The Critical Room: BLAME // Academical research under attack
In Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Christian Frei's film BLAME, we get a shocking and visually striking insight into how the debate following the COVID pandemic has been characterized by conspiracy theories and misinformation.
The documentary follows three researchers who began working with viruses from bats after the SARS outbreak in 2002. In 2013, they warned of the possibility of a new virus outbreak, and it was this warning that later led them to be cast as the main characters in a politicized conspiracy theory about the COVID pandemic.
After the film, we invite you to a panel discussion on how free academic research is threatened by anti-democratic movements and conspiracies. Panel participants are Ole Jacob Sending from Norwegian Institute of of International Affairs (NUPI), Lise Øverås from The University of Bergen (UiB) and Svein Stølen from The University of Oslo (UiO). The discussion will be moderated by Cathrine Holst from the UiO. The event is a collaboration with the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (DNVA) and is part of their series of meetings entitled «Security in a changing world»
Panelists
- Ole Jacob Sending is head of the Center for Geopolitics at NUPI. He has expertise in security, global order, and diplomacy.
- Lise Øvreås is professor of geomicrobiology at UiB. She is former leader of the DNVA. She is currently vice president of EASAC, an association of 30 Academies of Science in Europe.
- Svein Stølen is professor of chemistry at UiO, and the university’s former rector. He is currently at the Centre for Global Sustainability at the UiO.
- Moderator: Cathrine Holst is Professor of Philosophy of Science and Democracy at UiO and a member of the board of the DNVA. Her research focuses on the relationship between science and politics.
