Public lectures
The shared anti-science discourses
Speaker: Dr Isobelle Clarke
Date and Time: October 24 18:00
Venue: Faraday Lecture Theatre, Lancaster University
Anti-science discourse has been studied through the optic of particular governments (Carter et al., 2019) or specific topics, such as anti-vaccination (Davis, 2019), anti-genetically modified organisms (Cook et al. 2004), stem cell research (Marcon, Murdoch and Caulfield, 2017), and climate denial discourse (Park, 2015). This research often details the development and content of the anti-science position and discourses. Yet, little is known about how the discourses compare across topics. Are there anti-science discourses that are shared across topics or does the discourse vary with the topic? In this talk, I will present the results of the common discourses which are shared between texts from website known to promote pseudoscience and conspiracy on the topics of stem cells, climate change, vaccination and genetically modified organisms.
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The Science of Multilingualism
Speaker: Professor Patrick Rebuschat
Date and Time: November 14 18:00
Venue: Faraday Lecture Theatre, Lancaster University
Migration is making Europe increasingly multilingual, and the United Kingdom is committed to promoting this linguistic diversity for reasons of cultural identity, social integration and cohesion. In this lecture, we will focus on multilingualism at the individual level. What does recent research in linguistics, psychology and neuroscience tell us about the multilingual mind and brain? And: How can we use these insights to support successful multilingual development in children and adults? We will conclude with a Question and Answer session and general reflection on the topic.
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Evolving accents: unravelling the mysteries of sound change
Speaker: Dr Sam Kirkham
Date and Time: December 5 18:00
Venue: Faraday Lecture Theatre, Lancaster University
If you stepped into a time machine and travelled to England 500 years ago, the voices around you would be almost unrecognisable. In this talk, we'll examine the science of how and why accents change, shaping the way we speak today. We'll go deep into this mystery, spanning physical shifts in the speech organs, the brain dynamics that underpin accent change, and how we can track accent variation across thousands of people. By understanding these patterns, we gain insights into the dynamic nature of language and how our voices connect us to our past and to each other. Join us to uncover the hidden forces shaping the way we speak.
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