How The Ragged Uni Idea Came About by Grant Crozier

Sometime in 2010 Alex Dunedin, Jessica Haley, Will Bentinck and I met up for a pint, because Al had had an Idea.

The idea was simple: we had spent so many great evenings together talking to each other (and also to complete strangers) about subjects we were passionate about, and had learnt so much from each other (and from the strangers), that Al figured surely there could be a way of creating an environment in which anyone, no matter who they were or their background, could get together in an informal setting and share their passion and knowledge. Read more…

Samuel P. Huntington is a Muppet by Grant Crozier

Samuel P. Huntington’s 1993 article The Clash Civilisations? sparked enormous debate that continues today. There are many things that could be said about Huntington, but this talk will look at whether he was a Muppet, or whether he was very clever. I’m not sure I named this lecture correctly, for a start it shouldn’t be ‘is a Muppet’, it should be ‘was’, as Huntington copped his whack in 2008. But also, as I looked more and more into him and his writing, I started wondering if he’s not a Muppet at all, maybe he’s actually very clever. Wrong, but clever and sneaky to boot.
Now trust me, I don’t think I’m an expert on…, well, anything, but, I’m going to try and explain this theory, why Huntington came up with it, where he went wrong with it and hopefully put forth a good case for it being quite rubbish. Mostly I’m hoping to start a wee debate, cause it’s when we stop talking, stop doubting and start just believing, that the Muppets win. Like Noam Chomsky said; ‘Whenever you hear anything said very confidently, the first thing that should come to mind is, wait a minute is that true?’
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Coordinator: Grant Crozier

The idea was simple: we had spent so many great evenings together talking to each other (and also to complete strangers) about subjects we were passionate about, and had learnt so much from each other (and from the strangers), that Al figured surely there could be a way of creating an environment in which anyone, no matter who they were or their background, could get together in an informal setting and share their passion and knowledge. Read more…