Politics: Ideology in Contemporary UK Politics with Dr Simon Griffiths from Goldsmiths, University of London
April 30 @ 09:10 - 09:55
In this Politics session, Dr Simon Griffiths, Head of History, Politics and International Relations in the School of Global Change at Goldsmiths, University of London, will lead an interactive talk on Ideology in Contemporary UK Politics.
Simon will examine the role of ideology in contemporary politics. Westminster was traditionally dominated by the Conservative and Labour Parties. This made it possible to see politics as a clash between socialism and conservatism, which contained very different views of the role of the state, the importance of equality, and the place of tradition in society, for example. Yet these ideologies seem less useful in understanding our world today than they once were.
This talk looks at the transformation of the main ideologies in recent decades. It introduces the emergence of newer ideologies as influential players, including feminism, environmentalism and various forms of populism and asks: if we were to try and describe ideological divisions in the UK today for the first time, would it be necessary to use terms like ‘socialism’ or ‘conservatism’ or would other descriptions be more useful?
Lecturer Profile: Dr Simon Griffiths
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. There is no charge to take part.
As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.
Suitable for: Aged 16+ pre-university students studying, or thinking about studying, Politics and related subjects. Student groups as well as students and teachers joining individually are very welcome.
Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance and questions they have. Students can also think about questions about studying at university level.
The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the speaker via typed comments and questions and/or via a microphone. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.
Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: