Institute of Ideas

Past Events

The Institute of Ideas, in association with Hodder children's books, presents:

Teenage Kicks

Discussion day

Venue: Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square, London

Date: March 4, 2004

Time: Registration from 9.30am

Tickets: SCHOOL PUPILS: whole day ticket - £6, individual sessions - £1, ADULTS: whole day ticket - £15 (£10 concessions), individual session tickets £5 (£3 concessions)

Booking: Call 020 7269 9220

This event has now taken place.

9.30 - 10amRegistration and coffee

10am – 10.05amOpening remarks from Tim Toyne Sewell, principal of Goodenough College

10.05am – 11.15amWhat is teenage fiction for?

Should novels aimed at teenagers:

- help teenagers to confront contemporary personal problems, from divorce to drugs, and act as surrogate agony aunts?

- help young people come to terms with current social issues, such as racism and war, and help them develop as responsible citizens?

- be an escape from the world?

- be entertaining?

- help the young develop good reading habits?

Is there any such thing as teenage fiction, or should teenagers simply be encouraged to enter the world of literature with no instrumental expectations or extraneous outcomes other than the joy of reading a great book?

11.30am-12.45pmSixth form debate: 'Teenage fiction should relevant to young people's lives'

Two sixth form teams battle it out and are cross-examined by a panel of experts.

1.45 – 2.45pmRound Table Rumble on Books About War

A panel of critics and guest reviewers discusses novels on the theme of war. Then the audience can join the intellectual bear-pit! The discussion will also look at how literature deals with and can help teenagers get to grips with history, contemporary conflicts, the moral dilemmas of international relations and future wars.

3pm – 4pmBattle of the Books

Which types of books stimulate the imagination most? An irreverent battle between three genre types as critics and authors team up with pupils to argue that their favourite type of books are the best read.

Witches, Goblins and fantasy

VERSUS Gritty Realism

VERSUS Classic Tales

Debate followed by audience vote

Chair

Claire Fox

director, Institute of Ideas

4.30 – 5.45pmThe Playstation Generation?

Today's teenagers are often written off as a restless, disengaged generation, with a short attention span and little interest in serious reading. Teachers complain that pupils rarely read around the topic; surfing the net has replaced book-based research; the modern distractions of TV and computer games are getting in the way of reading. Do the proposed solutions work? Publishers and authors now target the teenage market with titles specifically aimed at capturing the reluctant reader. Marketing directors and advertisers attempt to make fiction as attractive as its interactive rivals.

Are teenagers reading less and why?

Has TV and new technology usurped the book?

Do teenagers need their own brand of literature to encourage them to read?

A panel of teenagers tell a panel of pundits what they think, what they read and why.

6.30pm - 8pmThe changing experience of teenage life

How has the experience of being a teenager changed over the years. The category 'teenager' barely existed before the 1960s. The teenager as a specific consumer has only emerged more recently, since the 1980s and MTV. Fiction aimed at teenagers (crossover fiction) is even more novel. What was our panel reading when they were 'growing up'? What books read as teenagers shaped their future reading and most affected their lives?

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