Program Description

The Observing Self: How living in our highly mediated culture can lead to increased self-consciousness and isolation, and what to do about it.

“Why do I have 600 Facebook friends yet feel so alone?”

From a lead column in the New York Times Magazine lamenting the “Twitterati’s unnatural self-consciousness” and their blurred “lines between the authentic and contrived self,” to the existential loneliness depicted by many celebrated modern novelists (Jonathan Franzen, the late David Foster Wallace, etc.) to recent sociological studies, it’s more and more evident that we are leading increasingly isolated lives, even though we are more technologically connected than ever. Zweig’s powerful multi-media presentation explores this paradox and offers launching points for ways to combat the alienating nature of our mediated culture while still living within the mainstream, or even the vanguard, of our technologically-dependent world.

“I love my iPhone, but the best way to enjoy it is to know when to turn it off.”

Through an interdisciplinary approach, Zweig examines how, today, we are living in an “observational reality” rather than the historically dominant “experiential reality.” For the first time in history people are spending more hours of their day immersed in Fiction (television, movies, the internet, social media, ubiquitous advertising, even the news) than living “in the moment” (i.e. engaged directly with others or the environment). A 2009 study showed that American teenagers are spending nearly eleven hours a day immersed in media. This is a fundamental change in how humans have lived for all of history. And, living this highly mediated life — which, for many of us, means being immersed in Fiction for the majority of our waking hours — inevitably alters the way one perceives oneself and reality itself.

Zweig addresses how our minds work differently when we are observing media (yes, even interactive media like the web) than when we are engaged directly with each other or our environment, and how this can lead to an altered sense of self — the most extreme version of which is depersonalization, a dissociative disorder where one literally views oneself from afar, as if in a movie or a dream.

Rigorously researched and academically lauded, Zweig’s theory, Fiction Depersonalization Syndrome (and its broader hypothesis The Observing Self), has exploded within the academic community since it was introduced as the thoughts of the protagonist in his 2009 novel, Swimming Inside the Sun. Zweig has been invited to lecture about his hypothesis at numerous prestigious scholarly meetings, including the Media Ecology Association’s annual convention at the University of Maine, the Junge Philosophie Conference at the Technische Universität Darmstadt in Darmstadt, Germany, and the Institute of General Semantics annual symposium at Fordham University in New York City. The hypothesis has gained the international support of renowned academics from a variety of fields, including neuroscientists, communications theorists, psychologists, philosophers, and anthropologists. It has been referenced in multiple scholarly papers and PhD dissertations. Lastly, Fiction Depersonalization Syndrome has been added to the curricula at several universities for classes starting fall 2010.

Bio

David Zweig is the author of the acclaimed novel, Swimming Inside the Sun, called a “terrific debut from a talented writer” by Kirkus Reviews.  Heralded as a “symphonic pop prodigy,” Zweig has released two critically praised record albums, All Now With Wings and Keep Going, both charting in the Top 50 on college radio.  He is currently developing a book and documentary centered on his groundbreaking philosophical hypothesis Fiction Depersonalization Syndrome.

What do all of these people have in common? Facebook

Program Description

Facebook Fairytales: Modern-Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit

Having recently reached a milestone of over 350 million active users, Facebook has become not only a household staple spanning generations—from high school and college students, to their parents, and even grandparents, but Facebook, and social networking in general, represents a cultural revolution and massive shift in the way people conduct their personal and professional affairs. It’s opened up an international dialogue that didn’t exist five years ago, allowing members to connect in an efficient and technologically advanced way.

But what comes of these millions of connections? How can people better use this technology to their professional and personal advantage?

In her lecture/slide program, Liebert demonstrates how Facebook, in the short span of five years, has fostered an intricate web of amazing connections, the results of which have transformed people’s lives in ways they never imagined possible:  marriages, business successes, community service victories, and more.  Liebert addresses the ways in which commerce and communication are moving from traditional settings and onto the web, and how everyday people can use these tools to not only keep in touch with friends and make new ones, but to use those relationships to enrich their lives.  

Including separate interviews with with co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and co-founder Chris Hughes, Facebook Fairytales is a diverse collection of 25 of the most inspiring stories that have resulted from these connections.  The stories emphasize the real-life characters’ personal struggles and triumphs. Audiences will be able to personally relate to these stories and, at the same time, be inspired and by the possibilities of success resulting from a few clicks and the willingness to try.

Bio

Emily Liebert is an award-winning, internationally published author, writer, and editor. Her first book Facebook Fairytales: Modern-Day Miracles to Inspire the Human Spirit will publish in April 2010. She is also hard at work finishing final edits on her debut novel, Conversations with Friends.  Most recently, Liebert served as editor for Kerry Kennedy’s New York Times best-seller Being Catholic Now: Prominent Americans Talk About Change in the Church and the Quest for Meaning.  A graduate of Smith College, Liebert was Editor-in-Chief of The WAG magazine for five years and, prior to that, worked for ABC NEWS’ Peter Jennings Reporting. She received the Clarion Gold Award in Magazine Journalism and has made numerous television and radio appearances.