Booming Populism – On the Practice and Language of Political Polarization

The German Center for Research and Innovation, the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), Columbia’s Journalism School, the ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius and the German Research Foundation (DFG) cordially invite you to a panel discussion on

Booming Populism –
On the Practice and Language of Political Polarization

on

Thursday, November 17, 2016, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m

with

Michael Werz
Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and Professor at Georgetown University’s BMW Center for German and European Studies

Tara D. McGuinness
Senior Advisor to the Director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget and Executive Director of the Community Solutions Team

Jan-Werner Müller
Professor of Politics at Princeton University

Todd Gitlin
Writer and Professor of Journalism and Sociology at Columbia University

Martin Nonhoff
Professor of Political Theory at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), University of Bremen

RSVP by November 15 by clicking here. Registration is required to attend.

Seating is limited.

In the course of the Brexit referendum and the U.S. presidential elections, both the EU and the U.S. have seen a rise of populist political reasoning. Polarizing, overly simplifying or misleading communications of social, cultural and economic developments dominate current political debates and influence public perceptions of nationhood, inner security and minority politics. By claiming to speak in the name of ordinary people, politicians emphasize the direct democratic nature of their actions while at the same time often explicitly excluding certain groups of people from their societal models. By bringing together social scientists, journalists and communication experts, the panel discussion will enable a multilayered analysis of the current political implications of populism in its various forms and the role of different media —e.g. corporate vs. social—in the distribution of information, functioning as a public corrective, and shaping of public opinion. A novel event format will ensure an engaging discussion by challenging the renowned experts in the field with inputs developed in a preceding think lab of young researchers.