PhD Defense - Amine Sijilmassi, "Imagined Communities in the Mind : The Cognitive Foundations of Nationalistic Culture"

Date/time : Monday, October 13th at 4:00 PM

Place :  Room K.011, Sciences Po, 1 rue Saint-Thomas, Paris

Title : Imagined Communities in the Mind : The Cognitive Foundations of Nationalistic Culture

Abstract :
Why do humans so readily identify with large, abstract social groups—what Benedict Anderson famously described as “imagined communities”—such as nations ? Why does this affiliation give rise to strong feelings of identity, solidarity, and, at times, exclusion of outsiders ? And why do symbolic elements such as national mythologies, heroic figures, and the idea of cultural unity play such a central role in shaping national identities ? This thesis aims to shed light on the cognitive mechanisms that underpin these phenomena. More specifically, it explores how psychological processes involved in detecting interdependence and generating moral intuitions contribute to the formation of nationalistic culture. The theoretical framework integrates perspectives from evolutionary psychology, anthropology, behavioral economics, and political science. To test these hypotheses, I combine controlled experimental studies and computational analyses of political speeches using large language models.

Supervisors and Jury :

• Pascal Boyer, Professor, Washington University in St. Louis – President & Rapporteur

• Lene Aarøe, Professor, Aarhus University – Rapporteur

• Carsten De Dreu, Professor, University of Groningen – Examiner

• Catherine Molho, Assistant Professor, Toulouse School of Economics – Examiner

• Anne Pisor, Assistant Professor, Penn State University – Examiner

• Lou Safra, Assistant Professor, Sciences Po Paris – Thesis Supervisor

• Nicolas Baumard, Research Director, École normale supérieure – Thesis Supervisor