What’s Happening: Lecture Reveals the Role that Language Plays in Political Involvement

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Professor Nuria Lorenzo-Dus will deliver an inaugural public lecture, introduced by Swansea University Vice-Chancellor Professor Richard B Davies, on the role of language in political involvement.

Title: ‘GET INVOLVED!: Language and Political Engagement in a New Media Ecology’

Speaker: Professor Nuria Lorenzo-Dus of Swansea University

Date: Thursday 6 December 2012

Time: Light refreshments will be available from 5.15 pm and the lecture will begin at 6pm

Venue: Wallace Lecture Theatre, Wallace Building, Swansea University

Admission: Admission free and all are welcome

Lecture summary

The lecture is part of the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities’ public lecture and the event series is supported by the Language Research Centre at Swansea University.

The pitifully low turnout in the recent police commissioner elections is indicative of low levels of contemporary popular political engagement. Governments and media are having to work ever harder and more innovatively to connect with citizens across a growing range of platforms.

Language is a key element of these efforts.

This lecture explores the relationship between language and political involvement in three contexts:

  • Linguistic strategies in email campaigns designed to affiliate citizens with political leaders, including personalisation and solidarity building
  • Broadcasting practices that have placed citizens in the ‘watchdog’ role traditionally performed by journalists
  • On-line impoliteness strategies and public expectations about on-line sociality as citizens engage politically in aggressive and narcissistic ways on social network sites

Professor Lorenzo-Dus illustrates each example by drawing upon a range of media (social network sites, emails, television news and interviews), political contexts (election and civic campaigns), countries (UK, USA, Spain and Latin America) and social challenges (incivility and domestic violence).

Director of the Research Institute for Arts and Humanities, Professor Chris Williams said: “Nuria Lorenzo-Dus is at the forefront of contemporary research into the interrelationship of language and political discourse. Her international perspective and familiarity with the latest technologies guarantees that her lecture will educate, enlighten and entertain in equal measure.”

Contact details:

For further information please contact RIAH, email RIAH@swansea.ac.uk or telephone 01792 295190.