The speakers:
Robert Danisch is an Associate Professor of Speech Communication. His research concerns rhetoric and public communication within democratic societies, with the broad goal to understand the role of communication practices in forming ethical citizenship. He is the author of Building a Social Democracy: The Promise of Rhetorical Pragmatism.
- Democracy as talking to strangers: What are the causes and consequences of our current forms of public communication? And how should we practice citizenship when public discourse is shaped by incivility, inaccuracy, and conflict over truth itself?
Anna Esselment is an Assistant Professor in Political Science. Her research areas include political parties, campaigns and elections, political marketing, and Canadian institutions. She is a frequent expert commentator in the media on domestic politics, and has just finished co-editing a book on the phenomenon of permanent campaigning by political parties in Canada.
- From being caught in a lie to perpetuating untruths: How is the phenomenon of fake news changing the way campaigns are fought and won? How deeply does this affect the way voters make their choices at the ballot box?
David DeVidi is a Professor of Philosophy and department chair. His research and teaching expertise includes logic, philosophy of mathematics, metaphysics, philosophy of disability, and philosophy of language. His publications include “Advocacy, Autism and Autonomy,” and “The Municipal By-Laws of Thought.”
- Is fake news old news? Are “fake news” and “alternative facts” really any different from timeless phenomena like public hysteria and politicians being “economical with the truth”? A closer look shows much that is the same, but also that recent trends are reason for alarm and for taking action.
Moderated by Douglas Peers, Dean of Arts, this panel is part of the University of Waterloo's Beyond 60 Community Lecture Series and is co-hosted by Kitchener Public Library.
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