Ideas in the City — Phoenix Rising: What is Reality?

What world(s) do we live in? How many different worlds do you live in every day? From false images manufactured by AI to the encroaching omnipresence of virtual reality, historical re-enactment societies, internet subcultures, fantasy and science fiction novels, and perceptions of in-groups and out-groups, modern life is full of challenges to a stable, concrete definition of reality. Some of these challenges pertain to perception and belief, as disparate views on truth and reality can define various physical or social spaces in intriguing or contradictory ways.

Other challenges to stable realities can be found in fictional or imaginative spaces such as media, art, and storytelling. New worlds can be constructed as a space of play–ie, gaming worlds, immersive theatre, theme parks, or hobby cultures. Other visions of reality may emerge from delusions, denial, or a resistance to reality–ie, conspiracy theorists. Phoenix’s next event will consider how reality is constructed, defined, and challenged across disciplines.

Join Mount Royal University speakers as they discuss these and other questions about the nature of what's "real" — including keynote speaker, Professor Adrian Ivakhiv.

About the Keynote

Adrian Ivakhiv holds the J. S. Woodsworth Chair in the Humanities at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. Until 2024, he was a Professor of Environmental Thought and Culture at the University of Vermont, where he served as Steven Rubenstein Professor of Environment and Natural Resources and founding coordinator of EcoCultureLab. His books include “The New Lives of Images: Digital Ecologies and Anthropocene Imaginaries in More-than-Human Worlds” (2025), “Shadowing the Anthropocene: Eco-Realism for Turbulent Times” (2018), “Ecologies of the Moving Image: Cinema, Affect, Nature” (2013), and the anthology “Terra Invicta: Ukrainian Wartime Reimaginings for a Habitable Earth” (2025).

In partnership with Faculty of Arts and Calgary Public Library.

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