On November 19th, the Colin Powell School hosted a timely and thought-provoking conversation “Beyond the Marketplace of Ideas: Fact, Falsehood, and the Future of Democratic Discourse,” as part of our annual Stanley Feingold Lecture on American Politics.
This year’s speaker Richard Stengel — Colin Powell School Leader-in-Residence, former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and longtime advocate for strengthening democratic institutions — offered a compelling examination of the forces shaping today’s information environment. His remarks explored how truth has become contested terrain, the growing challenges posed by misinformation and disinformation, and what it will take to rebuild trust and protect the foundations of democratic debate in an era of rapid technological and social change.
The event opened with reflections from Feingold alumna Anita Altman and concluded with remarks by Ikeda Karen Feingold, Professor Feingold’s daughter.
The Stanley Feingold Lecture on American Politics honors Professor Stanley Feingold (CCNY ‘46), who taught political science to generations of CCNY students. To his students, he was far more than an exceptional teacher: he was a mentor and a guide for their lives. He was an inspiration to live lives with integrity and intellectual honesty. He supported many to make a difference as public service leaders. He made his students intellectually hungry by challenging their assumptions and teaching them to be analytically rigorous and careful in their reasoning. He mentored students and alums from the 1950s until his death in 2017 at the age of 91.
This Lecture Series is made possible by the generous support of many of his former students, in loving memory of a teacher who personified the highest values of The City College of New York.
Watch the full event below
