Science journalist Angela Saini to deliver Rosalind Franklin Lecture 2018

1 November, 2017

Angela Saini, Rosalind Franklin Lecturer 2018

Humanists UK has today announced Angela Saini will deliver its Rosalind Franklin Lecture 2018 on the evening of 7 March in central London.

Angela Saini is a science journalist who presents science programmes on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service. She was the launch presenter of the BBC’s The Food Chain and has hosted More or Less and Material World. She is the author of the recently published Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story, which examines the mistakes and biases that have plagued scientific research on women for more than a century. The book also looks at the empowering new work that promises to transform the way we think about women’s minds, bodies and place in the human evolutionary story.

First hosted by Humanists UK in 2016, the Rosalind Franklin Lecture has fully established itself as a key part of the Humanists UK calendar. The lecture is timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, and is named after Rosalind Franklin, the pioneering chemist who was so crucial to the discovery of the unique double helix structure of DNA.

Saini’s talk, titled ‘Under wraps: the policing of female sexuality’, will examine the resurgence in the fashion world for modesty, pressure from religious groups for women to cover up, and examine how we can place today’s developments in the context of the long history of patriarchal female sexual repression. The talk will also investigate what science can tell us about female sexual behaviour, the moral double standards placed upon women, and what the biology and history of female sexuality mean for women and men today.

The lecture will be chaired by BBC broadcaster and journalist Samira Ahmed.

Held in the week of International Women’s Day, the Rosalind Franklin Lecture explores and celebrates the contribution of women towards the promotion and advancement of humanism –  whether through achievements in science, philosophy, or the promotion of democracy and human rights – in the UK and around the world.

Tickets cost £12.50 for the general public and £10 for Humanists UK members and students. You can get yours at humanists.uk/franklin2018.

Notes

At Humanists UK, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. Our work brings non-religious people together to develop their own views, helping people be happier and more fulfilled in the one life we have. Through our ceremonies, education services, and community and campaigning work, we strive to create a fair and equal society for all.

Humanists UK recently changed its name from the British Humanist Association: https://humanists.uk/2017/05/22/bha-becomes-humanists-uk/