19th Annual Academic Symposium – Full Description

Hannah Arendt once wrote “The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction . . . and the distinction between true and false . . . no longer exist.” Truth and politics have never been good bedfellows. Indeed, we hear pundits and talking heads talk of “fake news,” “truthiness” and “living in a post-truth world” regularly. Arendt, then, calls attention to the ways that the authoritarian regimes work to undermine the possibilities of sharing a life in common through their attacks on truth.

Many academics, news outlets, and activists have been alarmed at the disturbing rise of authoritarian tendencies and policies in the United States, in Europe, and, indeed, across the world over the last ten years. The expansion of executive power and the weakening of the legislative branch, policies that suppress voters and call into question fair and free elections, the restriction of civil liberties of minority groups, and the rhetorical use of dog whistles, fig leaves, and outright falsehoods, are a few features that characterize the authoritarian style of governance.

History shows that authoritarianism is often a response to crisis — fabricated, invented, or perceived – used to attack and undermine democratic institutions and ideals (e.g., equality, free inquiry, dignity of individuals, the public good, pluralism, and ethnically and cultural diversity).  Thus, we are told that democratic institutions and values have failed us, so we need to reevaluate and come to a new understanding of the value and possibilities of government.

What does democracy look like? For many of us, the first image that comes to mind is people standing in line at their polling place and voting for representatives. A second image is one of protest, of mass movements, of people coming together to speak truth to power and authority in order to show that true power lies with the people. In recent years, however, many people have become skeptical of the values that underpin these images of democracy. Rather than the image of masses rising up and demanding to be recognized, the image of a throng of people becomes something more sinister – an unruly mob of people, carrying pitchforks, threatening the stability of rule. Some lament the uninformed voter, and wonder whether voting should be restricted to those who have some understanding of the issues, their stakes, and can articulate a well-informed and cogent position on them. Others see diversity and pluralism as a threat to an imagined, even nostalgic, “American way of life.”

The 2026 Marian University Academic Symposium explores what authoritarian and democratic approaches, their ideologies and practices, their effects on the sciences, the humanities, health and social welfare systems, the origins of the ‘authoritarian personality, and why businesses are often the first to capitulate to the authoritarian drive, why educational institutions follow suit, and how healthcare in impacted.  In considering the items above, symposium participants will explore the value of democracy and ask if it is worth preserving and, if so, how to do so.

Examples of Authoritarianism in Government – over the past 100 years:

  • Benito Mussolini (Italy). 1922-43.
  • Joseph Stalin (Ukraine) 1932-33.
  • Adolf Hitler (Germany). 1933-45.
  • Fidel Castro (Cuba).  1959-2008.
  • Idi Amin (Uganda). 1965-97.
  • Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire) 1971-97.
  • Augusto Pinochet (Chile). 1973-90.
  • Pol Pot (Khmer Rouge, Cambodia) 1975-79.

Films:

  • What is Democracy? (Dir. Astra Taylor, 2018)
  • Children of Men (Dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
  • 2073 (Dir. Asif Kapadia, 2024)

Pre-Symposium (Sabre Hour) Common Reads:

  • Anne Applebaum, “The New Rasputins:  Anti-Science Mysticism is Enabling Autocracy Around the Globe,” The Atlantic (January 2025).
  • Anne Applebaum, “Why We Should Read Hannah Arendt Now,” The Atlantic (March 2022).
  • Taylor, Astra. Democracy May Not Exist, But We’ll Miss it When it’s Gone. Verso, 2019
  • Timothy Snyder, “Freedom is Not What We Think It Is,” New York Times (September 2024).
  • Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, (2017).
  • Stanley, Jason. How Fascism Works (2018)

Additional items for consideration in the bibliography:

  • Adler, Paul S., and others. (2023), Authoritarianism, Populism, and the Global Retreat of Democracy: A Curated Discussion. Journal of Management Inquiry.  vol 32(1).
  • Rochel de Camargo K. (2025) The far right, authoritarian power, and public health. American Journal of Public Health. 115(6):868–869. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308123