272 - Ada Palmer on Learning From the Past and the Future
Episode description
In today’s interview, the Getting Smart team is talking to Ada Palmer, a history professor at the University of Chicago. As a historian, Ada studies the long-term evolution of ideas and the history of religious radicalism, science, and freethought, especially in the Italian Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Classical Greece and Rome. In addition to being a historian, Ada is also a composer and an award-winning science fiction author.
In Tom and Ada’s conversation, they discuss how we can learn from the past and the future. Ada shares her insights on historical pandemics; how society has changed; how history may influence the future; how sci-fi can help society integrate new, ethical frameworks; and how investigating the past and the future can help us navigate the complex here and now.
Key Takeaways:
[:10] About today’s episode.
[:41] Tom welcomes Ada to the podcast!
[:48] As a historian at Chicago, what does Ada believe that history can teach us about a world that’s currently going through a pandemic as well as the current BLM movement?
[6:05] Donald Ferguson has said that historians study crisis. Does Ada think about studying history in this way?
[8:21] Ada shares her thoughts on what the Golden Age really means and why it is so incredibly important to study.
[12:19] Ada talks about her passion for space exploration, space launches, and the space program and what it all means to her.
[13:19] How true social change actually happens (using examples through history).
[24:15] About Getting Smart’s resource on equity work.
[24:51] Ada shares about her role as a teacher and how she thinks about learning. In particular, she highlights her teachings about the Italian renaissance and why she has her college students reenact the fateful Conclave of 1492.
[32:50] Why Ada writes science fiction, particularly ‘big ideas’ science fiction.
[35:05] How science fiction can help us create new ethical frameworks and dynamic frameworks for changing the world.
[38:10] Ada’s take on the rise of synthetic content such as deep fakes.
[40:32] What an ideal high school curriculum looks like to Ada.
[48:51] Tom thanks Ada for joining the podcast!
Mentioned in This Episode:
Who Owns the News?: A History of Copyright, by Will Slauter
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