More about this topic:

We live at a time when declining trust in institutions of governance coincides with an increasingly rapid and constant communication.  This dynamic has facilitated the spread of false claims and prejudice. Expertise is discredited in public debate as popular wisdom usurps reasoned evidence-based argument.

With their focus on the human condition and the fostering of creativity, humanities and social science disciplines are arguably more important than ever. Yet they struggle to retain their place of significance in the face of ever-increasing assaults on their integrity. Genuinely critical scholarship is snubbed while prominent public figures proclaim that ‘truth isn’t truth’ or they promote intervention via philanthropy in the curriculum of public universities.

This panel explored the meaning of these truth-challenged times and the value of the humanities in understanding the adaptation to change, in preserving the cultures and communities we cherish, and where necessary, in revealing and resisting the more damaging and divisive effects of new cultural forces on democracy.