09/17/2026
Does fear alone drive people to act, or is it something more complicated? 🟢🔴
Join us for the next Race, Ethnicity and Immigration Colloquium featuring Vanessa Cruz Nichols, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Indiana University, presenting her book project Peril and Promise: Catalyzing Political Action Among Latinxs.
Anti-immigrant threats are often treated as the key driver of political participation in Latinx communities. Cruz Nichols argues that this "threat hypothesis" misses a more complex political psychology, one where people are often exposed to both threat and opportunity messaging at the same time. Her talk explores when combined appeals to fear and hope create more incentive for activism than either does alone.
Cruz Nichols is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Indiana University presenting her book, Peril and Promise: Catalyzing Political Action Among Latinxs.
The book is centered on citizen activism and revisiting the role of threat as a catalyst for political participation, focusing specifically on the case of Latinx communities in the U.S., anti-immigrant threats have often been depicted as a necessary and sufficient ingredient for piques in political participation for Latinx communities—communities with strong ties to immigrant community members.
Race, Ethnicity and Immigration Colloquium: Mobilizing Action
📆 Thursday, October 15, 2026
🕛 12:00PM - 1:30PM
📍 Harris Room, 119 Philosophy Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
This event is sponsored by IGS and co-sponsored by the Center for Race & Gender.
Register to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rei-colloquium-mobilizing-action-tickets-2001079742377
Image description: A flyer with a light green header featuring the IGS and Center for Race & Gender logos, above the title 'Mobilizing Action: The Role of Hope and Fear in Immigration Activism.' A navy banner names speaker Vanessa Cruz Nichols beside a graphic of two street signs reading 'Hope' and 'Fear.' Below, event details appear beside a photo of Cruz Nichols in a navy top, followed by a green 'Scan Me' QR code box, an accessibility notice, and social media links.
