‘Towards a humanist politics’: Owen Jones to deliver Holyoake Lecture 2016 in Manchester

31 May, 2016

swHdHJNr

Award-winning author, columnist, and political activist Owen Jones will deliver the British Humanist Association (BHA) Holyoake Lecture 2016 in Manchester on 18 October. Acknowledging both strong disillusionment with politics and the increasingly polarised and fractious nature of political debate, Owen will explore whether or not it is possible to advance a humanist politics capable of meeting today’s ethical challenges.

Putting aside traditional notions of ‘left’ and ‘right’, Owen’s Holyoake Lecture will ask whether a more humanist model of addressing issues like social cohesion, international cooperation, and new ethical dilemmas posed by advances in science, can at last restore trust in politics.

Named for the 19th century secularist George Holyoake, the BHA Holyoake Lecture has usually taken a political theme, concerned with Humanism and how humanist ideals can affect social change. Past Holyoake Lecturers include the physicist Jim Al-Khalili, the novelist Natalie Haynes, and epidemiologist Kate Pickett.

BHA Chief Executive Andrew Copson commented, ‘Support for an open society, participatory democracy, and the social aspects of human development loom large in the writings of humanists from across the political spectrum. On both the left and right and politics, humanists are united in hoping to see politics once again assume its proper importance as the means by which we can realise our vision for a better world. This is a powerful theme, which comes to us at a very turbulent time in politics, both domestically and around the world, and I am confident that Owen will do it justice.’

Tickets cost £12.50 for the general public, and £10 for students and BHA members. You can get yours now at humanists.uk/holyoake2016.

Notes
For further information or contact, please email Communications Manager Liam Whitton on liam@humanists.uk.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.

Owen Jones is a regular columnist for the Guardian and the New Statesman, having also written for the Independent in the past. He is the author of two books: Chavs – one of The New York Times’ top ten non-fiction books of 2011 – and The Establishment. He was named Young Writer of the Year at the Political Book Awards in 2013.

The Holyoake Lecture, held each year as part of the British Humanist Association’s annual lecture series, explores political thought, especially as it relates to contemporary political and societal discourse, on secular and humanist issues, and more broadly. Previous Holyoake Lecturers include comedian and writer Natalie Haynes, and theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili, and epidemiologist Kate Pickett.

2016 05 31 v1 IS Holyoake News Item Banner [1920x600]