UCL Lunch Hour Lecture Autumn Series 2009

The right to obscene thoughts will be championed by UCL Law Professor Stephen Guest, as part of the Lunch Hour Lecture series running this autumn at UCL (University College London).

Professor Guest will argue that genuine freedom must include all manner of thought, including the irrational, the bad and the obscene, and that the recent new offence of possessing extreme pornography has breached this principle. His talk will be held on Tuesday 8 December 2009.

Other lectures that will run this autumn include:

• The new biology of ageing - Professor Dame Linda Partridge (UCL Genetics, Evolution and Environment) -Tuesday 20 October
• Dhoti, Suit and Trilby: M.K Gandhi and his opponents - Professor Christopher Pinney (UCL Anthropology) -Thursday 22 October
• Tales of vampires and the undead - Dr Rebecca Haynes (UCL School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies) - Thursday 29 October
• Why the courts are as important as hospitals to the nation's health - Professor Dame Hazel Genn (UCL Laws) - Tuesday 3 November
• Recession and the public health - what is the evidence? - Professor Mel Bartley (UCL Epidemiology and Public Health) - Tuesday 17 November
• Living buildings: Towards sustainable cities - Dr Rachel Armstrong (UCL Bartlett School of Architecture) - Thursday 26 November
• The right to obscene thoughts - Professor Stephen Guest (UCL Laws) -Tuesday 8 December

The autumn series launches with a talk on Tuesday 13 October by Professor Malcolm Grant, UCL President and Provost. Professor Grant will discuss the challenges facing universities and how UCL is uniquely placed to engage with the major issues of our times.

Notes for Editors

1. Admission is free without a ticket, no need to book. However, entry is on a first-come first-served basis.

2. Lectures are held in the Darwin Lecture Theatre, University College London, Gower Street (entrance via Malet Place), London WC1E 6BT. Lectures run from 1.15 pm to 1.55 pm.

3. The full listing of UCL Lunch Hour Lectures for autumn 2009 can be found at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lhl/.

4. Journalists seeking more information can contact Jenny Gimpel in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9726, mobile: +44 (0)7747 565 056, out of hours +44 (0)7917 271 364, e-mail: j.gimpel@ucl.ac.uk.