Politics: Democracy & Participation – Is Online Conspiracism Damaging Our Politics? With Dr Siobhan McAndrew From The University of Sheffield

In this live, interactive online event, Dr Siobhan McAndrew, Senior Lecturer in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the Sheffield Methods Institute, The University of Sheffield, asks Is Online Conspiracism Damaging Our Politics?

Conspiracism in national politics, social movements and political activism online is very topical – it is a live phenomenon with some entirely new features, remaking the political world. It is of central interest to commentators and policy thinkers at present. Political scientists and political theorists are therefore revisiting the heart of the Politics discipline to understand why the political world has become so different, and so quickly.

Conspiracism is also a feature of the online political world – where online movements and online narratives form flexibly and at speed.

Siobhan will develop a discussion with the audience which explores conspiracism, introducing, as a case study, new political polling data on perceptions and misperceptions relating to the pandemic, government efforts to deal with it, and perceived trustworthiness of political leaders over the past two years. Participants will be invited to share their thoughts on the veracity of statements made during the pandemic and on public figures and information sources they consider trustworthy or untrustworthy.

Connecting with a number of areas in the A-level/IB/BTEC curricula, including democracy and participation, political movements, and political ideology, the session considers implications for the operation of the UK political system which has an uncodified constitution and depends heavily on trust, as well as the threat to the perceived legitimacy of elections, government and the state.

Furthermore we will discuss the way in which citizens express political ideas and values, insurgent movements or violent protest, and the potential interpretation of radical ideologies by followers in conspiracist and personalised terms.

Giving students an experience of university-style teaching and learning, tailored to their current stage, the session will introduce students to the type of study they could experience at Sheffield Methods Institute, University of Sheffield by following a degree pathway majoring in Politics, either as a single-honours degree or alongside other subjects, including research methods for policy analysis.

Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Dr Siobhan McAndrew is Senior Lecturer in Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Sheffield Methods Institute, University of Sheffield, and is Programme Director of the Politics, Philosophy and Economics degree programmes at Sheffield. She has previously worked as a policy adviser at HM Treasury and a consultant to a leading think tank. She currently leads a major UKRI-funded research project tracking pandemic attitudes, trust in government and misperceptions, working closely with practitioners and policymakers to target the spread of misinformation online.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom, or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Key Stage 5 students and equivalent. Teachers and members of school staff, as always, are welcome too. This is likely to appeal most to those currently studying A-level Politics or planning to do so at university level. It will also appeal to those involved in political activism, or planning to work in the public or social justice sectors.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students might find the following BBC Future article useful and interesting. It includes interviews with leading political scientists and psychologists who work on conspiracism.

• Zaria Gorvett, ‘What we can learn from conspiracy theories’, BBC Future, 25 May 2020

Also the following slidepack should provide some excellent context for our live session:

• Daniel Allington et al., ‘Coronavirus conspiracies and views of vaccination’, Kings Policy Institute, 31 January 2021

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: