Ruth Wodak (Lancaster University) ‘The Language of Walls’

Tuesday, November 15 at 19:00

Artget Gallery, Cultural Centre of Belgrade

Ruth Wodak (Lancaster University)

‘The Language of Walls’ – Analyzing Right-Wing Populist Discourse

Inclusion and exclusion of migrants and refugees are renegotiated in the European Union on almost a daily basis: ever new policies defining and restricting immigration are proposed by EU-ropean member states. A re-nationalization can be observed, on many levels: traditions, rules, languages, visions, and imaginaries are affected. Walls have – again – become symbols of belonging inside – or of being excluded and having to stay outside! Should we thus agree with Robert Frost’s famous phrase “Good fences make good neighbors”?

In my lecture, I will analyze these recent developments in respect to immigration and asylum policies across Europe from a discourse-historical perspective, especially in respect to the rise of right-wing populist parties across Europe (Wodak 2015, The Politics of Fear, Sage). I focus on the discursive construction of national and transnational identities and related ‘border and body politics’: Who are the neighbors, who the strangers? Who proposes – and why – to ‘save’ our country from strangers? The data – analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively – consist of a range of genres, from the UK, Austria, Germany, France, etc (citizenship tests and language tests, party programs, TV documentaries, and election campaign materials).

Видео Ruth Wodak (Lancaster University) ‘The Language of Walls’ канала Angažovana misao / Engaged Thought