Researching Peace - a podcast by Uppsala University

Philosophy Tea - Albert Camus

In this Philosophy Tea we discuss Camus’ highly topical, The Plague (La Peste). Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1957. The Plague has often been seen as an allegory of the Nazi Occupation of France during World War II. But it is also part of a longer tradition of plague literature, a genre pioneered by Daniel Defoe in his A Journal of the Plague Year (1722), a work that Camus quotes in the epigraph to his own novel. In a more general sense it is about the human condition and our vulnerability to life threatening circumstances, be they caused by viruses or the actions of our fellow humans. How we respond to these circumstances defines us as human beings.

This episode was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 1 December 2020.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - Alva Myrdal

Disarmament negotiator Alva Myrdal (1902-1986) was the focus in the Regina Theatre Philosophy Tea discussion on November 17, 2020 between Peter Wallensteen and Daniel Ogden and produced by Paul Kessel. Their discussion focuses on nuclear weapons, their impact on society (including Harry Martinsson’s Aniara) and the attempts to eliminate them. Alva Myrdal was the Swedish chief negotiator in the talks that were held in Geneva during the 1960s (following her position as Swedish Ambassador to India). Her book The Game of Disarmament was published in the 1970s and constitutes a classic in this particular field. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 together with Mexican ambassador Alfonso Garcia Robles (1911-1991) for their joint efforts to reach agreements on a nuclear weapons test ban and on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - Margaret Atwood

Inspired by George Orwell’s iconic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-four, Margaret Atwood set about in 1984 to write a dystopia from, as she has said, “the female point of view”. That such a dystopia was needed can be seen by the popularity of the novel itself and the HBO TV series by the same name (2017-). In our first Philosophy Tea of autumn 2020, we focus on Atwood’s novel and how it treats a number of highly relevant issues, not least among these being what happens when authoritarian governments use the suppression of women’s rights to help maintain their hold on power.

This episode of the Philosophy Tea, focusing on Margaret Atwood, was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 12 September 2020.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - Nathan Söderblom

 

Nathan Söderblom and World Peace.

In this episode we take up the Uppsala-based theologian, Archbishop Nathan Söderblom (1866-1931). We examine his ideas for forging cooperation between different Christian denominations and for using religion to promote peace. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930. We discuss why he received the award and how the impact of his work has shifted since then.

This episode  was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 12 February 2020.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - John Locke

John Locke and Natural Law

Our second philosophy tea discusses the groundbreaking ideas of the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) on natural law in his Two Treatises of Government (1689) and the impact they had on the formulation of human rights in the American Declaration of Independence (1776), the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (1789) and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Locke’s ideas continue to inform debates on human rights and how they can be applied in the world today

This episode was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 30 January 2020.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

This season’s first philosophy tea discusses Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) and the role she played in creating the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In chairing the committee that drafted the Declaration, Roosevelt drew upon her long involvement in human rights and social justice issues. We also discuss the impact of the Declaration on later statements, legal conventions as well as for national and international politics.

This was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 23 January 2020.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - Immanuel Kant

On Perpetual Peace (1795)
Immanuel Kant's Philosophical sketch for World Order.

Immanuel Kant's Philosophical sketch for World Order became important to peace movements in the 19th century and inspired world organizations, such as the League of Nations and the United Nations, in the 20th Century. This Philosophy Tea discusses its role in the 21st century with inputs also from Kant specialist Rebecka Lettevall, Malmö University.

This episode was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 18 November 2019.

Producer: Paul Kessel

 

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - Arundhati Roy

30th October 2019 – Arundhati Roy

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017)
The Tragedy of Kashmir and the Partition of India.

Set in New Delhi and the troubled region of Kashmir, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by award-winning novelist, social critic and political activist Arundhati Roy gives imaginative voice to lives affected by the traumatic events that have formed modern India. Our philosophy tea will look at these events and how they are portrayed in the novel, and the consequences they have for the identity of contemporary India, the world’s largest democracy.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - George Orwell

“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
The Nightmarish World of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four (1949).

The legacy of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-four is well established. Phrases such as “Big Brother is watching you”, and terms such as “doublethink” and “thoughtcrime” and “1984” itself have entered our political vocabulary. In this philosophy tea we will be looking at the story behind the novel and the reasons for its continued relevance. We will also be discussing how Orwell constructs this nightmarish world and whether the novel leaves any room for hope.

This episode was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 24 September 2019.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.

Philosophy Tea - W.E.B. Du Bois and Pan-Africanism

“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line”, The Souls of Black Folks (1903).

What unites the African Union in Addis Ababa and former president, Barack Obama, in the White House? The threads go back to W. E. B. Dubois (1868-1963), the first African-American to get a Ph. D. from Harvard University; a sociologist and a proponent of Black liberation. His work inspired independence for Africa through Pan Africanism, as well as civil rights in the United States. Since he is largely unknown in Europe, our Philosophy Tea will highlight this important proponent of human equality.

This episode of the Philosophy Tea was recorded and edited at Reginateatern, which also served as the host venue for the event on 12 December 2017.

Producer: Paul Kessel

The Philosophy Tea talks were held regularly at the Regina Theatre in Uppsala from 2014 to 2021. During these well attended events – where tea, scones and jam were served – Professor Peter Wallensteen and Guest Lecturer Daniel Ogden, both of Uppsala University, discussed thinkers who have contributed to our understanding of peace and justice. In all, 40 sessions were held, of which 31 are recorded. The session were also supported by Uppsala University as part of its outreach activities.