Author, journalist Naomi Klein to join NIU lecture series

DeKALB – Northern Illinois University‘s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will host a discussion featuring journalist and author Naomi Klein as part of its final Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series for the season.

The lecture will be held at 5 p.m. April 2 online via Zoom. Registration is required to attend and due before April 2. To register, visit go.niu.edu/Rebuilding-Democracy-RSVP.

The lecture will feature a discussion between Klein and Dean Robert Brinkmann covering topics such as democracy’s current state, technology’s role in feeding polarization and spreading disinformation, civil discourse’s breakdown, challenges AI presents, and factors at the heart of dysfunction. The lecture also includes a moderated question and answer session.

Klein works as a media commentator for programs including “BBC Newsnight,” “HARDTalk,” “Democracy Now,” “The Rachel Maddow Show,” “The Colbert Report” and “Real Time with Bill Maher.” She also is a columnist for The Guardian, a contributor for Zeteo, and writes columns for The Intercept, The Nation, and The Globe and Mail. Klein is the author of the books “Doppelganger,” “On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal,” “No Is Not Enough: Resisting the New Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need” and “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate.”

She also is the founding co-director of the UBC Centre for Climate Justice, an honorary professor of media and climate at Rutgers University, and the Rutgers University inaugural Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in media, culture and feminist studies. Klein currently works as a professor of climate justice at the University of British Columbia.

The Rebuilding Democracy Lecture Series showcases how the liberal arts and sciences are at the center of a healthy democracy. The series addresses various aspects of building a stronger democracy and bringing together a fractured society.