The Sociology Research Seminar is the main venue for scholars at the Department to present work in progress and strives to feature innovative sociological research from a variety of perspectives.

The latest schedule can be found here: Research Seminar Series

Human rights through the eyes of my native land: South Africa in the World

This year's annual Human Rights Day lecture will explore South Africa's complex relationship with the idea of human rights. Drawing from the struggle to end apartheid, the lecture will explore the connections between the  struggle for human rights and the idea of self-determination. While both ideas are local, the lecture will show that they are also global. South Africa remains a feature of the global world order, trying, as one of its most talented sons, Steve Bantu Biko once said "to give the world a more human face". 

"Running them out of time": locality, temporality, and exclusion in contemporary South Africa

The Racial Borderscapes Series: this series explores the relationship between the racialised migration systems and the everyday life of borders. The series is co-ordinated by Professor Suzanne Hall.

Debates over racialisation and bordering often focus on formal, national regulations and how local implementation and resistance rations access to space and resources. Research into "xenophobic" exclusion across South Africa suggests recalibration along two dimensions: one spatial, one temporal.

Legalising the revolution: India and the constitution of the postcolony

Following decolonisation, the challenge was to give institutional form to those ideas. In this talk Sandipto Dasgupta will discuss his latest book, Legalising the Revolution, which explores the unique promises, challenges, and contradictions of India’s anticolonial movement and constitution making.

Sociological routes: past, present and future

With this year's theme we aim to interrogate the entanglements and limits, temporalities and trajectories of sociology as a discipline and method. Emphasising routes, we invite thinking across spaces and times, and consider unruly pathways to sociological knowledge and work that goes beyond a static canon. 

Revolutionary Papers Launch: Anticolonial Periodicals of the Global South

Join us for a roundtable discussion on the latest issue of Radical History Review on Revolutionary Papers: Anticolonial Periodicals of the Global South and our special series on radical papers of the African left with Africa Is A Country.

Radically Legal: Berlin constitutes the future

Join us for the book launch of Radically Legal: Berlin Constitutes the Future, the Nine Dots Prize-winning book by Dr Joanna Kusiak which tells the story of a grassroots movement that convinced a million Berliners to pop the speculative housing bubble.

Racism in Turkey: context, questions and stakes

As part of a collaboration, Istos publishing house and the London School of Economics and Political Science will host “Racism in Turkey: context, questions and stakes” on 19 and 20 October. The purpose of this meeting is to lay the framework for an open-ended dialogue around the subject of racism in Turkey. The aim of these talks will be to provide concrete ideas for developing anti-racist strategies and paying attention to what must be considered for such strategies. The event will feature six sessions over two days, each organised around specific themes, including the history of racial capitalism in Turkey; labour relations and social reproduction; nationalism; migration and racialisation; policing and racism in city life, and the question of anti-racism in Turkey. The event will be bilingual, in English and Turkish, and translation will be available.

Game on: new hiring technologies and the reproduction of inequality in elite firms

Elite professional service firms are increasingly adopting technological solutions such as hiring games in their hiring practices to open opportunities and diversify talent. In this event Professor Lauren Rivera discussed the findings of her research—how hiring games which are designed to increase equity in hiring are found to magnify existing inequalities by social class, nationality, and disability status.

Born to rule: the making and remaking of the British elite

In Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman’s new book, which they launched at this event, they provide a uniquely data-rich analysis of the British elite from the Victorian era to today: who gets in, how they get there, what they like and look like, where they go to school, and what politics they perpetuate.

Sonic Rebellions: Sound and Social Justice Symposium

In a collaboration between the University of Brighton, two successive Sonic Rebellions symposiums brought together sonic rebels to offer new perspectives on power, justice, and the role of sonic practices in solidarity, resistance and oppression.

We thought it would be heaven: refugees in an unequal America

As Bourdieu has demonstrated, the “rules of the game” determine access to scarce resources. Yet, in studies of immigrants, there has been insufficient attention to how organisational rules across a wide range of institutions matter.

Divest! the history and politics of a demand

This panel brought together scholars, experts, practitioners, and organisers who have investigated how financial investments can be entangled with human rights abuses, the arms trade, and climate breakdown.

Thinking with C.L.R. James about international socialism, popular democracy, and the good life

This talk was drawn from a larger project entitled 'Recalling C.L.R. James, Reconsidering Black Marxism.' It offered an overview of James’s distinctive critical and political orientation.

Revolution of Things: Islamism and Post-Islamism of Objects in Iran

In Revolution of Things (Princeton University Press 2023), Kusha Sefat tells the story of political transformations in post-revolutionary Iran from the vantage point of the relationships between materiality and language.

Shadows without bodies: war, revolutionary nostalgia, and the challenges of internationalism

In this lecture, Christina Heatherton reflected on the challenges of internationalism at present. Extending the analysis from her book, Arise! Global Radicalism in the Era of the Mexican Revolution, Heatherton considered how war, nationalism, and revolutionary nostalgia have confounded the development of an internationalist consciousness. In revisiting the radical theories and visions developed in an earlier era of global solidarity, she considers how we might now imagine otherwise.

The price is wrong: why capitalism won't save the planet

In this seminar, Brett Christophers talked about the misconceptions in our understanding of capitalism and climate change. He questioned whether the problem is not the cost of transitioning to renewables but the lack of profitability in saving the planet.Shadows without bodies: war, revolutionary nostalgia, and the challenges of internationalism

The (Im)possible University

In her inaugural lecture, Suzanne Hall engaged with what it means to learn and teach at this volatile point in the lifespan of the UK university ecosystem.

Embodied Theory Lab Workshop

Embodied Theory Lab is a platform that brings together disabled and non-disabled artists, academics and activists to think through theoretical concepts and social, political and cultural idea(l)s in ways that make space for embodied, uncodified, tacit and practice-based (as well as classic theoretical) knowledges.

Elites and Wealth Inequality: ECR workshop

This workshop aimed to foster relationships between early career researchers, develop writing practice, and offer new insights into the work of leading researchers in the field. 

Centring Families in Elite Studies

In this lecture Professor Shamus Khan sought to change the unit of analysis, centring not individuals but families within the studies of the super-rich.

Human rights: the case for the defence

At this event, co-hosted with LSE's International Inequalities Institute, Baroness Chakrabarti discussed her latest book Human Rights: The Case for the Defence, which shows us why human rights are essential for our future.

The states of exception: biopolitics, human rights, utopia

The States of Exception: Biopolitics, Human Rights, Utopia by Costas Douzinas assessed and critiqued the ways in which governments responded to three recent emergencies: the 2008 economic crisis, the large flows of refugees and migrants since the 2010s and the COVID-19 pandemic. This book launch discussed the theoretical and practical consequences of the state of exception.

Inaugural BJS Conference 2024 

The British Journal of Sociology held its inaugural major international conference on 15 and 16 April 2024 at LSE. The conference showcased the best of sociological work from around the world.

Race and Education

In this lecture Kalwant Bhopal (Birmingham), Dr Suki Ali (LSE) and Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa (LSE) explored how Black Lives Matter has made little if any difference to the experiences of ethnic minority students in schools and higher education.

Long Live Queer Nightlife

Dr Amin Ghaziani was joined by Dr Jana Melkumova-Reynolds and Dr Ryan Centner to discuss his new book. Far from the gay bar with its largely white, gay male clientele, Ghaziani travels underground to a dazzling scene of secret parties, called “club nights,” where culture creatives, many of whom are queer, trans, and racial minorities, reclaim the night in the name of those too long left out.

Reel Life

Reel Life, is where we show a series of films every few weeks:

Mayor by David Ossit; A charismatic leader's quest to build the city of Ramallah and end the occupation of Palestine. You can watch the trailer here

Untitled by Michael Glawogger; "It's a film about nothing. I'll travel once around the world in one year, and I'll bring home a film." You can watch the trailer here.

Concerning Violence by Göran Olsson; Based on Frantz Fanon's essay, the film narrates African liberation against colonial rule. You can watch the trailer here.

Between the Empire and LSE: entangling the history of sociology and anthropology in Britain. A discussion of Freddy Foks’ ‘Participant Observers’

How did the British Empire guide the development of anthropology and sociology at the LSE? Dr Freddy Foks (Manchester) and Professor Deborah James (LSE) explored these histories and raised the question of what historians can offer to current practitioners in the social sciences. 

Data Money: Inside Cryptocurrencies, Their Communities, Markets, and Blockchains

Drawing on his award-winning research, Dr Koray Caliskan (The New School) presented a radical insider view of how cryptocurrencies are created and traded on the ground, analysing the emergence of the third fiat money in world history: Data Money.

The great fear: the politics of performing

Professor Monika Krause was joined by Richard Sennett who spoke about his new book, The Performer: art, life, politics.

Rights, virtues and humanity: re-thinking the ethics of human rights 

Have human rights lost their power as an ethical discourse? In our annual Human Rights Day lecture, Professor Kimberly Hutchings explored the critical landscape of human rights thinking today and how we might re-think the concept of human rights in ways that will sustain its power as an ethical discourse into the future

Doing Sociology Now, LSE Sociology Department Conference

Our annual LSE Sociology Department Conference aimed to enhance the department’s research culture and strengthen a sense of community among its members. 

Except Palestine: law, humanity and politics

This event explored how and why international law and ideas of humanity attend to, and exceptionalise, the case of Palestine and Palestinians. İt brings together scholars of international law, media, culture, human rights and politics. Catch up here.

Of Black Study Reading Group

Through an in-depth study of the work and lives of Black intellectuals (June Jordan, W. E. B. Du Bois, Sylvia Wynter, Jacob H. Carruthers Jr., Cedric J. Robinson and Toni Cade Bambara), Dr Myers invited us to seriously question the ‘lies’ of the West and its Academy, or to use Du Bois's phrase, the 'half-truths' of Science. 

The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires

This event marks the publication of Kristin Surak’s new book, The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires, which offers the first on-the-ground investigation of the global market for citizenship by investment. Catch up here.

Can Russia be Remade? 

With the war in Ukraine well into its second year, we were joined by Nina Khrushcheva to discuss the fault lines that the war has opened up in Russian society - and the potential of the Russia left to use these fractures to push for a more progressive Russia. Hosted by LSE Sociology (@LSESociology) and The Ralph Miliband Programme (@rmilibandlse). Catch up here.

The Social Life of Money for Children

Inspired by Nigel Dodd’s The Social Life of Money, this lecture proposed an analysis of entangled economic lives, that is, how meaning, structure and politics jointly shape the flow of monies within households. Catch up here.

Book launches: Dr Catherine Duxbury and Dr Emily Cousens

We celebrated two fantastic book launches. Dr Catherine Duxbury (LSE100 Fellow, Visiting Fellow in the Department of Sociology) and Dr Emily Cousens discussed the convergence of critical animal studies and trans feminism.

Building Bridges: Connecting Stories and Championing Racial Justice

Building Bridges, co-ordinated by the Runnymede Trust and LSE, was an opportunity to come together, connect, and champion racial justice. More information here.

British Sociological Association – Sociology of Elites Study Group Founding Conference 

This one-day conference celebrated the founding of the Sociology of Elites Study Group, giving members the opportunity to meet the Study Group's members, and plan ahead. Find out more here.

LSE Festival 2023

Smashing the Class Ceiling

Lessons in how to improve social mobility: what we can do, how we can do it and why it’s not being done already. With Professor Sam Friedman and Professor Lee Elliot Major. Chaired by Professor Stephen Machin. Catch up here. 

The Changing Inequalities of Citizenship

Citizenship is often seen as a great equaliser. Yet access to citizenship itself is not equally distributed, nor are the rights gained from citizenship equal for all. With Dr Robtel Neajai Pailey, Dr Kristin Surak, and Dr Eleanor Knott. Chaired by Dr Armine Ishkanian. Catch up here.

This is Not America: Why Black Lives in Britain Matter

Across the West, racial injustice has become one of the most divisive issues of our age. Debate abounds around racism, identity, diversity, immigration and colonial history, and, in the rush to address injustice, Britain has followed the lead of the world's dominant power: America. We judge ourselves by America's standards, absorb its arguments and follow its agenda. But what if we're looking in the wrong place? Speaker Tomiwa Owoladevis is joined by Chair Professor Mike Savage. Catch up here.

What Would a Fairer Society Look Like?

Have inequalities become so entrenched that we can no longer imagine a fairer society? Whilst many are dissatisfied with the status quo, it is surprisingly hard to find a coherent vision of what a better and fairer world would look like. In the Festival’s closing event, leading thinkers put forward their suggestions.With Daniel Chandler, Dr Ayça Çubukçu, Swatee Deepak, and Lord Willetts. Chaired by Professor Neil Lee. Catch up here.

The Future of Social Democracy

The contemporary period of crisis has fundamentally altered party-political landscapes in democracies around the world. To discuss what this means for left politics, we were joined by Adam Przeworski to discuss the fate of the defining party family of twentieth-century representative democracy: social democratic parties. Catch up here. 

Social Democracy: New Opportunities and New Constraints

This conference explored Social Democracy: New Opportunities and New Constraints. Hosted by The Ralph Miliband Program and LSE Sociology.

Spaces of Struggle: Rethinking Internationalism in an Age of War and Transition

Professor Sandro Mezzadra introduced the notion of multipolarity to make sense of such predicament, critically discussing different uses of it and emphasizing the need to rethink the relations among what G. Arrighi calls "territorialism" and capitalism. Chaired by Dr Ayça Çubukçu. Catch up here. 

Putting Bourdieu and Marx in Dialogue

This event marked the launch of Gabriella Paolucci's edited book Bourdieu and Marx. With Dr Gabriella Paolucci, Dr Poornima Paidipaty and Professor Bridget Fowler. Chaired by Professor Mike Savage. Catch up here.

BJS/LSE Sociology Panel Event: Reflections on ‘The Quantified Scholar’ 

A panel hosted by the Department of Sociology and The British Journal of Sociology discussing a variety of themes that emerge from The Quantified Scholar with the author, Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra (UCSD) and panellists, Sam Friedman (LSE), Sarah de Rijcke (Leiden University), and John Holmwood (University of Nottingham). The panel was co-chaired by Fran Tonkiss (LSE) and Gurminder K Bhambra (University of Sussex) and moderated by Daniel Laurison (British Journal of Sociology). Catch up here. 

Irregular Rights: Abortion, Domestic Violence, and the uses of Illegality

In this lecture, Professor Poulami Roychowdhury developed the concept of “irregular rights”. What do survivors of domestic violence in West Bengal, India have in common with women seeking abortion services in Texas, USA? Chaired by Professor Monika Krause. Catch up here. 

The Politics of the Turkey/Syria Earthquake: Responses and Aftermath

After he recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria had catastrophic impacts across a large area, our panel discussed whether emergency agencies had been able to access and deliver relief to those most in need, and what the conditions, and prospects for, recovery and reconstruction are. With Dr Karabekir Akkoyunlu, Dr Hişyar Özsoy, Dr Rim Turkmani and Amberin Zaman. Chaired by Dr Ayça Çubukçu.

LSE Reels Screening: Machuca

LSE Reels screened acclaimed director Andrés Wood's most successful film, set during the 1970s and based on his own experiences at Saint George's College.

Achieving Justice when Stopping Oil: OFFSHORE Film Screening and Discussion

At a special event in the Social Life of Climate Change series, Dr Gisa Weszkalnys, Co-Investigator of the UKRI funded project "Fraying ties? Networks, territory and transformation in the UK oil sector," set the scene for the screening of OFFSHORE. This short film, commissioned by the NGO Platform London, focused on the situation of oil and gas workers. 

LSE Reels Screening: A Flood in Baath Country

Attendees joined LSE Reels for a film screening screening of A Flood in Baath Country a film by Omar Amiralay. The film took attendees through the experience of students, teachers, and local officials in the village of al-Mashi in Syria.

Radius: a Story of Feminist Revolution

Attendees joined for a conversation between Yasmine El-Rifae and Sophie Chamas on El-Rifae's new book, 'Radius: A Story of a Feminist Revolution' (Verso, 2022). 

Everyone and No One: Moral Solicitude and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Hosted by LSE Human Rights and the Department of Sociology. In this Annual Human Rights Day Talk, Professor Siba N'Zatioula Grovogui invited us to revisit the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Catch up here.

Masterclass with Professor Siba Grovogui

Attendees joined Professor Siba Grovogui for an intimate masterclass as part of his Annual Human Rights Day Lecture.

Highly Discriminating: Why the City isn't Fair and Why Diversity Doesn't Work

A talk from Louise Ashley on her new book Highly Discriminating: Why the City isn’t Fair and Why Diversity Doesn’t Work. Speakers: Dr Louise Ashley, David Goodhart, Professor Mark Williams. Chair: Professor Sam Friedman. Catch up here.

Society[ies] in Crisis

A day-long conference exploring ‘Society[ies] in Crisis.’  The purpose of the conference was to enhance the department’s research culture and strengthen a sense of community among its members. Find out more.

Social Science is Explanation or it is Nothing

Speakers: Professor Julian Go, Professor Noorjte Marres, Professor Melinda Mills, Professor Mike Savage. Chair: Professor Monika Krause. Catch up here. 

Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu – Film night by Decolonising LSE x LSE SU

For Black History Month, Decolonising LSE Collective and the LSE Student Union hosted a film night in The Venue (Saw Swee Hock Centre, LSE) watching Timbuktu, a film by the Mauritanian-born Malian film director Abderrahmane Sissako, followed by a chat with Dr Olivia Rutazibwa (LSE) and Dr Clive Nwonka (UCL). Find out more.

In Conversation with Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa

To celebrate Black History Month, we were delighted to have a conversation with Dr Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa. Hosted by LSE and LSE Students' Union. Catch up here.

New Sociological Perspectives: Second Issue Launch  

Hosted by New Sociological Perspecives 

Wednesday 29 June 2022

Speakers: Frances Kendall, Alice Hertzberg, Sarah Doyel, Xu Kang, Giacomo Melli 

Moderator: Bianca Skrinyar 

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 On Writing, Motherhood and Care 

Hosted by LSE Festival: How Do We Get to a Post-COVID World? 

Monday 13 June

Speakers: Iman Mersal (Professor at the University of Alberta), Lola Olufemi (Researcher at the University of Westminster), Dr Mai Taha (LSE Human Rights, LSE)  

Chair: Dr Sara Salem (LSE Human Rights, LSE) 

Find out more 

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 Thinking Against Empire: anticolonial thought as Social Theory 

Annual British Journal of Sociology Lecture (BJS)

Wednesday 6 April   

Speaker: Professor Julian Go ( University of Chicago)                                       

Chair: Professor Nigel Dodd (LSE)

Find out more 

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Families and Money: exploring gender inequality in elite families  

Hosted by International Inequalities Institute and Department of Sociology 
Monday 4 April   

Speaker: Professor Annette Lareau (University of Pennsylvania) Dr Katharina Hecht (Visiting Fellow, LSE III and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cluster of Excellence ‘The Politics of Inequality’, University of Konstanz) and Sibylle Gollac (Research Fellow in Sociology, French National Center for Scientific Research)               

Chair: Dr Luna Glucksberg (LSE, III)

Find out more 

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Policing the Crisis, Revisited 

Hosted by LSE Human Rights
Monday 14 March  
Speaker: Professor Ruth Wilson Gilmore (The City University New York) 

Find out more 

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 Neoliberal Freedom as Stoic Resignation

Hosted by LSE Human Rights
Thursday 10 February  
Speaker: Dr Jessica Whyte (University of New South Wales)

Find out more 

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 Dismantling the Apartheid of Our Time: The Palestinian Liberation Movement as an anti-racist struggle

Hosted by LSE Human Rights
Monday 13 December 
Speaker: Dr Noura Erakat (Rutgers University)

Find out more 

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 What is Climate Resilience for All?

Part of our Social Life of Climate Change Seminar Series
Tuesday 30 November
Speaker: Dr Lisa Schipper (University of Oxford)

Find out more 

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 The Migrant’s Paradox: Street Livelihoods and Marginal Citizenship in Britain

Monday 22 November
Speakers: Dr Suzi Hall (LSE), Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya (University of East London), Dr Ajmal Hussain (University of Warwick), Professor Engin Isin (Queen Mary University of London)
Chair: Dr David Madden (LSE)

Watch the recording 

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Ceasing the Means of Reduction: Toward a New Antiracist Approach to Community Solar Campaigns

Part of our Social Life of Climate Change Seminar Series
Tuesday 16 November
Speaker: Dr Myles Lennon (Brown University)

Find out more

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Palestine is Throwing a Party and the Whole World is Invited

Thursday 11 November
Speakers: Dr Kareem Rabie (University of Chicago), Dr Gökçe Günel (Rice University), Lucy Garbett (LSE), Dr Deen Sharp (LSE)
Chair: Dr Sara Salem (LSE)

Watch the recording

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Black Resistance to British Policing

Hosted with LSE Human Rights
Monday 8 November
Speakers: Dr Adam Elliott-Cooper (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Nivi Manchanda (Queen Mary University of London), Dr SM Rodríguez (LSE), Dr Vanessa Eileen Thompson (Queen’s University, Canada)
Chair: Dr Sara Salem (LSE)

Watch the recording

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Dissident Histories of Pakistan

Monday 1 November
Speaker: Shahzad Abbas (SARRC), Dr Koni Benson (University of Western Cape), Fahad Desmukh (SARRC), Dr Chana Morgenstern (University of Cambridge), Sara Kazmi (University of Cambridge), Ahmad Salim (SARRC) 
Chair: Dr Mahvish Ahmad (LSE)

Watch the recording

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Taking Renewables to Market: Prospects for the After-Subsidy Energy Transition

Part of our Social Life of Climate Change Seminar Series
Tuesday 26 October
Speaker: Professor Brett Christophers (Uppsala University)

Find out more

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The Human in Human Rights - Part III

Hosted with LSE Human Rights
Wednesday 20 October
Speaker: Professor Craig Calhoun (Arizona State University and LSE)
Chair: Dr Monika Krause (LSE)

Find out more

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Gendered Relations in Elite Occupations. Varieties of Gender Regimes in the European Space of Top Managers 

Part of our Research Seminar Series
Tuesday 19 October
Speaker: Dr Thierry Rossier (LSE)

Find out more

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How to Stop Fascism?

Thursday 14 October
Speakers: Paul Mason (Journalist, Writer and Film-Maker) and Professor Lea Ypi (LSE)
Chair: Dr Robin Archer (LSE)

Watch the recording

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Toward a sociology of climate risk

Tuesday 7 September
Speakers: Emily Bugden (University of Cambridge), Dr Tanya Fiedler (University of Sydney), Professor Nick Robins (LSE), Matthias Täger (LSE)
Moderator: Dr Daniel Beunza Ibanez (Cass Business School)
Chair: Dr Rebecca Elliott (LSE)

Find out more

Experimental Sociology

Thursday 24 June and Friday 25 June
Keynote: Delia Baldassarri (New York University)

Watch the recordings

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Journalism in Pakistan: state repression and the politics of solidarity

Friday 11 June
Speakers: Asad Ali Toor (Independent Journalist), Sanna Ejaz (former TV Anchor, Pakistan Television), Matiullah Jan (Independent Journalist), Rabia Mahmood (Independent Journalist and Researcher)
Chair: Dr Mahvish Ahmad

Watch the recording

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The Return of Inequality

Co-hosted with the International Inequalities Institute

Monday 7 June
Speakers: Professor Mike Savage (LSE), Professor Gurminder K Bhambra (University of Sussex), Professor Patrick Le Galès (Sciences Po, Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics)
Chair: Dr Alpa Shah (LSE) 

Listen to the podcast

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 Reading Group: The Utopia of Rules

Friday 28 May
The discussion was led by Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE).

Find out more

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Decolonising and the Question of Palestine

Friday 21 May
Speakers: Dr Rana Barakat (Birzeit), Dr Muna Dajani (LSE), Dr Mezna Qato (Cambridge), Dr Omar Jabary Salamanca (Ghent)
Chair: Professor Fran Tonkiss (LSE)

Find out more

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Who Counts? The Politics of Human Classification - Challenging Methods for Critical Social Science Research

Friday 21 May
Speakers: Professor Rosie Cox (Birkbeck), Dr George Kunnath (LSE), Marion Lieutaud, Dr Poornima Paidipaty (LSE), Professor Mike Savage (LSE)

Watch the recording

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The 'Human' in Human Rights Part II - Transformations

Tuesday 11 May
Speaker: Professor Craig Calhoun (Arizona State University and LSE)
Chair: Dr Monika Krause (LSE)

Listen to the podcast

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Liberalism, Race and Empire: in conversation with Pankaj Mishra

Thursday 6 May
Speaker: Pankaj Mishra (Author)
Chair: Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE)

Find out more

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The (Applied) Epistemology of Resilience and Adaptation

Part of the Social Life of Climate Change Seminar Series

Tuesday 4 May
Speaker: Dr Jesse M. Keenan, Tulane University School of Architecture

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Defending Academic Autonomy in Turkey

Wednesday 28 April
Speaker: Dr Elif Babul (Mt. Holyoke College), Yigit Torun (Bogazici University), Professor Mine Eder (Bogazici University), Dr Nazan Ustundag, Hayri Ince (Mardin Artuklu University)
Chair: Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE)

Watch the recording

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Debating Capital and Ideology

Monday 26 April
Speakers: Professor Gurminder Bhambra (University of Sussex), Dr Jens Lerche (SOAS), Dr Sanjay G. Reddy (The New School for Social Research), Professor Diego Sánchez-Ancochea (University of Oxford), Dr Nora Waitkus (LSE and Tilburg University)
Respondent: Professor Thomas Piketty (EHESS and the Paris School of Economics)

Chair: Dr Poornima Paidipaty (LSE)

Watch the recording
Listen to the podcast

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Cosmopolitanisms: past, present, future?

Wednesday 21 April
Speaker: Professor Etienne Balibar (University of Paris-Nanterre, Kingston University, and Columbia University)
Chair: Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE)

Watch the recording
Listen to the podcast

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Reading Group: Decolonising Sociology

Tuesday 30 March

Find out more

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Reading Group: Bullshit Jobs

Friday 26 March
Led by Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE)

Find out more

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On Jihad, Empire and Solidarity

Friday 26 March
Speakers: Dr Catherine Baker (University of Hull), Professor Tarak Barkawi (LSE) and Dr Darryl Li (University of Chicago)
Chair: Dr Mahvish Ahmad (LSE)

Find out more

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Inflections of Anti-Racism in Latin America

Part of our Research Seminar Series

Wednesday 24 March
Speakers: Dr Mónica Moreno Figueroa (University of Cambridge) and Professor Peter Wade (University of Manchester)

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Climate Futures’ Past: Insurance, Cyclones and Weather Knowledge in the Indian Ocean World

Part of the Social Life of Climate Change Seminar Series

Tuesday 23 March
Speaker: Dr Debjani Bhattacharyya (Drexel University)

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Decolonising Sociology Reading Group

Tuesday 2 March

Find out more

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Underwater: Loss, Flood Insurance, and the Moral Economy of Climate Change in the United States

Thursday 25 February
Speaker: Prof Eric Klinenberg (New York University); Prof Paula Jarzabkowski (Cass Business School); Dr Daniel Aldana Cohen (University of Pennsylvania); Dr Rebecca Elliott (LSE)
Chair: Dr Austin Zeiderman (LSE)

Watch the recording

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A Polity Divided: empire, nation, and the construction of the British welfare state

Annual British Journal of Sociology Lecture

Wednesday 24 February
Speaker: Professor Gurminder K Bhambra (University of Sussex)
Chair: Professor Nigel Dodd (LSE)

Listen to the podcast

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At the Island’s Edge: Living and Learning Within Intersectional Ecologies

Part of the Social Life of Climate Change Seminar Series

Tuesday 16 February
Speaker: Dr Amelia Moore (University of Rhode Island)

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Reading Group: Decolonising Sociology

Tuesday 9 February

Find out more

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Reading Group: The Democracy Project

Friday 5 February

Find out more

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Encountering Climate in Models and Materials

Part of the Social Life of Climate Change Seminar Series

Tuesday 26 January
Speaker: Dr Hannah Knox (UCL)

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Have We Reached The End Of The 1951 Refugee Convention?

Annual Human Rights Day Lecture

Monday 7 December
Speaker: Professor Seyla Benhabib (Yale University)
Chair: Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE)

Watch the recording

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Decolonising Sociology: The Black Radical Tradition, past and present

Wednesday 2 December

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Water Beings: From Nature Worship to the Current Environmental Crisis

Part of the Social Life of Climate Change seminar series

Tuesday 1 December
Speaker: Professor Veronica Strang (Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University)

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Reading Group: Direct Action: An Ethnography

Friday 27 November

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Decolonising Sociology: The Black Radical Tradition, past and present

Wednesday 11 November

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Damages Done: The Long-Term Impacts of Rising Disaster Costs on Wealth Inequality

Part of the Social Life of Climate Change seminar series

Tuesday 10 November
Speaker: Professor James R. Elliott (Department of Sociology, Rice University)

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Decolonising Sociology: The Black Radical Tradition, past and present

Wednesday 21 October

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Reading Group: Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology

Tuesday 20 October

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The Human in Human Rights

Co-hosted with LSE Human Rights

Monday 19 October
Speaker: Professor Craig Calhoun (Arizona State University and LSE)
Chair: Dr Monika Krause (LSE)

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The New U.S. Climate Battleground: Actors and Coalitions in the States

Part of the Social Life of Climate Change seminar series

Tuesday 13 October
Speaker: Professor J. Timmons Roberts (Department of Sociology and Institute at Brown for Environment & Society, Brown University)

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Book Launch: Anticolonial Afterlives

Monday 12 October
Speakers: Dr Adam Elliott-Cooper is (University of Greenwich), Dr Dina Makram-Ebeid (American University in Cairo), Dr Adam Hanieh (SOAS), Professor Laleh Khalili (Queen Mary, University of London), Dr Sara Salem (LSE)
Chair: Professor John Chalcraft (LSE)

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American Resistance

Thursday 8 October
Speakers: Professor Dana Fisher (University of Maryland)
Chair: Dr David Madden (LSE)

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Time to fire the canon? Sociology and the coloniality of knowledge

Wednesday 22 July
Speaker: Dr Ali Meghji (University of Cambridge)
Chair: Dr Clive James Nwonka (LSE)

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Humankind: a hopeful history

Co-hosted with the International Inequalities Institute

Wednesday 1 July
Speaker: Rutger Bregman (Historian and author)
Chair: Dr Poornima Paidipaty (LSE)

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Set the Night on Fire: LA in the sixties

Monday 8 June
Speakers: Professor Mike Davis (University of California), Professor Jon Wiener (UC Irvine)
Discussant: Professor Robin D G Kelley (UCLA)
Chair: Dr Glyn Robbins (LSE) 

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The Fate of Internationalism: talking solidarity in a pandemic

Thursday 7 May
Speakers: Dr Anthony Alessanddrini (The City University of New York), Dr Noura Erakat (Rutgers University), Dr Christina Heatherton (Barnard College, Columbia University)
Chair: Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE) 

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Radiographies of the Human and the Inhuman: victims and perpetrators of Mexico's drugs wars

Wednesday 19 February 
Speaker: Dr Ernesto Schwartz-Marin (University of Exeter)
Chair: Dr Claire Moon (LSE)

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Conceptualizing Declining Reproduction: exploring old and new fertilities within assisted reproduction in India

Monday 9 December
Speaker: Dr Anindita Majumdar ( Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad)

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The Rights of Aliens Under International Law: towards a critical history
Annual Human Rights Day Lecture

Monday 2 December
Speaker: Professor Antony Anghie (University of Utah)
Chair: Dr Ayça Cubucku (LSE) 

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The Icon Project: a book launch

Thursday 28 November
Speaker: Professor Leslie Sklair (LSE), Discussant: Professor Ricky Burdett (LSE)
Chair: Professor Fran Tonkiss (LSE) 

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Coloniality, Whiteness and Curricula: theorising with students on LSE’s racial attainment gaps

This Seminar is part of our Decolonise! Seminar Series

Wednesday 27 November
Speaker: Dr Sara Camacho-Felix (LSE)

Ruined Skylines: a book launch

Wednesday 20 November
Speaker: Dr Günter Gassner (Cardiff University),  Professor Esther Leslie (Birkbeck), Professor Christoph Lindner (The Bartlett, UCL)
Chair: Dr David Madden (LSE) 

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The End of Working-Class Solidarity? The Chinese Workers and Students in Struggle

Thursday 14 November
Speaker: Professor Pun Ngai (University of Hong Kong)
Chair: Dr Robin Archer (LSE)

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Ordinal Citizenship
Annual British Journal of Sociology Lecture

Friday 25 October 
Speaker: Professor Marion Fourcade (University of California-Berkeley)
Chair: Professor Nigel Dodd (LSE)

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Decolonising the University: Thinking Through a Collective Project

This event forms part of our Decolonise! Seminar Series

Wednesday 23 October
Speaker: Dr Meera Sabaratnam (SOAS)

Black and Postcolonial Feminist Connections

Wednesday 16 October
Speakers: Professor Saidiya Hartman (Columbia) Dr Rafeef Ziadah (SOAS) Dr Gail Lewis (Birkbeck), Dr Suki Ali (LSE)
Chair: Dr Sara Salem (LSE)

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Veiled Threats: prevent, populism and patriarchy

Tuesday 15 October
Speaker: Dr Naaz Rashid (Sussex), Fatima Ahdash (LSE), Samayya Afza (Muslim Council of Britain)
Chair: Dr Suki Ali (LSE)

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Racism, Gender Relations and Miscegenation: rethinking Flame in the Streets

Co-hosted with the Department of Gender Studies

Tuesday 8 October
Speakers: Dr Clive James Nwonka (LSE), Professor Laura Mulvey (Birkbeck)
Chair: Dr Sadie Wearing (LSE)

Black Pedagogy: Teaching Race in Higher Education

Hosted with LSE EmbRace

Tuesday 1 October
Speakers: Dr Abenaa Owusu-Bempah (LSE), Dr Coretta Philips (LSE), Dr Clive James Nwonka (LSE), Dr Suki Ali (LSE)

Decolonise! A Long Table Seminar Series

Wednesday 12th June
Speaker: Dr Adam Elliott-Cooper (Kings College London)

Rethinking Human Rights: a southern response to western critics

Hosted by LSE Human Rights

Wednesday 22 May
Speaker: Muthoni Wanyeki (Open Society Foundations)
Chair: Dr Bronwen Manby (LSE)

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Internationale Blues: revolutionary pessimism and the politics of solidarity

Hosted by LSE Human Rights

Friday 17 May
Speaker: Professor Robin D G Kelley (UCLA)
Chair: Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE)

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Raquel Rolnik: Urban Warfare - housing under the empire of finance

Monday 25 March
Speaker: Professor Raquel Rolnik (University of São Paulo)
Discussants: Dr Glyn Robbins (Defend Council Housing) and Dr David Madden (LSE)
Chair: Dr Suzanne Hall (LSE)

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Workshop: The Knowledge of Human Rights

Hosted by LSE Human Rights

Friday 22 March

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Human Rights Knowledges: a pluralist and legal realist view

Hosted by LSE Human Rights

Thursday 21st March
Speakers: Professor Richard A. Wilson (UConn Law)
Chair: Dr Monika Krause (LSE)

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White Screens/Black Images: James Snead and Black America in Film

Tuesday 12 March
Speakers: Professor Colin MacCabe (University of Pittsburgh)
Chair: Dr Clive Nwonka (LSE)

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Law in a World of Struggle

Hosted by LSE Human Rights and the Department of Law

Thursday 7 March
Speaker: Professor David Kennedy (Harvard Law School)
Chair: Professor Gerry Simpson (LSE)

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Racial Inequality in Britain: the Macpherson Report 20 years on

Thursday 7 February
Speakers: Professor Kalwant Bhopal (University of Birmingham), David Lammy MP (Labour Party), Dr Clive James Nwonka (LSE), Dr Faiza Shaheen (Centre for Labour and Social Studies)
Chair: Dr Coretta Phillips (LSE)

Listen to the podcast or watch the video

The Class Ceiling: why it pays to be privileged

Hosted with the International Inequalities Institute

Monday 28 January
Speakers: Dr Sam Friedman (LSE), Dr Daniel Laurison (Swarthmore College) 
Discussants: Dr Louise Ashley (Royal Holloway),Dr Faiza Shaheen (Centre for Labour and Social Sudies)
Chair: Professor Mike Savage (LSE)

Listen to the podcast or watch the video

Tabula Rasa Regeneration

Wednesday 23 January
Speakers: Alberto Duman (Middlesex University), Dan Hancox, Malcolm James (University of Sussex), Anna Minton (University of East London) 
Chair: Dr David Madden (LSE)

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Book launch: Citizenship in Africa: The Law of Belonging

Thursday 15 November 
Speaker: Dr Bronwen Manby (LSE)
Respondents: Dr Chaloka Beyani (LSE), Professor Nic Cheeseman (University of Birmingham)
Chair: Professor Chetan Bhatt (LSE)

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From "having" to "being": self worth and the current crisis of American society

Annual British Journal of Sociology Lecture

Thursday 25 October
Speakers: Professor Michèle Lamont (Harvard) 
Chair: Dr Rebecca Elliott (LSE)

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199Z: Diversity Revisited and Fashion at the Saatchi Gallery

Thursday 16 October
Speakers: Dr Anna-Mari Almila (London College of Fashion), Dr Agnes Rocamora (London College of Fashion), Jake Young Shim, Jamall Osterholm, Dr Serkan Delice (London College of Fashion)
Chair: Dr Don Slater (LSE)

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Renewing Sociology in the Digital Age

Thursday 11 October
Speakers: Professor Susan Halford (President, British Sociological Association)
Chair: Professor Mike Savage (LSE)

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199Z: Diversity Revisited and Fashion at LSE

Monday 8 October
Speakers: Dr Mukulika Banerjee (LSE), Professor Sandy Black (London College of Fashion), Professor Ben Voyer (LSE), Dr Joanne Entwistle (King's College London), Dr Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas (University of the Arts London)
Chair: Dr Don Slater (LSE)

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For the Love of Humanity: the World Tribunal on Iraq

Thursday 4 October
Speakers: Dr Ayça Çubukçu (LSE), Professor David Graeber (LSE), Haifa Zangana, Professor Kimberly Hutchings (Queen Mary), Dr Tor Krever (Warwick), and Dr Lori Allen (SOAS)
Chair: Professor Tarak Barkawi (LSE)

Listen to the podcast 

Strangers in Their Own Land: bridging a growing divide

Monday 30 October
Speaker: Professor Arlie Russell Hochschild
Chair: Dr Rebecca Elliott

The Social Life of DNA: racial reconciliation and institutional morality 

Annual British Journal of Sociology Lecture

Thursday 26 October
Speakers: Professor Alondra Nelson
Chair: Professor Nigel Dodd

What Is Housing for?

Monday 23 October
Speakers: Anna Minton (UEL), Alex Vasudevan (Oxford), David Madden (LSE)
Chair: Suzanne Hall (LSE)

Mao Zedong and Cultural Revolution: history versus myth

Thursday 16 March 
Speaker: Andrew Walder
Chair: Robin Archer (LSE)

Housing, Financialisation, and Human Rights: A conversation with Leilani Farha, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing

Monday 6 March
Speaker: Leilani Farha
Chair: David Madden (LSE)

Understanding Self-Injury: A Symposium for National Self-Injury Awareness Day

Wednesday 1 March
Speakers: Kay Inckle (LSE), Conor McCafferty and Noella McConnellogue (Zest, NI), Wedge (LifeSIGNS UK). 
Chair: Kay Inckle

Sociologies of Competition

Tuesday 21 February

A workshop organized by the Economic, Technology and Expertise Research Cluster

A Material Sociology of Markets: the Case of ‘Futures Lag’ in High-Frequency Trading

Thursday 23 February
Speaker: Professor Donald MacKenzie
Chair: Dr Bryan W. Roberts (LSE)

The Big Picture: The People vs. America

Department of Sociology and Al Jazeera Film Screening

Tuesday 7 February 
Moderator: Richard Gizbert (Al Jazeera)
Chair: Dr Michael McQuarrie (LSE)

Do We Really Live in an Acceleration Society?

Thursday 12 January
Speaker: Professor Hartmut Rosa
Discussant: Professor Judy Wajcman (LSE)
Chair: Professor Nigel Dodd (LSE)         

Society and Politics in the Age of Trump: Sociological reflections and critical discussion

Thursday 8 December

Department of Sociology Open Discussion

In Defense of Housing

Wednesday 25 October
Speaker: Dr David Madden (LSE)
Discussants: Dr Melissa Fernandez, Dr Suzanne Hall (LSE), Dr Paul Watt
Chair: Dr Hyun Bang Shin (LSE)

Sociology of WE Du Bois: why Du Bois is the founder of American scientific sociology

Thursday 20 October
Speaker: Professor Aldon Morris
Chair: Professor Nigel Dodd (LSE)

Sociology After Brexit

Monday 10 October
Speakers: Professor Craig Calhoun, Professor William Outhwaite, Professor Gurminder K. Bhambra, Dr Will Davies, Dr Lucy Mayblin, Dr Lisa McKenzie.

Resist: Festival of Ideas and Actions

Department of Sociology Festival

Launching on 26 September with a public lecture by fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood, followed by three days of events from 28 to 30 September.