Confronting global challenges at Hay

The fourth Cambridge series at the Hay Festival this June will address all of these questions and more. Celebrating the prestigious literary festival's 25^th anniversary this year, the Cambridge series will for the first time include a series of debates by some of the world's leading thinkers alongside talks by individual academics.

Professor Alison Sinclair, Dr Jennifer Wallace and Professor Adrian Poole will debate whether the media and public respond to tragic events now in ways that echo age-old traditions which go back to Greek tragedy or whether classic ideas about tragedy's purpose need revising.

Professor Richard Sennett and Dr Brendan Burchell will explore the future of work and ask whether new technology will liberate us or lead to longer hours and increasing social isolation.

Professor Saskia Sassen, Dr Wendy Pullan, Dr Sara Silvestri and Max Sternberg will discuss the changing nature of urban violence, from the streets of Jerusalem to the avenues of Toulouse.

Professor Brendan Simms, Professor Robert Tombs and Professor Christopher Hill will debate whether the UK will ever get on with Europe and Andrew Gamble, David Runciman and Glen Rangwala   will discuss whether democracy is right for our current global problems.

Other speakers in the Cambridge series include Professor Lawrence Sherman on intelligent policing. His talk will be chaired by Sir Denis O’Connor, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

The Cambridge series started in 2009 with speakers drawing audiences of up to 800 people. It has run annually ever since and has become a regular feature of the Festival whose director, Peter Florence, is a Cambridge alumnus.

The full line-up for the series which runs throughout the Festival is:

1st June – 6.30pm

Professor Saskia Sassen, Dr Wendy Pullan, Dr Sara Silvestri, Max Sternberg - Urban conflicts

Cities are becoming sites for a whole range of new types of violence and being extensively targeted in armed conflicts. How can we reduce the risk of violence?

2nd June - 5.30pm

Professor Susan Golombok - We are family

Gay fathers, single mothers by choice and donor siblings. Professor Golombok will talk about what really counts for children who grow up in new family forms.

3rd June – 4pm

Dr Brendan Burchell and Professor Richard Sennett in conversation - The future of work

What will our working lives be like in the future?

4th June – 11.30am

Professor David Spiegelhalter - Are you taking a risk or a chance? Trying to put numbers on uncertainty

We get continually warned about the risks around us, but the upside of uncertainty is chance and opportunity. Professor Spiegelhalter will show how to weigh luck, both bad and good.

5.30pm

Professor Alison Sinclair, Dr Jennifer Wallace and Professor Adrian Poole - Is tragedy the perfect form for the modern world?

What are the ingredients of good tragedy today?

6th June – 11.30am

Professor Martin Jones - What did you have for dinner?

What can what we used to eat tell us about the ourselves and our past?

7th June – 11.30am

Dame Patricia Hodgson, Deputy Chair of Ofcom and Principal of Newnham College - Media Freedom & the Public Interest

Phone hacking has put media regulation centre stage.  But will regulation stifle a free press? Where does the public interest really lie?

14.30pm

Professor Stefan Collini – What are universities for?

At a time when the future of higher education lies in the balance, here Stefan Collini discusses just why universities matter – to everyone.

8th June – 11.30am

Professor Lawrence Sherman – The New Police Knowledge

Crime prevention is often driven by emotion rather than objective consideration of the facts, especially effectiveness tests. Professor Sherman will show how evidence-based policing is reducing crime.

9th June –11.30am

Dr Carolin Crawford. Turbulence: the birth and death of stars

Astronomer Carolin Crawford explores the science behind the glorious and complex nebulae that inhabit interstellar space.

17.30pm

Professor Brendan Simms, Professor Robert Tombs and Professor Christopher Hill - Will the UK ever get on with Europe?

How much does Britain's history impacts on how it sees its relationship with Europe and can we get over that? What are the wider implications for international relations of a Britain adrift of Europe?

10th June, 1pm

Professor Andrew Gamble, Dr David Runciman and Dr Glen Rangwala - Is democracy the right system for the current world problems?

Is democracy too short-termist to deal with the kind of issues facing the world, including the current crisis of capitalism and climate change?

Also taking part in the Festival from the University of Cambridge are Robert Macfarlane, professor of English, and John Thompson, professor of sociology who both speak on 2^nd June.

Nicola Buckley, head of public engagement at the University of Cambridge, said: “The Cambridge series is a wonderful way to get the fascinating research being done at the University out to the public. The Hay Festival draws an international cross-section of people, from policy makers to prospective university students. It is a fantastic platform for our research and this year's debates aim to highlight the broad range of what we do at the University and its relevance to the key issues we face today.”

Peter Florence, director of the Hay Festival, said: “What's thrilling about this year's series is how exacting it is about society.  The Cambridge experts cut through the political and media spin on big issues and look at them with real attention and intellectual rigour  - from Policing to European integration and C21st Family structure and Risk.  It's a timely reminder about the value of authority; an aspiration that 'policy' might be formed by the best ideas and analysis rather than doctrinaire inclination or what's easiest to sell. What else would you want from the world's greatest University but the best thinking on subjects that matter?”

To order tickets, go to www.hayfestival.com