences Building room B1

School Seminar sponsored by CSEG



 

 

 

 

October                

Beyond Labour Rights: Building Transatlantic Solidarity

Teresa Healy (Canadian Labour Congress)

1 Oct (16:00) The Hemsley B7

The Downstream Effects of Federalism: Local Parliaments and Federal Elections

Dr Elias Dinas (University of Nottingham)

8 Oct (16.30 – 18.00) Law and Social Sciences Building room B1

An introduction into contract research at the RAND Corporation: Looking into the black box of policy delivery

Dr Christian van Stolk, RAND Europe

31 Oct (16.30 – 18.00) Law and Social Sciences Building room A4 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July                      

Progressivism: Past and Present Conference
3 July 2012 - Senate House, London 

The Centre for British Politics hosted a conference on the meanings of Progressivism: Past and Present, at Senate House, London. The aim was to bring together academics, politicians, journalists and policy makers, to discuss the ways in which the word ‘progressive’ has been used and understood in British politics over the past century.

Annual Contemporary Aristotelian Studies Conference

18 July 2012 - The University of Nottingham

The 2nd Annual Conference of the PSA Contemporary Aristotelian Studies Group (CAS) took place at The Helmsley, University of Nottingham, on Wednesday, 18th July, 2012. The academic convenors for the Conference were Dr. Tony Burns, Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) and Dr. Kelvin Knight, Director of the Centre for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics (CASEP) at London Metropolitan University.

International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry Conference

19 - 21 July 2012 - The University of Nottingham

The 6th Annual Conference of ISME, co-organized with the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ), University of Nottingham, and the Centre for Aristotelian Studies in Ethics and Politics (CASEP) London Metropolitan University, was held at the University of Nottingham in July 2012.



 

 

 

 

June                     

Parties, People and Elections: Political Communication since 1900
14 June 2012 - People’s History Museum, Manchester

The Centre for British Politics hosted a conference on Parties, People and Elections: Political Communication since 1900, at People’s History Museum, Manchester.

The way politicians talk to the people has undergone a dramatic change since 1900. The demise of the mass platform, the birth of radio, cinema and television, and the advent of social media, has radically reshaped how parties and people interact. This conference brought together academics, advertising executives and journalists to examine the, past, present, and future of political communication.

Reproducing Patriarchal Hegemony: The Gendered Division of Labour in Italy

Tania Toffanin (University of Padua, Italy)

25 June (16:00 - 17:30) The Hemsley B2

In this paper Tania developed a historical analysis of the construction of the gendered division of labour in Italy by focusing on the peculiar relationship between fascism and the Italian Catholic Church in defining the political and religious representation of the maternal function. This alliance has played a crucial role in producing disparities in labour laws and determining gender inequalities in Italian society. These disparities
have played a pivotal role in reproducing patriarchal hegemony and gender stereotypes. espite the increasing participation of Italian women in the labour market and the launch of laws supporting the work-life balance, the gendered division of labour maintains its roots and affects the reproductive life of couples, as highlighted by both the interruptions of women’s careers and the decline in birth rates.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May                      

School Seminar

Sir Rodric Braithwaite, formerly Ambassador in Moscow and Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister, and author most recently of AFGANTSY (Profile, 2011). 

2 May (16:00 - 18:00) L&SS A1

Dr. Catherine Gegout ‘EU, China and Africa Relations’ and Nathan Jones ‘EFSP in relation to Libya, Syria and Beyond’.

9 May (16:30) Room A3, L&SS Building

Who is leading whom, how and where today? - Leadership and Social Movements in the Current Crisis (Ben Trott)

21 May (16:00-17:30) The Hemsley B7

At first glance, a relative lack of ‘leadership’ – politically, intellectually, and even in the sphere of culture – would appear to be one of the common traits of the global movements and struggles that have emerged amidst the current crisis. It has often been remarked of the 2010 student protests in the UK, the US and Italy; the ‘Arab Spring’; the indignad@s movement that erupted in Mardrid’s Plaça Del Sol; the anti-austerity protests of the Greek aganaktismenoi in Athens’ Syntagma Square; the ‘tent protests’ on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv; and, of course, the #Occupy movement, with its 750 incarnations worldwide so far. For some activists and commentators, this apparent leaderlessness has been a cause of celebration, for other lament. For almost everyone, it has proven a curiosity. But is it really so? Are these movements properly leaderless? What, in fact, is ‘leadership’? How does it function, and with what effects?

Generating legitimacy through contact: public and political institutions and citizens' compliance

Dr Natalia Letki (University of Warsaw)

D r Natalia Letki (University of Warsaw)

Chair: Lauren McLaren

24 May (11:00 - 12:30) L&SS A100

Rethinking the Realistic: Social Movement and Struggle in the Current Crisis (Ben Trott)

A workshop with the Turbulence Collective.

30 May (12:00- 16:00) The Hemsley B2

‘How deep do the current crises run?’, ‘Why do the range of remedies on offer not seem fit for purpose?’, ‘What roles might recent movements – from the Arab Spring to #Occupy – play in finding ways out of this impasse?’, ‘What are the main challenges movements are confronted by, and how can they best be approached?’ These are just some of the questions Turbulence, a collective of activist-scholars, are exploring in their current research project. At this workshop which was open to interested students, faculty and activists – some tentative answers were presented for discussion.



 

School of Politics and International Relations

University of Nottingham
University Park, Nottingham
NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 4862
fax: +44 (0) 115 951 4859
email: politics-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk