While disinformation may be as old as humanity, spreading lies is exponentially easier in our media environment. At its core, the vulnerability of the “information market” stems from the blind trust that the market itself enjoys as the neutral guarantor of democratic freedoms, particularly at a time when “market values” have come to govern just about every aspect of our lives. The very notion that the market (whether the market of goods or the market of information) is a level playing field has proven to be a dangerous liability. My talk will ask the question how should/could the Humanities address these pressing issues of our time? I take my cues from Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), the inventor of a critical form of fiction that teaches his readers to navigate his disinformation-plagued world (and possibly our own).
Co-sponsored by Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Comparative Literature, Department of English, Department of Communication, and Department of History
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Note that this was originally scheduled as a hybrid presentation, but it will now be online only.