[Sci-tech-public] STS Event: Secrecy film by Peter Galison and Robb Moss, September 8, MIT, 4 pm

[Debbie Meinbresse]

STS Special Event - Monday, September 8th

"SECRECY"
a documentary film by Peter Galison and Robb Moss

4:00 pm, MIT, Bartos Theater (lower level of E15*)
 From the <http://www.secrecyfilm.com/about.html>film's website:
In a single recent year the U.S. classified about five times the 
number of pages added to the Library of Congress. We live in a world 
where the production of secret knowledge dwarfs the production of 
open knowledge. Depending on whom you ask, government secrecy is 
either the key to victory in our struggle against terrorism, or our 
Achilles heel. But is so much secrecy a bad thing?

Secrecy saves: counter-terrorist intelligence officers recall with 
fury how a newspaper article describing National Security Agency 
abilities directly led to the loss of information that could have 
avoided the terrorist killing of 241 soldiers in Beirut late in 
October 1983. Secrecy guards against wanton nuclear proliferation, 
against the spread of biological and chemical weapons. Secrecy is 
central to our ability to wage an effective war against terrorism.

Secrecy corrupts. From extraordinary rendition to warrant-less 
wiretaps and Abu Ghraib, we have learned that, under the veil of 
classification, even our leaders can give in to dangerous impulses. 
Secrecy increasingly hides national policy, impedes coordination 
among agencies, bloats budgets and obscures foreign accords; secrecy 
throws into the dark our system of justice and derails the balance of 
power between the executive branch and the rest of government.

This film is about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy. 
By focusing on classified secrets, the government's ability to put 
information out of sight if it would harm national security, Secrecy 
explores the tensions between our safety as a nation, and our ability 
to function as a democracy.

WINNER of the Special Jury Award for Documentary Features, 
Independent Film Festival Boston

Please join us on Monday, September 8, at 4:00 pm in MIT's Bartos 
Theater (E15-070 at 20 Ames Street) for this very special event. A 
panel discussion with Professor Galison and Moss will immediately 
follow the film. Contact <mailto:meinbres at mit.edu>Debbie Meinbresse 
for further information.

Brief bios on Peter Galison and Robb Moss can be viewed at the 
<http://www.secrecyfilm.com/about.html>film's website.

PLEASE NOTE: This film will kick off the STS fall 2008 colloquium 
series on "Cold War Knowledges: A New Look" (see the STS website for 
a complete listing of talks in this series, as well as other events 
of interest 
<http://web.mit.edu/sts/calendar/index-css.html>http://web.mit.edu/sts/calendar/index-css.html)


*For the location of Building E15 on the MIT campus map: 
http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?mapterms=E15&mapsearch=go

Debbie Meinbresse
STS Program, MIT
617-452-2390
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