Yale philosophy professor to discuss propaganda, politics, mass incarceration

2:12 p.m., Oct. 13, 2015--The University of Delaware’s Department of Philosophy will present the fall 2015 David Norton Memorial Lecture at 3:45 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23, in Mitchell Hall.

The lecture, titled “The War on Thugs: Propaganda, Politics and Mass Incarceration,” will be given by Jason Stanley, professor of philosophy at Yale University. The talk is free and open to the public.

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University of Delaware graduates planning to attend Alumni Weekend are encouraged to register for the annual Blue Hen 5K walk and run, which will be held Sunday morning, June 5.

June 6-9: Food and culture series

The 20th annual June Lecture Series at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UD in Wilmington will be held June 6-9. Titled 'June a la Carte,' this year's program focuses on great political documents, feminism, world politics and a Newark cuisine sampler.

• June 6-9: Food and culture series
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Stanley is the author of four books, two in epistemology, one in the philosophy of language and semantics and one in social and political philosophy. His first book, Knowledge and Practical Interests, published by Oxford University Press, won the 2007 American Philosophical Association book prize. His most recent book, How Propaganda Works, was published in May by Princeton University Press.

Before joining the Yale faculty in 2013, Stanley was a Distinguished Professor in the philosophy department of Rutgers University. He earned his doctorate in 1995 in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In his Norton Lecture, Stanley will discuss the current high incarceration rates in the United States, which he notes rival the rate of Soviet citizens sent to forced labor camps under Stalin. He will argue that to address the mass incarceration problem, the U.S. must change its political culture and understand the role of propaganda in demonizing and dehumanizing so many of its citizens.

The David Norton Memorial Fund supports this lecture in remembrance of the late UD philosophy professor. The event also is supported by the Makiguchi Foundation, the Class of 1955 Ethics Endowment Fund and the American Philosophical Association.

Refreshments will be available immediately after the lecture.