‘Order / Disorder’, 15th April 2014
Dana Centre Cafe, Science Museum (165 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington), London
6.30-8.30pm, followed by a drinks reception
Where do we draw the line between order and disorder? What is the significance of this, and how might it differ from one area of knowledge to another? How do varying conceptions of order and disorder across diverse practices and disciplines affect our overall understanding of the relationship between them?
The London Interdisciplinary Discussion Group aims to explore a specific topic from a range of disciplinary perspectives, considering what the topic means for those working across the humanities, sciences, arts and medicine. This meeting will investigate order and disorder, and will feature four speakers: Derek Bolton, a clinical psychologist and philosopher; Seb Franklin, a literary critic who explores representations of the digital; Paul Stevenson, a nuclear physicist, and Peter Wiegold, a musician, composer and researcher. Each speaker will give a short presentation on the topic of ‘Order / Disorder’ and there will then be time for questions and discussion with the audience.
NB: Tickets are free but must be booked. Please book by calling (020 7942 4040) or via e-mail
Speaker Bios
Derek Bolton is Professor of Philosophy and Psychopathology at the Institute of Psychiatry Kings College London and Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Maudsley Hospital South London. He read Philosophy at Cambridge University and completed a Ph.D. there on Wittgenstein’s Philosophy before training as a Clinical Psychologist. His interests span clinical practice, research and training, and philosophical issues in mental health. Work in philosophy and psychiatry includes numerous articles and, with J. Hill,Mind, Meaning, and Mental Disorder: The Nature of Causal Explanation in Psychology and Psychiatry, 2e,Oxford University Press, 2004, and What is mental disorder? An essay in philosophy, science and values. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Seb Franklin is a Lecturer in Contemporary Literature at King’s College London. His research addresses the aesthetic forms of digital culture and the connections between the histories of science and technology, cultural history, and critical theory. His first book is forthcoming from the MIT Press.
Paul Stevenson is a Senior Lecturer in Nuclear Physics at the University of Surrey, Guildford. His research involves the study of the structure of atomic nuclei, and dynamic processes involving them, such as fission and fusion reactions. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 1999, worked in the USA for a year before moving at Surrey. He has been past chair of the Institute of Physics South Central Branch, and the British Science Association Physics and Astronomy section. Paul blogs regularly on nuclear physics.
Peter Wiegold is the director of Club Inégales and the Institute of Composing. Peter’s recent works include He is armoured without for the BBC Proms, Bow-Wave for the National Youth Orchestra and The End of the Line an opera for 150 performers from the RNCM for Manchester Piccadilly Railway station. He has recently conducted the Composers’ Ensemble, BCMG, Northern Sinfonia, the Hourglass Ensemble, Canada and Symphony Nova Scotia. With his band Notes Inégales he has performed in Singapore and Hong Kong collaborating with musicians there. They and have recently released 2 CDs: ‘Kafka’s Wound’, featuring Will Self and klesmer music and ‘Envoi’ a homage to Miles Davis recorded in Switzerland. Peter is also a research Professor at Brunel University and also director of BICMEM, the ‘Brunel Institute for Contemporary Middle-Eastern Music’, supporting emerging composers from the Middle-East.