research and editorial directorDolan Cummings
Dolan Cummings is research and editorial director at the IoI and editor of the IoI's reviews website, Culture Wars. Dolan’s interests lie in the relationship between ideas and politics, the role of the intellectual, ideology, and religion in public life. He is especially interested in the question of intellectual authority and how it is contested. Dolan firmly believes that politics should start from the needs and passions of the public, and that this puts a premium on open debate and free speech. Most recently he has edited a collection of essays, Debating Humanism by contributors to the Battle of Ideas 2005.
His interest in the role of intellectuals builds on Ideas, Intellectuals and the Public, a conference he organised in 2003. He edited a collection of essays on this subject for a special issue of the academic journal Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP). This is also available as a book, The Changing Role of the Public Intellectual – the introduction, Ideas, Intellectuals and the Public, is available here. Dolan also contributed a chapter on 'Think Tanks and Intellectual Authority outside the University: Information Technocracy or Republic of Letters?' to the book Participating in the Knowledge Society (Ruth Finnegan ed. Palgrave 2005).
As editor of Culture Wars, Dolan writes about books, films and theatre. He produced the Battle for Music strand, as well as several other debates, at the Battle of Ideas 2007. Having developed the Round Table Rumbles theatre debates at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2001-2004 and at the National Theatre in London in 2005, he continues to organise regular arts discussions through the Culture Wars Forum. He appears regularly on radio and television as a commentator on the above issues. He is one of the co-founders of the Manifesto Club, a membership organisation aimed at developing a new progressive politics.
Recent articles
Selected appearances
6 March 2008. Dolan spoke at 'Still the opium of the masses? Religion & radicalism'. Watch a short video summary of his speech on Friction.tvMarch 2008. Dolan debated free speech on Muslim Cafe12 November 2007. Dolan posted a video 'think tank' piece on Fora.tv discussing religion and US foreign policy.8 November 2007. Dolan spoke on the politics of happiness at the Huddersfield Salon.02 November 2007. Dolan chaired 'Idolatry and Iconoclasm after Diana', a public talk to close the exhibition 'Acquisition' by Sarah Strang.20 June 2007. Dolan spoke at the spiked event Living in a 'surveillance society'3 May 2007. Dolan chaired the IoI and Sci-Fi-London Douglas Adams Memorial Debate on science fiction, science and the public26 March 2007. Dolan was on the Simon Mayo show on BBC Radio Five Live discussing a new report on surveillance20 March 2007. Dolan was on Culture Clash discussing film on 18 Doughty Street01 February 2007. Dolan spoke at a debate, Re-evaluating the Enlightenment, at the Oxford Secular Society, along with A C Grayling and Jonathan Ree.Publications
'Confessions of a Justified Rangers Supporter' in It's Rangers for Me (Fort, 2007)Debating Humanism (ed.) (2006)Who's Antisocial?: New Labour and the Politics of Antisocial Behaviour (ed.) (2005)The Changing Role of the Public Intellectual (ed.) (2004)In Search of Sesame Street: policing civility for the 21st century (1999)Surveillance & the citySelected articles
4 March 2008. Cynical Capitalism, Cynical Anti-Capitalism Culture Wars22 October 2007. Count me out of Atheism's creed Times-Online21 September 2007. In defence of 'radicalisation' spiked review of books6 September 2007. Review of In defence of atheism Culture Wars24 August 2007. Ossifying the Enlightenment spiked review of books20 July 2007. Intrusion, intrusion, intrusion spiked review of books15 June 2007. Why we must stop deferring to authority spiked-online30 May 2007. What's left of Christianity? Culture Wars10 May 2007. Scotland: almost afraid to know itself spiked-online. The article was selected as 'best of the web' by The Guardian2 April 2007. The fag end of America spiked-online1 February 2007. Freedom should not be for sale spiked-online22 January 2007. The ghost of politics: accounting for religion in a secular world CultivAsian18 October 2006. 'Free Speech' is more than a slogan'. spiked-online4 September 2006. 'Curiosity or tolerance'. New StatesmanSummer 2006. 'Communities of fear: justice or therapy?' Criminal Justice Matters, 64.9 January 2006. 'Thinking outside the text'. New Statesman
