---

Susie Cogan February 15, 2006

Ahdaf Soueif: "The Function of Narrative in the War on Terror and Beyond"
Thursday 9 February - The Sheldonian Theatre

The subject of this year’s Oxford Amnesty Lectures is ‘War on Terror’; not a matter for surprise in the current political climate, but nonetheless a brave and, frankly, useful choice. We’re reminded daily of the widening gulf between different cultures and faith systems, but much of our immediate interaction is still with people who are likely to share our background and views, with various counter-arguments distanced, demonised, or ignored. OAL provides a safe, accessible, and challenging forum for discussion on this most important and controversial of subjects, covering various different points of view, and inviting questions from the audience.

The current series brings together some big names in literature, history, political science, philosophy, economics and law, with the object of defining the nature and implications of the ‘War on Terror’. Questions addressed include whether the ‘war on terror’ is also a ‘war on rights’, whether the methods of terror are also used by those who claim to be at war with it, the possibility of justifying the resort to terrorism, and the issue of the curtailment of civil liberties as a response to terrorism.

Novelist and translator Ahdaf Souief, born in Cairo and educated in Egypt and England, spoke on ‘The function of narrative in the war on terror and beyond’, seeking to explore and explain the way our perception of our own condition, the ‘story we tell ourselves about ourselves’, if you will. Her style is intimate, inviting the audience to appreciate her point of view by making the assumption that they are already complicit, repeating startling assertions by religious leaders and politicians and public figures with a certain wry humour: notions of race, colonialism and religion, an invitation by the authorities at UCLA for students to shop their professors for talking about the war. Given the largeness of the topic, Souief did run out of time at the end of the lecture, disappointingly, but the body of her argument was refreshing, thought-provoking, and, well, entertaining.

Oxford Amnesty Lectures has been running since 1992, and since then has raised over £100,000 for Amnesty International. Past series have included talks from Jacques Derrida, Susan Sontag, and Noam Chomsky. Next up, on Friday 17th February, is Jeff McMahan, Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New Jersey, who has written on nuclear deterrence, the justifications for war and the implications of terrorism. I recommend this as a chance to widen your outlook, to hear opinions that don’t necessarily tally with your own, to not rest easy in the comfort of your assumptions.

The Amnesty Lectures continue at The Sheldonian until the 2nd March.

---

Susie Cogan February 3, 2005

A REVIEW FROM THE 2005 AMNESTY LECTURES SEASON:

Oxford Amnesty Lectures 2005: Land Rights

Thursday 3rd February 2005

Misha Glenny, ‘The Spider Trap: Property, Organised Crime and the Death of Communism'

Since finishing university, my lecture-going has, to put it kindly, somewhat fallen off, so it wasn't without misgivings that I waited in the Sheldonian for the second of this season's Oxford Amnesty Lectures to begin. Though confident, from the reputation of the series, that the lecture's content was going to be up to scratch, I placed less faith in my own ability to suck the intellectual marrow from the proceedings. Fortunately, Misha Glenny's The Spider Trap: Property, Organised Crime and the Death of Communism was both accessible and enlightening. For someone more accustomed to undergraduate lectures, which often assume a level of prior knowledge sadly lacking in the audience, it's surprisingly, and pleasantly, different to attend a lecture given for the benefit of the ordinary person, or rather, non-specialist. The demands made of the listener are reduced, but the potential is that much greater.

Oxford Amnesty Lectures is an independent charity which, while donating its proceeds to Amnesty International, is not itself a part of that organisation, but rather a forum for debate on the subject of human rights. Every February internationally renowned speakers are invited to lecture in Oxford, and, sponsored by the Times Higher Education Supplement, this year's series on ‘Land Rights' boasts some big names. Next up is Richard Leakey with ‘ Whose World is it Anyway?' on Wednesday 9th February.

Misha Glenny is currently a political consultant on South Eastern Europe, whose coverage of the Yugoslavian conflict in the early 90s, as Central Europe correspondent for the BBC World Service, was recognised by a Sony Award in 1993. Glenny is a fine speaker, treating his subject with great affection and insight, pitching its content at just the right level. He spoke fluently, with engaging humour, and only once or twice finished up a point rather too quickly, as though suddenly dissatisfied as to how well his meaning was being conveyed the listeners. It's a tribute both to Glenny's writing and his delivery that he always got his point across. He took as a starting point the rise of organised crime in the Balkan states after the collapse of Soviet Russia and Yugoslavia, a subject familiar to anyone with an ongoing grasp of current affairs. However, he approached the subject from a less populist angle: the inevitability of the problem in view of the economic situation of the region, and the responsibilities of western countries making hollow protests whilst themselves fuelling demand for organised crime.

This lecture series is a great thing, educational without being intimidating, providing entertainment without frivolity. Go along: beef up your after-dinner conversation; satisfy your intellect; learn something. Proceeds to Amnesty International.

Share this event