INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOHISTORICAL ASSOCIATION’S
46th ANNUAL CONFERENCE
MAY 18-20, 2023
VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM
WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?
PSYCHOHISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON A WORLD ON THE EDGE
SUBTHEMES: PSYCHOHISTORICAL INSIGHTS ON
• CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DENIAL
• WARS, GEOPOLITICAL CONFLICT, AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL CRISES
• RESURGENT TRIBALISM: BACKLASH TO NEOLIBERAL GLOBALIZATION
• GENDER, RACE, AND IDEOLOGIES OF DOMINATION
• PSYCHOANALYSIS AND HEALING
WHAT IS “A WORLD ON THE EDGE”?
With record breaking temperatures, wildfires, and extreme weather events, it is now clear that humanity faces a climate emergency and Sixth Extinction that threaten both human civilization and our planet’s biodiversity. Yet an entire political party in the United States and similar parties in other countries exhibit a psychology of denial about the urgency of the threat and its human causes. Other global aspects of our “Anthropocene epoch” encompass what some call a New Cold War, pandemics, and an acceleration of technological change including artificial intelligence.
All this is occurring in the context of an international political-economic system that puts profits before the needs of ordinary people, fueling a populist backlash to globalization. In its right-wing variants, this includes toxic racial and gender dynamics; authoritarian politics and religion; and other forms of tribalism.
Where do we begin in responding effectively to these myriad challenges? In this conference we tap the full range of psychoanalytic and psychohistorical resources as a basis for understanding and healing. Topics include:
- group psychology and analysis of the ego in a time of globalization;
- intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience;
- psychoanalysis and the turmoil of our times—can structure hold, and should it?
- childhood and its history, psychobiography, and the methodology of psychohistory;
- the healing potential of music, and others.
FULL PROGRAM AS OF 3 MARCH (All times are Eastern Daylight Time)
Click on Title to view Abstract and Short Bio (if available)