Lauren V. Steinman, PhD Candidate, School of Religious Studies, McGill University
Lauren V. Steinman is a PhD candidate in the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. She is the daughter of the late Seymour David Steinman, and has dedicated this Lecture Series in her father's memory. Lauren's research is focused on violence and extremist movements, and is particularly interested in the discourse of leftwing and rightwing extremism, as well as its relationship to the question of politicized hate speech, which can be promoted by both religious and secular entities alike. The dissemination of extremist ideologies often leads to the incitement of conflict and violence that negatively impacts the rights of minority groups. In her doctoral research, Lauren plans to examine the complexity surrounding the securitization of religious minority groups that are targets of hateful discourse that is motivated by positions occupied by the far-right and the extreme-left. The problem of anti-Israeli rhetoric and its connection to anti-Semitism is of particular interest, and will be examined both in comparison and in contrast to the the far-right Neo-Nazist and white supremacist movements that perceive Jews and other ethnic minorities as a threat to the existence of the white race. Within the overarching framework of liberal democratic regimes, this analysis will seek to disentangle the complex debate between the securitization rights of minorities, and the privileging of the safeguarded, fundamental rights to freedom of speech and religious freedom under section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
*For More Information, Please See Lauren's Academia.edu Website.