Dec 12, 2021
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZING MISSION IN POSTCOLONIAL INDIA: REVEALING THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT MOTHER TERESA
Dr. Aroup Chatterjee—a prominent Bengali physician— has been one of the most vocal critics of Mother Teresa. Dr. Chatterjee will join us in a critical conversation about Mother Teresa, which stands in sharp contrast to the West's portrayal of Mother Teresa as a saint. If you read Dr. Chatterjee's book on this issue, it will surely help you to decolonize your imagination in many ways. Dr. Chatterjee was not alone in demystifying Mother Teresa. Christopher Hitchens— notable late British-American author, journalist, orator, and columnist— examined the works of Mother Teresa in a highly skeptical documentary named "Hell's Angel."
Dec 10, 2021
RETHINKING FREEDOM WITH ALI ASGAR TARA
Ali Asgar Tara is a provocative thinker and an inspiring queer artist. Tara's arguments and provocations compel us to deconstruct and reconstruct the dominant discourse about freedom in the face of systemic and structural inequality. Tara will join us to think together to reconceptualize freedom on December 10 at 9 PM Bangladesh time.
Dec 9, 2021
UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL POLARIZATION AND SCIENCE DENIAL IN THE AGE OF POST-TRUTH
Dr. Lee McIntyre (Boston University) is one of the world's leading scholars on science denial and post-truth. We should not take misinformation, disinformation, computational propaganda, and conspiracy theories lightly. Digital disinformation has been identified as an existential threat to science and society, and Bangladesh is not beyond its adverse effects. Dr. McIntyre will join us in a dialogue about online disinformation on December 9 at 9 PM Dhaka time.
Dec 8, 2021
WEAPONIZATION OF LANGUAGE AND GLOBAL RISE OF THE RIGHT WING AUTHORITARIANISM
Professor Pascale (American University of Washington) will discuss how language can be weaponized to marginalize people based on her research. As a sociologist, professor Pascale researched how far-right political groups are weaponizing language around the globe to demonize and dehumanize marginalized groups. Language is deeply political. Weaponized language has been routinely used to dehumanize marginalized groups almost in any society. Think about the kind of language we use to describe women, Rohingya refugees, Biharis, religious minority groups, indigenous peoples, and members of sexual minority groups, to only name a few. Authoritarian governments weaponize language to amplify resentments, target scapegoats, and to legitimize injustice.