Battles in Print & Culture Wars

Battles in Print are specially-commissioned essays that explore topics being discussed at the Battle of Ideas, serving as introductions to the debate and encouraging further reflection. Battles in Print take a variety of forms, from short provocation essays to longer think pieces and interviews, and are available both online and in print at the festival itself. They are complemented by themed book reviews on Culture Wars, the Academy of Ideas' online review.

Editors: Dolan Cummings and Sarah Boyes

Select a theme on the left to see related Battles in Print from the archive. You can also narrow your selection by selecting a year below and clicking Go! Or return to the overall index

2008 2007 2006
 Arts & Culture

The value of poetry, Michele Ledda

The street just ain't got much edge, Alan Miller

Should music be a tool of social policy?, Alan Miller

Fashion and me: nothing wrong with looking good, Abigail Ross Jackson

Magical memorials: authenticity, remembrance and the Holocaust, Angus Kennedy

Deshistoricising the Holocaust: remembrance and the abandonment of history , Dr Jean-Marc Dreyfus

So what is journalism, then? (And how do we know we really need it?), Andrew Calcutt

What's the point of archeology?, Christopher Wakefield

Judgement in crisis, Chris Kerr

Criticism in crisis?, Nick Westbrook

In defence of American culture - and human aspiration, Alan Miller

A Journeying Perspective, Jack Tan

The Truth? - you must be making it up!, Sarah Boyes

Whose culture is it anyway?, Sarah Boyes

Social critique by stealth: why a subversive heart supplies the veins of all good comedy, Anna Travis

Won't read, can't read, don't read?, Angus Kennedy

The Gates of Eden are rusting!, Don Eales

What does music mean?, Sarah Boyes

The changing nature of the film documentary - a short history, Alan Miller

"Books should remain the essence of public libraries", Andrew Wheelhouse vs. Kiranjeet Kaur Gill

Sound, city and song (or, iPod, therefore iAm), Sarah Snider

Film stars: from icons to role models, Nathalie Rothschild

Of the one who must be happy: an argument for poetry in relation to pleasure, Ion Martea

The Music Manifesto misses the real power of music, Piers Hellawell

Diversity policies and the arts - what's next?, Sonya Dyer

Each to his iPod, or great music for all?, Anca Dumitrescu

Stop this political prancing and get to the pointe - the best dance is elite dance, Shirley Dent

Should art change the world?, Andrew Brighton

Can the book survive in an era of sound bites and txting?, Chris Meade

Can films change the world?, Josh Appignanesi

The Medium is Not the Message, Tim Black

Enriching the reading experience, Toby Lichtig

The Battle for the Arts, Colin Lawson

Debating Matters on poetry, David Bowden

 Festival Buzz

"I was amazed by the high quality of the Battle of Ideas 2007 and the intellectual excitement that it provoked."
Prof Malcolm Grant CBE, president and provost, University College London