School of Social and Political Science

Technology, harms and security in public and personal life

Part of the Controversies in the Data Society 2025 series
A cross-disciplinary series of public lectures and discussion on AI and the datafication of society

The AI of Anthropology: Provocations and Practice

The far-right and the corporate world to the prism of climate politics and ecology

Exploring how the rise of far-right movements in many countries was supported by significant fractions of dominant classes.

After the revolution: what next for Syria and Syrians?

Please join us for an online panel discussion with eminent academics and humanitarian practitioners who research and work in the context of the Syrian conflict.

Diversifying Philosophy: Routes and Problems - CRITIQUE Seminar with Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach

This workshop explores approaches to diversifying academic philosophy, situates recent work on world philosophies within these efforts, and examines the stakes of rethinking philosophy within the academy.

6 months is a long time in politics

YouGov pollster Jemma Conner will talk through the state of UK and Scottish public opinion about politics and political parties since the 2024 general election. This event will shed light on how the public feel about our political leaders, voters' priorities and preferences regarding key policies, and the state of play for the political parties that govern or seek to govern the UK and Scotland.

Beyond Meat & Memes

This paper will present findings from an ongoing multimodal critical discourse analysis of vegan social media activist and promotional posts on Instagram and TikTok; two of the most widely used and influential social media platforms today.

After Border Externalization: Migration, Race, and Labour in Mauritania

The European Commission signed a €210 million migration partnership deal with Mauritania in March 2024 to address increased arrivals on the Canary Islands. This deal is part of a long line of border externalisation policies implemented across West Africa since 2006. The book discusses the social relations and structures of EU migration policies in Mauritania, highlighting the coalescence between colonial legacy and capitalism's tendency to cast people out of development.

This event is co-badged by the Citizenship and Migration Research Network (CMRN).

Black Transnationalism: CRITIQUE Seminar with Monika Kirloskar-Steinbach

This seminar explores the transnational political visions of W.E.B. Du Bois and Anténor Firmin, comparing their critiques of imperialism, their advocacy for racial and group consciousness, and their efforts to build global anticolonial networks.

Do Visual Benchmarks Change Government Evaluations? Survey Experimental Evidence from the UK

William will present on a study showing that international comparisons in visual forms can change domestic opinion, and on matters beyond strictly economic performance.

Can AI civic technology invigorate democracy in Scotland?

Part of the Controversies in the Data Society 2025 series
A cross-disciplinary series of public lectures and discussion on AI and the datafication of society

The gifts of war: enmity and violence in the making of Ukraine’s war economy,