9:00 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. PST- Welcome

9:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m. PST – Comparing the Politics and History of Conspiracy Theories from the Middles Ages to the Modern

This panel will explore how beliefs in conspiracies shaped the politics and psychology of the medieval world and our current political climate.

• Elizabeth A. R. Brown – Professor Emerita of History at Brooklyn College and The Graduate Center, CUNY
• Dallas Denery – Author, Professor of History at Bowdoin College
• Sara Gorman – Mental Health Expert; Author
• Norbert Schwarz – Provost Professor, Department of Psychology & Marshall School of Business; Co-director, USC Dornsife Mind & Society Center
• Moderated by Kamy Akhavan – Executive Director at the USC Center for the Political Future

10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. PST – Conspiracies around Judaism: Anti-Semitism from the Medieval Era to George Soros

This panel will discuss how conspiracy theories regarding Judaism have perpetuated anti-Semitism and the treatment of Jewish people over the course of history. The Middle Ages witnessed the creation of some of the most pernicious stereotypes about Jews as well as accusations of ritual child murder and well poisoning. A reflexive intolerance toward Jews born of the same irrational antipathy continues to shape extremist activity in our own world.

• Sara Lipton – Professor of History at Stony Brook University
• Miri Rubin -Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary University of London
• Steve Ross – Professor of History, Myron and Marian Casden Director of the Casden Institute for the Study of Jewish Role in American Life and Professor of History at the University of Southern California
• Roz Rothstein – Founder and CEO of StandWithUs
• Moderated by Bret Stephens – Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist; Author; Op-Ed Columnist at The New York Times; Former Editor in Chief of The Jerusalem Post.

11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. PST – The Spread of Conspiracies: Heretical Groups to Social Media

This panel will discuss how conspiracy theories are born, grow, and reach mass audiences. Some historical experts say heretical groups are described in source materials as vast secret conspiratorial movements that spread verbally through fear and fevered imaginations.  Modern scholars contemplate the roles of television, search engine algorithms, online advertising, bulletin boards, and social media for their contribution to the vast speed and reach of conspiracy theories.

• Christine Caldwell Ames – Professor of Medieval European History at University of South Carolina
• Karen Douglas – Professor of Social Psychology at University of Kent, United Kingdom
• Mark Pegg – Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis
• Sinan Aral – Author, David Austin Professor of Management, IT, Marketing and Data Science at MIT, Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE)
• Moderated by Marc Ambinder – Executive Fellow in Digital Security, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

CLICK HERE to register in advance.

This event is a partnership with the USC Center for the Political Future and the USC Center for the Pre-Modern World.

This discussion will be live-streamed to the CPF Facebook page.

Email cpw@usc.edu for questions.

 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST – Templars and the Deep State

The Templars were accused of worshipping Satan, witchcraft, and sodomy. They were one of the Latin West’s most trusted institutions, and then suddenly were condemned and accused of sodomy, witchcraft, and Satan worship, among other sins. Modern observers will explore how similar trends target America’s civic institutions, drawing on events from McCarthyism to the Kennedy assassination to 9/11.

• Sean L. Field – Professor of History at the University of Vermont
• Kristin Pichaske – Award-winning Filmmaker, “Pulling The Thread;” Associate Professor of Cinema and Television Arts at Columbia College Chicago
• Julien Théry – Professor at Université Lumière – Lyon 2, not Montpellier !
• Michael Shermer – Author; Presidential Fellow at Chapman University
• Moderated by Robert M. Shrum – Director of USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future and Carmen H. and Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics

11:05 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. PST – Apocalypse Then and Now: Millenarian Cults to QAnon

Apocalypse doesn’t just mean destruction. It can also mean a world remade—peaceful, prosperous, but born of social upheaval and torrential bloodshed. This panel will discuss these aspects of Apocalyptic and Millenarian cults in the Middle Ages and compare them to modern religious extremism and the contemporary conspiratorial mindset from Y2K to QAnon.

• Marley Clements – Journalist, Screenwriter, “The Search for Q”
• Sylvain Piron – Director of Studies and Chair of Intellectual History of Medieval Societies at The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris, France
• Denver Riggleman – Former U.S. Congressman (R-VA);  CEO of Riggleman Information and Intelligence Group (RIIG); Author, “Bigfoot…It’s Complicated”
• Jay Rubenstein – Director, USC Center for the Pre-Modern World; Professor of History at the University of Southern California

CLICK HERE to register in advance.

This event is a partnership with the USC Center for the Political Future and the USC Center for the Pre-Modern World.

This discussion will be live-streamed to the CPF Facebook page.

Email cpw@usc.edu for questions.