Joshua Rosenblum

Joshua Rosenblum completed a Master of Arts degree (2007) in sociology from McGill University in Montreal and is currently working in marketing communications as a Research Executive at Millward Brown Canada. While earning his Honours Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto (2002-2006), Josh studied in the sociology specialist program, which offered more intensive courses in theory and quantitative and qualitative research methods than would have been available in a standard major. Graduating on the Dean’s List (top 10%) with high distinction, he also won a number of other academic awards, including highest grade point average in the sociology specialist program for both 2005 and 2006. Last year Josh dedicated the Canada Graduate Scholarship awarded from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada towards his Master's degree. For his graduate research project, Josh performed a qualitative study analyzing how recruitment leaders from three cult and conspiracy theory movements convey the value of their beliefs to diverse audiences of potential recruits. Throughout his university education, Josh has taken a leadership role in political activism on campus, becoming president of a student group at the University of Toronto and then founding and presiding over its new chapter at McGill the following year. Inspired by his own experiences as a young adult leader, observing the discursive strategies people use to communicate persuasively, Josh discusses techniques employed by cult recruiters to cultivate a sense of identification among newcomers.