Founded in 1986, the Humanities Institute presents a thematic program each semester on a topic related to the humanities. As part of Scripps’ tradition of interdisciplinary education, this program includes lectures, conferences, exhibitions, performances, and film series bringing prominent and younger cutting-edge scholars to campus.

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Latest Program

Ignorance in the Age of Information

In the 2018–19 academic year—and teaming up with Scripps Presents in the fall semester—the Humanities Institute will present a series of events, lectures, and workshops on Ignorance in the Age of Information. Information is more accessible to more people than ever. Yet, one of the central concerns in the public consciousness today is that we seem especially susceptible to deceit and manipulation via our sources of information, including both the internet in its various forms and more traditional news media. This year, the Humanities Institute will focus on this concern, regarding both content (like “fake news” and other misinformation), and form (like the “echo chamber” or “filter bubble” of social media news feeds). What is the problem, exactly, and how is it new or especially worrying for our society? What facilitates it, technological factors or social and political ones? How has our current epistemic environment affected our ability to think together and trust each other? Will this situation feed (and will it change) our tendency to see conspiracies, or hope where there is none, or will it lead to greater and more evolved critical reasoning?

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Upcoming Event

Revisit this Program

The current series of programming is over for now, but please check back next semester for more information — or learn more about our recent public events by reviewing the full list of events!