30 January 2007
Saturday Evening Lecture Series 2007
From the mood of the nation as Scotland entered into Union 300 years ago, to key debates in modern medicine, politics and the environment, and the question of whether politicians as a breed look funny, the burning issues of past, present and future will be explored in the 2007 series of Saturday Evening Lectures at the University of Dundee.
One of the longest running and most popular public lecture series, SELS 2007 will help mark the University’s 40th anniversary celebrations with another programme of high-quality speakers.
"We are keen to engage the local public as much as possible in celebrating our 40th anniversary, and the Saturday Evening Lecture Series is a key part of that alongside our `Dundee Celebration’ on February 9th," said Joan Concannon, the University’s Director of External Relations.
Among the speakers for the Saturday Evening Lectures are the heads of such august bodies as the British Academy and the National Trust for Scotland, as well as the man many politicians fear for his frequently coruscating caricatures, cartoonist Steve Bell.
The series begins this weekend when Professor Paul Wilkinson, of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St Andrews, presents his lecture, "The Liberal State Responses to Terrorism and Their Limits".
Professor Wilkinson has been a leading commentator for many years on the role terror and violence has played in our world. In this lecture he will discuss the growing implication of terrorism for democracy and the rule of law, evaluating the paths counter-terrorism may follow in the 21st century, whether that may be finding a political pathway out of conflicts which have spawned terrorism, or the militarised `War on Terror’.
Hearing his contribution to the debate on terror is essential for anyone with more than a passing interest in the forces which are shaping much of the world in the early 21st century. The issue is especially topical in a week when the 21/7 terror trial continues to run in London.
Professor Wilkinson’s lecture takes place this Saturday and like all others in the series is held in the D’Arcy Thompson Lecture at the Tower Building of the University of Dundee and starts at 6 pm. Admission is free and open to all, and the lecture will be followed by a drinks reception.
Future speakers in this years series include:
- February 24th - Professor Chris Whatley, University of Dundee, `The Scots and the Union of 1707: a 300th anniversary perspective’
- March 3rd - Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill, President, The British Academy, `Rethinking Informed Bioethics’
- March 10th - Professor John Burn, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, `All Of Life Is Here’
- March 24th - Shonaig Macpherson, Executive Chairman, The National Trust For Scotland, `To The Heart Of Scotland’
- March 31st - Brian Wilson, former MP and Energy Minister, `An Energy Policy For Scotland’
- April 28th - Steve Bell, cartoonist (The Guardian), `Do Politicians Look Funny?’
Full details of all lectures are available at the Saturday Evening Lectures website at www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/events/SELS/sels2007.html
The University is hosting a range of events throughout 2007 to mark its 40th anniversary. These include `A Dundee Celebration’ in the Caird Hall on February 9th, recognising the partnership the institution has formed with the city and thanking the people of Dundee for the enormous contribution they have made in establishing one of the UK’s top universities.
For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate
Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
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