In this episode, Professor Mohan Dutta speaks with Professor Viktor Chagas on humor in Brazilian politics. Professor Chagas offers a humor lens to Brazilian independence from Portugal, pointing out how Brazilian people made Portuguese people the butt of the jokes as a means to create a national identity. We hear about Professor Chagas’ research into private far right WhatsApp group chats and the ethical and safety considerations that come with covert research methods. Professor Chagas and Professor Dutta also discuss the need to decenter the hegemony of political communications research and the challenges associated from the perspective of the Global South.

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Featuring

Mohan Dutta

Viktor Chagas

Sponsors

The Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South at Northwestern University Qatar

More from our guests:

Mohan Dutta

Dean’s Chair Professor of Communication | Journalism and Marketing

Massey University | University of New Zealand

Director, Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE)

Twitter: @mjdutt; @CAREMasseyNZ

Viktor Chagas

Associate Professor | Department of Cultural Studies and Media | Fluminense Federal University

Director, Laboratory of Research on Communication, Political Cultures, and Collaborative Economy (coLAB)

Twitter: @ombudsmanviktor

Works referenced in episode:

Jokes and Targets by Christie Davies

Chagas, V. A cultura dos memes: aspectos sociológicos e dimensões políticas de um fenômeno do mundo digital. Salvador: EdUFBA, 2020.

Chagas, V., Modesto, M., & Magalhães, D. O Brasil vai virar Venezuela: medo, memes e enquadramentos emocionais no WhatsApp pró-Bolsonaro. Esferas, 14, 2019.

Chagas, V., Freire, F., Rios, D., & Magalhães, D. Political memes and the politics of memes: a methodological proposal for content analysis of online political memes. First Monday, 24, 2019.

Copy and Audio Editors:

Dominic Bonelli

Tom Dixon