Future Events
Perspectives on Political Violence
Friday, October 25, 2024
10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PT
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FREE Virtual Event
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The Symposium of the UCI Center for Neuropolitics will address political violence in all its complexities. The Symposium will use the tools of neuroscience, political science, history and psychology to comprehensively analyze the disturbing development and potential emergence in American life. The Symposium includes the 2024 Jerrold Post Lecture on Neuropolitics, to be given by Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
The 2024 Jerrold Post Lecture on Neuropolitics: “How Authoritarians Cultivate and Manage Violence”
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, PhD is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. She writes about racism, authoritarianism, propaganda, and democracy protection. She is the recipient of Guggenheim and other fellowships and appears frequently on MSNBC and other networks. Her latest book, “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present” (2020; paperback with a new epilogue, 2021), examines how illiberal leaders use corruption, violence, propaganda, and machismo to stay in power, and how resistance to them has unfolded over a century.
“The Neurobiology of Violence”
James Blair, PhD did his doctoral work at University College London, taking a faculty position there to examine the near-cognitive underpinnings of aggression and psychopathy. In 2002, he became the Chief of the Section on Affective Cognitive Neuroscience at the National Institutes of Health (USA). He moved from there in 2016 to become the Director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Disorders at Boys Town National Research Hospital. In 2022, he became Professor in Translational Psychiatry at the University of Copenhagen.
“The News from America’s Partisan Civil War”
Nathan Kalmoe, PhD did his doctoral work in political science at the University of Michigan. He studies mass politics in the US via political science, psychology, communication, and history, using a wide range of social science methods. He is the author of three scholarly books, two dozen articles and many public essays on contentious politics and democratization, with particular focus on partisanship, violence, identity and ideology.
“Violent Attitudes and Threats to Pluralistic American Democracy”
Liliana Mason, PhD is an SNF Agora Institute Associate Professor of Political Science at John Hopkins University. She is author of “Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity” (2018), and co-author of “Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy” (2022). She received her PhD in political psychology from Stony Brook University, and her research addresses partisan identity, partisan bias, social sorting, American social polarization, and attitudes toward political violence.
“War is Nothing More than the Continuation of Neuropolitics by Other Means”
Darren Schreiber, PhD, JD is Senior Lecturer in Politics at University of Exeter. He did his doctoral work in Political Science at UCLA, developing an agent-based computer simulation of the formation dynamics of political parties. He is a pioneer in the field of neuropolitics, and twenty-five years ago was the first to use functional brain imaging (fMRI) to study the neural foundations of politics. He has previously taught at UC San Diego, and his research has appeared in Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Cultural Inertia and the Role of Rumination in Turning Ideology into Violence”
Michael Zarate, PhD, is the Helen M. C. and J. Edward Stern Endowed Professor of Psychology at University of Texas, El Paso. He received his PhD from Purdue, and his research addresses the desire to avoid cultural change. His work develops predictive models for prejudice and violence towards immigrants and other agents of change. He also investigates how newly learned social information becomes integrated with existing long-term memory structures.
Featured Speakers Include:
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, PhD
Professor of History and Italian Studies
New York University
James Blair, PhD
Associate Professor in Translational Psychiatry
University of Copenhagen
Nathan Kalmoe, PhD
Executive Director, Center for Communication & Civic Renewal
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Lilliana Mason, PhD
Associate Professor of Political Science
Johns Hopkins University
Darren Schreiber, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Politics
University of Exeter
Michael A. Zarate, PhD
Professor of Psychology
University of Texas, El Paso
Past Events
Conspiracy Thinking in American Politics
October 20, 2023
Delve into the phenomenon of increasing conspiracy thinking in American politics with insights from political science, neuroscience, law, psychology, and philosophy. Explore the legacy of Psychiatrist Jerrold Post, MD (1934-2020), a founder of political psychology, through the Annual Jerrold Post Lecture on Neuropolitics. Gain valuable perspectives on this critical issue that has impacted the country.
Click on the link above for the video of our 2023 Symposium “Conspiracy Thinking in American Politics”.
How Partisan Identity Politics is Taking Over America
May 3, 2024
The past twenty years have demonstrated the role of biology in our political predispositions, with evidence from twin studies, genetics, and brain imaging. Recent trends have highlighted political polarization on an emotional, identity-driven level where the other side is seens as a hated enemy. The consequences have ranged from increasing dissatisfaction with democracy to a rise in violent extremism.
Darren Schreiber’s research centers on emergence and complexity in political systems. While earning his Ph.D. in Political Science at UCLA, Darren developed an agent-based computer simulation of the formation dynamics of political parties. He is a pioneer in the field of neuropolitics and twenty five years ago was the first to use functional brain imaging (fMRI) to study the neural foundations of politics. His research has appeared in Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PLOS One, and Political Psychology.
Presidential Leadership and Disability
March 15, 2024
The age of presidential candidates has become a salient concern, but age is not the only physical factor that should concern citizens. Presidents can also suffer various forms of illness, both physical and psychological. This talk highlights the nature of these concerns and how we might work to mitigate their impact on political outcomes.
The lecture is presented by Rose McDermott, PhD, who is the David and Mariana Fisher University Professor of International relations at Brown University and a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is author of five books and over two hundred academic articles encompassing topics such as American foreign and defense policy, experimentation, national security intelligence, gender, social identity, cybersecurity, emotion and decision-making, and the biological and genetic bases of political behavior.
The Havana Syndrome: A Disorder of Neuropolitics?
April 19, 2023
In one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science, the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. The lecture traces the origins of the syndrome, the response of the U.S. government, the results of scientific investigations and opinions, the evolution of the syndrome over time and similar phenomena that have occurred in the past.
The lecture is presented by Robert W. Baloh, MD who is a Professor of Neurology and Head and Neck Surgery (Emeritus) at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Author of 14 books and more than 350 articles in peer reviewed journals, he is a pioneer in the study of the vestibular system and clinical neurotology. He has a recent book on Havana Syndrome co-authored with Robert Bartholomew, a sociologist from New Zealand. Two other recent books are: “Medically Unexplained Symptoms” and “Exercise and the Brain”.
Liberals, Conservatives, and the Political Brain: fMRI Studies of Political Ideology
January 20, 2023
Emerging research examine functional connectivity (ie, synchrony or correlation of activity between multiple brain regions) has begun investigating the neural underpinnings that drive political ideology, political attitudes, and political actions. This lecture presentation explores the neurological roots of politics with a large sample, whole-brain analysis of functional connectivity across common fMRI tasks. Studies to date suggest that liberals and conservatives that can be identified with high accuracy using contemporary artificial intelligence methods. The data suggest that biological and neurological roots of political behavior run deeper than previously thought.
Cognitive Decline and Political Leadership
October 19, 2022
Cognitive deterioration of politicians (including diminished memory, impaired decision-making, mood alterations, and dementia) is a critical emerging issue. This Symposium addresses the current state and future directions of assessment of cognitive function and decline among politicians. As professions such as law and medicine are addressing cognitive effects of age, their insights may inform development of the proper strategy within politics.
Click on the link above for the video of our 2022 Symposium “Cognitive Decline and Political Leadership”.