4 June 2007

Martin Bell to give keynote speech at conference

Martin Bell, the former BBC foreign correspondent and Independent MP, will give a talk at the University of Dundee, titled Cosmopolitanism in the World Today.

His is the keynote address at the opening of a major International conference, Cosmopolitanism Past and Present, held from the 6th - 8th June. The lecture is free and open to all.

Cosmopolitanism is the idea of a universal humanity which transcends barriers of race, religion and culture as it is viewed in different traditions around the world. As well as looking at the Western tradition (from ancient Greece through medieval scholasticism to Kant, modern Europe and America), scholars will look at ancient Chinese thought, as well as looking at modern Islam and Africa.

The conference will look at how Cosmopolitanism is relevant in areas where conflict still happens, such as the middle east and will discuss important proponents of the idea, including Ghandi.

The conference should appeal to anyone with an interest in the world today.

6 June: Martin Bell - Cosmopolitanism in the World Today
5pm, D'Arcy Thompson Tower Lecture Theatre.

Notes to editors

More details on cosmopolitanism around the world:
Confucius and other Chinese philosophers talked about universal beneficence, do-as-you-would-be-done-by, and the ethics of the `gentleman' as qualities that could be striven for by all human beings. Islamic cosmopolitanism was mainly about converting or capturing the whole world for the Islamic religion under the one caliph. Ancient India also had an idea of a world ruler. But the Buddhist emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE), like Cyrus of Persia (6th century BCE, famous for having restored the Israelites to Palestine), encouraged toleration of all faiths. Gandhi transformed the Indian/ Hindu tradition, combining the ideal of non-violence with the Western idea of the secular nation-state. His view of world order was based on a free federation of non-violent secular nation-states. This still resonates both within India and beyond; it resembles the ideals behind the UN. An American scholar will examine cosmopolitan ideas which have arisen in Africa.

For media enquiries contact:
Anna Day
Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: a.c.day@dundee.ac.uk