SUNY Fredonia Brown Bag talk to explore shift in philanthropy | News, Sports, Jobs

Dr. Amy Schiller

“Gradually, then suddenly: How techno-optimism took over philanthropy,” the next Brown Bag Lecture of the 2023-2024 academic year, will be given by Dr. Amy Schiller, a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College, on Wednesday at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

The rise of financialized language, with “return on investment” as an example, along with the acceleration of philanthropy centered on artificial intelligence, space travel and humanity’s long-term future, will be the focus of the talk to be given at noon in Williams Center Room S204.

“Dr. Schiller has not only deep knowledge of her primary subject area (philanthropy) but also wide-ranging knowledge of the state of the humanities and particularly modern moral and epistemological theory and philosophy,” said Department of Communication Assistant Professor Christopher Dahlie.

How giving shifted away from local communities and holistic thriving, and towards alleged inter-planetary utopias filled with “digital humans,” will be explored in the talk. Schiller researches, writes and consults at the intersection of political theory and philanthropy and has been published in The Atlantic, The Nation and the Daily Beast, among other publications, and is also the author of the upcoming: “The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong and How to Fix It.”

It’s not a common practice for the Brown Bag lecture series to draw speakers from outside of the region, but Dr. Dahlie has known Schiller since their paths crossed at Chautauqua Institution many years ago, and they have stayed in contact with one another. Academic concerns in the humanities is a frequent topic of their discussions.

“I am thrilled that she is coming to share that knowledge with the SUNY Fredonia community through the Brown Bag Lunch Series,” said Dahlie, who will give opening remarks.

The 2023-2024 theme of the Brown Bag Lecture series is “Gradually then Suddenly: Understanding Change.”

Brown Bag talks, free and open to the public, are conducted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and supported by the Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities of the Fredonia College Foundation. Food and refreshments are provided by the Faculty Student Association.