This talk explores how psychedelics spread across cultures and societies, revealing the dynamics of their revelatory quality—the way they inspire enthusiasm and sometimes revolutionary change. Roseman graphically presents these diffusion processes across diverse sociopolitical contexts, including:

• The early Peyote movement

• Santo Daime in Brazil

• 1960s psychedelia

• The medicalisation of psychedelics

• Psychedelics in the context of Palestine–Israel conflict

• Additional contemporary case studies

The analysis draws on Alain Badiou’s Being and Event, Anthony Wallace’s Revitalization Movements, and Ann Taves’ Revelatory Events, offering a supra-perspective on the current state of psychedelic “movements” and possible futures.

The presentation combines theory, history, and cultural analysis into an entertaining and thought-provoking narrative.

About the Speaker

Leor Roseman is a Senior Lecturer and psychedelic researcher at the University of Exeter, and founder of Ripples, a non-profit dedicated to peacebuilding and collective liberation through psychedelics. His interdisciplinary work spans neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology, anthropology, and conflict resolution, using methods including fMRI, qualitative research, microphenomenology, ethnography, and participatory approaches.

Credits:
Leor Roseman, Breaking Convention 2025