The Department of Scandinavian presents a talk by

Louise Brix Jacobsen
University of Aalborg
Visiting Scholar, UC Berkeley

Friday, September 23
3-5pm
Dwinelle 6415, Level F, office wing
In-person.

All are welcome to attend.

 

Abstract:
Hoaxes come in various forms and in various media. Prominent examples are Alan Sokal’s hoax essay in the journal Social Text (1996), the Yes Men’s fake versions of The New York Times (2008), and Channel 4’s deep faked version of Queen Elisabeth’s Christmas Speech (2020). I define hoaxing as “deceptive communication orchestrated to be revealed”. In this talk I will discuss various examples of media hoaxing to unravel their distinctive features and critical potential. My claim is, that the concept of fictionality as a rhetorical strategy can help us distinguish hoaxing from other forms of deception, such as lies, deceptive fake news and conspiracy theories.

 

with questions, contact issa@berkeley.edu