Battles in Print & Culture Wars

Battles in Print are specially-commissioned essays that explore topics being discussed at the Battle of Ideas 2008, 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 Institute of Ideas' online review, which was relaunched this summer.

Editors: Dolan Cummings and Sarah Boyes

The 2008 Battles in Print are now available below. Select a theme on the left to see related Battles in Print from the archive.

 Lifestyle & Society

Not classless, but class stasis, Neil Davenport

Trust in an age of cynicism, Dave Clements

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

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

The problem of early intervention, Martin Earnshaw

The staycation: making a virtue out of necessity, Jim Butcher

Alcohol pricing is not the 'answer': the hypocrisy behind new drinking laws, Suzy Dean

Liberating the NHS?, Brid Hehir

How teenage pregnancy became redefined as a social problem, Jan Macvarish

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

Where do fathers fit?, Jane Sandeman

What does happiness mean today?, Ashley Frawley

'Elf-and-Safety: a case study in the perils of left-right thinking, Dolan Cummings

Questioning the carnivalesque , Ashley Frawley

Refocusing remembrance , Ted Harrison

Some myths of the ‘Work-Life Balance’ discussion , Para Mullan

Debating therapy culture: a brief response to Kathryn Ecclestone, Simon Anderson and Julie Brownlie

Rethinking welfare, Dave Clements

Take flight!, Timandra Harkness

Solving the energy crisis: is it all about light bulbs and lifestyles? , Professor Jacquie Burgess

Rethinking privacy and trust , Norman Lewis

Rethinking privacy, Sean Bell

The Empty Staffroom, Richard Swan

Pitch Report: Cricket and Identity in India , Debanjan Chakrabarti

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

Whose culture is it anyway?, Sarah Boyes

The Culture of Adoption, David Clements

Forensic Interventions into Mourning: Remembering the Unnamed Dead, Sarah Dauncey

Boozy Britain?, Bill Durodie

Expression management: Infant feeding and maternal anxiety, Charlotte Faircloth

Are friends electric? The promise and perils of online social networking, Mark Vernon

Out to play, Sue Palmer

Comments on Sue Palmer 'Out to play', Helene Guldberg

Ethical shopping, Kate Soper

Eat, drink and be merry - banned, Jamie Douglass

Revolting Students: The Right to be Offensive, Suzy Dean

Therapeutic competition for losers, Dan Travis

Is Britain a nation of sporting losers?, Richard Beard

Will ethical shopping save the world?, George Hoare

Nature knows best? - the organic food debate, Rob Lyons

Save the planet; don't see the world?, David Soskin

Should footballers be role models?, Paul Bickerton

The menace of cheap travel, Mark Khazar

'Nuff respect? Questioning the respect agenda, Patrick Turner

Is TV Good For Children?, Wendy Earle

What's up with student politics?, Rob Walsh

Reclaiming the Olympic spirit in an era of non-competitive sport, Andrew Calcutt

Every child matters – so don’t touch!, Heather Piper

Why does Sport have to have a Purpose?, Dan Travis

Morbid Fascinations - our obsession with death, Tony Walter

 Festival Buzz

"Participating in the Battle was a little like entering a Bombay train at rush hour - it's a plunge into a swirl of wildly differing notions of how people should arrange themselves in a really tight situation. When you eventually emerge, you find that you're in a different place from where you started - and that you've been thoroughly energised from the journey. I can't wait to take the trip again next year."
Naresh Fernandes, editor-in-chief, Time Out India