Robert J. Lifton, M.D., psychohistorian and award-winning writer on issues of genocide and Nazi doctors who killed in the name of healing, will give the Marion Jane Girard Lecture at Scripps College on April 12 at 4:15 p.m. in Balch Auditorium. His topic will be “Ultimate Zealotry, Ultimate Weapons: The Case of Aum Shinrikyo.” A brief reception will follow in the Humanities Faculty Lounge.
Dr. Lifton is one of the founders of the new field of psychohistory, in which he explores the relationship between individual psychology and historical change and problems surrounding the extreme historical situations of modern times. Professor of psychiatry and psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, he is also director of the college’s Center on Violence and Human Survival. In addition, he is associated with the Graduate School and University Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Author of Destroying the World to Save it: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism, Dr. Lifton received the 1987 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for history and the 1987 National Jewish Book Award for Holocaust writing. Dr. Lifton has also written on nuclear weapons and their impact on death symbolism; Hiroshima survivors, Chinese thought reform and the Chinese Cultural Revolution; psychological trends in contemporary men and women; and the Vietnam War experience.
Joseph and Margaret Ann Girard established the Marion Jane Girard Memorial Lectureship in 1960 to enable Scripps to sponsor distinguished speakers in the field of psychology, psychiatry, and mental health.
For additional information, please call Scripps’ Psychology Office at 909/607-3249, e-mail [email protected], or visit the Girard Lecture site.