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.

Click here for the episode transcript

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

In this episode, Professor Mohan Dutta’s guest Professor Usha Raman discusses her early professional career and how it shaped her scholarly interests. She describes her current worker-centered and feminist approach to the design and deployment of digital platforms and tools to align, with a special eye to the Global South, the future of work with human dignity, creativity, and pleasure.

Click here for the episode transcript

Featuring

Mohan Dutta

Usha Raman

Sponsor:

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

Usha Raman

Professor in the Department of Communication | University of Hyderabad

Vice President | International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)

Twitter: @usharaman

Works referenced in episode:

Raman, U., & Arora, P. (n.d.). Femlab. FEMLAB.

Raman, U., & Komarraju, S. A. (2018). Policing responses to crime against women: unpacking the logic of Cyberabad’s “SHE Teams”. Feminist Media Studies, 18(4), 718-733.

Komarraju, S. A., Arora, P., & Raman, U. (2021). Agency and servitude in platform labour: a feminist analysis of blended cultures. Media, Culture & Society, 01634437211029890.

Raman, U. (2018). MAYANOTES. Super Vision.

Raman, U. (2021). Pandemic Learning: How do we make it (all) count?. Indian Academy of Sciences.

Bhattacharya, S. (2021). Desperately seeking Shah Rukh: India's Lonely Young Women and the search for intimacy and Independence. Harper Collins Publishers India.

Copy and Audio Editor:

Dominic Bonelli

Daniel Christain

Executive Producer:

DeVante Brown

This episode features Professor Cheryll Ruth Soriano in conversation with Professor Mohan Dutta. Professor Soriano discusses her research on Filipino platform workers, expanding on linkages between migrant workers and the rise of entrepreneurial solidarity amongst digital workers. They further discuss the implications of the Philippines' past as a colonial subject and the country’s present as a site of political, particularly anti-neoliberal, activism.

Click here for the episode transcript

Featuring

Mohan Dutta

Cheryll Ruth Soriano

Sponsor:

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

Cheryll Ruth Soriano

Professor of Communication | De La Salle University

Principal Investigator, Fairwork Philippines

Twitter: @chesoriano

Works Referenced in Episode:
Soriano, C. R. R., & Cabañes, J. V. A. (2020). Entrepreneurial solidarities: Social media collectives and Filipino digital platform workers. Social Media+ Society, 6(2), 2056305120926484.
Munck, R. (2002). Globalisation and labour: the new'Great Transformation'. Zed Books.

Copy and Audio Editor:

Sharlene Burgos

Executive Producer:
DeVante Brown