Moksha Caffe Talks Programme (PDF 206kb)

18:00

Phillip Carr-Gomm

Hippy Dreams & Nazi Nightmares

Germanybefore WW2 was the birthplace of many utopian movements in
mainstream and alternative culture: some of which inspired the hippies as well as less benign movements.

Phillip is a psychologist, Druid, and author of ‘Sacred Places’ & ‘A Brief History of Nakedness’.

18:45

Live Acoustic Music with Dave Barrie

19:30

Kate Soper

Towards Utopia: the role of memory

Nostalgia is the utopia of the past; a longing for a place that never existed. Explore the rose tinted aspect of our memories of past pleasures, spaces and communities.

Kate is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at London Metropolitan University, and Visiting Professor, Brighton University.

20:30

Dr Gavin Ashenden

The Myth of Progress

A brief examination of the function of utopianism in our culture and in modernism or how the Enlightenment borrowed the visions and images of Christian Apocalyptic literature.

Gavin is a Priest and Chaplain to the University of Sussex. Academic -Senior lecturer in Literature and the Psychology of Religion and a broadcaster.

21:30

Jeremy Stockwell

Utopia – In Your Own Way

Utopia – a fanciful notion or tangible reality? Structured and spontaneous,
this session may bring forth answers, set further questions, or pass the time in provocation, challenge, and playful inter-action in an attempt to find Utopia together.

Jeremy is a BBC Performance expert and philosophical entertainer.

22:30

Dr Darren Baskill

The beauty of a starry, starry night – and why we hide it

Utopia to an astronomer is being able to see the vastness of space – a sky full of stars – stretching overhead. Unfortunately, such a vista is not visible fromBrighton– come and find out why.

Darren is an astronomer and lecturer at the University of Sussex and at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.

23:15

Live Music from Through the Grapevine

The acoustic trio take you on a journey from the Soul and Motown Classics through to modern day hits.

00:00

Dr John Drever

Creation Power

Every gadget and machine you use makes a sound and these are usually designed as much as shape, colour and material. Come and find out more the impact of sounds associated with these products and the different ways in which they affect people.

John is a sound artist, composer, acoustician and soundscape researcher and a senior lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London.

01:30

Nick Szczepanik

Brighton & Hove Albion– nearly the perfect football club?

Finally, after years without a ground and a near-miss with bankruptcy and non-league football, the Albion are flying high with a new stadium, guest beers and a Championship team – but are the Albion anywhere near the perfect football club? And is there any such thing?

Nick is a football writer, contributing mainly to The Independent. And Albion fan.

DON’T FORGET THE CLOCKS GO BACK AT 2AM

02:00 GMT

Julian Mayers

That Was The World That Wasn’t

History is littered with examples of utterly wrong predictions of the future
by ‘experts’ and scientists - the very people who should have known better. Why is this so? If they can’t be relied upon to get it right, who can?

Julian Mayers has been thinking about the future since buying the Blue Peter time capsule in 1971. He is a radio producer and cosmologist.

03:00 – 06:00

Live Acoustic Music with Dave Barrie followed by Open Mic.