LSE Undergraduate Political Review Conference
Tuesday 18 February
The LSE Undergraduate Political Review would like to invite you to its annual conference, entitled ‘Research in Crisis’, which is being held on the evening of the 18February. This will involve a drinks reception in which undergraduates in the department of government will be sharing their research, followed by a speech by Professor Eric Kaufman on the topic of academic freedom:
‘Lies, damned lies, and statistics! They got it wrong before, and they will get it wrong again. What do we truly believe?
It has been weaponized, twisted, and silenced altogether. The demand for quick, simple truths and contradictory research is fuelling a world of total political uncertainty, and is ushering in a post-truth culture, where people submit to powers of persuasion and trust only their own instincts over object fact.
Should academics move into positions of power? How do we regenerate the appeal of research, particularly among undergraduates? How do we re-establish the authority of academic research?
Ultimately, we are seeing a watershed moment in political research, where the gap between real world implications and ground-breaking findings widens every day with a climate dominated by rhetoric, framing methods and sentiment over fact.
The conference will seek to demystify these problems and look for a way forward for collaborative, relevant, and credible research. To truly show the grassroots of academia, particularly undergraduates, that it is all worth it… It will seek to place intellectual investigation at the centre of our politics again, in order to purify our democratic processes and restore trust in our institutions.’
Where: CBG basement auditorium
When: Tuesday 18 February, 18:00 – 20:00
