Birkbeck Voices brings you interviews with our academics, students, alumni and wider community. We cover the latest research and inspiring events taking place at the College and find out more about the people who make Birkbeck the place that it is.

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Professor Ken Gemes from Birkbeck's Department of Philosophy discusses Nietzsche's conception of nihilism, and how it relates to the rise of populist politics, including the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote. 

He will be discussing these ideas further at Birkbeck's next Big Ideas event, at City and Islington College on 29 May 2018. Tickets are free but booking is required. Find out more and book your place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/birkbecks-big-ideas-nihilism-whats-behind-the-brexit-vote-and-the-rise-of-donald-trump-finsbury-park-tickets-39284543126

Nihilism, Trump and Brexit Britain: Professor Ken Gemes

Dr Sarah Thomas from Birkbeck's Department of History of Art examines the powerful impact of slave-ownership on some of Britain’s key cultural institutions, and how the brutal system of colonial slavery infused the world of aesthetics and taste during the first half of the nineteenth century.

In particular, she looks at the impact of the £20 million paid by the British government to former slave-owners to compensate for their loss of income on the abolition of slavery on artworks, collections and cultural institutions. 

She will be discussing these ideas further at a Big Ideas lecture on 5 July 2018 at Birkbeck's Stratford campus. Free places can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/birkbecks-big-ideas-the-art-of-compensation-slavery-and-british-culture-stratford-tickets-43164879316

The art of compensation, slavery and British culture: Dr Sarah Thomas

Waiting is one of healthcare’s core experiences. It is there in the time it takes to access services; through the days, weeks, months or years needed for diagnoses; in the time that treatment takes; and in the elongated time-frames of recovery, relapse, remission and dying. Professor Lisa Baraitser from Birkbeck’s Department of Psychosocial Studies explores how waiting can itself be a form of care, and challenges assumptions about the value of waiting, counteracting the current political use of ‘waiting times’ as a tool for dismantling the NHS. This is part of interdisciplinary research project, Waiting Times (http://waitingtimes.exeter.ac.uk/), funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Professor Baraitser will be discussing these ideas further in a free public lecture on 31 October, as part of the Big Ideas series. Book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/birkbecks-big-ideas-waiting-and-care-in-rushed-times-tickets-50949666825

Waiting and care in rushed times: Professor Lisa Baraitser

Whistleblowing is a hot topic from Hollywood to Canary Wharf. It is rarely out of the media. But have you ever stopped to think about how we ‘talk’ about whistleblowing? Which words do we choose and why? Do those words matter? Liz Hornby, PhD candidate in the Department of Management discusses all these things and more, ahead of her Big Ideas talk on 15 November. 

Big Ideas is Birkbeck's public lecture series, bringing ground-breaking Birkbeck research to our local communities. They are free to attend and open to everyone. Book your place here to Liz's talk here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/birkbecks-big-ideas-did-i-just-blow-the-whistle-how-do-we-talk-about-whistleblowing-tickets-51706248782

What we talk about when we talk about whistleblowing: Liz Hornby

Dr Alex Colás and Dr Jason Edwards travel between three London destinations to discuss the themes in their new book 'Food, Politics and Society: Social Theory and the Modern Food System'. They first visit the Princess Louise Pub in Holborn, where they discuss the politicisation of alcohol, such as how attitudes to drinking are shaped by class and gender; then to Pisqu, a Peruvian restaurant in Fitzrovia, where they explore the contemporary, capitalist food system and its origins in the Columbian exchange; and finally, Dr Colas meets Professor Sami Zubaida at Tottenham Court Road Food Market, to hear his insights into the relationships between food, globalisation and nationalism.

Find out more at a launch event for the book: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/food-politics-and-society-book-launch-tickets-52211191078 or buy a copy online: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520291959/food-politics-and-society

Food, Politics and Society: Dr Alex Colás, Dr Jason Edwards and Professor Sami Zubaida

Professor Julia Lovell from Birkbeck’s Department of History, Classics and Archaeology discusses the evolution and legacy of Maoism, both in China and internationally. 

Professor Lovell’s book, Maoism: A Global History, is published in March 2019, by The Bodley Head.

Professor Lovell teaches on the following programmes
-	MA Global History http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/2019/postgraduate/programmes/TMAGHESC_C/ 
-	BA History programmes http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/course_search?q=History&lvl=ug

Maoism: A Global History - Professor Julia Lovell

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Nihilism, Trump and Brexit Britain: Professor Ken Gemes

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