Guest Lecture

Guest Lecture by Ali Dehdarirad (University of Rome)

In the wake of the challenging idea that post-truth is the “condition of our times” (Kalpokas 2019), this presentation explores whether we can conceive of a fiction of post-truth. If so, how does such a condition or fiction position itself in relation to discussions on what has supplanted postmodernism in the twenty-first century?

After examining how post-truth is generally defined by several prominent scholars (including Lee McIntyre and Stuart Sim), we will explore critical perspectives from novelists such as Don DeLillo and Ben Fountain to better understand its interpretations in literature as well as how fiction might respond to it. We then move on to analyze some techniques commonly associated with post-truth — gaslighting, misinformation, distraction, appeal to emotions — in Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland and Richard Powers’ The Overstory.

Finally, the last part of this talk endeavors to shed light on whether fiction is a precursor to post-truth or it can indeed have a claim to “a more profound truth” (Ieven 2017), countering fake news and disinformation. This would contribute to a clearer understanding of a possible fiction of post-truth and its status as either the best next thing after postmodernism, or a viable alternative among others, or yet another fading conjecture.

Date: Wednesday, May 21 2025
Time: 12 pm/noon
Location: American Studies Foyer (EF 50)