Erikson Institute Podcasts

Since 2004, the Erikson Institute for Education and Research has brought various professionals and the interested public together for Interdisciplinary Forums on a range of topics. These presentations and discussions continue Erik Erikson's effort to generate knowledge at the boundaries between clinical psychoanalysis and other disciplines, including history, anthropology and sociology.

We are pleased to offer these Interdisciplinary Forums in the form of podcasts in MP3 audio format that you can easily download to your iPod or MP3 player. You can also listen to the podcast segments through your computer.

Katrina: What Kind of Disaster Was It?, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm, Saturday, July 8, 2006
Kai Erikson, Ph.D., Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Yale University
Hurricane Katrina peeled away the surface of an important part of the American landscape and offered a rare look at the inner workings of our society. The dimensions of the disaster reveal a critical need and a rare opportunity for social science research. Eminent sociologist Kai Erikson, Ph.D., and a team of scholars are establishing a research agenda around Katrina, attempting to grasp both the human tragedy and the essential knowledge needed for reconstruction and future preparedness. In this Forum held on Saturday, July 8, 2006, Erikson summarized his work in the Gulf States.

Lincoln’s Melancholy, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm, Saturday, June 24, 2006
Joshua Wolf Shenk, essayist and Director of the Rose O'Neill Literary House at Washington College
In Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness, author Joshua Wolf Shenk argues convincingly that the 16th president not only managed his chronic depression, but actually harnessed it to fuel his astonishing success. Lincoln's private notes on the value of personal and national suffering illuminate his ongoing effort to move beyond what was for him the unattainable goal of personal contentment to the transcendent goal of universal justice. In this Interdisciplinary Forum held on June 24, 2006, Josh Shenk, historian John Demos and psychoanalyst and Riggs Medical Director/CEO Edward Shapiro, M.D. discuss Lincoln’s melancholy.

Psychoanalysis and Religion in the 21st Century: Addressing Complexity – A Psychosocial Approach To Thinking About Religion, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm, Saturday, August 5, 2006
A.W. Carr, Ph.D., Dean Emeritus, Westminster Abbey
The demise of religion has in the last two centuries frequently been announced. But religion remains both alive and quite powerful, and the contemporary social sciences have contributed much to understanding and believing. Dr. Carr was, for nine years, Dean of Westminster Abbey. During those years, he presided over many national and royal occasions, including the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and services around 9/11. In this Forum held on Saturday, August 5, 2006, he used this experience and other studies to argue that religion is more sophisticated than we are sometimes told and requires a sophisticated approach if it is to be understood. Dr Carr's presentation was followed by a presentations from two members of the Riggs staff, both of whom have some background in theological studies, Jane Tillman, Ph.D., and Richard Ford, Ph.D.

Stigma, 9:30 am - 12:00 pm, Saturday, September 16, 2006
Co-sponsored by the Austen Riggs Alumni Association
Webster's dictionary defines “stigma” as a scar left by a hot iron, or a mark of shame or discredit. Our society takes aspects of people to “stigmatize” – their color, ethnicity, sexual preference, illness or behavior – in order to separate some from others and to avoid the connections that make all of us human. This conference, which was held on Saturday, 16, focused on the process of stigmatization and the ways in which this social dilemma deprives us of learning and complexity. This podcast is Dr. James Gilligan's presentation on the 16th.