RSA/Penguin Series - 10 Years After
The RSA and Penguin present a major series of public talks, lectures and debates exploring the impact of the cataclysmic events of 9/11 from a range of cultural, political, and foreign policy perspectives.

In the third event in the series, a round table of writers and commentators reflect on reflect on the cultural aftermath of the events of 9/11.

From this “decade-on” vantage-point, can we still say that 9/11 “changed everything”?

Is a decade long enough to put 9/11 meaningfully into context, and for culture to reflect upon and adequately represent and interpret the events? Did the spectacular nature of the event transcend or even defy representation? Did we look to our major writers to make sense of the events for us?  And how severely was freedom of expression damaged by 9/11 – has it recovered?

Speakers to include: John Gray, author of 'Straw Dogs', 'Al-Qaeda and What It Means To Be Modern', 'Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia' and 'The Immortalization Commission'; Lisa Appignanesi, author of ‘All About Love: Anatomy of an Unruly Emotion’ (Virago/ LittleBrown), former President of English PEN and editor of 'Free Expression is No Offence'; Mehdi Hasan, political editor, New Statesman; Sarfraz Manzoor, journalist, author and broadcaster.

Chair: James Robbins, diplomatic correspondent, BBC News

Suggested hashtag for Twitter users: #RSAPenguin