Frank Furedi

During the past 15 years Furedi’s studies have been devoted to an exploration of the cultural developments that influence the construction of contemporary risk consciousness. During the past decade his research has been oriented towards the way that risk and uncertainty is managed by contemporary culture. He has published widely about controversies relating to issues such as health, parenting children, food and new technology. His Invitation To Terror; Expanding the Empire of the Unknown (2007) explores the way in which the threat of terrorism has become amplified through the ascendancy of possibilistic thinking.  It develops the arguments contained in two previous books The Culture of Fear (2003) and Paranoid Parenting (2001). Both of these works investigate the interaction between risk consciousness and perceptions of fear, trust relations and social capital in contemporary society. At present he is working on a study of the cultural history of authority and public opinion. His book On Tolerance: In Defence of Moral Independence is published in September.


Furedi’s books and articles provide an authoritative yet lively account of key developments in contemporary cultural life. Using his insight as a professional sociologist, Furedi has produced a series of agenda-setting books that have been widely discussed in the media. Furedi regularly comments on radio and television. In the past year he has appeared on Newsnight, Sky and BBC News, The Today Programme, Moral Maze and a variety of other radio television shows. His has been interviewed by the media in Australia, Canada, the United States, Poland, Holland, Belgium, Brazil, and Germany and other countries.

A full list of publications that have carried his articles can be found on his official website.

Related Sessions
Saturday 20 March 2010, 9.00am The Great Hall
Tuesday 19 October 2010, 5.00pm Central European University, 1051 Budapest, Nádor utca 9, Hungary
Saturday 30 October 2010, 12.30pm Upper Gulbenkian Gallery
Sunday 31 October 2010, 12.45pm Courtyard Gallery
Sunday 31 October 2010, 2.45pm Upper Gulbenkian Gallery

Publications

On Tolerance: The Life Style Wars: A Defence of Moral Independence (Continuum, 2011)
Wasted: Why Education is Not Educating (Continuum, 2009)
Invitation to Terror: The Expanding Empire of the Unknown (Continuum, 2007)
Where Have All the Intellectual Gone? Confronting 21st Century Philistinism (Continuum, 2005)


Festival Buzz

The Science and Politics of Climate Change

"The arts and humanities need to be defended and we must fight for the freedom to extend barriers, not merely to work within them. What better arena than The Battle of Ideas?"
Professor Colin Lawson, Director, Royal College of Music