KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 23, 2024 – Scientist and historian Naomi Oreskes, of Harvard University, will discuss “Why Disinformation Matters” at the University of Rhode Island Honors Colloquium Tuesday, Oct. 29. Oreskes is co-author of the 2010 bestseller Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming, and a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action. Merchants of Doubt was the subject of a documentary film and has been translated into nine languages. A new edition, with an introduction by Al Gore, published in 2020.
Oreskes’ work on climate sciences has appeared in leading media around the globe, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the Times (London), Newsweek, The Economist, The New Yorker, The Guardian, Le Monde and more. A Guggenheim Fellow, her 2014 TED Talk on why scientists should be trusted has had more than more than 1.6 million views worldwide. In addition to being featured in the Academy-Award winning film An Inconvenient Truth, Oreskes wrote the introduction to Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Climate Change and Inequality in 2015.
Hosted by the University’s Honors Program, this year’s colloquium series, “Democracy in Peril,” examines threats to democracy at home and abroad. Oreskes’ talk comes just one week before the U.S. presidential election, but colloquium coordinators say this year’s lecture series is not only about the 2024 presidential race.
“The purpose of this colloquium is to highlight global trends, recognize that the U.S. is not immune from them, and hopefully provide guidance on how we can work to build a stronger, more resilient democracy at home and abroad,” says Marc Hutchison, chair of URI’s political science department.
Oreskes will speak at 7 p.m. at Edwards Hall on the Kingston Campus. Her talk will also be streamed (livestream links will be available the night of each event on the colloquium website).
The Colloquium will conclude Nov. 12 with Christian Davenport discussing “Repression and the Decline of Global Human Rights.”
This year’s colloquium has drawn wide interest across the URI campus, including a visit from James Langevin and Adam Kinzinger discussing election integrity, a campus art exhibit on ‘The Politics of Personality,’ and a democracy-themed student innovation challenge.
The URI Honors Colloquium is free and open to the public; prior talks from this fall’s series can be viewed here. Register to get updates here or by emailing [email protected].
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