In the New York Times op-ed piece by David Brooks entitled The Rotting of the Republican Mind (Nov. 26, 2020), why does Brooks say that there is an epistemic crisis going on in the United States currently? Do you think most informed Americans would agree with Brooks that the intense populist backlash against information elites can be overcome by reducing the distrust and anxiety that is the seedbed of conspiracy? Provide examples from any of your reading, your conversations with other Americans or your experience to support your evaluation of the author's assertion.
The Density Divide: Urbanization, Polarization and Populist Backlash by Will Wilkinson at The Niskanen Center
The Constituion of Knowledge by Jonathan Rauch for National Affairs [Fall 2020]
Notes on the Rhetoric of Trolling Part 1 by Bernard Wills in Social Epistemology Review (May 2, 2019)
Notes on the Rhetoric of Trolling Part 2 by Bernard Wills in Social Epistemology Review (May 7, 2019)
All finals should be turned in to me via e-mail by Wednesday, Dec. 16 [2020] by 6:00 PM.