Political Activism in the Linguistic Landscape
Or, how to use Public Space as a Medium for Protest
Philip Seargeant author Korina Giaxoglou author Frank Monaghan author
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Multilingual Matters
Published:12th Jun '23
Should be back in stock very soon
This paperback is available in another edition too:
- Hardback£39.95(9781800416826)
Examines how linguistic landscapes can be used as a resource for political activism
This graphic novel looks at political activism in the public landscape with a particular focus on the UK activist group Led By Donkeys. The book is both an innovative approach to the presentation of academic research, and an exploration of how political activism can use the linguistic landscape as a resource for communicating its message.
This book, which takes the form of a graphic novel, looks at political activism in the public landscape. It has a particular focus on the UK activist group Led By Donkeys which has, since late 2018, been running a campaign to expose hypocrisy in the political classes. Their approach to activism involves the use of large posters and other forms of public display, which highlight the gap between the rhetoric and actions of politicians, and how language and communication is used to manipulate opinion. The activism discussed in the book includes four major issues: Brexit, Trump, Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The book is both an innovative visual approach to the presentation of academic research and thought, and an exploration of how the linguistic landscape can be a key resource for the communication of political activism.
This is a brilliant non-academic academic book. An afternoon of deeply pleasurable reading is guaranteed for anyone who picks it up. In an act of public service the authors allow the reader to become immersed in a highly innovative style of visual and discursive representation revealing the power of semiotic landscapes in political dissent and democratic activism. * Angela Creese, University of Stirling, UK *
In a truly multimodal treatment of a multimodal subject matter, Seargeant grapples with the complex questions of political activism in the public space and presents them here in both a sophisticated and accessible way. This book not only critiques recent torrid political events but also slakes the public’s thirst for understanding visual communication in protest and activist movements. * Robert Blackwood, University of Liverpool, UK *
With its balance between word-based and pictorial storytelling, the book realises an innovative way of scientific publication possibilities transcending between the format of traditional texts and a graphic novel [...] The true strength of this book is the authors’ innovative approach to multimodal data in the shape of visual narratives which do not just embed illustrations but utilize the pictorial representation as an equivalent tool.
-- Laura Imhoff, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, Linguistic Landscape, 2024Political Activism in the Linguistic Landscape offers a profound exploration of the relationship between language, political activism, and public space [...] It features illustrations by Seargeant that accompany the text and offer a multimodal perspective on a research object that is multimodal by nature. This strategy allows the book to broaden its target audience towards a more informative character, with a style that is more accessible to people outside of academia.
* Victor Bargiela, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain, Language in Society 53:4 (2024) *ISBN: 9781800416819
Dimensions: 234mm x 156mm x 5mm
Weight: 160g
104 pages