Spiked Conference on The New Intolerance on Campus

Spiked Conference on The New Intolerance on Campus

17 February 2016
Spiked Conference on The New Intolerance on Campus, London

When speakers are banned on campus today, they are often accused of being intolerant, or bigoted. Whether it’s a far-right firebrand or an Islamist preacher who’s being silenced, the charge that someone is being intolerant – of other religions, of women, of homosexuals – is the go-to justification for No Platforming him or her. But who are the real intolerant ones? Those who wish to air their views – as hateful or batty as they may be – or those who can’t tolerate hearing them?

At this unique, one-off conference – the first of its kind in the UK – spiked is bringing together world-renowned writers, academics and activists to interrogate these questions. With sessions on Safe Spaces, the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, No Platforming and hate speech, we will explore the rise of a new intellectual bigotry on campus, which is producing young minds that would rather censor or boycott their opponents than argue with them.

The conference will begin with lunch at 12.00. There will also be coffee breaks between sessions.

Sessions:

Safe Spaces: education or therapy? 12.30–13.45

Speakers: 

Siobhan Fenton – freelance journalist

Naomi Firsht – Jewish Chronicle

Ella Whelan – staff writer, spiked

Abi Wilkinson – freelance writer

BDS, bigotry and academic justice 14.00–15.15

Speakers:

Maajid Nawaz – co-founder, Quilliam Foundation

Barnaby Raine – member, NUS executive council

Joanna Williams – education editor, spiked

No Platform: should hate speech be free speech? 15.30–16.45

Speakers:

Maryam Namazie – human-rights activist

Brendan O’Neill – editor, spiked

Dan Hodges – commentator, Telegraph and Spectator