Prof Steve Fuller, an internationally-renowned sociologist focused on science and technology studies from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, will be hosting a public lecture on whether universities can survive a post-truth era.

Fuller holds the Auguste Comte Chair in Social Epistemology in the Department of Sociology at the University of Warwick. Originally trained in history and philosophy of science, he is the author of more than twenty books. His most recent work has been concerned with the future of humanity, the future of the university and intellectual life more generally. He will be visiting Stellenbosch University during the week of 13-17 August to present lectures at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (Anthropocene Dialogues seminar series) and the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology (Indexing Transformation seminar series, with a second semester focus on “university transformation"). 

Can Universities Survive the Post-Truth Era?

Thursday 16 August, 13h00-14h30 in Room 648 Arts Building (Indexing Transformation series)

There is a tendency to see 'post-truth' disparagingly as the result of populist anti-intellectualism. Some would go further and dismiss 'post-truth' as simply a temporary turn in fortunes for the academics and other elites who have been shown wanting as a result of the Brexit vote and Trump's election. I believe that both assessments of the post-truth condition are wrong. Drawing on my latest book, Post Truth: Knowledge as a Power Game, I shall argue that regardless of what happens to Brexit or Trump, the post-truth condition is here to stay – and, in a certain sense, has always been with us. In particular, we should see our epistemic predicament as part of the growth pains of the democratisation of knowledge, an inevitable consequence of which is the downgrading of expert judgement. I shall discuss what this means in terms of how universities should re-position themselves.​