The Festival of Ideas 2014

This year Pembroke will be hosting two events as part of the Festival of Ideas.

The Cambridge Festival of Ideas is an annual exploration of the arts, humanities and social sciences. Over two weeks the colleges and departments host around 250 events including debates, workshops, exhibitions and performances. Almost all of these events are free and they are open to anyone who wishes to attend.

Pembroke will be hosting two such events. Firstly, on Wednesday 22nd October, there will be an evening debate entitled 'Is menstruation healthy?' The event is organised by Pembroke Fellow Dr Lauren Kassell and also forms part of our PemWomen@30 events cycle. Confirmed speakers include Dr Rebecca Flemming, Professor Volker Scheid and Dr Gedis Grudzinskas.

On Wednesday 29th October we turn to the arts as two poets, Kevin Crossley-Holland and Grahame Davies, join us to read from their work. There will also be a discussion about the ways in which they each approach the issues of identity, culture, language and faith. This event is presented in association with Anglia Ruskin University.

Both of the events hosted by Pembroke are free but pre-booking is essential. Details can be found on the official Festival website along with a copy of the full programme.

The Festival also includes other contributions from Pembroke members. PhD student Danika Parikh (2010) will be trying her hand at stand-up comedy at the Bright Club, whilst Dr Toby Matthiesen will be speaking on Shia Identity and the Arab Spring.

The Festival of Ideas runs 20th October – 2nd November 2014.