Dr. Barnhart will contribute to a roundtable discussion associated with the “Art, Myth, Meaning, and the Persistence of Belief” symposium, celebrating the Samuel and Berry Shoen Collection of Soviet Art. Hosted with students, scholars, and educators, this interdisciplinary event explores how art, music, and film shaped life across the Soviet Union, connecting history to enduring human stories.

In this roundtable, Dr. Barnhart will present “On Compensatory Control.”

What we often regard as persistent traits of personality may instead be psychological states, shaped by the pressures and uncertainties of our environment. In Soviet Russia, political repression, pervasive uncertainty, and limited personal agency fostered a range of seemingly irrational behaviors that helped people maintain the illusion of control. These Soviet superstitions offer more than a curious glimpse into an unusual historical moment. They reveal something fundamental about the human mind: When our sense of control is threatened, we may create it where none exists.