Mobs, memes and movements: The digital party

Using a series of case studies including Podemos in Spain, Italy's 5-Star Movement, Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party and the rise of populism, Dr Paolo Gerbaudo discusses how traditional political parties are being restructured by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Big Data in his recent book, The Digital Party.

Paolo's work describes new modes of political organisation and the distinctive patterns of digital, networked communication and invites us to think about how this will shape the political parties of the future.

This lecture will be followed by a drinks reception. 

Mobs, Memes and Movements series

Mobs, Memes and Movements is a series of reading groups and lectures examining the new social movements of the Trump and Brexit era. From #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, to the 'gillet jaunes' and various forms of populism, the political landscape of the 2010s is evolving rapidly.

How can we, as activists and observers, hope to make sense of these changes? What theoretical tools and empirical strategies do we need? How do these changes unsettle traditional distinctions between parties and movements, left and right, collective and individual action?

This series is organised by the Sociology and Social Theory Research Group.

Reading groups:

• 23 May: New populisms: From the Tea Party to the Yellow Vests

• 30 May: #MeToo, 4th wave feminism and identity politics
• 13 June: Movements and parties 

Download all reading materials (PDFs in a zip file) 

Links 

• Sociology and Social Theory Research Group 
• Social Science Research Unit (SSRU) 
• Social Science

Image: 'Jeremy Corbyn campaign in West Kirby' by Andy Miah, Flickr