Authenticity has become a buzzword for our times. A new collection, edited by scholars in the Centre for Research in Communication and Culture at Loughborough University, provides the first interdisciplinary examination of authenticity. The book titled ‘Cultures of Authenticity’ analyses the concept of authenticity in relation to travel and tourism, branding and marketing, popular culture, […]
Authenticity has become a buzzword for our times. Much of the travel industry is built around the provision of ‘authentic’ experiences, global brands fight to be seen as ‘authentic’ and social media platforms are awash with arguments about the authenticity of this post or that vlogger. But what we do mean by authenticity? And why […]
Note: due to the restrictions caused by COVID-19, this workshop has been postponed. We will announce a new date for the next academic year as soon as the circumstances allow it. Once at the theoretical margins of political science, the ‘Essex School’ of discourse analysis inspired by the pioneering work of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal […]
Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Communication and Culture partnered with The New York Times and the Open Society Foundations to organize a Central and Eastern European Symposium, a special side event to the 5th Athens Democracy Forum which took place on 13-17 September 2017.
Around this time of year, many people seek to reduce, reform or moderate their drinking habits. However, the idea of what is considered “safe”, “sensible” or “responsible” drinking varies significantly at different points in time and across different countries. Public health advice once recommended that male alcohol consumption should be limited to less than 21 […]
It was a turning point in the story of a new kind of democracy – and how the state tried to snuff it out. In a coordinated show of force, state and federal authorities evicted Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and a number of similar camps across the US. It was November 15, 2011 – and […]
Western democracies are in turmoil. From Brexit to Donald Trump, to a general lack of trust in politics, disillusioned voters are expressing their frustration in strange ways. In Iceland, they are taking a more proactive, hopeful approach – and it’s a lesson to the rest of the world. It looks as though a crowd-sourced constitution, […]
This article is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative with the Sydney Democracy Network. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about the many challenges facing democracies in the 21st century. This article is the second of four perspectives on the political relevance of anarchism and the prospects for liberty in […]
