University College Dublin: 30 Nov-1 Dec 2005

What role and effect do intellectuals have in the making and contesting of national identities and state policies? We will focus on current issues of intellectual identity and activity in the context of global challenges to the power and authority of the nation-state. What is the role of critical thinking and the value of ideas in an increasingly global ‘knowledge society’? What is the role of intellectuals in the making of a new world order and in shaping responses to international crises and conflicts? What is the role of think tanks and advocacy intellectuals in the formation of state policy? How have new media redefined the public spheres of intellectual activity and identity? Keynote speakers include Slavoj Zizek (Ljubljana/London) and Eric Lott (Virginia).