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Fabricating Meaning

2019, Summit Confronting the Disinformation Age, Media + Information

Dr. Eldon Yellowhorn and Dr. J. Steven Dodge in Conversation
This partner event is presented by SFU Galleries.

Language is the principle means through which we form an understanding of the world and the foundation in which social and political relations are built. Science provides a language that quantifies and objectifies, encouraging transparency and creating accessibility, when in reality, few have access. The question that emerges is how does objectivity function as a method of understanding rather than a purveyor of truth in science? How do language and narratives shape perceptions?

Dr. Eldon Yellowhorn and Dr. J. Steven Dodge will present their approaches to how language is used in science, as objective or embedded with cultural histories and subjectivities. This event is in connection with the current exhibition at SFU Gallery, Ann Beam and Carl Beam: Spaces for Reading, where the artists' works question the construction of history and knowledge through systems of classification and representation.

Thu, 18 Apr 2019

1:00 p.m. (PST)

SFU Gallery - AQ3004
8888 University Drive
Burnaby, B.C.

We respectfully acknowledge that this event takes place on the Unceded, Traditional, Ancestral Territories of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm First Nations.

About Confronting the Disinformation Age

SFU Public Square’s 2019 Community Summit considered how the proliferation of disinformation is impacting society and challenging our capacity to make informed decisions about our economic, social, and political lives. Together, we co-created strategies to ensure stronger and healthier information ecosystems and stimulate more connected and resilient communities.

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The Disinformation Age
Information is fundamental to our existence. Without it, we cannot understand or effectively respond to the events that shape our world. Throughout history, campaigns to deliberately spread false information to influence public opinion or obscure the truth have been launched by individuals, organizations, and governments. But today, we’re living in a new age of information facilitated primarily by digital technology. These advancements offer us extraordinary access to facts and data but also allow for harmful, inaccurate, and manipulated information to be created and disseminated at an unprecedented speed, scope, and scale. Falsehoods are pitted against facts in competition for our attention and technology is used to exploit our cognitive functioning without repercussion. In what is being called the “post-truth” era, the distortion of our information landscape is eroding our trust in institutions, political systems, the media, and each other.

Guests

Dr. Eldon Yellowhorn

Dr. Yellowhorn's research work in archaeology stems from his studies of the ancient history of his Piikani ancestors. He studied plains archaeology in academic and public settings before participating in the heritage consulting industry. He is past president of the Canadian Archeological Association (2010-2012) and established the Department of First Nations Studies at SFU in 2012 where he served as Chair until 2017.

Dr. J. Stephen Dodge

Dr. Dodge is an experimental condensed matter physicist who specializes in the optical properties of solids. His research group works to develop the quantum theory of solids by studying how electrons in metals, electrical insulators, and superconductors respond to short pulses of laser light. He is a member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Program in Quantum Materials.

Listen

Listen to the conversation here

Watch

Summit trailer

Reports and Resources

Confronting the Disinformation Age | Resources

Books, articles, videos and other resources on disinformation.

Supporters and Partners

Confronting the Disinformation Age Events

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  • A Special Philosopher's Cafe: Confronting the Disinformation Age

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