Press release01-February-2011China's economic growth: what should we celebrate?What can – and should – the West learn from the emergence of China as a new broker of economic power? And why does the exhilarating growth of somewhere like Shanghai point the way for cities of the future? The Manchester Salon is hosting a discussion on China and the influence of state-led planning, focussing on the Shanghai Expo 2010. Alan Hudson, director of Oxford University’s leadership programmes for China, who will lead the discussion, has been responsible for drawing up policy-making training programmes for Chinese officials at both local and national level. Alan says that the ‘unashamed ambition of Chinese urban centres should be welcomed as a direct challenge to the painful negativity of western planning’ and the speed of growth in Chinese cities such as Shanghia is perfectly matched to the ambitions of its citizens. Also taking part in the debate is Berthold Schoene, professor of English at Manchester Metropolitan University, who will look at how British novelists have become less parochial in their outlook in recent years, to embrace globalisation and the possibilities it offers for fiction. Through looking at some examples of economic growth in China and the literary responses by British authors to Britain's relative stagnation or decline, the discussion will highlight how globalisation, described by Zygmunt Bauman as ‘the intractable fate of the world’, can be shaped and turned to humanity’s advantage Date: Wednesday 16 February, 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start |
Last Updated on Tuesday, 01 February 2011 12:39 |