A pandemonium of Borges

Dr Miguel A. Gomes Gargamala has written the introduction to the latest edition of the Old English Newsletter (August 2021). The topic of the journal is Borges the medievalist, and Miguel's essay can be read here.  

Butter packaging and national identity

Professor Angela Smith has co-written an article with Helen Andersson (Örebro University, Sweden) on the topic of butter packaging. Researchers have shown that it is common to use nationalist appeals when marketing food products. Research has also shown that geographical places play an important role in creating feelings of national identity and national belonging. To a much lesser extent, research has shown how these “places” are represented and reproduced in the packaging of food products in specific national environments and to an even lesser extent, compared these representations and reproductions. In their article, Angela Smith and Helen Andersson use multimodal critical discourse analysis to examine how butter packaging in Sweden and the UK represents nature in ways that create associations that are linked to the national identity that exists in each country. They argue that commercial interests, through their choice of packaging design, not only exploit cultural and political ideas and values but also reinforce them by connecting to prevailing national sentiments. In times of political and social change, this can be used to strengthen national affiliation and thus ally with political interests.

Andersson, H. and Smith, A. 2021. Flags and fields: a comparative analysis of national identity in butter packaging in Sweden and the UK. Social Semiotics.

Women and the Politics of Civility/Incivility in Parliament and Public Life

Professor Angela Smith is giving a paper with Michael Higgins at an online roundtable and workshop organized by the Maison Française d'Oxford (MFO). The two-day event, to be held on May 6th and 7th 2021, is called ‘Women, and the Politics of Civility/Incivility in Parliament and Public Life’ and will reflect on the profoundly aggressive nature of recent discourse and actions associated with the Brexit debate, the responses to Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, and the consequences for parliamentary and public life. Angela's paper will be given in the panel called 'Women and the Language of Incivility'. Information about how to register for the event can be found here.