The return of the intellectual salon – Future Human at The Book Club
20 January, 2010
by: Tom Jeffreys
The intellectual salon - once a key part of French intellectual life - comes to 21st Century London. Tom Jeffreys welcomes the launch of Future Human.
Ah, the salon. 17th and 18th Century Frenchies nibbling on croissants, powdering their wigs and patting eachother on the back for various witty bon mots: “Ah oui, bien sur, mon ami, cette guillotine c'est super-chic. I can't say I feel the same way about all those Sans-culottes though – I mean, what's so bad about pantaloons?” “Oh yes, very good Maximilien, très drôle, très drôle indeed.”
Anyway, it's not all about demagoguery, brioche and bathtub assassinations. As a new intellectual salon launches at rather charming multi-purpose venue The Book Club in Hoxton, it's perhaps time to reappraise the whole concept.
Conceived by the ever-innovative peeps at Bad Idea magazine, Future Human seeks to revivify the idea of the intellectual salon. By inviting guests to discuss some of the most pressing issues of both today and tomorrow, these events promise to be both fascinating and entertaining.
The monthly event kicks off this February with an event entitled 'Advertising at the Frontiers of Consciousness'. The ideas is to explore the ways in which those canny marketing types are tapping into advances in psychology to better tout their wares. Leading the discussion is a panel of special guests, including cognitive scientist Professor Gemma Calvert, branding guru Greg Rowland, innovative marketeer John Phillips, and popular sci-fi author Matthew de Albaitua.
As well as an involved discussion, guests will also take part in various cutting edge experiments to discover the impact of all these shrewd new marketing techniques. After all of which you may feel like you're in serious need of a stiff drink. And fortunately The Book Club obliges, with a range of quite excellent cocktails. Clever thoughts, pretty people, and strong booze: could anything be better?
Future Human is every 2nd Wednesday at The Book Club.
Book tickets to Future Human.
Image credit: Anicet Charles Gabriel Lemonnier, A Reading in the Salon of Mme Geoffrin, 1755, oil on canvas, 129 x 196 cm, Châteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Préeau, Paris.
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