The Big Hoax: Conspiracies of Communication (in the Age of Disinformation)

Alexander Shvarts and Allison Durazzi

The Big Hoax: Conspiracies of Communication (in the Age of Disinformation)

Alexander Shvarts and Allison Durazzi

9:00am

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Conspiracies and misinformation movements in the fields of science, medicine and the environment will be explored in this wide-ranging discussion, with a particular focus on social media. Alexander Shvarts and Allison Durazzi will explore several topics, including distrust of science, marginalization of views by commercial interests (such as pharmaceutical companies), and how poor messaging by even well-meaning scientists on social media can foster denialism.

This event is part of the annual interdisciplinary Humber Liberal Arts Conference. This year’s focus is The Big Hoax: The Anatomy of Anti-Intellectualism, Denialism and Conspiracy Theories, Past and Present. Tune in to plenary sessions, free and open to the public, October 22–23.

English captioning is available for this video. Please click the ‘CC’ button in the video toolbar to turn it on.

Humber Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Innovative Learning Logo

Panel Discussion

Conspiracies and misinformation movements in the fields of science, medicine and the environment will be explored in this wide-ranging discussion, with a particular focus on social media. Alexander Shvarts and Allison Durazzi will explore several topics, including distrust of science, marginalization of views by commercial interests (such as pharmaceutical companies), and how poor messaging by even well-meaning scientists on social media can foster denialism.

This event is part of the annual interdisciplinary Humber Liberal Arts Conference. This year’s focus is The Big Hoax: The Anatomy of Anti-Intellectualism, Denialism and Conspiracy Theories, Past and Present. Tune in to plenary sessions, free and open to the public, October 22–23.

English captioning is available for this video. Please click the ‘CC’ button in the video toolbar to turn it on.

Humber Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Innovative Learning Logo

Panel Discussion

Featured Authors

Alexander Shvarts
Alexander Shvarts has a BA in Russian/Sociology with Honours in Sociology at the University of Western Ontario and an MA and Ph.D. in Sociology at University of Toronto. Shvarts has done extensive research on Russian Entrepreneurs, the Russian Mafia and Russian Jews. He is a Professor at Humber College and teaches on Race and Ethnicity, Crime and Deviance, Social Entrepreneurship and Sociology of Health. He has presented at both national and international academic conferences and published a book based on his dissertation, Russian Transnational Entrepreneurs: Ethnicity, Class and Capital. Shvarts has also published in Contemporary Justice Review, International Review of Modern Sociology and Michigan Sociological Review.

Read more about Alexander Shvarts

Allison Durazzi
Allison Durazzi transitioned her career in marketing and policy to doctoral studies in rhetoric and professional communication at Iowa State University. She researches technical editing with a focus on conscious language and she teaches technical and business communication courses. Durazzi served on the board of numerous literary arts nonprofits, including UNECSO Seattle City of Literature, and co-directed the 2001 National Poetry Slam. She holds a BA from Antioch University Seattle and an Associate of Arts Degree from Seattle Central College. She is an alumna of the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts.

Read more about Allison Durazzi

9:00am

Saturday, October 23

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