Jason Stanley to Deliver UMass Philosophy Department’s 2021 Matthews Lecture

AMHERST, Mass. – What do we call the linked social and political movements that now threaten democratic countries worldwide? Populist? Authoritarian? Ethnonationalist? For the upcoming Gary Matthews Memorial Lecture, presented by the UMass Amherst philosophy department on Thursday, Oct. 14, philosopher and writer Jason Stanley poses these questions and argues that the world faces a global fascist threat in his talk “Fascism as a Social Kind.”

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Stanley, world-renowned for his scholarly work in the philosophy of language and knowledge, has also written extensively on philosophical issues of our time: authoritarianism, propaganda, free speech, mass incarceration and other topics for The Washington Post, The Boston Review, The Guardian, Project Syndicate and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among other publications. Most recently he has published articles about critical race theory for the Economist and The New York Times. He is the author of “Know How; Languages in Context; Knowledge and Practical Interests,” which won the American Philosophical Association book prize; “How Propaganda Works,” which won the PROSE Award for Philosophy from the Association of American Publishers; and “How Fascism Works.”

Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. Before beginning at Yale in 2013, he was a Distinguished Professor in the department of philosophy at Rutgers University.

The Gary Matthews Memorial Lecture was established in 2015 in memory of professor Gareth Matthews. Widely known for his academic work in ancient philosophy, ethics and the philosophy of religion, Matthews was also committed to taking philosophy outside the academy. He was a pioneer in teaching philosophy to young children, working with schools around the world. He put his ethical values into practice as an activist in movements for peace and social justice.

The Matthews Memorial Lecture brings eminent philosophers to the UMass Amherst campus.  Their research honors the memory of Matthews’ academic achievements and social engagement. Biennially, the Matthews lecturer gives both a public lecture on a philosophical matter of general interest and a seminar on his or her academic research.

This year’s Matthews Memorial Lecture will be held Thursday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. in Old Chapel. It is free and open to the public.

Jason Stanley is available for media interviews in advance of the lecture.