In conversation with... is a series of events promoting interdisciplinary conversations among our Doctoral Researchers.
About the event
In this session, join PhD students Alexis Anthony and Eleftheria Sofroniou for an evening of wide-ranging discussion as they present the findings of their Doctoral research. Each presentation will be followed by a Q&A session that explores the questions raised in their work, while also encouraging the speakers and audience to think about approaching research from an interdisciplinary angle.
In conversation with... is open to all University students and colleagues. There is no need to book, just come along on the evening.
External attendees are also welcome. Please email [email protected] to register your attendance.
Presentations
A New Age for Media Trust: An Empirical Study of Podcasts, Trust and Public Opinion, by Alexis Anthony (School of Media and Communication)
At a time when trust in legacy media institutions and journalists is at a record low globally (Edelman, 2022) podcasts have emerged as a "safe space" for candid, authentic and intimate conversations (Markman, 2015; Berry, 2016). Trust between podcast hosts and listeners and among listener communities sharply counteracts the failures of the traditional mainstream. Through mixed methods research and exploratory factor analysis, this research investigates the qualities of the podcast industry that affect this phenomenon, and examines what can be extrapolated from these qualities to improve mass communication techniques in future times of crisis.
Alexis Anthony holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication/Public Relations from the University of Maryland, a Master's in Media and Communication from the University of Strathclyde, and is pursuing her PhD in Media Research at the University of Westminster. She has worked as a marketing communications professional for nearly a decade, and has spent the last five years working in the podcasting industry. Alexis currently serves as a part-time lecturer in digital media and public relations at King's College London and the University of Westminster.
Making up (for) lost heritage: an ethnographic study of dance, language and identity in London's Greek Cypriot diaspora, by Eleftheria Sofroniou (School of Humanities)
This research examines the role of folk dancing as a means for the construction of ethnolinguistic identities in a diasporic context. Focusing on London’s Greek Cypriot diaspora in London, Eleftheria investigates the complexities of the language–identity–folk dancing nexus. Her research aims to examine ethnographic data through the lens of the linguistic and dancing practices, styles and procedures, scrutinising how folk dancing classes and performances operate as a context where heritage speakers can develop their ethnolinguistic identities.
Eleftheria Sofroniou is a TECHNE-funded PhD researcher in Sociolinguistics at the University of Westminster. Eleftheria has studied Greek Philology in the University of Crete and she holds two Masters, one in Global Journalism from the University of Coventry and one in Contemporary History and Politics from Birkbeck, University of London.
Location
152 Cayley Room, 309 Regent Street, University of Westminster, London, W1B 2HW
