Arta narațiunii politice

Philip Seargeant looks at how stories shape votes and views on politics. He uses Brexit and Trump’s time as president as examples. These show how plots can guide what people feel. His main focus is post-truth politics. In this, appeals to feelings can count more than reason. This nonfiction book looks at politics, language and the media.

Seargeant compares how people build stories and speeches about politics. He asks how their main figures stir people’s feelings. He looks at how they use words to sway people. He also looks at story patterns that come up often. News coverage and ties to a party play a role. He shows how these help stories win votes. He links these methods to how people tend to think. He shows how people with charm who seek power use our love of stories.

Seargeant’s work deals with language and how people share ideas. He writes, does research and makes films that teach. He teaches applied linguistics at the Open University. This field puts the study of language to practical use. His work now links language, politics and social media. His past work traced how English spread across the world. It also explored the role English plays as a world language. He writes for The Huffington Post, The New European and Prospect. He gives talks and chairs public debates at home and abroad. He has also worked for the BBC, giving advice on content.