Provost’s Colloquium Series Continues with Black Mirror and Philosophy

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on March 27, 2017, No Comments

As part of the East Stroudsburg University Provost’s Colloquium Series, Tim Connolly, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the philosophy and religious studies department, will present his talk “Black Mirror and Philosophy” from 5:30-7:00 p.m. on April 5, 2017, in Beers Lecture Hall.

Black Mirror, an acclaimed British television series recently released on Netflix, deals with themes of technology and modern society. Critics have called it a “warped reflection of ourselves and our culture” as well as “cynical, searing, shockingly good — and often disturbing.” Connolly states, “Black Mirror is fascinating to watch because it holds a mirror up to contemporary society: our technology, our politics, and most of all, our ways of relating to one another. It is a very dark show, but also highly entertaining, and many of my students have told me how they’ve watched the entire series from start to finish in just a few days.”

Connolly’s talk will focus on the most famous episode from the show titled “White Bear,” which deals with themes of justice and vengeance, technology and empathy, and the increasingly thin line between reality and entertainment in modern societies. The talk will use various concepts from philosophy and psychology to help start a discussion of the episode’s themes. Since the talk will include spoilers, attendees are encouraged to watch this episode in advance.

Dr. Connolly studies the connection between philosophy and culture, and is especially interested in Chinese philosophy. He has written two books, Doing Philosophy Comparatively (Bloomsbury, 2015), and Foundations of Confucian Ethics (Rowman and Littlefield, 2017), and also serves as an assistant editor at the Journal of Chinese Philosophy.

Implemented by ESU Provost Joanne Bruno, J.D., the Provost’s Colloquium Series is designed to create an intellectual experience that promotes dialogue among faculty, staff, students and the community through a series of events highlighting developments in all disciplines and professions.

For more information about the Provost’s Colloquium, contact Christina McDonald, director, office of sponsored projects and research, at (570) 422-7954 or at cmcdonald9@esu.edu.