TCNJ News
For Immediate Release
December 9, 2009
TCNJ history welcomes Pulitzer-winning war correspondent
*Rescheduled from Feb. 9 to March 1 due to inclement weather
EWING, NJ … The School of Culture and Society has invited Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Chris Hedges to discuss his latest work on March 1, 2010. The author will outline the impact on our culture as the public increasingly disregards serious media in favor of falsity and spectacle.
According to the publisher, Hedges’ Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle “charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy and illusion ... Hedges navigates this culture — attending WWF contests, interviewing porn actresses, and attending Ivy League graduation ceremonies — exposing an age of terrifying decline and mounting self-delusion.”
“By bringing Hedges to campus, we're offering a refreshing twist to real-life
controversy,” said Celia Chazelle, professor of history. “He delves into the dark depths of fantasy, illusion, and spectacle slowly overwhelming our society. His lecture will shine a timely spotlight on this worrisome cultural shift happening around us.”
Hedges served as a correspondent on war and foreign affairs for publications including the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and National Public Radio. He has reported from more than 50 countries.
In 2002, Hedges won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting as part of a team that examined global terrorism. A recipient of the Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism, he is currently a senior fellow at The Nation Institute in New York City.
The lecture will take place in the Library Auditorium, from 5:30-7 p.m. It is open to the campus community and the general public.
For more information, contact Celia Chazelle at chazelle@tcnj.edu.
