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Birkbeck academics present at ‘With Great Power’ series

Professors Ian Christie and Isobel Armstrong to lead events at British Academy summer programme

With Great Power - British Academy summer series

Two leading academics from the School of Arts will host events at a forthcoming British Academy (BA) series exploring western political leaders throughout history.

In June, Professors Ian Christie and Isobel Armstrong will present at With Great Power: Political leaders, popular legacies – part of the BA’s season on political leadership.

Running from 2-30 June, With Great Power will feature a series of presentations by academics, writers and social commentators – each of whom will consider what makes a leader and what makes them ‘great’. How have leaders in government changed over time, from the divine right of kings to the modern age of social media? Can lessons still be learnt by contemporary leaders from their predecessors or have the rules of the game fundamentally changed? These questions and more will be addressed during the month-long series.  

On 2 June, Professor Christie will host an event entitled ‘Dramatising democracy: Abraham Lincoln on screen’. He will explore how much artistic license filmmakers can take with ‘real’ character and how their decisions impact our perspectives. Professor Melvyn Stokes of UCL will then give an introduction to a screening of Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012). For more information, please see here.

On 9 June, Professor Isobel Armstrong will present a panel discussion with four scholars on 18th Century English writer, philosopher and women’s rights advocate, Mary Wollstonecraft. Titled, Thinkers for our time: Mary Wollstonecraft, the panel event will feature academics in discussion about the place MS Wollstonecraft has had on our thinking and how this has changed two centuries on from the first publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. More information can be found here.

All events in the With Great Power series will be held at the British Academy, 10-11 Carlton House Terrace, SW1 5AH. Events are free to attend but do require delegates to book.

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