BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:"-//Durham University/Events" METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:DUEVENT12188 SEQUENCE:0 DTSTAMP:20130619T085141Z DTSTART:20120510T171500Z DTEND:20120510T181500Z STATUS:CONFIRMED TRANSP:OPAQUE LOCATION:Calman Learning Centre, Durham University, South Road, Durham SUMMARY:Annual King Hussein Memorial Lecture on Cultural Dialogue - Everyd ay Democracy: How New Relationships Can Help Overcome Social Segregation a nd Build a Common Good DESCRIPTION:Everyday Democracy: How New Relationships Can Help Overcome So cial Segregation and Build a Common Good.Social unrest arises from social distrust and social segregation. This summer's riots across England demons trated that fact. They showed too that these problems are not confined to developing countries or to those riven with traditional cultural animositi es but are endemic to our modern social and political life. Professor Marc Stears will examine social unrest in the context of rising social distrus t and social segregation and will argue that such problems can only be red ressed if we dramatically reconceptualise our understanding of democracy i tself.This is the fourth Annual King Hussein Memorial Lecture on Cult ural Dialogue and we are honoured that the guest speaker will be Prof essor Marc Stears, Oxford University.   Stears is a politic al philosopher who aims to relate the most profound questions of his disci pline to our experiences of everyday life. His research has focused o n the prospects for democratic renewal in our cities, neighbourhoods, workplaces and homes. He is the author of Demanding Democracy: American R adicals in Search of a New Politics and Progressives, Pluralists and the P roblems of the State. He was also the joint editor of The Labour Tradition and the Politics of Paradox, the so-called Blue Labour book, which was do wnloaded by over 100,000 people in its first month of publication last yea r. He is Professor of Political Theory at Oxford University, having previo usly been Fellow in Politics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He is also a Visiting Fellow of the Institute for Public Policy Research, for whom he r ecently wrote Everyday Democracy, the themes of which he takes up in his l ecture.AbstractSocial unrest arises from social distrust and social segreg ation.This summer's riots across England demonstrated that fact. They show ed too that these problems are not confined to developing countries or to those riven with traditional cultural animosities but are endemic to our m odern social and political life. In this provocative lecture, the politica l philosopher Marc Stears will argue that such problems can only be redres sed if we dramatically reconceptualize our understanding of democracy itse lf. We need, he will insist, to stop thinking of democratic politics as a practice essentially concerned with elections, legislation and government and to start thinking of it as an everyday cultural practice, located in o ur neighbourhoods, workplaces, public services and even our own homes. Onl y when we can transform almost every aspect of our lives into a more democ ratic experience can we hope to overcome the divisions that blight our soc ieties today. Booking DetailsIf you would like to attend this event, please confirm your attendance and that of any guest you wish to bring, wi th Andrea Cairns, Sales Manager, Event Durham by either email or by teleph oning 0191 334 2884. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR