[ecrea] CfP: "Character Assassination and Populism" conference

*Call for Conference Papers:*

*“Character Assassination and Populism: Challenges and Responses”*

**

Host: Character Assassination and Reputation Politics (CARP) Research 
Lab <http://communication.gmu.edu/research-and-centers/carp/>

Location: George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia

Dates: March 15-17, 2019

Submission Deadline: November 15, 2018

Character assassination (CA) is the deliberate destruction of an 
individual’s reputation. This is a timeless phenomenon that appears in 
many shapes and forms in every cultural, political, and technological 
epoch. Various CA practices such as lies, insinuations and ridicule have 
been effective means of persuasion and influence in power struggles for 
centuries. As a field of scholarship, the study of character 
assassination has been experiencing a remarkable academic renaissance. 
An increased academic interest in the issue led

to the formation of the Research Lab for Character Assassination and 
Reputation Politics (CARP), hosted at George Mason University in 
Fairfax, Virginia. CARP’s inaugural conference, dedicated to the theory 
and practice of character assassination and reputation management, was 
held at George Mason University in March 2017.

One primary characteristic of today’s global society is the growing 
public distrust in many traditional authorities, including political 
institutions and the mass media. In the context of institutional 
legitimacy crisis, there is a great demand for new voices to trust. 
These changes provide opportunities for populists and charismatic 
opinion leaders of all kinds to promote their agendas and influence 
public opinion. There is no generally accepted definition of populism, 
but a claim to speak for “the people” against a corrupt “elite”, a 
preoccupation with national identity, and a preference for emotional 
appeals over rational

arguments are often counted among its key characteristics. Populists 
frequently use character attacks strategically to shock their audiences 
and steal the media

spotlight. Their inflammatory rhetoric conjures political ratings, 
generates hype, and manipulates public consensus. Populist persuasion 
practices are directly related to social judgment formation and may 
distract people from deliberating on alternative and relevant campaign 
arguments. Importantly, populist politicians become primary newsmakers 
for clickbait content in the media that proliferates personal opinions, 
falsehoods, and unwarranted ad hominem attacks. Belligerent rhetoric 
also normalizes the culture of

incivility which has negative consequences for civil debate in a 
well-functioning democracy.

We invite scholars to submit research and works in progress which will 
discuss character assassination and populism from a variety of 
disciplinary and cultural angles. We welcome both theoretical work and 
case studies.

*Suggested Topics:*

• CA and populism in a historical perspective;

• Belligerent populist rhetoric and hate speech;

• Populist psychology, charisma, and underlying conditions;

• Populist persuasion and impression management;

• Political incivility and polarization issues;

• Ad hominem attacks in political debate;

• Framing wars in policy debate;

• CA and mediated public scandals;

• CA and information warfare in international relations;

• Character attacks on science and scientists;

• Personalization and infotainment issues in mass media;

• Memes, caricatures, and visual distortion online;

• CA, image repair, and inoculation strategies;

• CA as strategic deception and deliberate misinformation;

• Legal aspects of libel, slander, and defamation.

Please submit a 250-word abstract of your paper by the deadline listed 
above. Email the abstract as an attachment to Sergei A. Samoilenko at 
(ssamoyle /at/ gmu.edu)

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