Terror_at_The_Voting_Booth

In The Denial of Death, Pulitzer Prize winning author Ernest Becker argued that the fear of death and mortality are factors in the human fear of “others” and the human capacity for violence.

Since the 1980’s, social psychologists Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenburg and Tom Pyszczynski have been investigating Becker’s claims. Twenty years of empirical evidence has brought attention to their work and renewed interest in Becker’s ideas. In recent years, they have investigated how death anxiety influences voter behavior, looking particularly at how terrorism and the “culture of fear” are used in political rhetoric and campaign messages. This research has made the news, appearing in the Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Psychology Today, NPR and the BBC. The August 27 issue of The New Republic featured their work in a cover story, “Death Grip,” by John Judis.

On March 29, CMU will host a one day conference which will introduce these ideas and examine their implications. The day’s events will include:

• “Flight from Death,” an award winning documentary,
narrated by Gabriel Byrne, which introduces the ideas of
Ernest Becker. Greg Bennick, co-producer of “Flight from
Death,” will present and discuss the documentary.
www.flightfromdeath.com

• Dr. John Mueller, Professor of Political Science at The Ohio
State University, will discuss his recently published
Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry
Inflate National Security Threats and Why We Believe Them.

• Dr. Sheldon Solomon, Professor of Psychology at Skidmore
College, will discuss research findings regarding the
political uses of death anxiety and the “culture of fear.”

• John Zogby, President/CEO of Zogby International and
pollster and commentator for news sources in the U.S.,
Canada and Great Britain, will discuss national and
international polling which identifies consistent shifts in
public opinion favoring political violence under conditions
of perceived danger or vulnerability.

• Concluding event: Panel Discussion with the guest speakers
and CMU students, including audience participation.

Watch the trailer of “Flight From Death” here.

Central Michigan University presents a one day conference on the political uses of death anxiety

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Ernest Becker Foundation.

Website for “Flight From Death”