Guest Lecture Dr. Lorraine Ryan (University of Birmingham)
Abstract:
The research project intends to apply the ‘Ordinary Men’ thesis, that posits that within certain historical contexts, individuals who may be considered ordinary and morally unremarkable can become active participants in acts of extraordinary violence and atrocity, to Spanish perpetrator memory. In his book on the phenomenon of perpetrators, Becoming Evil, James Waller makes the observation that most of those who perpetrated the Holocaust were not evil but ordinary everyday men. Waller argues that situational factors such as peer pressure, obedience to authority, and socialisation within a culture of violence can override individual moral inhibitions, leading otherwise ordinary individuals to commit acts of genocide. This reality is unsettling because it counters our general mental tendency to relate extraordinary acts to correspondingly extraordinary men (Waller 2002, p. 8). Hannah Arendt concluded that Eichmann was an ambitious functionary. These works form the basis of the ‘Ordinary Men’ thesis, which is based on the idea that the perpetrator is a comprehensible human being and that perpetration itself is not merely accreditable to psychopathy but to the complex combination of agency and volition, supra-individual forces, and the prosaic motives of greed and ambition.
About the speaker:
Lorraine Ryan, award-winning international researcher and assistant professor at the University of Birmingham, applies this ‘Ordinary Man’ approach to Spanish perpetrator memory as revealed in cultural narratives. This work is based on the assumption that this approach offers a compelling framework for understanding the behaviours of individuals implicated in perpetrating violence during the Spanish Civil War. During the Spanish Civil War, individuals who might otherwise be considered ordinary citizens found themselves thrust into a maelstrom of political upheaval, ideological fervour, and intense social polarisation. Within this context, situational factors akin to those identified by Waller played a role in shaping the actions of perpetrators. The Civil War era witnessed the emergence of paramilitary groups, political militias, and partisan factions, all vying for control and advancing their respective agendas through violence. In such an environment, ordinary individuals, motivated by allegiance to their cause, fear of reprisals, or a sense of duty, could readily become active participants in acts of brutality against perceived enemies.
The guest lecture takes place in S.10.18. You can find more information here.
