Institute for Historical Studies – Monday February 1, 2021
The violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 made clear that American society, like any other, is vulnerable to the dangers of a powerful demagogue skilled at manipulating reality. This panel brings together four scholars and four perspectives. With the events of January in mind, they will discuss two important aspects of this phenomenon (the political exploitation of popular emotions and the impact of the media) and two historical episodes (Nazism and McCarthyism).
Featuring:
“How Germany’s First Democracy Died: Hitler, Nazism and the Weimar Republic, 1919-1933”
David F. Crew
Professor, Department of History
University of Texas at Austin
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/history/faculty/crewdf
“Joseph McCarthy, the Big Lie, and Reality Television”
Jeremi Suri
Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs, and
Professor of Public Affairs and History
University of Texas at Austin
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/history/faculty/js33338
http://jeremisuri.net/
“Emotions and Anti-Democratic Attitudes in the 2020 Election”
Bethany Albertson
Associate Professor, Department of Government
University of Texas at Austin
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/government/faculty/ba6392
https://sites.utexas.edu/balberts/
“Mapping the Threats of Extremism and Disinformation on Social Media”
Samuel Christopher Woolley
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Media, and
Faculty Affiliate, School of Information
University of Texas at Austin
https://journalism.utexas.edu/faculty/samuel-woolley
https://samwoolley.org/
Miriam Bodian, Moderator
Professor, Department of History, and
Director, Institute for Historical Studies
University of Texas at Austin
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/history/faculty/mb35382
Sponsored by: Institute for Historical Studies in the Department of History, and Center for European Studies.
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