UC Davis experts: Psychology/culture in crises
The University of California, Davis, has campus experts available to provide commentary related to the relationship between religion and social upheavals and crises. If you are looking for sources on any additional related topics, please contact Claudia Morain, News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu.
Altruism during crises
Psychology professor Robert Emmons can talk about why people are altruistic during times of crisis. His research is at the interface of personality, psychology and religion. He focuses on how religiousness and spirituality reflect core aspects of the self and identity, and how these aspects of the self are involved in well-being and personality coherence and integration over time. Emmons is an associate editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of the Psychology of Religion, and a member of the American Psychological Association. He is the author of "The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality." Contact: Robert Emmons, Psychology, (530) 752-8844, raemmons@ucdavis.edu.
Need for heroes
Jay Mechling, professor of American studies, writes broadly about heroism and masculinity in American cultures. He also writes and teaches about the formulaic, mythological narratives filmmakers use to explain masculinity, violence and their connections. He has studies mass-mediated images of masculinity in film and television as well as in various organizations. His book, "On My Honor: Boy Scouts and the Making of American Youth," is being published this fall by the University of Chicago Press. Contact: Jay Mechling, American Studies program, (510) 865-8858 (home), jemechling@ucdavis.edu.
Religious social movements
John R. Hall, professor of sociology and an affiliated professor of the Religious Studies Program, researches and writes about religious social movements. In recent years, he has concentrated on the study of violence involving movements such as the People's Temple at Jonestown, the Branch Davidians at Waco and Aum Shinrikyo in Japan. His books on the subject include "Gone From the Promised Land: Jonestown in American Cultural History" (1987) and "Apocalypse Observed: Religious Movements and Violence in North America, Europe and Japan" (2000), co-authored by Philip D. Schuyler and Sylvaine Trinh. Contact: John Hall, Sociology, (530) 752-7035, jrhall@ucdavis.edu.
Media contact:
- Claudia Morain, News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu
Last updated January 22, 2004
