Calendar of Events
How Bad Ideas Spread: Shaping Values by Claiming the Conventional Wisdom
“We are burdening our children with the national debt.” “College just isn’t a good investment anymore.” “I believe in free markets.” “We can’t have public healthcare, it’s too expensive!” “Social security won’t be around for my generation.” “Deficits are bad!” We have all heard such statements; they reflect commonly held understandings of subjects that are perennially relevant. Yet empirical examination suggests such statements are not always accurate. So why do we believe them and how do such sentiments become so powerfully etched in our collective psyche? In this four-week forum, Associate Professor of Rhetoric Allison Carr and Associate Professor of Economics Drew Westberg will explain how and why contagious ideas become institutions. In week one, we will examine conventional wisdom surrounding money and the national debt. During this session, participants will also be introduced to basic concepts in the art of rhetoric, institutional economics and communication theory, which will allow us to evaluate the claims about money as well as the other topics that will be examined during the month-long series. Week two will focus on the conventional wisdom around markets and how those ideas permeate our approach to public policy and decision-making, including local- and state-level actions on issues like school closures, public transportation, policing and public health. In week three, we will tackle conventional wisdoms about higher education, applying our rhetorical tools and empirical analysis to ideas like “College isn’t worth it” and “I worked my way through college.” The final session will look at conventional wisdoms surrounding inequality, work and poverty. Throughout, the series as a whole will investigate why some ideas become institutions while others have a short lifespan, how certain ideas come to powerfully shape and reinforce societal values, and how new sets of shared ideas can be created.
Thursday Forum is held in Kesler Auditorium on the first floor of Hickok Hall. Each weekly session begins with registration and refreshments from 8:45-9:15 AM, followed by the lecture until 11:30 AM. The presentations blend lecture, media such as film and music, and discussion.
Admission to each four-week forum series is $40. Admission to individual lectures and one- and two-week forums is $12 per week. Admission includes the lecture and morning refreshments of coffee, tea and pastries. Payment can be made in person on Thursday mornings by cash or personal check. Credit card payments can be processed by registering online in advance at www.coe.edu/thursday-forum. For more information, visit the Thursday Forum website or call 319.399.8523.
In the event of inclement weather, consult local media outlets to find out if the day’s forum will take place.