The Age of American Unreason

Susan Jacoby talked about her book The Age of American Unreason (Pantheon; February 12, 2008 and Old Street Publishing; revised paperback, May 12, 2009). In her book she claims that American culture has become anti-intellectual and anti-rational. She cites a toxic addiction to infotainment as a major cause of Americans embracing a universe of “junk thought” that makes almost no effort to separate fact from opinion. Susan Jacoby talked also about her book Alger Hiss and the Battle for History (Yale University Press; March 24, 2009). In her book she uses the Alger Hiss espionage case to examine shifting American political views in the way scholars and the media on both the left and the right have changed the way they view the case from 1948 to the present post-Cold War era. Ms. Jacoby responded to questions from members of the audience.

This lecture at 7 p.m. ET. in Ohio State University’s Jennings Hall was sponsored by the Departments of Entomology, EEOB, Anthropology, PCMB, Mo close