Chris Hedges lectures at The New School, a university in New York City offering distinguished degree, certificate, and continuing education programs in art and design, liberal arts, management and policy, and the performing arts. THE NEW SCHOOL | http://www.newschool.edu

Journalist Chris Hedges discusses his recent book Empire of Illusion: the End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle. In it, he charts the dramatic rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy, and illusion. Hedges argues we now live in two societies: one, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world and can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth; the other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic where serious film and theater, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins.

Chris Hedges, author of War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, is currently a senior fellow at The Nation Institute and the Anschutz Distinguished Fellow at Princeton University. He writes for many publications, including Foreign Affairs, Harpers, The New York Review of Books, Granta, and Mother Jones. He is also a columnist for Truthdig.com.

Co-sponsored by the Writing Program | http://www.newschool.edu/writing
Department of Media Studies and Film | http://www.newschool.edu/mediastudies
and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics | http://www.newschool.edu/vlc and http://www.veralistcenter.org

* Location: Theresa Lang Community and Student Center, Arnhold Hall.
12/08/2009 7:00 p.m.