November 6, Ph.D. Colloquium, Dr. Julia Sonnevend of The New School
Please join us next Wednesday, 6 November, at 12:15 pm in Rm 222 for a PhD Colloquium talk by Dr. Julia Sonnevend of The New School.
Dr. Sonnevend will discuss her new book, Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics (Princeton University Press, 2024).
Read a review of the book in The New Yorker magazine.
Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics
Politics is a site of performance, and contemporary politicians often perform the role of a regular person—perhaps someone we would like to have a beer with. They win elections not because of the elevated rhetorical performances we often associate with charisma (“ask not what your country can do for you”), but because of something more ordinary and relatable. This everyday magic spell that many politicians cast using mass and social media is what I call “charm.” This talk will explore charm (and the related “charm offensive”) as a keyword of contemporary global politics. Successful political leaders deploy this form of personal magnetism—which relies on proximity to political tribes and manifests across a variety of media platforms—to appear authentic and accessible in their quest for power. I consider how charm (or the lack of it) is wielded as a political tool, and the ways charm is weaponized to shape the international image of a country. I argue that charm will shape the future of politics worldwide, as political values will be increasingly embodied by mediated personalities. These figures will rise and fall, often fading into irrelevance; but if we do not understand charm’s political power, we cannot grasp diplomacy and politics in the 21st century.
Julia Sonnevend is Associate Professor of Sociology and Communications at The New School. She is a sociologist of culture and media, focusing on the events, icons, symbols and charismatic personalities of public life. Sonnevend is the author of Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics, Stories Without Borders: The Berlin Wall and the Making of a Global Iconic Event, and co-editor of Education and Social Media: Toward a Digital Future. She has been profiled in The New Yorker and her ideas have been featured in Time, NPR, BBC Newshour and Teen Vogue, among others. Sonnevend received her PhD in Communications from Columbia University and her Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School. She grew up in Budapest, Hungary.
Please join us next Wednesday, 6 November, at 12:15 pm in Rm 222 for a PhD Colloquium talk by Dr. Julia Sonnevend of The New School.
Dr. Sonnevend will discuss her new book, Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics (Princeton University Press, 2024).
Read a review of the book in The New Yorker magazine.
Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics
Politics is a site of performance, and contemporary politicians often perform the role of a regular person—perhaps someone we would like to have a beer with. They win elections not because of the elevated rhetorical performances we often associate with charisma (“ask not what your country can do for you”), but because of something more ordinary and relatable. This everyday magic spell that many politicians cast using mass and social media is what I call “charm.” This talk will explore charm (and the related “charm offensive”) as a keyword of contemporary global politics. Successful political leaders deploy this form of personal magnetism—which relies on proximity to political tribes and manifests across a variety of media platforms—to appear authentic and accessible in their quest for power. I consider how charm (or the lack of it) is wielded as a political tool, and the ways charm is weaponized to shape the international image of a country. I argue that charm will shape the future of politics worldwide, as political values will be increasingly embodied by mediated personalities. These figures will rise and fall, often fading into irrelevance; but if we do not understand charm’s political power, we cannot grasp diplomacy and politics in the 21st century.
Julia Sonnevend is Associate Professor of Sociology and Communications at The New School. She is a sociologist of culture and media, focusing on the events, icons, symbols and charismatic personalities of public life. Sonnevend is the author of Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics, Stories Without Borders: The Berlin Wall and the Making of a Global Iconic Event, and co-editor of Education and Social Media: Toward a Digital Future. She has been profiled in The New Yorker and her ideas have been featured in Time, NPR, BBC Newshour and Teen Vogue, among others. Sonnevend received her PhD in Communications from Columbia University and her Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School. She grew up in Budapest, Hungary.