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What Exactly Is Western Civilisation? With Naoíse Mac Sweeney

Art &
Culture

The idea of the West is deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness. But what if the idea itself is deeply flawed? 

We tend to imagine Western Civilisation as a golden thread connecting ancient Greece to modern Europe, from Plato to NATO. The idea of the West is deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness and we often refer to it without much consideration. But what if the idea itself is deeply flawed? 

In March 2023 historian and archaeologist Naoíse Mac Sweeney came to Intelligence Squared to argue that our understanding of the West is deeply misleading and obscures the rich diversity of our past. Drawing on the lives of characters throughout history – including a formidable Roman matriarch and an unconventional Islamic scholar – Mac Sweeney argued that the dominant narrative of Western history was an invention which was used to justify imperialism and racism, and is no longer ideologically fit for purpose today.

‘Provides a truly global perspective of the past. A fantastic achievement’  – Peter Frankopan

‘Bright, expansive, and iconoclastic, this deliciously witty book has the potential to upset the applecart of “Western Civilisation” itself… Magnificent’ – Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb

Event Name

What Exactly Is Western Civilisation? With Naoíse Mac Sweeney

Intelligence Squared+
Online Event
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Speakers for the motion

  • Naoíse Mac Sweeney

    Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna

Chair

  • Edward Lucas

    Columnist at The Times and National Security Expert

Speakers

Speaker

Naoíse Mac Sweeney

Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna

Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna and award-winning academic. Her 2018 book Troy: Myth, City, Icon explored the mythic and archaeological significance of Troy, and was short-listed for the 2019 PROSE awards in the category Archaeology & Ancient History. Her new book is The West: A New History of an Old Idea.
Chair

Edward Lucas

Columnist at The Times and National Security Expert

Columnist for The Times and consultant specialising in European and transatlantic security. Formerly a senior editor at The Economist, he is now a senior vice-president at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He has written several books including The New Cold War, a prescient account of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Deception, an investigative account of East-West espionage, and Cyberphobia, about the phenomenon of cybercrime. He is an advocate for Magnitsky Law sanctions against Chinese officials.