The beginning of a new year allows for a time to reflect on the LSE Undergraduate Political Review’s 2018 successes.
Editor-in-Chief Karina Moxon looks back to one such success, the third UPR annual Research Conference.
On the evening of November 22nd students, academics and members of the wider public attended the LSE LIFE Centre to engage with a variety of leading research topics.
2018 marked a change in format for the annual Conference, led by Marketing Director Ysabel Cruickshank and Editor-in-Chief Karina Moxon. The UPR prides itself on being a platform that encourages and facilitates academic political research, and, recognising the importance of discussion and debate on topical issues, we believed a panel discussion was a crucial addition to the Conference.
The night began with presentations from four excellent students, who showcased their undergraduate dissertation pieces in poster format. This gave attendees the opportunity to participate with and learn about the diverse pieces and presenters the chance to describe their research processes and findings to students and academics alike.
Hannah Bailey, ex-LSE and now pursuing a Masters at Oxford University, presented her co-authored piece: “China’s rhetoric under Xi Jinping: A test of the Thucydides Trap”
Charlie Smith, ex-Durham and now pursuing a Masters at LSE, presented: “MORAL SURVEILLANCE? Democratic discourse and the Habermasian critique of untargeted mass surveillance”
Meran Annalingam, ex-King’s College London, presented: “Blindness: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the UN’s Actions in the Sri Lankan Civil War”
Eponine Howarth, pursuing her second undergraduate degree at LSE, presented: “Spitzenkandidat! A Comparative Analysis of the Political Discourse of Martin Schulz in the European Parliament Election in 2014”
Charlie Smith reflected on his experience:
“It was great being properly challenged and tested by the attendees on Thursday and the experience will definitely make my future research more robust.”
In the second half of the evening, four esteemed professionals joined the Conference for the inaugural panel discussion: Research in the Post-Truth Era: Friend or Foe?
The term “Post-Truth” has been evermore present in recent years, and we sought to use the format of a panel to explore how researchers and research processes have been impacted by this current phenomenon.
Hans Kundnani (Senior Research Fellow, Europe Programme, Chatham House), Mary Evans (LSE Centennial Professor, Department of Gender Studies), Jillian Terry (Deputy Director, LSE100) and moderator Charlie Beckett (Director, Polis & Lead Commissioner, LSE Truth, Trust & Technology Commission) engaged in a dynamic discussion, each putting forward their illuminating opinions and conclusions on the various sub-topics covered.
Please visit our twitter page (@lseupr) to see video clips and quotes.
After yet another successful Research Conference we are looking forward to the upcoming year, anticipating many more impressive dissertation pieces and looking out for our 2019 panel topic.
A huge thank you to Hans Kundnani, Mary Evans, Jillian Terry, Charlie Beckett, Hannah Bailey, Charlie Smith, Meran Annalingam, Eponine Howarth, the LSE Government Department, especially Claire Tomlinson, and all who attended.
Hannah Bailey; Meran Annalingam; Eponine Howarth.
Professor Mary Evans; Charlie Beckett, Hans Kundnani & Jillian Terry; Professor Charlie Beckett.
