Join us for our next APS online reading group, with Alasdair Cannon on the allure of fascism in contemporary societies.

By The Association for Psychosocial Studies

Date and time

Wednesday, April 23 · 1 – 2:30pm EDT

Location

Online

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 7 days before event

About this event

• Event lasts 1 hour 30 minutes

We are incredibly happy to invite you to join us for our next APS online reading group! We are delighted to welcome writer and podcaster Alasdair Cannon to present a psychosocial perspective on fascism based on his new book, Infinite Discontent.

Please join us for a timely discussion about the psychodynamics of fascism, and how we can resist the forces of destruction in our societies and our selves.

Abstract:

In recent years, fascism has seduced liberal societies and people. Alasdair Cannon’s new book, Infinite Discontent: Writings on the Allure of Fascism (January 2025), blends cultural criticism and personal memoir with a “psychosocial” reading of psychoanalytic theory (Freud, Winnicott, and Benjamin especially) to explore how fascism takes hold of a country and its citizens.

This brief talk – followed by a group discussion – will outline Cannon’s psychosocially informed definition of “fascism.” Using the example of Kanye West’s recent support for Nazism, Cannon’s presentation will also consider the role of breakdown, suicidality, and narcissism in the making of the fascist psyche. Finally, the talk will outline the book’s methodology for psychosocial writing, using Frank B. Wilderson III’s concept of “imaginative labour” to explore the links between writing, empathy/introspection, theory, and political change.

Author Bio:

Alasdair Cannon is an Australian writer based in London. He is the director of not-for-profit publishing co-operative, eidolon ink, and author of its first title, Infinite Discontent: Writings on the Allure of Fascism. He holds an MA in Psychoanalytic Studies from Birkbeck, University of London. He is also the founder of Infinite Discontent, a Substack blog and podcast on far-right politics. His debut essay collection, Holding Patterns, was published by Bonfire Books in 2022.

Links:

· Order Alasdair’s new book, Infinite Discontent: Writings on the Allure of Fascism: https://store.eidolon.ink/product/infinite-discontent-writings-on-the-allure-of-fascism-alasdair-cannon/

· Recent publication – “Pridesongs” in the Manchester Review (Nov 2024): https://www.themanchesterreview.co.uk/?p=12631

· Our publishing house, eidolon ink: https://eidolon.ink/

· My Substack blog/podcast: https://infinitediscontent.substack.com/