Media and the Spirit of Populism

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-97103-2
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 210 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Research in Religion, Media and Culture

Media and the Spirit of Populism explores the role of the contemporary media in the formation, dissemination and circulation of the spirit of populism (DeHanas, 2024). These cutting-edge contributions to the field, written by an interdisciplinary range of contributors from across the world, cover key topics including:

- New Religious Nationalisms

- The Spirit of Populism in Virtual Reality

- Apocalyptic Populism in 2024 Trump Campaign

- Truth, The Self and Agency

- The Rise of Charismatic Populist Leaders

This book maintains that the idea of the “spirit of populism” helps to illuminate the aspects of societal and political life that extend beyond the grasp of political science or sociological analysis of populism. By exploring dimensions of the spirit of populism, the book sheds light to these elusive aspects of political life; the shared sense of deeper truth, a true reality, some kind of transcendent dimension and a sense of sacredness that has a transformational potential towards ideas of belonging/exclusion and can motivate political engagement and participation.

This engaging volume will be an essential read for those within the field of media and communication studies, religious studies, sociology, political science, feminist scholarship and Critical Cultural Studies.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Halonen, Helmi

Valaskivi, Katja

Sumiala, Johanna

Tiusanen, Kaisa

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religion & Politik, Religionsfreiheit

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction  Part I: Digital Populisms  1. The Spirit of Contemporary Politics: An Exploration of the Roles of Media and Religion 2. The Spirit of Commercial Populism: Hucksters, Miracle Cures, and Click-bait Conspiracies 3. The Spirit of Populist Victimhood: Underbrush Influencers and the Quest for Redemption  Part II: Platformized Feeling  4. When Things Just Don't Feel Right: Disagreement, Disillusionment, and Dissensus among Counterpublic Media Influencers 5. "Who Killed Jesus Christ?": Affect and Antisemitism in Gab CEO Andrew Torba's Understanding of "Free Speech" 6. Virtual Heartlands: Populism, Emotion, and the Spirit of Place in Virtual Reality  Part III: Online Charisma  7. "The Promise of a Different Europe": Gender, Religion, and the Sacralization of Politics in the New Far Right 8. "Am I Big Chungus?”: Nigel Farage, Platformed Populism and Memetic Humor on TikTok as Gen Z Relatability 9. The Second Coming of Donald Trump: Charismatic and Apocalyptic Populism on Truth Social Afterword

Über Autor(innen)

Katja Valaskivi is Professor of Religious Studies and Media Research at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Johanna Sumiala is Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Kaisa Tiusanen is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Helmi Halonen is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Finland.