How imagining the end of the world might help us save it | Jeremy Strong | TEDxUManitoba HD

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Real solutions, new technology and innovation are motivated by the creative imagination and we should be doing more to nourish creativity. Jeremy R. Strong is a PhD candidate in the department of English, Film and Theatre at the University of Manitoba, where he studies twentieth and twenty first century Canadian literature and film in its intersections with public policy. He is particularly interested in apocalyptic, dystopian and disaster narratives that depict the future through logical extrapolation and in any policy that is written in a similar fashion. Strong focuses closely on the human body as the site where the realms of art and legislation meet and therefore currently works with many poststructuralist notions related to biobolitics and identity theory, such as Michel Foucault’s notion of biopower and Giorgio Agamben’s concept of homo sacer. Strong is also a creative writer, and most recently produced a post-apocalyptic novel as one component of his MA. He has also published two articles that investigate the zombie as significant cultural artifact and has recently finished work editing an interdisciplinary volume of essays on the apocalyptic. He was born and currently resides in Winnipeg with his wife Jessie and two children Samantha and Quin. About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)