Saturday 27th June | 5-6pm | Trafalgar Studios

1984: Thoughtcrime

Jo Glanville | Maajid Nawaz | Hopi Sen | Patrick Marmion (chair)

• Orwell: A Celebration
• YouTube Channel 
• Hopi Sen: Thoughtcrime

The third of four panel discussions celebrating the 60th anniversary of 1984 and 70th anniversary of Coming Up for Air.

Whether he wrote DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER, or whether he refrained from writing it, made no difference. Whether he went on with the diary, or whether he did not go on with it, made no difference. The Thought Police would get him just the same. He had committed -- would still have committed, even if he had never set pen to paper -- the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it. Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed for ever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you.

Part 1

 

Part 2

 

Part 3

 

Part 4

 

Part 5

 

Part 6

 

Part 7

 

Part 8

 

Part 9

 

Thoughtcrime – crimethink in Newspeak – is one of the most terrifying of Orwell’s conceits in 1984, where even thinking in opposition to the regime is a treacherous offence. 60 years after the novel was written, and 25 years after the year in which it was set, is thoughtcrime a reality? Are there certain thoughts and beliefs which should be punished? How should society deal with those who thoughts go beyond accepted political and social norms? And what does it feel like to think the unthinkable, controversial and uncomfortable?

Jo Glanville has been the editor of Index on Censorship since December 2006. She previously worked as a current affairs producer for the BBC for eight years, working on the Today programme and for the World Service, as well as on documentaries and history programmes. With her particular interest in the Middle East, she edited Qissat (Telegram/Saqi), an anthology of short stories by Palestinian women. Born in London and educated at Oxford and the School of Oriental and African Studies, she has contributed to many publications including The Guardian, The Independent, Prospect and New Statesman.

Maajid Nawaz is the Director and co-founder of Quilliam, the world’s first counter-extremism think tank. Maajid was formerly on the UK national leadership for the global Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir and was involved in the organisation for 14 years. He was a founding member of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Denmark and Pakistan before being imprisoned in Egypt for belonging to the group. In prison, he was adopted as an Amnesty International ‘prisoner of conscience’ and began to change his views. He now engages in counter-Islamist thought-generating, writing, debating and media appearances, and holds degrees from the LSE and SOAS.

Hopi Sen is a blogger, whose ‘Blog from the Backroom’ can be found at http://hopisen.wordpress.com/. After leaving a career in advertising, Hopi worked for the Labour Party from 2000. He was Northern region press officer before moving to party HQ, where he became head of campaigns for the Parliamentary Labour Party. He now works for a member of the House of Lords. His blog was longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2009.

Patrick Marmion (chair) is a journalist, who writes for publications including the Daily Mail (where he writes theatre criticism) and Time Out. He is also the founder of Soapbox debating forum at the Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre.