Is freedom always a good thing? And how does it feel to live without it?

Challenging thinking and beliefs through a programme of expert speakers, artists and thinkers, this series of talks and events from expert speakers re-examine how freedom is experienced and understood; its value and its cost; and the contested nature and significance of freedoms over time and space.

There is no limit to our exploration – from freedom of speech and no-platforming, to the policing of the pandemic; from trust in government, to fake news in ancient Greece; from the science that underpins government policy on lockdown, to local women resistance fighters in WW II; from human trafficking and slavery to ways of protecting women from sexual assault.

Organised in collaboration with Warwick Arts Centre and as part of the Resonate Festival and Coventry City of Culture 2021.

Speakers and subjects include:

• Prof Michael Scott: Was Fake News a Problem in Ancient Athens? Was there a 'crisis of truth' then as there is today?

• Prof Kirsten Harris: Freedom in Utopia - What might freedom mean in an ideal society and does freedom mean more than escaping oppression?   

• Dr Alison Porter: The Boyfriend Trick -  Modern slavery and human trafficking are happening in plain sight.

• Prof Michael Tildesley:  Decision Making During the Pandemic and how our behaviour influences the effectiveness of policy                           

• Dr Jessica Wardhaugh: Living with Danger: Women and Resistance                                            

• Prof Katherine Astbury: The Ancestors - What lengths will we go to be free.

• Prof Jackie Hodgson: Emerging from Lockdown – how do we regain our freedoms?

• Prof Victor Tadros: Freedom of Speech - Why people with offensive views might have an especially strong right to a platform.             

• Dr David Vitale: Can We Trust Our Government to Take Care of Us?               

• Puja Laporte: We Act for change: To live in a world without the fear of sexual misconduct, harassment, and violence.