Pankaj Mishra is an author and political and literary essayist whose most recent work includes Age of Anger: A History of the Present and, most recently, Bland Fanatics: Liberals, Race, and Empire (Liberals, the West and the Afterlives of Empire). He one of the 21st century’s foremost thinkers whose work presents a global critique on Western policies and cultural approach, reframing the narratives of history.

For this keynote event, Mishra will be interviewed by Dr. Prasad Bidaye (Humber College). Their dialogue will reconsider the Western obsession with Islam as a conspiracy theory. They will also explore the similarities between phenomena like ISIS and white nationalist movements, thus challenging mainstream perceptions of what appears to be a polarized world. Last, but not least, this discussion will highlight how liberalism has enabled what Mishra points to as ressentiment – the key affective sign of our angry age.

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.

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