2009 Programme
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Discussion Circle Provisional Programme The Blue Mugge Pub, Leek
April - July 2010
Everybody welcome. Free of charge.
Visit www.oddc.org.uk for background and notes, often based on www.opendemocracy.net
(odn); BBC radio 4 ‘In our Time’ (IoT) and BBC radio 4 ‘Thinking Allowed’ (TA)
We are this year consolidating our partnerships with www.raymondwilliamsfoundation.org.uk; www.philosophyinpubs.com, the WEA, ARCA colleges and the U3A so that linked day and
residential schools, professionally taught, will offer a networked programme of progression.
For full details on this, visit the above RWF web-site.
The programme below has been planned in association with our sister pub The Lazy Trout,
Meerbrook, North Staffs. Visit the ODDc web-site above for programmes and notes.
Tue 13 Apl Aristotle’s Politics (IoT Nov 08)
Tue 20 Apl Time and Ageing (based on Tony Benn notes)
Tue 27 Apl Who Needs Moral Philosophy? (Based on Cambridge philosopher’s paper)
Tue 4 May To be decided – topical issue or John Ruskin
(based on Trout notes and IoT Mar 05)
Tue 11 May Intuition (Mugge participant’s suggestion) or Votes cast – Where now?
Tue 18 May The Spirit Level (why more equal societies almost always do better…)
Tue 25 May Fair Trade issues: ‘Think Global, Act Local’…
Tue 1 June To be decided – topical issue or Singing
Tue 8 June Human Evolution & The History of the Brain (IoT, Feb 06 and May 08)
Tue 15 June The Staffordshire Hoard – History, Heritage and Tourism
Tue 22 June Beowulf – Seamus Heaney translation. (At least look at Wikipedia…)
Tue 29 June Wootton Bassett – symbols and interpretations…
Tue 6 July To be decided – topical issue or ‘Is it possible to have too much choice?’
Tue 13 July Journalism and Power (oD)
Tue 20 July Demography and Death (TA)
Summer holiday! Future themes:
Suggestions from the group/s: Science - public expenditure debated; The Honours List - Why? Faith Schools re-visited; …; The People’s Parliament; The Country and the City; Focus Groups;
The Alternative to Political Parties;
Linked to Odn, Conflict Resolution - the Middle East; Burma - a history and up-date; The Data-base State; ' Climate Change 6 - nuclear fusion and other developments… Renewal of Politics; Venezuala; Cuba – an up-date; What’s happening in France?
Selection from IoT achive: A History of History, (Jan 09); Materialism (Apl 08) The Arabian Nights - the art of story-telling (oct 07); King Lear (Feb 08); Samuel Johnson and his Circle (Oct 05); The Trial of Madame Bovary (Jul 07) The Multiverse and Black Holes (IoT, Feb 08 and Jan 06);
Selection from Thinking Allowed: Scotland - Independence ((Mar 08);
ODDc Provisional Programme The Blue Mugge Pub, Leek
Jan - March 2010
Everybody welcome. Free of charge.
Visit www.oddc.org.uk for background and notes, often based on www.opendemocracy.net (odn); BBC radio 4 ‘In our Time’ (IoT) and BBC radio 4 ‘Thinking Allowed’ (TA)
We are this year consolidating our partnerships with www.raymondwilliamsfoundation.org.uk; www.philosophyinpubs.com, the WEA, ARCA colleges and the U3A so that linked day and residential schools, professionally taught, will offer a networked programme of progression. For full details on this visit the above RWF web-site.
The programme below has been planned in association with our sister pub The Lazy Trout, Meerbrook, North Staffs. Visit the ODDc web-site above for programmes and notes.
Tue 12 Jan The Future of Museums and Art Galleries -postponed due to bad weather
Tue 19 Jan Women and Domesticity (TA, Nov 08)
Tue 26 Jan Philosophy - Jean Paul Sartre (IoT, Oct 04)
Tue 2 Feb To be decided – topical issue or English Everywhere: why learn a second
language?
Tue 9 Feb Englishness and the British State (odn)
Tue 16 Feb A Scots, Welsh and Irish poem (each in English).
Tue 23 Feb Leek’s Unique Heritage – The Wardles, William Morris and the Sugdens,
for example…
Tue 2 Mar To be decided – topical issue or Singing
Tue 9 Mar Numbers in Nature (2) (IoT)
Tue 16 Mar Citizenship (7) – Gender Voting and ‘The Rational Voter’ (TA)
Tue 23 Mar Theology/Philosophy - Thomas Aquinas (IoT)
Tue 30 Mar Climate Change (5) ‘Sustainable Consumption’ (odn)
Future themes: 2010...
Suggestions from the group/s: Intuition; Science - public expenditure debated; The Honours List - Why? Faith Schools re-visited; The Spirit Level – why more equal societies almost always do better…; The People’s Parliament (Citizenship 7.)
Linked to Odn, Conflict Resolution - the Middle East; Burma - a history and up-date; The Data-base State; ' Climate Change 6 - nuclear fusion and other developments… Journalism and Power; Renewal of Politics; Venezuala; Cuba – an up-date...
Selection from IoT achive: A History of History, (Jan 09); Aristotle’s Politics - what makes a good society? (Nov 08); ); Human Evolution (Feb 06) & The History of the Brain (May 08); Materialism (Apl 08) The Arabian Nights - the art of story-telling (oct 07); King Lear (Feb 08); Samuel Johnson and his Circle (Oct 05); John Ruskin (Mar 05) The Trial of Madame Bovary (Jul 07) The Multiverse and Black Holes (IoT, Feb 08 and Jan 06)
Selection from Thinking Allowed: Demography and Death (Oct 08); Scotland Independence ((Mar 08); Cities and ethnicities (Apl 08) and Balti Britain (Sep[ 08); The History of Hunger (Dec 07) & The Wealthy Irish (Jan 08); Adam Smith (Jul 07).
ODDc Programme The Blue Mugge Pub, Leek
Autumn 2009
Everybody welcome. Free of charge.
Visit www.oddc.org.uk for background and notes, often based on www.opendemocracy.net (odn); BBC radio 4 ‘In our Time’ (IoT) and BBC radio 4 ‘Thinking Allowed’ (TA)
Tue 15 Sep Grandparents (TA, Dec o7)
Tue 22 Sep ‘Target Culture’ and ‘Performance Management’
Tue 29 Sep Philosophy – Hobbes (IoT, Dec 05)
Tue 6 Oct The Lunar Men – inc. our debt to engineers (IoT, June 03)
Tue 13 Oct To be decided: topical issue or Humour and Stand-up Comedians
Tue 20 Oct The Chinese Capitalist Revolution (Odn; TV prog. & TA, Dec 08)
Tue 27 Oct The New Citizenship - Reith Lecture, 2009.
Tue 3 Nov The Future of Books and Libraries
Tue 10 Nov To be decided: topical issue or Philosophy - Socrates (IoT, Sep 07)
Tue 17 Nov The Football Phenomenon – a critical feminine and socialist perspective
Tue 24 Nov Numbers in Nature - the Fibonacci sequence (IoT, Nov 07) &
Symmetry (Apl 07)
Tue 1 Dec The State of India (odn)
Tue 8 Dec To be decided – topical issue or English Everywhere: why learn a second
language?
Tue 15 Dec ‘How to talk about things we know nothing about’ (odn, Feb 08)
…………………………………………………………………………….
Future themes: 2010...
Suggestions from the group/s: Intuition; Singing; Science - public expenditure debated; The Honours List - Why? Faith Schools re-visited; The Spirit Level – why more equal societies almost always do better…; The People’s Parliament (Citizenship 6.)
Linked to Odn, Conflict Resolution - the Middle East; Burma - a history and up-date; The Data-base State; ' Climate Change 5: - nuclear fusion and other developments… Journalism and Power; Renewal of Politics...
Selection from IoT achive: A History of History, (Jan 09); Aristotle’s Politics - what makes a good society? (Nov 08); ); Human Evolution (Feb 06) & The History of the Brain (May 08); Materialism (Apl 08) The Arabian Nights - the art of story-telling (oct 07); King Lear (Feb 08); Samuel Johnson and his Circle (Oct 05); Jean Paul Sartre (Oct 04); John Ruskin (Mar 05) The Trial of Madame Bovary (Jul 07) The Multiverse and Black Holes (IoT, Feb 08 and Jan 06)
Selection from Thinking Allowed: Demography and Death (Oct 08); Scotland Independence ((Mar 08); Gender Voting (Oct 07) & The Rational Voter (May 07); Cities and ethnicities (Apl 08) and Balti Britain (Sep[ 08); The History of Hunger (Dec 07) & The Wealthy Irish (Jan 08);
Women and domesticity (Nov 08). Adam Smith (Jul 07).
ODDc Programme The Blue Mugge
Summer 2009
Tue 28 Apl The USA - how’s Obama doing?
based on www.opendemocracy.net (odn)
Tue 5 May Local Railways based on N. Staffs experience.
Tue 12 May Feminism Reviewed based on New Left Review, Apl 09.
Tue 19 May TV - dumbing-down arguments put - and challenged…
based on BBC Thinking Allowed (TA)
Tue 26 May To be decided: topical issue or
Heidegger based on BBC In our Time (IoT)
Tue 2 June Confidence…
Tue 9 June Book > Film: The Reader
Tue 16 June Karl Marx - an up-date. (IoT)
Tue 23 June Cuba 2. (Odn)
Tue 30 June To be decided: topical issue or
Humour and Stand-up Comedians
Tue 7 July Local Government - with Democracy4Stoke, as case study
(Odn)
Tue 14 July The Lunar Men - inc. our debt to engineers (IoT, June 03))
Tue 21 July To be decided: topical issue or
Two poems from paintings
Future themes: for Autumn 09 and 2010...
Suggestions from the group/s: English everywhere: why learn a second language? Intuition; A look back at ‘target culture’ and ‘performance management’; Singing; Science - public expenditure debated; The Honours List - Why? The Football Phenomenon - from Matthews to Beckham: Faith Schools re-visited.
Linked to Odn, Conflict Resolution - the Middle East; Burma - a history and up-date; New Technology - social and political implications; The Data-base State;
'How to talk about things we know nothing about' (Feb 08); Climate Change 5: - nuclear fusion and other developments…The State of India; Journalism and Power; Renewal of Politics...
Selection from IoT achive: A History of History, (Jan 09); Aristotle’s Politics - what makes a good society? (Nov 08); The Multiverse (Feb 08) & Galaxies - black holes etc (Jan 06); Numbers in Nature - the Fibonacci sequence (Nov 07) & Symmetry (Apl 07); Human Evolution (Feb 06) & The History of the Brain (May 08); Materialism (Apl 08); Socrates (Sep 07) Hobbes (Dec 05) The Arabian Nights - the art of story-telling (oct 07); King Lear (Feb 08); Samuel Johnson and his Circle (Oct 05); Jean Paul Sartre (Oct 04); John Ruskin (Mar 05) The Trial of Madame Bovary (Jul 07)
Selection from Thinking Allowed: Demography and Death (Oct 08); Scotland Independence ((Mar 08); Gender Voting (Oct 07) & The Rational Voter (May 07); Grandparents (Dec 07); Cities and ethnicities (Apl 08) and Balti Britain (Sep[ 08); The History of Hunger (Dec 07) & The Wealthy Irish (Jan 08);
Chinese Capitalism - concepts in education (Dec 08); Women and domesticity (Nov 08). Adam Smith (Jul 07).
Open Democracy Discussion Group
Programme - Winter/Spring 2009
Tuesdays at The Blue Mugge pub, Osborne St., Leek 19.30 for 19.45 > 21.15
13 Jan: The Convention on Modern Liberty - A review of the issues (odn)*
20 Jan: The Law - necessary to protect us from ourselves?
27 Jan: The Future of the British Pub (based on BBC ‘The Money Programme’)
3 Feb: The USA - an up-date (odn) -CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
10 Feb: The ‘Precautionary Principle’ > the death of science?
17 Feb: John Milton - poet or politician (IoT);
24 Feb: The ‘under-class’ - what’s happening? (TA)
3 March: Art and Impact. A painting, ‘Guernica’; a photo, ‘napalmed Vietnamese girl’; a sculpture, ‘Angel of the North‘
10 March: The Recession - an up-date (odn)
17 March: Does the brain rule the mind? (IoT) Consciousness - 3rd session.
24 March: Pets as Kin (TA);
31 March: Kierkegaard Why? (IoT);
7 April: Citizenship - 3rd session. The Sustainable Communities Act.
14 April: Holiday break… (for 2 weeks, next session on 28th April)
* We may seek to organise a WEA half-day on this theme, subsidized by RWF, following through from the London Convention… One of our group, also a WEA Leek Branch Committee member, has suggested a short series of WEA/ODD/RWF Saturday mornings on themes selected from our programme. More on this after further consultation and discussion.
We have no shortage of themes for the future, but suggestions always welcome