See video from the conference here.

Truth is the first casualty in war and politics. This conference will look at how America views truth and honesty today in light of the Trump election, and will consider fake news, falsehoods, fictionality, and the idea of “alternative facts” as they play out in literature, law, and journalism.  We will also talk about dictatorships, democracies, and their vexed relationship to truth. What is the future of the truth in today’s politico-cultural world and media environment?

The Future of Truth took place on February 3-4, 2017. It featured, among many others:

• Maggie Nelson, memoirist and MacArthur fellow, The Argonauts, The Red Parts
• Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer-prizewinning author, The Sympathizer
• Nicholas Lemann, New Yorker writer, former Dean of Columbia Journalism School
• Joel Benenson, chief campaign strategist for Hillary Clinton
• Mike Murphy, Republican political consultant for Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush
• Bobby Grace, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney

“The Future of the Truth” was presented by UCI’s The Forum for the Academy and the Public and organized by Professor Amy Wilentz. Co-sponsored by the School of Humanities, School of Law, Literary Journalism Program, Illuminations, Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Program, International Center for Writing and Translation, Center for Critical Korean Studies, Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.