Historian Ada Palmer traces censorship of radical ideas across centuries

Ada Palmer is a historian, a folk musician and a science fiction novelist. In many ways, the University of Chicago associate professor's latest project feels just as wide-reaching. This fall, Palmer partnered with Prof. Adrian Johns and fellow author Cory Doctorow to host a series of dialogues designed to tackle how censorship and technology have influenced the dissemination of information through time and across disciplines. Titled "Censorship and Information Control During Information Revolutions," the weekly lectures invited more than two dozen participants from various fields and also served as an undergraduate course. Palmer also curated an accompanying exhibit in the Regenstein Library's Special Collections Research Center , which explores how real-world examples of censorship differ from what was depicted in George Orwell's 1984 . Every session of the dialogue series was recorded and will soon be available to the public on YouTube. The library exhibit will remain on display through Dec.