Cost and Registration Information
Early Registration Price (by September 1): $190
Regular Price (after September 1): $209
Seminar Description
In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries designated “post-truth” as the word of the year. The term refers to a political phenomenon—“a general characteristic of our age”—regarding attitudes toward truth, conspiracies, anti-intellectualism, and ignorance. On the last, this seminar explores an edited collection on “agnotology,” the philosophical and scientific study of ignorance. The historical essays therein cover “post-truth” trends in censorship, climate change, philosophy, the female orgasm, abortifacients, archaeology, racism, risk management, and smoking. Six sessions.
Tim Lacy holds a PhD in US history. His published work covers anti-intellectualism, great books, education, cultural politics, the history of thought, and the philosophy of history.
Materials List
Required:
- Proctor, Robert, and Londa Schiebinger, eds. Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0804759014
- Note: This volume can be purchased in hardback or paperback.
First Reading:
- Please read the preface and Chapter 1 of Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance.
This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.