The theme is ‘Citizenship & Identity in a ‘post-truth’ world’ and will focus on the discourse, research and praxis related to this theme. The ‘post truth’ world challenges dominant conceptions of citizenship. It has transformed political culture via emotionally-charged rhetoric that is disconnected from the realities of contemporary citizenship and governance. Factual/expert interventions into public debate are often marginalised in favour of the repetition of unsubstantiated or fabricated assertions, allowing previously ‘extreme’ beliefs and positions to enter the political mainstream. Seemingly, appearance becomes more important than reality and the construction of division persistently erodes solidarity. What can/do we do?
