2011 Battle of Ideas. 29th and 30th October.

Battle of Ideas 2011 29 & 30 October, London. Two days of high-level, thought-provoking, public debate organised by the Institute of Ideas, hosted by the Royal College of Art.

2011 Programme: Festival weekend overview

The Festival weekend includes more than 70 debates which are listed below ordered by time slot and
room.

Saturday 29 October: 10.30am-12.00pm

Keynote Controversies Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

The Battle against the Fates

Battle for the World Lecture Theatre 1

Unrealpolitik: a new New world order?

Battle for Morality Courtyard Gallery

What is evil? The politics of morality

Thought for the day Lecture Theatre 2

Censoring science: have scientists become the new inquisitors?

Food Fight Café

Is big business ruining food?

Society Wars Henry Moore Gallery

Drinking by numbers: should we count our alcohol units?

Provocation Zone Students' Union

From the sublime to the ridiculous: can we measure the value of the arts?

Saturday 29 October: 12.15pm-1.15pm

Lunchtime Debates Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

What is nature for?

Battle for the World Lecture Theatre 1

Eurozonia: too big to fail; too small to succeed?

Battle for Morality Courtyard Gallery

Maybe I do? Marriage in the modern era

Lunchtime Debates Lecture Theatre 2

Seduced by stats?

Society Wars Henry Moore Gallery

Doing it for charity?

Lunchtime Debates Students' Union

Tomorrow never knows? Sci-fi and the future

Saturday 29 October: 1.30pm-3.00pm

Keynote Controversies Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Profiting responsibly? Business in the big society

Battle for the World Lecture Theatre 1

Middle East 'revolutions': hopes and fears?

Battle for Morality Courtyard Gallery

Your mind, your high: is recreational drug use morally wrong?

In Conversation Salons Lecture Theatre 2

The Tea Party – defenders of the American Dream?

Food Fight Café

Eating ethics: are some foods morally bad for you?

Society Wars Henry Moore Gallery

Remaking citizens for the ‘Big Society’

Provocation Zone Students' Union

What is the point of being an artist?

Saturday 29 October: 3.30pm-5.00pm

Keynote Controversies Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Creativity and curiosity: do we make stuff up or find it out?

Battle for the World Lecture Theatre 1

The trillion dollar question: is the US economy resurgent or dependent?

Battle for Morality Courtyard Gallery

Coarse sex and cheap lives

In Conversation Salons Lecture Theatre 2

What's innovation good for?

Food Fight Café

Are we turning our children into food faddists?

Society Wars Henry Moore Gallery

Radical surgery for the NHS? What is a GP's role today

Provocation Zone Students' Union

Dreaming spires for all? Oxbridge and social mobility

Saturday 29 October: 5.15pm-6.30pm

Thought for the day Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Moral panics or just panic?

Battle for the World Lecture Theatre 1

Is this Africa's decade?

Battle for Morality Courtyard Gallery

Crime and punishment: what are prisons for?

Thought for the day Lecture Theatre 2

Online communities

Food Fight Café

Debating Matters International Final: GM Crops - UK versus India

Society Wars Henry Moore Gallery

Hand-out Britain? Has a dependency culture made us sick?

Thought for the day Students' Union

Performing politics: is all the world a stage?

Sunday 30 October: 9.45am-10.30am

Battle for our Brains Lecture Theatre 1

Life off Earth: are the aliens out there?

Reassessing... Politics Courtyard Gallery

Civil disobedience or violent criminality?

Breakfast Banter Lecture Theatre 2

Haters gonna hate: should we hate hate?

Sporting Contests Café

Fan till I die? The meaning of being a football supporter

Head to Head Debates Henry Moore Gallery

The Simpsons versus Shakespeare

Breakfast Banter Students' Union

Are the Germans still European?

Sunday 30 October: 10.45am-12.15pm

Keynote Controversies Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Has tolerance gone too far?

Battle for our Brains Lecture Theatre 1

Sex in the brain: do men and women think differently?

Reassessing... Politics Courtyard Gallery

Can conservatism survive the 21st century?

Films Q&A Lecture Theatre 2

Sylvia Pankhurst: everything is possible

Sporting Contests Café

The Greatest Show on Earth: from Olympia to London

Frame Debates Henry Moore Gallery

What is history education for?

Head to Head Debates Students' Union

Abortion: how late is "too late"?

Sunday 30 October: 12.29pm-1.29pm

Lunchtime Debates Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Fracking and Fukushima: our energy security fears

Battle for our Brains Lecture Theatre 1

Designer people: is technology making us less human?

Reassessing... Politics Courtyard Gallery

Can social democracy survive the 21st century?

Lunchtime Debates Lecture Theatre 2

Silencing sectarianism: football's free speech wars

Lunchtime Debates Henry Moore Gallery

Rebirth of the author?

Lunchtime Debates Students' Union

Burlesque: female empowerment or posh stripping?

Sunday 30 October: 1.45pm-3.15pm

Keynote Controversies Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Loyalty in an age of whistle-blowing and Wikileaks

Battle for our Brains Lecture Theatre 1

Is there a ghost in the machine?

Reassessing... Politics Courtyard Gallery

Queer times: has the gay rights movement triumphed?

In Conversation Salons Lecture Theatre 2

Tiger mothers: the great parenting row

Sporting Contests Café

Drugs and bionics: enhancing sport?

Frame Debates Henry Moore Gallery

Skilling up the jilted generation: the employability debate

Provocation Zone Students' Union

Roads or ruins? The politics of cultural preservation

Sunday 30 October: 3.45pm-5.15pm

Keynote Controversies Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Is individualism bad for society?

Battle for our Brains Lecture Theatre 1

Smart drugs: magic bullet or cheating ourselves?

Reassessing... Politics Courtyard Gallery

What is feminism for?

In Conversation Salons Lecture Theatre 2

Islamophobia: the new racism or liberal angst?

Sporting Contests Café

Olympic expectations: can't see the games for the legacy?

Frame Debates Henry Moore Gallery

Ain’t misbehaving - do British children need the army to sort them out?

Provocation Zone Students' Union

Dead Cities: ruin porn and the urban imagination

Sunday 30 October: 5.30pm-6.30pm

Thought for the day Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

The rise of the clicktivists: will the revolution be digitised?

Battle for our Brains Lecture Theatre 1

Can you tell when someone is lying to you? - Film Q&A

Reassessing... Politics Courtyard Gallery

Rise of European populism: the revenge of politics?

Thought for the day Lecture Theatre 2

Through a glass darkly: why do atheists love the King James Bible?

Sporting Contests Café

Who is the greatest ever Olympian? Balloon debate

Thought for the day Henry Moore Gallery

Pax Romana: civilising the barbarians or evil empire?

Thought for the day Students' Union

Interns or slave labour?

Sunday 30 October: 6.30pm-7.30pm

What next for...? Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Being together?