The Wave: Experiencing Fascism in the Classroom

Presented by the UC San Diego Holocaust Living History Workshop

Generously sponsored by Nancy and Joel Dimsdale

Please join the UC San Diego Jewish Studies Program and UC San Diego Library for a film screening and panel discussion with Joel Dimsdale, Ron Jones, Mark Hancock and Philip Neel on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the Seuss Room at Geisel Library. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

In Spring 1967, history teacher Ron Jones conducted a social experiment in fascism with his class of 10th-grade 15-year-olds. In a social studies class at Cubberley High School, Palo Alto, students were given the opportunity to experience the rise and attraction of Nazism, complete with drill-like discipline, salute, banners, and membership cards. Within a week the experiment began to spin out of control. Over the years the story of “The Wave” has attracted widespread attention through films, books, plays, and musicals.

The screening of "Lesson Plan" (dir. Philip Neel) is followed by a conversation featuring Ron Jones and former students Mark Hancock and Philip Neel. It is moderated by Dr. Joel Dimsdale, Professor of Psychiatry emeritus and the author of "Dark Persuasion: A History of Brainwashing from Pavlov to Social Media" (Yale University Press, 2021). For more information on "The Wave" please visit thewavehome.com.

For directions and parking information for this event, click here. All visitors to the UC San Diego campus are required to display a valid parking pass. The closest parking to Geisel Library is the Hopkins Parking Structure. For information about accessible parking on campus, click here. 

For more information about the event or help with registration, contact [email protected].

Established in 2008 as a collaborative project of the UC San Diego Jewish Studies Program and the Library, the Holocaust Living History Workshop (HLHW) aims to preserve the memory of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Starting in January 2010, the HLHW has been hosting meetings and presentations that connect local survivors, their families, researchers, UC San Diego students, and San Diego communities. Its content covers multiple topics of the history of the Jewish and Romani Holocaust, antisemitism, and Jewish migration mostly in the 1930’s – 1940’s in Europe and the United States.

For more information about UC San Diego’s Holocaust Living History Workshop, visit lib.ucsd.edu/HLHW.

Host or Publisher UCSD Geisel Library