April
The Manufactured Mind: Freud, Bernays, Propaganda and Post-Truthism
Michael Leonardo, Heins-Johnson Professor of Biology
April 1, 8, 15
Why do people believe what they believe, and who benefits? This three-part forum will examine the relationship between psychoanalytic theory, the practice of propaganda and the contemporary epistemological condition known as post-truthism. Heins-Johnson Professor of Biology Michael Leonardo will guide audiences through a century of historical, cultural and psychological events that have shaped what we believe and what we want others to believe. The series begins by introducing late 19th/early 20th century thinkers like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Charcot, who turned Vienna, Austria, into the crucible of anxiety and creativity that allowed Freud to emerge. We will explore Freud’s ideas about the unconscious mind, unconscious motivation, group identification and the mechanisms of ideological belief. He developed key questions and theories about why individuals behave differently in groups, how group dynamics push people to suspend critical thinking and judgement, how false narratives emerge and how civilization was becoming more emotional than rational. In week two, we will see how Freud’s American nephew Edward Bernays extended and applied such ideas to establish the framework for modern public relations and political communication. The final session brings the discussion to the present day, examining Cold War psychological operations, 24-hour news cycles, neuromarketing and other technological advances that have made it easier to capture our attention and circulate misinformation. Beyond identifying the issues, we will discuss how individuals and society can recognize and challenge engineered content and manipulation. Taken together, the series will invite us to ask how much of what we believe, desire and fear has been, in some measure, manufactured.
Reflections on an English-Style Perennial Flower Garden in Iowa
Bob Marrs, Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric and Coe Alumni House Gardener
April 22 & 29
The tradition of gardening in English culture is well-known and English-style gardens have taken root around the world, including on Coe’s campus. This two-week forum presented by Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric and Coe Alumni House Gardener Bob Marrs will provide an overview of the history and cultivation of English gardens as well as a garden walk through an actual English-style garden in Iowa. During the first session, we will be introduced to the social, political, economic, ecological and aesthetic contexts of the 16th through 19th centuries that influenced how gardens came to play such a prominent role in English culture and the British Empire. The story will continue into more recent times, offering an introduction to important British gardens and gardeners of the past century or so. In week two, we will learn about the design of Coe’s Alumni House garden and consider how it fits within the tradition of an English-style perennial flower garden. We will hear about the benefits of gardening generally as well as those specifically associated with having a garden on a college campus. We will hear about the Alumni House garden’s evolution, current gardening practices and significant flowers, shrubs, trees, wildlife and artwork. The session will include exploration of the Alumni House garden, allowing an opportunity to see these gardening principles in action and to enjoy this English-style garden in its springtime glory.