HELDIG Forum continues on Wednesday 27.2.2019 at 10:15 with a talk by Dr. Chiara Bonacchi, Lecturer in Heritage, from University of Stirling. The session takes place in in Metsätalo Hall 4 (stairs up from the lounge, on the left). The topic of Chiara's presentation is:
"The 'Dark Age' of Celtic Paganism: Using big data to study foundation myths in Italian neo-populist discourse"
Abstract:
"This lecture examines the neo-nationalist tendencies expressed at the time of the March 2018 General Election held in Italy, and thereafter. For example, it considers how the Northern League has abandoned links to heritages that were previously very strong, in order to revamp its identity and move from a focus on exclusivity at regional level to one at national level. It has ceased identifying with ‘reimagined’ free and pagan Celts that used to be presented as the antithesis of the corrupted and domineering Rome. The League has left these symbols and mentions of the past in the background, side-lining them also visually in its flag. According to the party line, it is now a Catholic Italian culture that needs to be defended against forms of religious and cultural ‘otherness’, especially Islamic ones. This shift is accompanied by the loss of prominence of other local and secessionist movements such as Liga Veneta, built on medieval heritage inspired by the ‘greatness’ of the Maritime Republic of Venice. The talk draws on Twitter and Facebook data extracted and analysed as part of Ancient Identities in Modern Britain, a large and collaborative research project funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (http://ancientidentities.org). Findings will be published in a monograph on Heritage and Nationalism: Using Big Data to Deconstruct Populist Narratives (under contract with UCL Press)."
HELDIG Forum sessions are open and free for everybody to join. These meetings are educational and dissemination activities targeted especially for researchers and teachers willing employ digital methods more in their work. Welcome!
Morning coffee is served at 10:00-11:00 at Metsätalo, Unioninkatu 40.
See the programme details and the registration form below - please register so that we can order the right amount of coffee:
http://heldig.fi/forum