Philosopher Jason Stanley to instil a sense of urgency about global affairs and the 'rollback of democracy'
Jason Stanley, who recently joined U of T from Yale University, has written extensively on themes such as authoritarianism, propaganda, free speech, mass incarceration and democracy (photo by Yurii Stefanyak, Ukrainer)
Published: August 22, 2025
One of the greatest weapons that authoritarians – past and present – have used to suppress democratic freedoms worldwide is language, particularly its power to distort reality and reinforce ideologies that uphold social hierarchies.
Philosopher Jason Stanley, who recently joined the University of Toronto from Yale University, is an expert on this particular aspect of the dictator’s playbook. He has written extensively on themes such as authoritarianism, propaganda, free speech, mass incarceration and democracy for both academic and general audiences, including in his award-winning 2015 book How Propaganda Works, published by Princeton University Press.
This winter at U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, Stanley will teach a second-year course titled “Understanding Global Controversies” that explores “the way that language is used to wield power and to obscure reality by reinforcing ideologies that problematically distort reality.”
“We will grapple with the way human communication is enmeshed in the project of reinforcing hierarchies of value between groups,” says Stanley, the Bissell-Heyd-Associates Chair in American Studies at the Munk School and a professor in the department of philosophy in the Faculty of Arts & Science.
“Throughout, we will be guided by concrete examples, both historical and contemporary, in the Middle East, Asia and America.”
Stanley says he hopes to instil in his students at U of T a sense of both of urgency and optimism regarding global affairs. “The world faces existential threats,” he says, citing climate change and, now, “the rollback of democracy” around the globe.
He adds that it’s essential “to learn not only about democracy, but also what makes it stable, flourishing and good.”
In addition to his position at the Munk School, Stanley is a distinguished professor at the Kyiv School of Economics in Ukraine. Prior to joining U of T, he was a professor of philosophy at Yale for 12 years. He has also held faculty positions at Rutgers University, the University of Michigan and Cornell University.
“Professor Stanley is a timely choice for the Bissell-Heyd-Associates Chair in American Studies,” says Paul M. Cadario, president of the Associates of the University of Toronto Inc., a New York-headquartered charity that helps U.S. alumni, friends, corporations and foundations support the university, and which endowed the Bissell-Heyd-Associates Professorship in American Studies. “His scholarship in linguistic philosophy bridges the highest standards of academic rigour with solid commitment to respectful public engagement – precisely the combination this role was designed to support.
“At a time when questions of truth, democracy and justice are at the forefront of global concern, Professor Stanley brings clarity, courage and intellectual leadership to the conversation. We welcome him, and we look forward to the contributions he will make to [Munk’s] Centre for the Study of the United States in this next chapter.”
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