How to be Human Speaker Series: Dr. Ilana Gershon

Wednesday – Oct 14, 2026 @ 4pm in ZSR Library Auditorium

Dr. Ilana Gershon
Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Anthropology, Rice University
Title of talk: “Talkin’ About My Generation”

Abstract: Why do US Americans find taxonomic stereotypes like horoscopes, MyerBriggs types, Harry Potter houses, and generations so pleasurable to think with? In this talk, I focus on generations, and in particular, workshops about multigenerational workplaces. Generations as a taxonomic stereotype function differently than race or gender. As Teri Silvio in Puppets, Brands, Gods has pointed out, taxonomic stereotypes — stereotypes based on buckets of qualities — operate according to very different principles than dyadic stereotypes — or stereotypes based on binary oppositions. Part of why Americans find generations so appealing is that it enables a social analysis that links structural changes to personality traits that one can self-select as appropriate for oneself — but also encourages a social analysis that allows people to sidestep the inequities and injustices of the dyadic stereotypes they live with on a daily basis.  Part of why so many workshops spring up to teach taxonomic stereotypes is how readily they can be turned into templates for managing people as human capital.