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RA2 WS “Social Media, Political Reality, and Trump 2.0“ with Dr. Sara Polak

When

Feb 03, 2026 from 10:00 to 12:00 (Europe/Berlin / UTC100)

Where

SR 109 (GCSC)

Contact Name

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This event is a preparatory workshop for Prof. Greta Olson’s keynote in the afternoon.

 "This Will Be the Best Workshop That has Ever Been Given in the History of Workshops!!" Trump’s use of social media creates participatory, exclusionary political worlds that blur the line between fiction and political reality. Relating to this, Prof. Greta Olsen argues that political attachments today are shaped less by rational argument than by felt intensities such as anger, love, loyalty, and belonging. In this workshop, participants will investigate and experience how affect, play, and platform design interact to reshape political experience, community formation, and democratic life in the digital age. Guided by Dr. Sara Polak’s concept of “play” and “worlding”, we will explore and discuss how social media platforms can be used as political “playspaces” in which alternative realities are actively staged and inhabited. Dr. Polak herself will join us online from Leiden for a Q&A session at the beginning of the workshop. Preparatory reading: Polak, Sara A. “Donald Trump and Truth Social: Media Platforms Making Exclusionary Worlds.” In Diversity Issues in the USA: Transnational Perspectives on the 2024 Presidential Elections, edited by Greta Olson and M. Kreitler, 137–47. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2024.

Link to join online: https://webconf.hrz.uni-giessen.de/b/cae-jo1-hgy-lg2

 

Please, register here to attend!

The preparatory readings are to be found on StudIP.