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The Devil, You Say? (Virtual)

One Book, Everyone Reads 2023

Exploring the roots of so-called "Satanic Panics" and their impact on society.

A new type of crime was discovered in the USA in the 1980s. “Ritual abuse,” as it came to be termed, appeared to be epidemic during that decade and beyond; hundreds of day care centers were investigated and scores of providers were arrested and prosecuted based on allegations of abuse.  The day care ritual abuse scare was, in fact, the culminating event of a larger social phenomenon, a moral panic that is known as the “Satanic Panic.”

This was not the first “Satanic Panic” in history, and it is unlikely to be the last.  In this presentation we will take a look at “Satanic Panics,” and examine their origins, themes, persuasive claims and calls to action.  We will also examine their impacts on society, and their historical legacies.

Mary deYoung Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI.  Over her 35-year tenure, her research has focused on moral panics, with special attention to the “satanic panic” that occurred in the USA, Western Europe, and Australasia from 1980 through the early 2000s. Her scholarship on that topic resulted in two books, dozens of book chapters and articles, and papers presented at national and international conferences.  She has provided expert commentary on the satanic panic for various news outlets, such as National Public Radio and the New York Times, for the television series “Cold Case Files” and “The Crimes That Changed Us,” as well as for national and international podcasts.

This program is presented as part of the library’s One Book, Everyone Reads community reading program. Learn more about the series and this year’s selected book, Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson, here.

Make sure to join us for our signature author event, a conversation between Kevin Wilson and Alison Cuddy, on Thursday, May 11 at 7pm. Register here.

One Book, Everyone Reads is funded by the Friends of the Wilmette Public Library.

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