News - Stephen Pax Leonard

30 Nov 2018 Conservative Press defends Leonard in Durham University freedom of speech dispute

Posted at 18:54h in Uncategorised

The higher education minister, Sam Gyimah, has spoken repeatedly about the danger of letting universities fuel an ideological monoculture. Certain views from identity politics to Brexit have become 'unacceptable' at universities, he said because they are not 'on trend'. That could be no more true...

22 Nov 2018 A response to the Durham freedom of speech dispute

Posted at 19:47h in Uncategorised

Many level-headed people are concerned at how the freedom of speech is being suppressed and undermined by the no-platforming movement at British universities. St Chad's College, Durham has become the latest institution to stifle publicly the freedom of expression and punish those who question the...

15 Nov 2018 A statement by Dr Stephen Pax Leonard

Posted at 17:13h in Uncategorised

I am aware of recent accusations made against me by student activists claiming that I hold Far-Right, anti-semitic and Islamophobic views. I wish to rebut these libellous accusations which are absurd, totally unfounded and deeply upsetting. None of these commentators have read any of my...

31 Aug 2018 Book Launch – The Ideology of Failure

Posted at 13:11h in Uncategorised

Leonard’s much anticipated book on identity politics is released. The Ideology of Failure dives bravely into the polarised, neurotic and bawdy scrum that is today’s political ideologies. This is a book about the suppression of alternative voices in the context of a clash between politics...

06 Jun 2017 Leonard holds lecture at St Chad’s College, Durham

Posted at 10:55h in Uncategorised

Leonard holds lecture at St Chad’s College, Durham on his fieldwork in the High Arctic focusing on the issue of language and story-telling in one of the most remote communities in the world. This lecture gives an introduction to the people, their language and way...

06 Mar 2017 Book Launch – Travels in Cultural Nihilism

Posted at 11:06h in Uncategorised

Leonard publishes his latest collection of essays on ideology and current affairs told through the prism of a travel writer. Travels in Cultural Nihilism is an ideological journey or more of a phenomenological wandering that drifts in and out of the Swedish woods, only to...

01 Sep 2016 First part of Leonard’ research in the Faroe Islands published in Journal of Anthropological Research

Posted at 11:09h in Uncategorised

Leonard publishes the first part of his research on the anthropology of radio and its curious role in the development of the Faroese language. Faroese is spoken by just 50,000 people and is a linguistic revitalisation success story for this tiny language nearly died out...

01 Jul 2016 Leonard is part of organising team for Spitsbergen Retraced expedition

Posted at 11:12h in Uncategorised

Leonard is part of the organising team for the Spitsbergen Retraced expedition. This expedition retraced the first crossing of Spitsbergen carried out in 1923 by a group of Oxford University students. The expedition reproduced exactly the photographs from the first journey to show the impact...

10 Dec 2015 Leonard discusses his poetry on Radio 3 The Verb.

Posted at 11:13h in Uncategorised

Leonard appears on the Radio 3 programme ‘The Verb’ to discuss his volume of poetry called Arctic Journal. This was part of a series of programmes about poetry that focuses on the North....

18 Feb 2015 Leonard completes the 71km 7-Mila ski marathon in Sweden

Posted at 11:13h in Uncategorised

In rather unpleasant conditions, Leonard completes the gruelling 71km ski marathon in northern Sweden. It is a long day and by the time Leonard crosses the finishing line it is more or less dark and most of the organisers have gone home....