Sydney Ideas

We’ve just legalised same-sex marriage, but where does the rest of the world stand? Bronwyn Winter and Maxime Forest explore the ways in which same-sex marriage becomes institutionalised (or resisted) through legal and societal norms and practices. Held as part of Sydney Ideas on 5 March 2018: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/sydney-ideas/2018/same-sex-marriage-and-the-state-global-perspectives.html

Professor Sylvie Poirier reflects on her trajectory of engagement and collaborative research with the Atikamekw First Nation (north-central Quebec, Canada). In 1990, when the Council of the Atikamekw Nation first approached Professor Poirier to conduct research work on land rights issues, they agreed that her anthropological expertise would serve their life projects. Since then, Professor Poirier’s engagement with them has been manifold. Early on, as an “expert” anthropologist within the arduous process of land claims negotiations, she documented the “anthropological proof” of their ancestral relationships to the land claimed. In the early 2000s, her anthropological expertise and research funds were further utilised for exploring contemporary ways to document, valorise and transmit their knowledge systems to younger generations. In this Sydney Ideas lecture she discusses collaborative research as an ongoing process of learning, exchange, and decolonization for the anthropologist and the Indigenous people.

Professor Roger Saljo, University of Gothenburg, argues that learning as we know it is currently changing in nature from its traditional focus on reproduction to a focus on learning as design. The purpose of education is to contribute to reproducing the knowledge and skills that are relevant for a society. In traditional societies with a low division of labour this implies focussing on reproducing knowledge that is stable and well known. In societies undergoing rapid change, due to factors such as digitalisation, globalisation and an increasing knowledge production, the situation will be different. Education and instruction – from preschool to university – can no longer be modelled solely on what is known but has to be forward looking and based on visions of a largely unknown future. Held as part of Sydney Ideas 'Education and Social Work Dean’s Lecture Series' on 14 February 2018 https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/sydney-ideas/2018/education-and-social-work-deans-lecture-series.html

What if getting old didn’t mean getting ill? Although we're living longer in most parts of the world, advancing age has been revealed as the major risk factor for serious diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and dementia. Professor Dame Linda Partridge FRS is Director of the Institute of Healthy Ageing at University College London, and a founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany looks into the potential for intervening in the ageing process. Held as part of Sydney Ideas on 13 Feb 2018: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/sydney-ideas/2018/is-there-a-cure-for-ageing-.html

What is the position of the translator as cultural mediator? A panel of distinguished scholars explore the significance of translation, its impact on encounters between people, and its contribution to social cohesion, especially in multicultural and multi-faith societies like Australia.

A forum with Tim Wright, Asia-Pacific director of ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its part in spearheading the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; the first Treaty to outlaw the development, stockpiling, possession, transfer, hosting, testing, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons. He is joined by Tim Ayres, the National Research Coordinator of the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union; and Tara Gutman, the Acting National Manager, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Advocacy at Australian Red Cross. Together they discuss the work that still needs to be done and the vital role of the peace and humanitarian movements in Australia. Held on 30 November 2017 as part of the Sydney Ideas program co-presented with the School of Social and Political Sciences, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the Evatt Foundation and the Council for Peace and Justice: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/nu

Gideon Levy is an Israeli journalist, writing opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper Haaretz often focusing on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. In 2004, Levy published a compilation of articles entitled Twilight Zone – Life and Death under the Israeli Occupation(2004). His weekly talk show, A Personal meeting with Gideon Levy, was broadcast on Israeli cable TV. Levy defines himself as a "patriotic Israeli". He criticises what he sees as Israeli society's moral blindness to the effects of its acts of war and occupation. He has referred to the construction of settlements on private Palestinian land as "the most criminal enterprise in [Israel's] history". Response by Antony Loewenstein, an independent journalist and author of My Israel Question, The Blogging Revolution and Disaster Capitalism: Making A Killing Out Of Catastrophe. Chaired by Professor Dirk Moses, Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Held as part of Sydney Ideas on 29 November 2017:

The makers of Venezuela's leading satirical news site El Chigüire Bipolar discuss the politics of satire with the makers of Australia’s in no way leading satirical news site The Chaser. Held as part of Sydney Ideas on 28 November 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/chaser_el_chiguir_bipolar.shtml

The way Pompeii was covered by the eruption material ejected by Mt Vesuvius in 79 CE has made it possible to reveal the forms of organic remains preserved in the hardened ash. Pouring plaster of Paris into the voids created by decomposed soft tissue has created casts that were believed to be faithful renditions of those who died. In theory, the skeletons were embedded within the plaster casts of human victims and those of other mammals. In 2015, Estelle Lazer and her team of experts commenced a project to CT scan and X-ray the casts of the Pompeian victims. The initial results of the CT scans and X-rays were surprising as they revealed that the actual production methods for the casts were quite different to the procedures that had been minimally documented in the 19th and 20th centuries. This year, the University of Sydney and the Superintendency of the Pompeii Archaeological Park signed a Memorandum of Agreement, which makes the two institutions partners in this important project. In June 2017, permission

Panel discussion & Launch – The University of Sydney’s 2017 Digital Rights report A panel of leading experts looks under the hood of digital rights, exploring: - What are digital rights? Why do we need them? - What would they look like in Australia? - How should we frame, and do, digital rights policy, law and practice? SPEAKERS: Ellen Broad, Osmond Chiu, Rob Hanson, Associate Professor Nicolas Suzor, Professor Ariadne Vromen. Chaired by Professor Gerard Goggin . This event was held on 27 November 2017 as part of the Sydney Ideas program co-presented with the Digital Rights & Governance project at the University of Sydney: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/digital_rights_forum

Soon individual genome sequences will be a standard part of health records, which will revolutionise biomedical discovery, personal healthcare, and health system management. Millions of genome sequences integrated with millions of clinical records and other information from personal devices and the internet of things will create a multi-dimensional data ecology that will require advanced systems not only to secure the privacy and provenance of the data, but also to enable its analysis by machine learning and artificial intelligence. The last of the great cottage industries will become the most important of the data-intensive industries of the 21st century. Hear more on what the future holds from Professor John Mattick, Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Held as part of Sydney Ideas on 21 November http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/21st_century_medicine_2017.shtml

The international panellists who are at the forefront of current debate on rational discourse and the post-truth crisis, dissect the current state of public discourse around truth, evidence, and reason, and associated questions including trust, faith, and identity. They discuss their answers to the question “who can we believe?” and show how truth is intertwined with complex questions ranging from knowledge to authority to reality. SPEAKERS: - Sarah Haider is an American writer, speaker, and activist. In 2013, she co-founded Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA) - Tom Nichols is Professor of national security affairs at the United States Naval War College, and author of the recent book The Death of Expertise: The campaign against established knowledge and why it matters (2017) - James A Lindsay is an American thinker, not a philosopher, with a doctorate in math and background in physics. He is the author of four books, most recently Life in Light of Death (2016) - Dr Caroline West is a Senior Lecturer in Phil

Elizabeth Harrower’s writing has engaged and challenged her readers since she began publishing in the late 1950s. Her work is concerned with the moral and existential challenges that arise from experiences of romance, family life, and personal aspiration. Her narratives blend together the private and public, bringing together the shared public spaces of the contemporary postwar world with the intense interior lives of her characters. New Sydney University Press publication celebrates Elizabeth Harrower’s work. Listen to the readings of Harrower’s fiction by writers and contributors.

Conventional treatment for obesity assumes that all calories are alike, and that to lose weight one must simply “eat less and move more.” However, this prescription rarely succeeds over the long term. According to an alternative approach, the metabolic state of the fat cells plays a key role in determining body weight. From this perspective, conventional calorie-restricted, low fat diets amount to symptomatic treatment, destined to fail for most people. Instead, a dietary strategy aiming to lower insulin secretion promises to increase the effectiveness of long-term weight management and chronic disease prevention. Hear from endocrinologist and researcher, Professor David S Ludwig, who was described as an “obesity warrior” by Time Magazine. Dr Ludwig is author of the recent #1 New York Times bestseller 'Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently'. This lecture was held as part of the Sydney Ideas program, co-presented with the Charles Perkins Centre on 14 November 2

The just-held 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has conferred President Xi Jinping with unprecedented authority. He is now the Party’s second more powerful leader after Mao Zedong. Xi has solid control over the Party, the State and the People’s Liberation Army. It looks probable that Xi will remain China’s paramount leader at least until 2027, if not 2032. Questions remain, however, as to whether Xi, who is an arch-conservative and unabashed Maoist, will use his powers for political, social and economic reforms. Given his top priority of maintaining the CCP as China’s “perennial ruling party” – and in light of his insistence on the Party’s control over key economic sectors as well as the civil society – what are the prospects for thorough-going reforms? Dr Willy Lam (Chinese University of Hong Kong and The Jamestown Foundation) looks into these questions and addresses Xi’s ambitious foreign-policy agenda, including likely changes in Beijing’s policy toward the Special Administrativ

A recent report by Deloitte Access Economics found that some 40% of Australians experience some form of inadequate sleep. Sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnoea, insomnia, restless legs syndrome, and shift work disorder, are also highly prevalent but are amenable to treatment. The flow on effects of inadequate or disordered sleep for the individual, society, and the economy are enormous. It is time for everyone to wake up to the importance of sleep. SPEAKER Professor Allan Pack, Professor of Medicine, Chief, Division of Sleep Medicine and Director, Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology, at the University of Pennsylvania. His clinical expertise is in sleep disorders with a particular focus on diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnea.

Water, energy and food security are fundamental strategic challenges for India and its neighbours. In this Sydney Ideas conversation Professor Brahma Chellaney from the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi and Professor Bill Pritchard from the University of Sydney discuss the contentious politics and economics of water, energy and food in the Indian subcontinent. International and national regulatory regimes play an important role in the way water and energy resources are distributed across South Asia. Held as part of Sydney Ideas on 8 November 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_brahma_chellaney.shtml

Protesting police brutality, mass incarceration and racial disparities in all areas of American life, Black Lives Matter has spanned two very different presidencies, transforming political debate and making visionary demands for justice. The founders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, in Australia to accept the 2017 Sydney Peace Prize, join the ABC's Stan Grant for an intimate conversation about the birth of the protest movement, the future of black lives under President Trump, and what lessons Australians can learn from the American experience. Speakers - Patrisse Cullors (Founder, Black Lives Matter Global Network) - Rodney Diverlus (Founder, Black Lives Matter Toronto) - Stan Grant (journalist, ABC) A Sydney Ideas event co-presented with the US Studies Centre on 3 Nov 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/black_lives_matter_forum.shtml

The United States, like Australia and other countries with modern economies, gets played by multinational corporations who earn profits in their country, but siphon profits out as tax-deductible expenses – expenses companies pay to themselves. It is as if individuals could get a tax break by moving money from their right pocket to their left. These tax breaks are not based on real expenses, or economic reality, but on shams and faux calculations. They rest on nothing more substantial than moving symbols around on pieces of paper. And these tax breaks certainly are not honest, legal though they may be. Even in Trump’s America, there are powerful new solutions to unreal and unfair tax systems. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of 'The Making of Donald Trump', David Cay Johnston outlines ways to ensure that taxation of corporations is accurate, honest and fair for citizens. Held as part of Sydney Ideas program on 1 November 2017. Co-presented with Sydney Democracy Network and supported by the Sy

One of the best kept secrets about mathematicians is that we are often at the tip of the spear in the struggle for social/political causes. We are inspired by the mathematical hell raisers of previous generations, but we are also shaped by their personal tragedies. In 1800 France, Sophie Germain had to publish her works using a male pseudonym. Only recently, Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian born mathematician, became the first female recipient of The Fields Medal, the highest honour in mathematics. In between lies a rich and poignant history of mathematical scientists confronting prejudices, injustices, and social stigmas, sometimes with tragic outcomes. Mathematics comes with its own stories of defeats and victories, not always brought about by its widely publicised intellectual challenges. SPEAKER: Nassif A Ghoussoub, Professor of Mathematics and a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia. Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 31 October 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney