Narrativised Hate: Examining and mitigating the potential harm of online discourses of sexual violence at the intersection of white and male supremacy

多年来，那些研究极端分子网上言论的人一直在研究叙事的说服力。这一学术工作路线导致了对抗极端意识形态和呈现更温和世界观的叙事策略的发展。然而，迄今为止的研究主要集中在叙事话语的内容上，而不是它们的构建方式，以实现一个沉浸式的故事世界，并能够吸引和影响读者。最近关于反叙事的工作也强调了以内容为中心的方法影响既定信仰体系的有效性的局限性。我博士研究的一个关键部分是极端分子在网上写的话语，除了内容审查之外，我还采用了叙事分析，把重点放在这些叙事的结构元素上。它描绘了作者如何构建这些故事世界；身份如何在叙事的各个组成部分之间转换；叙述的结尾，也就是将过去的行为与现在的现实联系起来的故事部分，是如何作为一种激进化的手段被强化的。我的研究伴随着一种新兴的反叙事替代策略的发展：接种叙事。接种叙事不是对抗已经形成的信念，而是提供了一种对抗说服策略的态度疫苗，受到了反极端主义研究人员和机构（如Moonshot和Jigsaw，他们与谷歌等科技公司合作）的欢迎，认为这是限制在线宣传影响的更有效方式。该奖学金将支持我实现对我的职业发展至关重要的三个总体目标。首先，它为我提供了时间来发表我的研究，并在发展我的发表记录方面取得重大进展。我已经确定了一个系列的书，我可以在其中发表专著，我将能够重组我的论文，并准备两个关键章节的出版。我计划在有重大影响的期刊上写一篇学术文章。奖学金可以让我获得英语，传播和哲学学院（ENCAP）经验丰富的学者的建议，并为我撰写和提交论文提供时间。我还将以更快的出版时间为目标，并计划为两个促进学术工作的网站撰写博客文章和短文。其次，奖学金为我提供了一个通过讲座和网络传播我的研究成果的机会。为此，我将1)在英国和美国以及卡迪夫大学的会议和活动上发表论文，2)与其他从事接种叙事研究应用的人合作。我计划在英国应用语言学协会（BAAL） 2024年会议上展示我的工作，并希望将我的研究成果传播到美国的等效组织（AAAL），让我有机会与对叙事研究感兴趣的应用语言学家建立网络。该奖学金还将帮助我与从事接种叙事研究前沿的机构和研究中心建立联系，重要的是，他们正在将这一战略应用于试点研究，并与技术领域的利益相关者一起改变政策。与这些团体接触，从他们的工作中学习，交流发现，并建立潜在的未来合作将是非常宝贵的。最后，奖学金将使我能够更新我的数据，并学习我需要在学术环境中茁壮成长的技能。重要的是，我想与Tereza Spilioti博士合作，向她学习分析和出版叙事数据和数字话语研究的经验，并从她在大型研究项目中的工作中获得见解。ENCAP的专业知识和培训为我提供了一个重要的机会，让我学习如何在未来进行示范性的研究。

The persuasive influence of narratives has been the subject of research for a number of years by those examining the discourses of extremists online. This line of academic work has led to the development of narrative strategies to counter extreme ideologies and present more moderate world views. However, research to date has focused on the content of the narrative discourses, rather than the ways in which they are constructed to achieve an immersive storyworld with the ability to engage and influence their readership. More recent work on counter-narratives has also highlighted limitations in the efficacy of a content-focused approach to affect established belief systems.A key part of my PhD research on discourses written by extremists online employs narrative analysis beyond content examination to focus instead on the structural elements of these narratives. It maps how the authors build these storyworlds; how identities shift across the components of the narratives; and how the coda of the narrative, i.e. the part of the story linking the actions of the past to a present reality, is intensified as a radicalisation device. My research developed alongside an emerging alternative strategy to counter-narratives: inoculation narratives. Instead of countering beliefs which are already set, inoculation narratives offer a type of attitudinal vaccination against persuasion tactics and have been hailed by counter-extremism researchers and agencies such as Moonshot and Jigsaw (who work with technological companies like Google) as a more effective way of limiting the influence of online propaganda.The fellowship would support me in achieving three overarching aims essential to my career development. First, it offers the time I need to publish my research and make significant headway in developing my publication record. I have identified a book series within which I can publish a monograph and I would be able to restructure my thesis and prepare two key chapters for this publication. I plan to write an academic article for a journal that has significant impact. The fellowship would give me access to advice from experienced academics in the School of English, Communication and Philosophy (ENCAP) and the time I need to write and submit my paper. I will also target outlets with a quicker publication time and plan on writing a blog post and short article for two websites which promote academic work.Second, the fellowship offers a chance for me to disseminate my research findings through talks and networking. I will do this by 1) presenting papers at conferences and events in the UK and US, as well as at Cardiff University and 2) engaging with others working on the application of inoculation narrative research. I plan to present my work at the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) 2024 conference and would like to extend the dissemination of my research findings to the equivalent organisation in the US (AAAL), giving me the chance to establish networks with applied linguists interested in narrative research across the Atlantic. The fellowship would also help me connect with agencies and research hubs working at the cutting edge of inoculation narrative research and who are, importantly, applying this strategy to pilot studies and policy change with stakeholders in technology. Engaging with these groups, learning from their work, exchanging findings, and establishing potential future collaborations would be invaluable.Finally, the fellowship will allow me to update my data and learn the skills I need to thrive in an academic environment. Importantly, I would like to work with Dr Tereza Spilioti and learn from her experiences analysing and publishing research on narrative data and digital discourses, as well as gain insights from her work on larger research projects. The expertise in ENCAP and training available offer a significant opportunity for me to learn how to conduct exemplary research in the future.