Date: Sunday 1 March 2009
Time: 2-3.30pm
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Professor Conor Gearty, Ivan Hare, Kenan Malik
Chair: Lisa Appignanesi

A year after the repeal of blasphemy from English law, religious defamation laws are tightening their grip on the world, with the apparent support of the United Nations. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? A discussion of the nature of blasphemy in the twenty-first century.

Professor Conor Gearty studied law at University College Dublin, qualifying as a solicitor in the Republic of Ireland before studying at Cambridge University (Wolfson College) where he completed a PhD in environmental law. After many happy years at King College London, Professor Gearty moved to LSE in 2002, to become the first Rausing Director of LSE's new Centre for the Study of Human Rights. His academic research focuses primarily on civil liberties, terrorism and human rights. Professor Gearty's latest book, Essays on Human Rights and Terrorism, was published in April 2008 by Cameron May.

Ivan Hare is a barrister of Blackstone Chambers, and a former fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He is an editor of Extreme Speech and Democracy, a collection of papers from some of the world's leading legal scholars considers the legal responses of various liberal democracies towards hate speech and other forms of extreme expression.

Kenan Malik is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster and Senior Visiting Fellow at the University of Surrey. He is a presenter of Radio 4's Analysis and a panellist on the Moral Maze. He has made a number of television documentaries including Disunited Kingdom and Are Muslims Hated?, which was shortlisted for the Index on Censorship Free Expression Award in 2005. His new book, From Fatwa to Jihad: The Rushdie Affair and its Legacy will be published in April by Atlantic Books.

Author Lisa Appignanesi is president of English PEN and headed its Free Expression is No Offence Campaign. Her latest book is Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800 (Virago/Little Brown).

This event is organised in partnership with English PEN. English PEN is a charity that works to promote literature and human rights. From defending the rights of persecuted writers to promoting literature in translation and running writing workshops with refugees and migrants, English PEN seeks to promote literature as a means of greater understanding between the world's people.

This is part of the LSE Space for Thought Literary Weekend, the LSE's first ever Literary Festival, celebrating the completion of the New Academic Building.

Podcast

A podcast of this event is available to download from the LSE public lectures and events podcasts channel.

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