Power of Words

The 19th century discovery that invisible pathogens caused infectious diseases engendered powerful narratives of fear. Germs were described through militaristic metaphors, such as ‘evil invaders’. This in turn fuelled xenophobic and racist fantasies which were expressed through metaphors of infection in literary and political writings. Against this historical backdrop, we’ll explore the power of metaphors and how they shape our understanding of societies today.

Hate speech was described as poison, at the Nuremberg trials. What is hate speech? One view is hate speech expresses unpopular ideas. Another view is, it subordinates human beings. I want to consider what hate speech does, how it can be answered, and whether its history may have lessons for the present.

What is “fake news” exactly? Is the current post-truth debate really different from historical examples of political propaganda? We’ll explore the psychology of influence, to what extent we are being targeted by a range of societal actors both online and offline; and ultimately, why, how, and in what ways fake news is influencing our attitudes, opinions, and decision-making about key societal issues and what we can do about it.