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:
Critical Perspectives, the journal of the Institute for Critical Social Theory, has just released Vol. 1, no. 2. It was published in December by Ekpyrosis Press. In it I have an article entitled, “Ali Shariati and the Foundations of Islamic Socialism: Muhammad, Capitalism, and the Post-Metaphysical Socialist Alternative.” I also wrote a book review of Jack El-Hai’s The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Herman Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal meeting of Minds at the End of the WWII.
You can purchase a physical copy for $20 here: Critical Perspectives Vol. 1, no. 2.
Or, a free download can be found here:
On January 28, 2026, I had the great honor to join Kevin M. DeJesus on his radio show, The Compass on 990WBOB. We discussed my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement, published by Ekpyrosis Press. I explained why political psychology and/or psychoanalytic political theory is more helpful for understanding the presidency of Donald Trump as opposed to political philosophy, due to the fact that Donald Trump has no coherent ideology. If you’d like to listen to the episode or download it, see the link below.
The Compass: The Psychology of MAGA
The end of the year 2025 has seen the release of two paperback versions of the books I recently co-edited and published with Brill. The first is, “Sigmund Freud as a Critical Social Theorist: Psychoanalysis and the Neurotic in Contemporary Society,” co-edited with Seyed Javad Miri. The Second is, “The Many Faces of Populism: Perspectives from Critical Theory and Beyond,” co-edited with Mlado Ivanovic and Jeremiah Morelock. The paperbacks were published by Haymarket Books in Chicago, as part of the Studies in Critical Social Sciences series, edited by David Fasenfest.
On August 7th, I had the wonderful opportunity to discuss my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement, at the Self Society Symposium (SSS) at Loyola University in Chicago. The SSS is coordinated by the great scholar, Lauren Langman, of Loyola University. I was joined by many other sociologists, psychologists, theologians, and philosophers to discuss ongoing issues in our society, especially the U.S. drift towards authoritarianism. In my presentation, I used Erich Fromm’s notion of the “Magic Helper,” found in his seminal 1941 book, Escape from Freedom, to highlight how Trump’s most submissive devotees perceive him as a national messianic force. We had a wonderful dinner and discourse the night before our symposium at Lauren’s house in Lincoln Park, for which Lauren was the most gracious host.
If you are interested in my book, The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump: Political Psychology and the MAGA Movement, it is available three different ways: Ekpyrosis Press Website; Amazon; Lulu.
On July 17-19, the Institute for Critical Social Theory hosted their inaugural conference at the University of Bristol, UK. I was a great honor to welcome so many scholars to the ICST event. We had thirteen presentations, two plenary addresses, and a round table discussion about critical theory during times of war (See the schedule below). We are looking forward to our next conference in 2026, with Istanbul being the agreed upon destination. Keep an eye out for that Call for Papers.
If you’d like to listen to my plenary address, wherein I discuss what it means to be critical in an age of social disintegration, you can find it on YouTube:
For more information on the Institute for Critical Social Theory, please visit our website: ICST
On Friday, May 16th, I had the distinct honor to address The University of Olivet’s 2025 graduating class during their Baccalaureate ceremony. Nominated by my student Lily Rozeveld and voted upon by the senior class, I was chosen to give a speech that would embody the theme of their event: “New Beginnings.” In my speech, entitled “From Catastrophe to New Beginnings,” I discussed the dialect of history using the 1946 “blinding of Isaac Woodard” as the animating subject. From the horror of the racist attack on Sgt. Woodard came the desegregation of the public schools throughout the United States. Woodard never knew that his case created the reverberations that changed history. Thank you Joylyn Stover for the audio recording and the Dr. Linda Logan for the picture. To hear the speech, see the YouTube link below.
On May 3rd, 2025, I had the opportunity to discuss with the critical theorist and theologian, Dr. Rudolf Siebert, the life, times, and martyrdom of the Jesuit priest, Father Alfred Delp. Born of his Catholic faith, Delp was a staunch anti-Nazi, and was part of the Kreisau Circle that envisioned a new and radically different society that would come after the fall of the Nazis. Because of this, and because of his tangential connection to Claus von Stauffenberg’s failed assassination plot against Hitler, Delp was arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, beaten, and eventually stood trial in front of the communist-turned-fascist judge, Roland Freisler. Found guilty, Delp was executed on February 2, 1945. This discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.
Come join the Institute for Critical Social Theory at our inaugural conference, July 17-19, 2025, at Bristol University (UK). Seyed Javad Miri and I are the plenary speakers in this three day conference. Our conference theme is “Critical Theory in an Age of Social Disintegration.” The Call for Papers is below, or visit us at the ICST website: Institute for Critical Social Theory.
dustinjbyrd
Dustin J. Byrd, Ph.D. 