Following the online fallout of the 2018 “grievance studies” hoax, one is struck by the enormous range of estimates of its significance, and of the variegated diagnoses of what the hoax does or does not show. The Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities will host a Faculty Work-in-Progress lecture with Chris Haufe, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy, who hopes to get the audience to take this hoax and others like it seriously. To do this, he will address three topics. First, he would like to clarify the contours of the phenomenon: What precisely does the hoax achieve? Second, he will critically examine some of the efforts to dismiss the significance of the hoax, noting what they get right and what they get wrong. Finally, he would like to make some general recommendations for how to start restoring the humanities to their rightful place at the center of a liberal arts education.
Titled “The Hoax and the Humanities,” this lecture will be held Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Due to social distancing requirements, this Faculty Work-in-Progress lecture will be presented virtually. It will be hosted at case.edu/livestream/s1.