George J. Makari, M.D., Books Keynote Speaker

Xenophobia is a big word that carries a punch. But what does this phobia of the Xenos, this fear and hatred of the stranger really mean? After Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, George Makari cracked the word open and discovered that we have much to learn from its never before told history. He argues that a clearer understanding of four distinct kinds of trouble buried in this word can help us more precisely recognize and assess the growing danger that xenophobia poses for many nations. He also proposes that the rise of the “new xenophobia” as the current resurgence has been called, has its own history, and related to the end of the Cold War, a hypothesis that has taken on more weight since the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.   

Of his 2021 book Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia, author Andrew Solomon (Far From the Tree) wrote, “With elegance and passionate conviction, George Makari deconstructs one of the biggest problems of our time.”

A psychiatrist, historian and author, Makari serves as director of the DeWitt Wallace Institute and professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. His other highly praised books include Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind and Revolutions in Mind: The Creation of Psychoanalysis. He lives in New York City.