Date/Time
Date(s) - 13/03/2026
11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Join us for a public lecture as part of our Urgent Global Issues lecture series, in TSH B128, as it’s sure to get some wheels turning!

As part of our Graduate Seminar GLOBALST 702 – Urgent Global Issues, we will be opening the doors to the public, giving you the opportunity to hear from McMaster’s Experts, while we explore these interdisciplinary topics!

Friday we will be joined by Dr. Neil McLaughlin, Professor for Sociology and Social Psychology here at McMaster. He is a recently published author with Bristol University Press, his book titled, “Erich Fromm and Global Public Sociology“. He is writing a book on the Jordan Peterson phenomenon, and recently published (with Neil Wegenschimmel) The Great Canadian Paradox: Jordan Peterson, Right-Wing Canadian Internet Personalities and the End of Canadian Exceptionalism (Society 2024).

Friday’s talk is titled, “The Global Circulation of Attacks: How Soros Conspiracy Theories Morphed into the Trumpist Assault on Higher Education“

Abstract

The university sector in the United States is currently dealing with a major assault on their funding, academic freedom and autonomy from government, as the Trump administration accuses higher education of being politically biased, discriminating against whites and Jews and engaged in “woke” propaganda on issues of gender/sexuality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), anti-capitalism and Israel. This presentation will tell the story of the attack on higher education a decade or so ago in Hungary as Viktor Orban led an campaign against George Soros and the university he helped fund, the private Central European University (CEI), that was the first round of the war on universities we see today. The major actors will be introduced, including George Soros, Viktor Orban, Christopher Rufo and Michael Ignatieff, and we will discuss how political conspiracies travel across national borders and how the private non-profit nature of elite higher education in the United States feeds what Blyth calls “global trumpism.” The implications of this for Canada will be discussed.

All are welcome, please register to ensure a seat!

As always, if you want to stay up to date with our Urgent Global Issues public lecture series, or other Globalization news, make sure to follow us on social media, all linked in the side bar!