2022/2023

Combatting extremism and disinformation – open-source short course for business professionals, community leaders, and youth

The PERN team is proud to announce a joint initiative with the US Consulate in Perth designed to build community resilience against extremism. This involves the creation of five open-source teaching modules addressing current concerns in the Western Australian community, including:

  • Extremism, disinformation and Conspiracy theory

  • White supremacy and the alt-right

  • Incels, misogyny, the manosphere, and the commercialization of male anxiety

  • Pathologizing and stigmatization in confronting extremism

  • Leadership, community resilience building and de-escalation strategies in the face of extremism

The modules are designed for ease-of-access, with the goal of educating and empowering community and business leaders, educators, police and youth in confronting the increasingly complex challenges posed by the rising climate of extremism. The project involves 17 PERN members and has been generously funded by the US Consulate Perth and Curtin university’s Faculty of Humanities.

Directions and Destinations panel: Neoreaction in 2022

The CERN team including Drs Eva Bujalka, Francis Russell and Ben Rich, as well as Todd Morley, delivered a research panel at Curtin University’s school of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry (MCASI) annual Directions and Destinations conference entitled ‘Neoreaction in 2022’. Papers included:

  • The Manosphere as an Online Protection Racket: How the Red Pill Monetizes Male Need for Security in Modern Society

  • Pox populi: Anti-vaxx, anti-politics

  • The Buffalo Shooter, Stochastic Terrorism, and How to Counter It

MALA lecture series: Extremism in 2022

CERN members Dr Philip Chilton, Dr Carmen Jacques, and Dr Ben Rich delivered a 5-part lecture series to the Mature Adult Learning Association (MALA) in Bentley, Perth on the state of extremism in 2022. Presentations covered topics including:

  • A history of violent extremism

  • Processes of radicalisation

  • The ebb and flow of militant Islamism

  • The resurgent of right-wing extremism

  • Confronting extremism in our societies