 | Shirley Dent is an Associate Fellow and former Communications Director for the Institute of Ideas, the Battle of Ideas and development editor of Culture Wars, the reviews website of the Institute of Ideas. Shirley writes and comments widely on arts and literature, including a regular blog at Guardian Arts Unlimited. Shirley researched the editorial and bibliographic history of William Blake’s works for her PhD, and co-authored a book on the subject with Jason Whittaker, Radical Blake: afterlife and influence from 1827. In 2007 she contributed to two essay collections on Blake: Women Read William Blake: Opposition is True Friendship and Blake, Modernity and Popular Culture. Shirley has been involved has contributed to Battle of Ideas debates on the arts since the festival’s launch in 2005, including debates on poetry and dance. In 2010 Shirley is directing the Battle Satellite programme. Previously, Shirley was assistant editor of the New Humanist magazine, and Head of Communications at the Policy Studies Institute. |
Tuesday 6 October 2009, 7.00pm Notre Dame University, London
Going back to our roots? History and Identity
Wednesday 7 October 2009, 7.00pm British Library, London
Don and dusted: is the age of the scholar over?
Monday 12 October 2009, 7.00pm Foyles Charing Cross Road
Age of Autism: rethinking 'normal'
Tuesday 13 October 2009, 7.00pm Notre Dame University, London
Divining art? Culture and the sacred in the 21st century
Thursday 22 October 2009, 7.00pm Kowalsky Gallery, London
Drawing the line: political cartooning in an inoffensive age
Tuesday 27 October 2009, 7.00pm Notre Dame University, London
'We don't do McDonald's': America and World Culture
Saturday 31 October 2009, 6.44pm Royal College of Music
Battle of Ideas 2009 festival drinks reception
Sunday 1 November 2009, 12.30pm Student Union
From Macpherson to the rise of the BNP: Race Today?
Sunday 1 November 2009, 3.45pm Lecture Theatre 2
Songs of Innocence and Experience: what should today's kids be reading?
Sunday 1 November 2009, 5.30pm Student Union
Novel Pursuits: creative writing and the democratisation of literature?
Radical Blake: Afterlife and Influence from 1827 (co-author with Jason Whittaker) (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002)
"What makes these sessions much more stimulating than most seminars is the sharp, often challenging contributions from the audience so that you have a real debate, not just a platform presentation."
Richard Donkin, independent journalist and author
