This presentation is a part of the research I am conducting on food and nationalism within the research project Communication of "good" foods and healthy lifestyles that has been ongoing since 2018 at Örebro University. The project gathers studies with a critical approach to "good" foods – that is, foods that appear as healthy, ethical, sustainable and/or as a part of a successful lifestyle.

At the seminar, I will present an ongoing study of commercial realizations of national policy in the global arena, in this case, an analysis of a Swedish PR mockumentary aimed at a global audience, Eat a Swede. The study is based on social semiotic theory (Kress & van Leeuwen 2006; Kress 2010) and MCDA (Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis) (Machin, 2013; Ledin & Machin, 2018). In the presentation I will focus on the multimodal constructions of dichotomies, such as the representation of the national/global in relation to "good", sustainable, and healthy food. I will discuss the use of the mockumentary genre, narrative types, modes, settings, characters, and language to communicate discourses in relation to banal nationalism (Billig, 1995) and food norms in an international arena (Ranta & Ichijo, 2022).

Helen Andersson is a senior lecturer in Media and Communication Studies at Örebro University,  Sweden. Her research interests are found in the field of multimodal (critical) discourse analysis and concerned with how commercial interests through the design of multimodal artefacts and events contribute to how we think and act in relation to food, identity, and everyday life. On-going studies look at commercial realizations of national policy in relation to food, health, and sustainability in the global arena. Helen has previously published on the topic of food, national identity, and nationalism in, for example, Critical Discourse Studies, and Discourse Context & Media.

Zoom Link: https://hku.zoom.us/j/96222618275?pwd=MTl5d0M4TEJOdTR4VDdtWDBRYXdxUT09

Meeting ID: 962 2261 8275
Password: 276491

Livestream will be available at Room CRT-7.45, 7/F, Run Run Shaw Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU