A roundtable on the post-truth rhetoric of the Covid-19 pandemic
"Boris Johnson Covid-19 Press Conference" by UK Prime Minister is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=openverse.
The inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic is ongoing, bringing into focus issues of communication by politicians and experts during the years of this crisis. Meanwhile, the post-truth era has dawned, bringing with it ‘alternative facts’, and ‘fake news’, concepts that bear a troubling resemblance to Orwellian doublethink. We are only just beginning to understand how these new rhetorical modes impact global events. On Wednesday 24 April, 3.30pm – 5pm, join a panel of experts from the fields of Media, Politics, English, and Medicine as they discuss how post-truth rhetoric continues to shape both our comprehension of and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
This event is organised by David Russell: PhD candidate in English.
Ivor Gaber is the University's first Professor of Journalism (now Professor of Political Journalism) and is Emeritus Professor of Broadcast Journalism at Goldsmiths, University of London. Prior to joining Sussex he held chairs in Journalism at City University London and the University of Bedfordshire. He has a BA in History and Politics from the University of Warwick, an MA in Labour Studies from Sussex and a PhD in Political Communications from City, University of London. His main area of academic interest is political communications and has published four books and over 50 articles and chapters on the topic. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Science, the Higher Education Academy and the Royal Society of Arts.
Relevant publications:
(Article)
“Strategic Lying”: The Case of Brexit and the 2019 U.K. Election
1 Apr 2022
International Journal of Press/Politics 27(2):460-477
Co-authors – Gaber, I.; Fisher, C.
(Article)
New challenges in the coverage of politics for UK broadcasters and regulators in the new ‘Post-Truth’ environment
11 Sep 2018
Journalism Practice 12(8):1019-1028
Author – Gaber, I.
Tom F. Wright completed graduate school at Cambridge in English and at Harvard in History as the winner of a Kennedy Scholarship. Before taking up his post at Sussex in 2012 he taught at Oxford. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society, has held visiting positions in Chicago, Paris and Shanghai, and has led interdisciplinary research projects on grants of almost one million pounds. He has written for The Atlantic, the Times Literary Supplement, TES magazine, Times Higher and The Conversation, and broadcast his ideas multiple times on BBC Radio 4. From 2024 he will be Chair of the English Department. His research focuses on nineteenth century Britain and America, exploring how debates about communication and education from this period can inform contemporary policy discussions.
Relevant publications:
(Edited Book)
Transatlantic rhetoric: speeches from the American revolution to the suffragettes
Feb 2020
Edinburgh University Press
Author – Wright, T.
(Article)
Introduction: Orality and Literacy
23 May 2014
Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century, Open Library of the Humanities
Co-authors – Emmott, J.; Wright, T.
Dr Stavroula Chrona holds a PhD in Politics (Political Psychology) from the University of Surrey. She joined the University of Sussex as a Lecturer in Politics in September 2022. Prior to joining the University of Sussex, she held the position of Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the School of History, Anthropology, Politics and Philosophy, at Queen's University, Belfast. Stavroula’s field of research lies on the intersection of political science and psychology. Analytically, her main research interest focuses on the exploration of the psychological underpinnings of political behaviour. Her work has appeared in the International Journal of Communication, Politics and Governance, Turkish Studies, South European and Black Sea Studies, Research and Policy on Turkey.
Relevant publications:
(Article)
The effects of secondary stressors, social identity, and social support on perceived stress and resilience: findings from the COVID-19 pandemic
Jun 2023
Journal of Environmental Psychology
Co-authors – Ntontis E.; Blackburn A.M.; Han H.; Stöckli S.; Milfont T.L.; Tuominen J.; Griffin S.M.; Ikizer G.; Jeftic A.; Chrona S.; Nasheedha A.; Liutsko L.; Vestergren S.
(Article)
Mediation analysis of conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments on vaccine willingness
Apr 2023
Health Psychology
Co-authors – Blackburn A.M.; Han H.; Gelpí R.A.; Stöckli S.; Jeftić A.; Ch'ng B.; Koszałkowska K.; Lacko D.; Milfont T.L.; Lee Y.; Consortium CII.; Vestergren S.; Chrona S.
Peter West-Oram
Peter West-Oram is Senior Lecturer in Bioethics at BSMS, having joined the medical school in September 2017. Prior to moving to Brighton, he was a Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Biomedical Ethics at Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham. Peter’s research focuses on questions relating to the ethics and justice of health and health care. He has published on these themes in a wide range of journals, including Bioethics, Health Care Analysis and Public Health Ethics. His current work focuses on conscientious objection in health care provision, the rights of migrants and refugees to at least comprehensive basic care, the impact of misinformation on public health, and the origins, nature, and extent of our duties to other people in global health.
Relevant publications:
(Article)
Solidarity is for other people: identifying derelictions of solidarity in responses to COVID-19
22 Jan 2021
Journal of Medical Ethics 47(2):65-68
Author: West-Oram, P.
(Article)
Conscientious objection in health care provision: a new dimension
10 Dec 2016
Bioethics 30(5):336-343
Co-authors – West-Oram, P.; Buyx, A.
This event is free but booking is essential.