Cultural Connections

Dialogue’s Cultural Connections aim to make the process of book reading something that we can all share in, providing a wider context to the books through a cultural platform. Cultural Connections are offered for selected titles, creating a link between the book and an idea, a place, a film, a work of art or an object. Our aim is to present the books in a different, and sometimes unexpected light, promoting wider cultural exchange and discussion. Of course, the Cultural Connections section is open to comments, and we look forward to building an archive of cross-cultural links for each of the selected titles.

Cultural Connections: Ideas

Adam Smith Institute

The Adam Smith Institute is the UK s leading libertarian think tank. It engineers policies to increase Britain s economic competitiveness, inject choice into public services, and create a freer, more prosperous society. Learn More
Cultural Connections: Ideas

Adopt a Word

We all have words that we love, so why not adopt one of your favourites and support I CAN, the children's communication charity? Learn More
Cultural Connections: Objects

Anguilla anguilla

The life cycle of Anguilla anguilla, the Common eel, is on the most extraordinary and mysterious in nature. Previously, much of the eel's life history was completely unknown. Learn More
Cultural Connections: Art

Bandit Fox

Alice Mrongovius is a now Berlin based artist who works in comics, installation and photography. The current focus of her work is on the female flÉneur and developing the concept of comics as installation, and continuing her investigation of the probabilistic nature of quantum physics and urban psychogeographies. Learn More
Cultural Connections: Places

Black Cultural Archives

Black Cultural Archives was founded in 1981 to collect, preserve and celebrate the contributions Black people have made to the culture, society and heritage of the UK. Learn More
Cultural Connections: Films

Bright Young Things

An adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel "Vile Bodies," directed by Stephen Fry is a look into the lives of a young novelist, his would-be lover, and a host of young people who beautified London in the 1930s. Learn More
Cultural Connections: Ideas

Bullshit Bingo

Viral, Stepping Up, Non-Traditional Management, Multitasking, Team Player. BINGO!

Bullshit Bingo, also known as the less offensive Buzzword Bingo, was invented in 1993 by Tom Davis and Seth Katz, after the latter had been collecting "favourite" buzzwords for a while. Just like your average, numerical bingo, you simply print out an individual plate for each player from (or even better, make your own!), bring to your meeting, and start crossing out those clichés and arcane business terms. The game is rumoured to have been in play during both NASA meetings (where employees even gambled on the outcome) and Al Gore's 1996 MIT graduation speech.
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Cultural Connections: Places

Courtauld Gallery

London's Courtauld Gallery collection includes some of the world's most celebrated Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, among them Paul Gauguin's Nevermore. Learn More
Cultural Connections: Films

Crash

While David Cronenburg's cinematic treatment of the book may be much better known, the BBC's earlier short film 'informed' by JG Ballard’s Atrocity Exhibition is well worth investigating. Learn More
Cultural Connections: Ideas

Creative Funding Platforms

Philanthropy is not just for the rich, it's for those who take an interest. In an age when funding for the arts is being cut by governments worldwide, individuals are increasingly stepping in to help each other micro-finance the most innovative and creative projects. It's a democratic process, in which supporters can fund the projects they most want to see survive. Learn More