IAS Announces 2018–19 Public Film Series Exploring the Multiple Dimensions of Crises

Press Contact

Lee Sandberg
lsandberg@ias.edu
609-455-4398

The Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Social Science will curate a public film series designed to provoke insight and open conversation among scholars of the Institute and participants of the greater Princeton community. Featuring commentary and perspectives from the world’s leading scholars, the series offers an opportunity for the general public to connect with members of the IAS community and experience a variety of films in a unique and unforgettable way.

The series will open on Tuesday, October 9, with the screening of Inside Job, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2011. Directed by Charles Ferguson, the film explores the systemic sources of the 2008 financial crisis. A post-screening discussion will be led by Clara Mattei, a Member of the Institute’s School of Social Science and Assistant Professor of Economics in the New School for Social Research.

The film series is curated by the School of Social Science and is related to its theme year. For 2018–19, the theme “Crisis and Critique” will be coordinated by James D. Wolfensohn Professor Didier Fassin and Visiting Professor Axel Honneth from Goethe-University Frankfurt & Columbia University, exploring, from a critical and global perspective, the ubiquitous discourse on crisis as well as the multiple dimensions of crises.

“The idea that the world is going through a crisis, or more precisely, multiple recurrent crises—whether related to climate change, democratic aspirations, economic deregulation, social inequality, migration, etc.—has today become prevalent,” observes Fassin. “Are these crises interconnected? How are they experienced by those who are affected? What do they tell us about contemporary societies? These are some of the questions we will explore through a series of films from various parts of the world.”

Six total films will be shown during the series from October 2018 to April 2019. Screenings will take place at 4:00 p.m. on the Institute campus in Wolfensohn Hall followed by commentary and discussion. The schedule for the series is as follows:

Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Wednesday, April 3, 2019

The series is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register for the October 9 screening, click here. For more information on the series itself and a synopsis of upcoming films visit https://www.ias.edu/library/hs/filmseries.