Category: Conference

Celebrating Dr. Brian Wilson’s Retirement at Western Michigan University

On October 17th, I was fortunate to join colleagues, graduate students, and former and active professors from the Comparative Religion department at Western Michigan University to celebrate the retirement of the amazing scholar and master pedagogue, Dr. Brian C. Wilson. Dr. Wilson came to WMU in 1996 from UC-Santa Barbara, and quickly became an imminent scholar of local religious history. For thirty years he has educated WMU undergrads and graduate students in religion, religious history, religious theory, etc. I shared my work on the problem of “Geist” within the Willensgemeinschaft and Volksgemeinschaft states regarding Muslims, especially in post-secular Europe.

Dr. Brian Wilson has written some amazing books on American religious history, including Yankees in Michigan, John E. Fetzer and the Quest for the New Age, The California Days of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and the Religion of Biologic Living. These books are all well worth reading as they give incredible insights to the religious history of this area of southern Michigan.

It was great to see my dear friends and mentors, Dr. Nancy Falk, Dr. Stephen Covell, Dr. Kevin Wanner, Dr. Amy DeRogatis of MSU, and many others, including my dear friend and former office mate, Sarah Montgomery-Richards.

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Psychological Precarity and the Magic Helper: Talking about Erich Fromm at Columbia University

On October 10, 2026, I had the opportunity to join other Erich Fromm scholars at the 2nd biennial Erich Fromm Society of North America conference held at Columbia University, New York. In my talk, I addressed the ways in which false consciousness is created by what Erich Fromm calls the “Magic Helper,” the person, ideology, movement, or group that the psychological precariat offload responsibility for their lives to. In times of great change, including economic and political chaos, those who suffer from what I have called “psychological precocity” – the abiding sense that one can or will “fall off the cliff” into an undesirable state of being – grows exponentially. In such times, people look for an authority outside of themselves that will magically resolve their conflicts, will slay the chaos, and restore them to their desired state of being. The conference was entitled, Erich Fromm and the Crisis of Democracy: Educational, Psychological, and Sociological Perspectives, and was organized by Rory Varrato, Ph.D., and Chiara Ginevra Berra, MPhil. I was joined in my panel by James E. Block, who spoke on “fashioning a democratic individual,” and Stephen Onley, who spoke on “the self-concealing crisis: automaton conformity and democratic legitimacy.” It was great to see my dear friend, Rainer Funk again, the greatest of scholars of Erich Fromm. He gave a wonderful talk on the last day entitled, “The Having Mode of Existence and Artificial Intelligence: Psychological Impact on Democracy.”

Here is the schedule of events from the conference: Erich Fromm Society of North America Conference 2026

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Talking Islamophobia in Dublin

On August 21st, 2026, I gave a talk about my chapter in the book, Secularism, Race, and the Politics of Islamophobia (University of Albert Press, 2025), edited by Dr. Sharmin Sadequee. My chapter is entitled “The Limits of the Translation Proviso: The Inherent Alien in the Willed-Society.” Entitled “Futures and Frontiers,” the conference was held at Dublin City University on the All Hallows campus – the site of a former monastery and Vincentian seminary. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religion (ISASR), the British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR), the Center for the Critical Study of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements (CenSAMM), and Dublin City University, School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music (DCU).

The conference was excellent, with great speakers and presenters, including Marion Bowman and Olivet Scharbrodt. My panel included Sharmin Sadequee and Alain Gabon, who both gave tremendously interesting and informative presentations on Islamophobia. A big shout out to Brad Anderson who organized the conference; it was masterfully done! I would also like to thank The University of Olivet for graciously sponsoring my work in Dublin.

For more information on the conference, see the brochure:

Conference Booklet BASR ISASR 2026-2Download
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“When the Dark Charismatic Fails: A Psycho-Political Analysis” at the Self & Society Symposium 2026

On August 6th, 2026, I had the great honor to join my colleagues at the Self & Society Symposium at Northeastern University – New York. Invited by my dear brother Professor Emeritus of Loyola University Chicago, Lauren Langman, my talk was based on my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement. To listen to the presentation, see the video below.

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Critical Social Theory in Istanbul – ICST 2026

On July 8-10, the Institute for Critical Social Theory hosted a conference at Marmara University. The conference was entitled, “Critical Social Theory in a time of Global Uncertainty.” I gave two presentations, one on the political-psychological dynamics of Donald Trump, the “Dark Charismatic” as I call him in my book – The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement. The second was on the “Inherent Alien in the Post-Secular Society,” which discusses the metaphysicalization of Islamophobia – its retreat from race and religion into the intangibility of Geist. We had a total of 28 presenters, with Seyed Javad Miri delivering the plenary address on the first day. Our trip included a visit to a Mevlevi Sema (Spiritual Concert) at the Hodjapasha Culture Center, and a dinner cruise on the Bosphorus. On the last day of the conference, we visited the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed mosque), the 6th century Aya Sofia (Hagia Sophia) – the church-turned-mosque-turned-museum-turned-mosque, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the Topkapi Palace. Overall, this was an amazing experience. The conference went exceptionally well with very interesting presentations and discussions, the cultural excursions were amazing, the bazaars were spectacular, and the mosques were unspeakably beautiful and serene during salah. The dueling adhans between Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque was amazing (see the video below). Istanbul, also known as “Catstanbul,” is full of cats, which are communally owned, mostly friendly, and adored by locals and tourists alike. I miss them already. Unfortunately, the Aya Sofia is in disrepair, so a lot of renovation work is being done on it. It will look even more beautiful once it is done.

Our 2027 conference is tentatively planned to take place in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Keep an eye out for the Call for Papers.

I would like to thank Nuri Tinaz of Marmara University for all his help organizing the conference on the ground in Istanbul; Cihan Nuri for driving us around and for the wonderful gifts, as well as The University of Olivet for all the technical support. Lastly, to all the students who helped us keep the conference going, you are awesome! Keep studying and change the world!

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Interviews from Vilnius: Talking Authoritarianism in Lithuania

While at the 16th Annual Sakharov conference in Vilnius, Lithuania, I had the fortunate opportunity to do a couple interviews for Lithuanian news outlets, wherein we talked about Putin’s war on Ukraine, populism in the U.S. and Europe, as well as my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement. These two interviews turned into numerous news articles. The links to the articles are below (All in Lithuanian).

Trump is playing the psychopath – American philosopher explains what he is like and what awaits Putin – May 18, 2026

US professor: Putin wants to restore the Russian empire to counter the West – May 30, 2026

US professor: This creates apocalyptic mood for the Kremlin – May 30, 2026

US professor: this is fueling apocalyptic sentiments in the Kremlin – May 30, 2026

US professor identifies Putin’s ultimate goal – May 30, 2026

D. J. Byrd: V. Putin wants to restore the Russian empire, without which it cannot be a counterweight to the West – May 30, 2026

US professor: Putin wants to restore the Russian empire, and Ukraine is its jewel – May 30, 2026

US professor: Putin wants to restore the Russian empire – May 30, 2026

And here is the LRT Interview on Trump and Trumpism:

US professor on Trump: all projects and daughter Ivanka are his narcissistic mirrors – June 30, 2026

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“The Rise of Authoritarianism” – Sakharov Conference in Vilnius, Lithuania

I had the great opportunity to participate in the Sixteenth International Sakharov Conference in Vilnius Lithuania, on May 21-22. Organized by Robert van Voren, this conference brought together activists, NGOs, diplomats, dissidents, academics, and other government officials, to discuss the ongoing rise of authoritarianism, especially in the West, as well as the war of aggression launched by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine. With the subject title, “Fifty years after the founding of the Helsinki Movement,” we discussed the democratic dissident movement that fought for human rights during the Soviet period. My discussion of the psycho-dynamics of Trump’s authoritarianism came under the section on “The Current Political Climate.” I was joined on stage by Janet Anderson (UK), George Kent (USA), Margarita Å eÅ¡elgytÄ— (Lithuania), Hans Brask (Denmark), and Helmer Krane (Germany). We had a wonderful meet-and-greet at the Norwegian embassy in Vilnius; we watched the film, “To the Success of our Hopeless Cause,” about dissidents during the Soviet period at the Czech Embassy in Vilnius, and heard an amazing concert by Alexey Botvinov (Odesa, Ukraine) in memory of Semyon Gluzman, who recently passed away. For all intents and purposes, Gluzman was a force to be reckoned with, as was well displayed by those who attended the conference who knew and loved him. His spirit was with us even though his physical presence was not. Overall, this was an amazing opportunity and experience and I thank Robert van Voren for inviting me to participate. I hope my meager contribution was meaningful.

While in Vilnius, I did two media interviews on top of the one I already did while I was in Rome. Here’s the first of three (In Lithuanian): Trump is a Psychopath.

During my free time, I explored The Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, located inside of the former KGB building in Vilnius. The prison cells in the basement were disturbing, as was the execution room, where thousands of dissidents were murdered. I also visited the Cathedral Basilica of St. Stanislaus and St. Ladislaus of Vilnius, the main Catholic Cathedral in Vilnius. I also explored the history of Vilnius and Lithuanian Christianity with the tour of the Basilica’s catacombs. Vilnius is a beautiful city, and its solidarity with the Ukrainian cause is admirable. Ukrainian flags were seen throughout the city, as its own memory of occupation by the Soviet Union is invoked with each missile Putin launches into Ukraine.

The conference schedule can be found here: 16th Sakharov Conference – Vilnius, Lithuania.

My contribution to this panel starts around the 4 hour, 50 minute mark.

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The Polycrisis of our Age: A Discourse in the Philippines

On April 18, 2026, I had the wonderful opportunity to join the PAGMANGNO series of seminars held by the Philosophy Circle of the Philippines – Legazpi Chapter. In its 20th iteration, PAGMANGNO XX adopted the theme, “Philosophy in the Time of Authoritarian Regimes,” highlighting the importance of philosophy in times where actions and thoughts are being suppressed. I would like to thank my dear brother Hadje Cresencio Sadje who initiated the invitation, as well as the amazing students who had excellent questions.

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Institute for Critical Social Theory Conference in Istanbul, July 8-10, 2026

The Institute for Critical Social Theory has released its Call for Papers for the 2026 conference at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. The theme of this year’s conference is “Critical Social Theory in an Age of Global Uncertainty.” We, the organizers, would love to see you all there. Send us an abstract! For more details, see the full Call for Papers below:

ICST – Call for Papers 2026Download
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