The Shape of the Beast [Audio]

Speaker(s): Arundhati Roy, Professor Amartya Sen | Join us for this Eva Colorni Memorial Lecture which will see Arundhati Roy read selected extracts from her literary and political work and engage in discussion with Amartya Sen. Arundhati Roy is the author of The God of Small Things (1997) for which she won the Man Booker Prize, and more recently of, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017). Her non-fiction works include My Seditious Heart, The Shape of the Beast and Listening to Grasshoppers. She is also a political activist involved in human rights and environmental causes. Amartya Sen is Thomas W Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University and an LSE Honorary Fellow. Sumi Madhok is Associate Professor of Transnational Gender Studies in the Department of Gender Studies, LSE. The Department of Gender Studies (@LSEGenderTweet) was established in 1993 to address the major intellectual challenges posed by contemporary changes in gender relations. This remains a central aim of the Department today, which is the largest research and teaching unit of its kind in Europe. The International Inequalities Institute (@LSEInequalities) at LSE brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to lead cutting-edge research focused on understanding why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas across the world, and to develop critical tools to address these challenges. The Eva Colorni Memorial Trust was established by Amartya Sen to commemorate the life and work of Eva Colorni and to reflect and further her belief in the possibility of social justice. Eva was an excellent teacher and writer whose work and passion were concerned with analysing and redressing inequality. The main activities of the Trust are to award bursaries to undergraduate students of economics who are experiencing hardship at London Metropolitan University, where Eva taught for many years, and to hold lectures on the theme of social justice. The first five lectures were published in a book, called Living As Equals and includes an essay by Amartya Sen on Social Commitment and Democracy. There is more information about the Trust and past lectures on the Eva Colorni Memorial Trust website. Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEInequalities LSESU RAG - the fundraising arm of the Students' Union are this academic year raising money for 3 charities, one local, The Felix Project, one national, Refugee Action, and one international, Doctors without Borders. Students from RAG will be collecting funds for their charities outside LSE’s public events during RAG week. Please give what you can to support three worthwhile causes. Video The recording of the Facebook Live of this event is available to watch at The Shape of the Beast. Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.