Inaugural Adams Lecture

The Wolfson John W. and Lizbeth Adams Lecture series is made possible thanks to a generous donation by Wolfson Honorary Fellow, John Adams. Please find the title and abstract for the inaugural lecture below. All are welcome to attend, no booking required. 

Social Silence: What we are not talking about in today’s political economy 

Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist, wrote many years ago about the importance of social silence – or the idea that what really matters in our political economy and social systems is not what people talk about but what they do not. Today, as we drown in digital noise and polarized political debate, that premise is more true than ever. So what are the “social silences” we need to think about today? And why does this matter so deeply now for our political economy?