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- Convenors:
-
Simone Pfeifer
(University of Cologne)
Lene Faust (University of Bern)
Cathrine Bublatzky (Asia and Orient Institute, Tuebingen University)
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- Discussant:
-
Shireen Walton
(University College London)
- Formats:
- Panels
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 22 July, -
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
Short Abstract:
In this panel, we want to bring together anthropologists reflecting on media forms and aesthetics of resisting populism.
Long Abstract:
A growing number of anthropologists have focused on the rise of populism in Euro-America and globally (e.g. Bangstad et. al. 2019; Mazzucato 2019; Brubaker 2017). Foregrounding extreme speech on social media at the center of such developments, Udupa/Pohjonen (2019) point to the role of ecosystems of exclusionary and violent speech, fake news, disinformation campaigns, and troll attacks. In this panel we take the circulation of media, visual and aesthetic practices as a starting point to investigate the resisting potential of populism in its double sense.
First, we want to look at the affective media practices and aesthetics that are at stake in populism in its wide sense. Secondly, and more importantly, we ask who are the actors and what are the strategies and aesthetics to resist and defy populist mediations and politics?
We invite ethnographic and interdisciplinary theoretical contributions that focus on the theme 'resisting populism' in a broad sense and point to the aesthetic practices, strategies, techniques and logics that are at work in (inter)national networks, online and offline.
Possible themes are:
Advantages and challenges of doing ethnography on resisting populisms in media and aesthetics in the era of 'post-factual' and 'post-truth' environment.
Artistic and activist interventions relating to populism and more extreme forms such as hate speech.
Memes as an aesthetic form of fun, nonsense, and humor to resist populism.
Alternative forms of populism and how they employ similar infrastructures to resist extreme online phenomena and live streaming of terror on social media platforms.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 22 July, 2020, -Paper short abstract:
Poland is currently experiencing the strongest socio-political upheaval since 1989. The left-right-division between parties, media and movements is very vivid. Facebook is an important "battlefield" for the polarized players and a platform of protest against right-wing populism and neo-nationalism.
Paper long abstract:
In recent years, many words have been devoted to the rise of populism, illiberalism and neo-nationalism in Poland. Often comparing the country to Hungary, commentators have been tempted to see a "populist threat", an "Orbanization," understood as some kind of decisive turn away from the post-1989 liberal democratic order. Actually, due to different ideological views, systems of values and visions of Poland, the post-communist Poland is characterized by a strong socio-political dichotomy. On the one hand, right-wing movements such as national-conservative All-Polish Youth or the National Radical Camp aim to propagate the "patriotic" spirit and create a homogeneous "Great National Poland". On the other hand, the liberal pro-European LGBT movement or different anarchist networks fight against homophobia and xenophobia by rejecting a nationalist, ultra-Catholic vision of a "Poland for Poles". Facebook as one the most influential social networks serves for the polarized "camps" as an effective platform for constructing collective identities, defining boundaries and characterizing the narratives of inclusion and exclusion. Crucial for this activist intervention, emphasizing two diametrically different visions of Poland, is the realm of language and symbols. Through an ethnological analysis of the example of the 2013 campaign "The Big Facebook Cleaning", consisting of "meme fights" as an linguistic and aesthetic form of protest, profile blockades and humorous trolling actions, I would like to outline which (counter) narratives are characteristic for this "battle of words and symbols", which realities they offer and present what they reveal about the recent wave of neo-nationalism in Poland.
Paper short abstract:
The paper looks at German online campaigns to counter "fake news" to ask which aesthetic strategies are employed to prevent populist stories from becoming "sticky", how visual formats are countered or appropriated, and how fact checking efforts make use of media formats to contest "truthy" stories.
Paper long abstract:
"Truthiness" and "stickiness" have become unlikely key terms in debates on the validity of facts and knowledge, specifically with regard to the influence of populist content in digital media in Europe and beyond. The former term, established by a comedic infotainment format (The Colbert Report, 2005), describes "the conviction that something is true based on what feels true" (Wiese 2015); the latter refers to the quality of a story or token of information (such as memes) to gain traction and momentum, to enter circulation and to affect perceptions (Groth 2019). Both constitute new qualities of "truth claims" as they introduce distinct markers of plausibility and felicity, based not on facts or verification but on (aesthetic, affective, and contextual) appropriateness of contents and formats. The influence and relevance of "truthy" and "sticky" populist stories in social media and public discourse has increased significantly, illustrated by broad debates on "fake news" or "alternative facts" as well as efforts to "fact check" or "debunk" stories. This paper takes the prevalence of "truthiness" and "stickyness" in populist discourse in Germany as a starting point to investigate efforts to counter the influence of populist content and formats. Which aesthetic strategies are employed to prevent populist stories from becoming "sticky"? How are visual formats as alternative criteria of appropriateness countered or appropriated? How do fact checking and verification efforts make use of media formats to contest "truthy" stories? The paper looks at different online media campaigns to counter "fake news" in Germany to answer these questions.
Paper short abstract:
What kind of opportunities and what kind of shortcomings characterize the communication strategies of political activists who daily use memes, videos and any product of creativity to fight against the spread of intolerance? Schismogenesis is a useful tool to address questions like this.
Paper long abstract:
A substantial, if not preponderant, part of political communication takes place in social media, where intellectual debates and violent speech live side by side. Facebook, as an example, constitutes a gigantic device for producing textuality that anthropologists need to take into account with their own interpretive tools. Online discussions about populism, sexism, fascism, etc. are the common ground for the (re)production of political identities, the dissemination of biased representations and the (re)assertion of boundaries among people. What are the main features of these day-to-day routines of conflict? What is the role of politically engaged anthropologists? What kind of opportunities and what kind of shortcomings characterize the communication strategies of political activists who daily use memes, videos and any other product of creativity to fight against the spread of intolerance, prejudices, antidemocratic attitudes and so on? Is it time to recover the notion of schismogenesis in order to contribute to the comprehension of what happens in both online discussions and face-to-face interactions? "Schismemegenesis" is a way to answer "yes" to the last question and to address the previous points, with specific reference to contemporary Italy.
Paper short abstract:
The so-called hate speeches of Akbaruddin Owaisi circulate as highly charged digital objects in the Indian moral economy. By analyzing the contexts of circulation, I argue that they should not be considered 'hate speech' but need to be considered within digital environments of Muslim assertion.
Paper long abstract:
The so-called hate speeches of Akbaruddin Owaisi circulate as highly charged digital objects in the Indian moral economy. They are appropriated in various ways to engender morality in circulation amongst both, those seeing him as a communalist hot head and also among often young Muslims who protest the Hindu-nationalist hegemony of recent years. Even if they may not have much traction on the institutional level of patronage politics outside Hyderabad - the digital circulation of snippets of his speech and the mash-up culture appropriations thereof require some explanation at the intersections of political rhetorics, minority resentment, and comical enjoyments. None of these can be adequately captured by applying the term "hate speech" as is often done in journalistic contexts. Instead by using Sahana Udupa's concept of "extreme speech" I m arguing that what makes these appropriations so popular today needs to be seen by their newly acquired nation-wide circulation (thus beyond the popular politics of Hyderbad), the AIMIM's historical investment in leaders rhetorics and a deep-seated sense of resentment towards minority status and the demise of Muslim political power in India.