Panel: The Politics of Language, a Conversation with Masha Gessen and Siri Hustvedt

As part of the conference “What’s Going On: Reflections on Truth, Politics, Democracy, and Language,” Deutsches Haus at NYU presents a panel discussion with Russian-American journalist and author Masha Gessen and the author Siri Hustvedt, which will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Baer.

Lying in politics did not begin with Donald Trump and authoritarianism has in the past warped language and truth in horrible and lasting ways. Perhaps due to the U.S.’ inexperience with authoritarianism, President Trump’s exaggerations, fabrications, distortions, and outright lies appear to have elevated what Hannah Arendt called “the conflict between truth and politics” to another level. Our panel will discuss the validity of this presupposition and examine the fracturing of realities and the erosion of a shared language in the public sphere. Is this an indication of a broader decline in the standards of truth in political discourse? Have the consequences politicians face, when telling outright lies (which should be called out as such) diminished over time? Finally, our panelists will contemplate how we can proceed in this precarious seemingly post-truth environment to ensure that linguistic and moral clarity persevere.