American Psychosis: Trump and the Nightmare of History

Lecture by W. J. T. Mitchell, Professor in Visual Studies, University of Chicago

In English with live-interpretation in French

Wednesday 18th January, 7pm
Uni Dufour — Room U600, 24 rue Général Dufour, 1204 Geneva

The shock felt at the election of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States has left many Americans and citizens of the world in a state of collective post-traumatic stress disorder.

Guest of honour of the conference What do images in public space do? the Professor in visual studies W. J. T. Mitchell will analyse the American visual culture, focusing on the war of images between the two candidates running for the presidency, which ended up with the election of Donald Trump.

Professor Mitchell will apply the tools of mass psychology to diagnose the role of collective fantasy, passion, and “rational madness” in producing this surprising historic event.

Professor Mitchell will examine in particular the role did media, images, and spectacle play, and why they fail to predict this result. He will also address a series of burning issues: how did fantasies of American exceptionalism build on the global resurgence of nationalism?  What specific mixture of pathologies (racism, misogyny, xenophobia, class resentment, religious fanaticism) produced a “rainbow coalition” of the American Right?  What forms of therapeutic critique offer a prognosis for recovery going forward?

This lecture takes place at the occasion of the conference What do images in public space do?

☞ Download the event flyer or go to the event listing on the University of Geneva website for more details.

WHEN

Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 07:00 PM Bern Time

WHERE

Uni Dufour, Room U600
24 rue Général Dufour
Geneva, GE 1204
Switzerland
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