SNOWDEN, KLEIN, WELLS: DONALD LECTURE SERIES ENCOURAGES DEBATE ON HOT TOPICS FOR 2015-16 SEASON

Bishop’s University is proud to announce the 2015-16 season of the Donald Lecture Series. Paul Wells, Edward Snowden and Naomi Klein, this year’s trio of headliners and social commentators, promise to keep the Bishop’s community engaged as ever by tackling some of the most pressing topics of our time.  Audiences will hear about the 2015 Canadian federal election, about cybersecurity, government surveillance and human rights, and finally about the way climate change is being deeply affected by corporatist structures and economies.

The series will kick off on Wednesday, October 21, with Paul Wells. Less than 48 hours after the election results are in, Principal Michael Goldbloom will interview Mr. Wells on the core issues, trends and controversies that shaped the election and an interpretation of what the newly elected government will mean for Canada. Mr. Wells is a political editor and a senior columnist for Maclean’s magazine, and is known nationwide as one of Canada’s leading political commentators. This public interview is designed both for those who need a helping hand in making sense of Canadian politics and for those who are seasoned political information consumers.

On Tuesday, November 3, Edward Snowden will be interviewed via webcast by Royal Orr, where they will discuss issues of global cyber security, surveillance in the digital age, and the intersection of human rights and security with technology. A former intelligence officer who served the CIA, NSA, and DIA for nearly a decade as a subject matter expert on technology and cybersecurity, Mr. Snowden revealed in 2013 that the NSA was seizing the private records of billions of individuals who had not been suspected of any wrongdoing, resulting in the most significant reforms to US surveillance policy since 1978. He has received awards for courage, integrity, and public service, and was named the top global thinker of 2013 by Foreign Policy magazine.

Finally, on Wednesday, January 27, 2016, Naomi Klein will speak about one of the most profound threats humanity has ever faced: the war our economic model is waging against life on earth. Ms. Klein is a Canadian journalist, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization and of corporate capitalism. Her internationally best-selling books are No Logo, and The Shock Doctrine and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, a New York Times non-fiction bestseller and the 2014 winner of the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction. The New York Times called it “the most momentous and contentious environmental book since Silent Spring.”

Into its 8th season, the Donald Lecture Series brings speakers of national and international renown to the Bishop’s campus to provide insight, provoke thought, and stimulate debate on the most compelling issues and events in the world today.

The series is made possible thanks to the generous support of Bishop’s alumnus John Donald ’60, DCL ’12. All lectures are free of charge, open to the public, and available for world-wide live stream viewing. For more information on the series, including speaker biographies, lecture descriptions, and public live-stream broadcast information, visit www.ubishops.ca/donald-lecture-series.

Donald Lecture Series – 2015-16 Season

All three lectures are free and will take place in Centennial Theatre.

Paul Wells
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
7 p.m.
Political editor, Maclean’s magazine
“Election 2015: What just happened?”
(in interview with Principal Michael Goldbloom)

Edward Snowden
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
7 p.m.
Former CIA agent, cybersecurity expert
‘‘Mass surveillance, secrecy, and democracy’’
(in interview with Royal Orr)

Naomi Klein
Tuesday, January 27, 2016
7 p.m.
Journalist, author
“This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate”

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Contact: Chantal Sneath
Communications Officer
Bishop’s University
csneath@ubishops.ca
819-822-9600, extension 2840