UG event series - Deconstructing political discourse: An introduction

Are you interested in developing a deeper understanding of the complex world of political communication?

Do you want to acquire the skills needed to critically analyse political texts, speeches, and media coverage?

This session is designed to introduce you to the fundamental principles and techniques of discourse analysis, focusing on two influential approaches: Foucauldian discourse analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Through engaging lecture and hands-on exercises, you will gain a solid understanding of how these powerful analytical frameworks can be applied to reveal underlying power structures, ideological stances, and veiled messages embedded within political texts and speech. By the end of the session, you will have a toolkit of powerful analytical frameworks to help you navigate the complex landscape of political communication with confidence.

Anya Kuteleva is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work connects international relations, development studies, energy security, and feminist-informed approaches to politics. Her research centres on the nexus between politics and sociocultural contexts in international relations and develops a cross-disciplinary methodological toolkit around the concept of discursive politics. She is particularly interested in politics in China, Russia, Canada, and the Central Asian region. In 2022, she joined the University of Wolverhampton (UK) as a senior lecturer in International Relations. Previously, she obtained a PhD in Political Science from the University of Alberta (Canada) and held a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Russia). She is the author of China’s Energy Security and Relations with Petrostates: Oil as an Idea (Routledge 2021) and published articles in leading academic journals, including Europe-Asia Studies, Eurasian Geography and Economics, Problems of Post-Communism, European Journal of International Security, and Energy Research & Social Science. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science.

Registration will close two hours before the event begins.