TEACHING IN A POST-TRUTH ERA: EIGHT VIU INSTRUCTORS ON RESISTING A WORLD OF �ALTERNATIVE FACTS�

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Wednesday, April 12th, 2017
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM

Oxford Dictionaries identified "post-truth" as their 2016 Word Of The Year, citing a general decrease in the influence of objective facts on people’s opinions. Eight VIU professors and instructors will deliver short TED-style talks on how the “post-truth” media climate is challenging their teaching and to offer strategies to counter the media onslaught of “alternative facts.”

“This new era of mistrust of information impacts teachers’ classroom efforts to instill knowledge and insist on reliable sources,” says Dr. Sonnet L’Abbe, one of the event’s co-organizers. “What do we do if our students claim we’re teaching 'fake news'?” This panel is the first of an anticipated series of VIU events planned in 2017-2018 that will bring together speakers from across disciplines to address the current challenges to values of diversity and global citizenship.

Inquiries can be directed to Sonnet L’Abbe at [email protected] or Melissa Stephens at [email protected].

The presenters and their talks are as follows:

“Fake news: the Compromised Information Environment in the Digital Age” Dr. John Hill, VIUFA Coordinator, Writing Centre, former freelance journalist  

“Truth & Reconciliation through Restorative Justice" Dr. Roy F. Janisch, Fulbright Visiting Research Chair  

“Algorithmic Oppressions: Teaching with Digital Spaces” Dr. Janis Ledwell-Hunt, Professor, Women’s Studies & English  

“Are the Humanities Responsible for the Post-Truth Era?” Dr. David Livingstone, Professor, Liberal Studies & Political Studies  

“Information Literacy in the Post-Truth Era” Luke McLeod, Reference and Instruction Librarian  

“Moving from Critical Thinking about Facts to Critical Thinking about Values” Michele Patterson, Professor, Geography  

“#FakeTerrorismExpert: Academics and ‘Truth’ Production” Dr. Ann Rogers, Instructor, Political Studies

“‘Alternative’ Pedagogies in the Multicultural Classroom” Dr. Paul Watkins, Professor, English