I recently had the opportunity to discuss the on-going culture wars (kulturkampfen) with Critical Theorist, Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert. We discussed the history of culture wars, their relevance to current politics in the United States and Europe – especially regarding right-wing populism and Neo-fascism, and possible future of the culture wars. This discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.
On February 24th, 2024, I had the great honor of discussing the “Christian Resistance to Fascism” with the Critical Theorist and Catholic Theologian, Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert. This discourse follows up our last two, “The Fascist Temptation” and “The Democratic Response to the Far-Right and Fascism,” both available on the Rudolf J. Siebert Audio-Visual Archive on YouTube. In this discourse, Dr. Siebert discusses his experience with Christianity in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich and its responses to the rise of fascism. Additionally, we discussed our current situation, wherein new versions of fascism have begun to arise within the Neo-liberal and post-secular states. This discourse was sponsored by Ekpyrosis Press and the Institute for Critical Social Theory.
On the 59th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, February 21st, 2024, I have a lecture at The University of Olivet entitled, “Malcolm X: Man, Myth, and Legacy.” It was well attended by students, colleagues, and administration, and we had a wonderful question/answer period afterwards. Black History month is too often reduced down to Dr. King, and on top of that down to his “I have a dream” speech. As beloved as Dr. King is, Black History is much bigger than him. This discourse is but one way to broaden the scope of Black History month, which, in my humble opinion, is important for all Americans to participate in.
On February 11th, 2024, I had the great honor of speaking to Aditya Nigam about his book, “Decolonizing Theory: Thinking Across Traditions” (Bloomsbury 2020), along with other members of the Institute for Critical Social Theory, including Seyed Javad Miri, Mehdi Shariati, and Michael Naughton. This was an insightful conversation dealing with a variety of topics as they relate to decolonial theory in a variety of spaces and places. Check out the video on the Institute for Critical Social Theory’s YouTube channel:
On January 27, 2024, I had the pleasure to meet with Dr. Rudolf J. Siebert, my doktorvater, for a follow-up discussion to our previous discourse on “The Temptation of Fascism.” This time, we discussed the history and importance of the “Democratic Response to the Far-Right and Fascism,” from the Third Reich until today. It is always a great honor to be a part of these events, and I look forward to doing many more in the future. For more information on Dr. Siebert, please see his website: www.dialectical-religion.org
On January 21st, 2024, I had a wonderful opportunity to discuss the topic of Erich Fromm and religion with numerous great scholars, including Rudolf J. Siebert, Hille Haker, Reiner Funk, Joan Braune and numerous others. The event was organized by Maor Levitin on behalf of the Erich Fromm Society of North America. My presentation discussed the need for the political Left to reengage with religion, to develop an humanistic/religious ecumenicism along the lines of Erich Fromm’s psychoanalytic philosophy, lest the “catalogue” of religion become the sole possession of the far-right, who would use it as a weapon against the unwanted “others.” A video of the discourse will be made available at a later time.
On January 12th, 2024, I had the great pleasure of presenting my work at the “Fire on the Mountain” conference at the University of Colorado-Boulder, sponsored by the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture. My presentation was on the Neo-Eurasianism of Alexander Dugin and the temptation is presents for many on the Left, who, like Alexander Dugin, are critics of the Neo-Liberal hegemony, but are unaware of the fascist roots of Dugin’s philosophy. The presentation was well received and we had a fruitful discussion afterwards. While it was bitterly cold, the fires of academic inquiry kept us warm! Much gratitude to Nabil Echchaibi for organizing the conference and CU-Boulder for hosting it.
On September 9th, 2023, I had a wonderful opportunity to discuss the life, work, and long friendship between the Catholic theologian, Gregory Baum, and the critical theorist, Rudolf J. Siebert. Gregory was born in Berlin but emigrated to Canada during World War II. While coming from a Jewish family, he eventually converted to Catholicism and became a Catholic priest, after reading St. Augustine’s Confessions. Along with Johannes Baptist Metz and Hans Küng, Baum was a a “peritus,” or theological advisor during the Second Vatican Council, where he was instrumental in rewriting the church’s relationship with the Jews – no longer calling for their conversions. He was also very interested in the Critical Theory of Religion, as developed by the Frankfurt School.
Baum passed away in October of 2017 in Canada. He was a prolific writer, scholar, and speaker, and a long-time friend of my doktorvater, Rudolf J. Siebert. I hope you all enjoy the discussion.
On September 7th, 2023, I have the wonderful opportunity to share my work on Russian apocalyptic political thought at the Apocalyptic Times: Spirituality in Global Revolt conference at the University of Exeter in the UK. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be physically at the conference, so I joined them through the magical world of Zoom! There were excellent questions and discussions on a range of issues regarding Russian thought, Alexander Dugin’s Neo-Eurasianist fascism, nuclear apocalyptic thought, and so on. I would especially like to thank Iona Ramsey for all the hard work she did organizing this conference. It was my honor to present at it. See the video below:
dustinjbyrd
Dustin J. Byrd, Ph.D. 