Alberto Godioli and Florian Lippert awarded fellowships at NIAS

Dr Alberto Godioli, Senior Lecturer for European Culture and Literature, and Dr Florian Lippert, Associate Professor for European Culture and Literature at the Faculty of Arts, have been selected for fellowships at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) in Amsterdam.

Alberto Godioli: Who's the normie?

In his NIAS research project “Who’s the Normie? Humor controversies, ambiguity and polarization in contemporary Europe,” Alberto Godioli will investigate the production and reception of ambiguous political humour, with special regard to the European context. From Charlie Hebdo to viral memes, contemporary political humour is often characterized by the ambiguous use of populist-nativist tropes, which can be interpreted and evaluated in widely contrasting ways -- for example, the same cartoon could be read as racist satire, or as a satire of racism. Following a quali-quantitative approach, the project will explore how this type of humour works on a formal level, and how it is interpreted by readers across the political spectrum.

Florian Lippert: Current ideals of 'cultural sameness'

In his NIAS research project “Current Ideals of ‘Cultural Sameness’ within Europe,” Florian Lippert will investigate ideals of trans-European “sameness” as they are displayed in political communication and present in public perceptions. On the one hand, concepts of “cultural sameness” have been used to promote inclusion, integration and cosmopolitanism, e.g. in the context of the “ever closer” EU. On the other hand, today even anti-migration movements and nationalist far-right parties defend their exclusionary and discriminatory agendas by referring to an alleged sameness on an explicitly European scale - be it by means of a so-called “European Patriotism” or in the right-wing rallying cry of “Towards a Common Sense Europe.”

Theme group on the politics of (de)familiarization

Both projects are conducted in the Theme Group “The Politics of (De)familiarization: The Common and the Strange in Contemporary Europe,” coordinated by Dr Godioli. The Theme Group also includes Professors Maria Boletsi (University of Amsterdam / Leiden University) and Sarah de Lange (University of Amsterdam).

The NIAS Fellowships will allow the team members to work on their projects for a period of 5 months in the academic year 2021/22. They will become part of a carefully selected community of independent thinkers, in a collaborative environment where the space is created to ask new questions beyond disciplinary boundaries. NIAS Fellows are selected through a highly competitive external review process on the basis of the quality of their research proposal.

About NIAS-KNAW

The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study is an intellectual haven for international researchers, writers, journalists and artists to pursue their research or projects, to work in an interdisciplinary environment and to share their knowledge with society.

It offers a diverse year-group of about 50 NIAS Fellows the opportunity to devote themselves to an independent research project. NIAS is the oldest Institute for Advanced Study in Europe whose founding mission is to foster curiosity-driven research. It is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and is located in Amsterdam.