Please find enclosed details of a conference you may find of interest.
The Institute of Ideas and Institut Français presents
ATTENTION SEEKING - Multiculturalism and the politics of recognition
Saturday 16 November 2002
Venue: Institut Français, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT Tickets: £25
(£20 concessions) IoI associates £20 (£15 concessions) Booking: For tickets
or information call 020 7269 9220 www.instituteofideas.com
Multiculturalism is now generally regarded as the only model for a fair
society. The idea of a universal culture is considered outdated and even
racist. Instead, we are asked to grant equal esteem to every culture, while
recognising the unique qualities of each.
This demand for recognition is not confined to ethnicity. Sufferers from
undiagnosed symptoms demand medical recognition; gay people demand official
recognition for same-sex partnerships; individuals litigate to have
grievances endorsed by officialdom; and ethnic groups claim privileged
access to historic and artistic artefacts.
This one-day conference will explore whether all this is good for social
harmony and individual self-realisation, or simply indulgent and
fragmentary.
Speakers include: Elazar Barkan author of The Guilt of Nations: Restitution
and Negotiating Historical Injustices, Bonnie Greer novelist and
playwright, Adam Kuper Professor of Social Anthropology, Brunel University,
Kenan Malik author of The Meaning of Race, Vic Motune deputy editor, The
Voice
Full programme below
Saturday 16 November
10.30am - 12noon
Can multiculturalism work?
Bonnie Greer novelist and playwright
Adam Kuper Professor of Social Anthropology, Brunel University
Kenan Malik author of The Meaning of Race
Vic Motune deputy editor, The Voice
12.30 - 1.30pm
Diversity - celebrating difference or making a virtue of inequality?
Dr Paul Kelly editor of Multiculturalism Reconsidered
Raj Pal Head of Museums and Art, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Bruno Waterfield ePolitix.com
1:30-2:30 pm lunch
2.30 - 4:00pm
Please recognise my identity - accounting for the contemporary concern with
recognition
Identity politics, whether in the realm of race, culture, sexuality or even
individual self-worth, dominate the contemporary world. Some argue that
social progress develops through the struggle for recognition of these
identities. Has the need for recognition always been a key
driver in history? To what extent is our identity based on having our
differences affirmed? Is the claim for recognition of identity an end in
itself?
Elazar Barkan author of The Guilt of Nations: Restitution and Negotiating
Historical Injustices
Stephen A Erickson E Wilson Lyon Professor of Humanities and Professor of
Philosophy at Pomona College in Claremont, California
Frank Furedi Professor of Sociology, University of Kent at Canterbury
Simon Thompson Author of The Political Theory of Recognition, forthcoming
from Polity Press
4:30 - 5.30pm
Claim-making and recognition - cases in point
A panel will look at the arenas politics, litigation, crime and health to
see how the demand for identity lead to claims for recognition.
Tracey Brown contributor to Compensation Crazy: Do We Blame and Claim Too
Much
Phil Carney researcher at Middlesex University
Dr Michael Fitzpatrick GP and author of The Tyranny of Health
Chris Gilligan lecturer in sociology at the University of Ulster and
Research Fellow of the Centre for Irish Studies, University of Salford
5.45 - 6.45pm
Should governments be in the recognition business?
If recognition is accepted as a fundamental human need, to what extent do
we have to change our public and private institutions to take account of
it? Does the demand for official identity recognition give the state a new
legitimacy in establishing relationships with individuals?
Mick Hume editor of spiked and columnist for The Times
Oonagh Reitman research fellow at the Gender Institute, LSE
Dominic Standish columnist for the Italy Daily section of the International
Herald Tribune
Special thanks to Geraldine D'Amico, cultural attaché with the French
Embassy, Catherine Audard, chair of the Forum for European Philosophy and
Nicolas Chapuis, director of the Institut Français
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