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.

Birkbeck Voices playlist

Ron Balzan, who is in the third year of his PhD in psychology at Birkbeck’s Department of Psychological Sciences, will be speaking at Birkbeck's next Big Ideas event entitled, 'The biggest problem in the world: our problem with problems (and why truth matters)'.

If you’ve ever struggled with solving a problem – and most of us have! – his thesis sets out to prove that you may not have represented, or modelled the problem correctly. 

Ron talk will be held on 20 February at City & Islington College, as part of Birkbeck’s Big Ideas series. Book your free place now: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/birkbecks-big-ideas-the-biggest-problem-in-the-world-our-problem-with-problems-and-why-truth-tickets-38659920864

Birkbeck's Big Ideas is a series of thought-provoking free public lectures, designed to inspire and bring world class Birkbeck academics to the local community.

The problem with problems - and why the truth matters: Ron Balzan

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

Birkbeck is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London's only specialist provider of evening higher education. 

The problem with problems - and why the truth matters: Ron Balzan

Birkbeck podcasts

Related tracks