spiked has been running a campaign to challenge China-bashing in the run-up to Beijing 2008—so we’re delighted to be partnering with the IoI on this intelligent and timely conference on the future of China. We have put together some recommended spiked readings for each session, and we hope they will help to spark the debate. The readings can be reached from the main session listing: look for the spiked logo.

Battles in Print are essays that accompany every debate at the Battle of Ideas festival, available online and in print on the day. Battles in Print serve as introductions to a debate and for reflection afterwards, and take a variety of forms, from short provocation essays, to head-to-heads, to longer think-pieces and interviews with leaders in specific fields.

For the second time, we are again delighted to invite ESRC funded postgraduates to enter a competition to be a part of this important series. This is your chance to get your thoughts out to the wider public with winning essays being published by Times Online, the festival’s Media partner, and the website in the run up to the Battle of Ideas as well as being printed for distribution at the festival.

There are two essay topics open to ESRC postgraduate students:

• Battle for America
• Battle for the Family

These are two key strands of debate at this year’s festival. Each strand is made up of three sessions and contestants can chose any one of the three debates in either strand to write on.

Battle for America:

• Election USA
• Is America still the world’s policeman?
• What does it mean to be American?

Battle for the Family:

• Professionalising parenting
• The problem with families
• Is ‘poor parenting’ a class issue?

The challenge is to write an original piece of no more than 1,500 words on either topic, covering it from an interesting angle. Please use Harvard style referencing and keep the language simple and clear, but obviously be as provocative and punchy as you wish! Essays should aim to incite subsequent debate, but also serve as a thoughtful piece that, post-session, can act as a useful reference point for audience members to reflect on.

The following selection of Battles in Print from the 2007 festival may be helpful starting points:

• The biggest challenge facing China
• Anti-Americanism at home and abroad
• Post Ideology: New Labour and the politics of behaviour
• “Books should remain the essence of public libraries”

Essays should be submitted to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) no later than 5pm on Friday 10th October 2008. Essays posted to be received no later than 10th October 2008 can be sent to: Shirley Dent, IoI, Signet House, 49 – 51 Farringdon Road, London, EC1M 3JP. All essays should be accompanied by name, address, university department, email address and day time telephone number.

We look forward to reading your Battle in Print. Good luck! Please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with any questions.

What does progress mean in the 21st Century? Should countries like China and India be prevented from developing because of environmental concerns, or is this ‘eco-imperialism’? Is there a danger of romanticising Southern poverty from the comfort of our modern cities? Must development mean Westernisation, or is it possible to overcome poverty while preserving unique cultures?

Speakers include: John Hilary (War on Want), Ceri Dingle (WORLDwrite), Lee Jones (Nuffield College, Oxford), Professor Michael Redclift (King’s College, London), Claire Fox (IoI)

For general information and ticketing (£5) contact The Lift or call 0871 663 2529.

Full details here

A new generation is giving folk new meaning and an unexpected lease of life. Has folk left behind its parochial, twee image? Can it help create a more ‘radical’ English identity and heritage, an alternative to the flag-waving jingoism of Rule Britannia or is it just another brand?

Speakers: Barb Jungr, Ivan Hewett, Eddy Lawrence, Neil Davenport, Cara Bleiman, Don Eales, Abdul Rehman-Malik; chair - Shirley Dent

Tickets: £7 (£5 concessions) from IoI

Full details here

Ahead of this year’s Battle of Ideas keynote debate on progress, a new book by Austin Williams argues that ‘if sustainability goes unchallenged, it will kill aspiration, suffocate humanity and murder progress.’

Click here for more information

Sessions for the one day satellite conference, Battle for China, have now been announced. They include: “The growth of China - threat or opportunity?”; “China’s intellectual renaissance”; and “Is China the economic saviour of the 21st century?”.

The Battle for China is a one day satellite conference of the Battle of Ideas festival and part of the CHINA NOW festival. Organised by the IoI in association with CHINA NOW and leading international legal practice Norton Rose.

Venue: London offices Norton Rose, 3 More London Riverside, London SE1 2AQ.

Tickets: visit the IoI website.

Co-produced by: Claire Fox, director of the IoI and Sheila Lewis, director of Volanti Consulting

Sessions: See the full sessions listing.

The rise of China as an economic and political power is the subject of much debate in the West. The dramatic awakening of the ‘sleeping giant’ seems to provoke as much fear as admiration. Concerns range from whether rapid industrialisation will lead to social inequality and environmental destruction to the regime’s use of censorship and its role on the world stage. Now – on the eve of the Beijing Olympics – Western criticisms of China have intensified, especially in relation to human rights and Tibet. But when does valid criticism turn into demonisation? Some commentators have noted that China-bashing is the new Olympic sport. This day of discussions aims to provide some balance and allow participants to reflect on and debate some of the key themes associated with China Now.

• What effect has China’s development had on the rest of the world, and how is it likely to influence things in the future?
• Can China continue its phenomenal growth pattern in the face of its considerable challenges?
• Is the prospect of China as a superpower one we in the West should fear or welcome?
• Is the unprecedented development in China a cause for celebration or anxiety?
• What do cultural shifts in China – from enthusiasm for vast futuristic cityscapes to its embrace of Western classical music – tell us about modern China?
• Is it legitimate to use the Beijing Olympics as an opportunity to challenge the regime over China’s rapid growth, pollution levels, and its role in Africa, or do such complaints smack of hypocrisy and moral grandstanding?

We are extremely pleased to announce that we will be joined at the Battle of Ideas 2008 for the first time by SABMiller: one of the world’s largest brewers. SABMiller will be one of the headline partners at this year’s festival of debate, lining up with our previous partners: BT; The Economic and Social Research Council; Royal College of Art; and The Times Online.

For more information and a listing of all our partners visit our Partners page. If you are interested in becoming a partner of the Battle of Ideas please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The Battle of Ideas website has had a facelift to get ready for spring. Put winter behind you, read a Battle in Print, flush out the cobwebs, read what people are saying about last year’s Festival and get your ticket for this year’s.

The Battle of Ideas now has its own YouTube Channel. It currently showcases a number of interviews with participants at last year\s Battle of Ideas Festival, as well as some of the speakers.

Professor Gordon Mackerron of SPRU - University of Sussex, Professor Bob Bingham of HiPER project (a European project attempting to demonstrate the feasibility of laser driven nuclear fusion) and Joe Kaplinsky (co-author of forthcoming book “Energise”) will debate “Is Fusion the future of energy?”  The debate is part of the Brighton Science Festival and will include short presentations by the speakers and an extended discussion from the floor.  The event will take place at Bellerbys College, next to Brighton Station.

Organised by the Brighton Salon.