Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world
The Berkman Center, Peter Galison, and Robb Moss present a screening of the film "Secrecy", a film about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy, followed by a roundtable discussion with professors.
The Berkman Center, Peter Galison, and Robb Moss present a screening of the film "Secrecy", a film about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy, followed by a roundtable discussion with professors:
Peter Galison, Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University
Jack Goldsmith, Henry L. Shattuck Professor of Law at Harvard University
Martha Minow, Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
Robb Moss, Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Visual and
Environmental Studies Department at Harvard University
Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Please join us! Free and Open to the Public. Popcorn and Soda Provided!
About Secrecy
In a single recent year the U.S. classified about five times the numberof pages added to the Library of Congress. We live in a world where theproduction of secret knowledge dwarfs the production of open knowledge.
Depending on whom you ask, government secrecy is either the key tovictory 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 furyhow 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 ncreasingly 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.
* PREMIERE, the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
* WINNER of the Special Jury Award for Documentary Features,Independent Film Festival Boston
* WINNER, Best Documentary, Newport International Film Festival
More on the film: http://www.secrecyfilm.com/