7 May | How power uses language to manipulate people | Как власть манипулирует людьми с помощью слов

Interactive lecture-game by anthropologist Alexandra Arkhipova | Интерактивная лекция-игра антрополога Александры Архиповой

This lecture-game focuses on the language of power and propaganda and on how it can be properly decoded. It is designed as an interactive game in which participants anonymously answer the lecturer’s questions using their phones; the responses are displayed on a screen, and the lecturer comments on them.

Лекция-игра посвящена устройству языка власти и пропаганды и возможностям адекватной дешифровке. Лекция устроена как интерактивная игра, по ходу которой участники анонимно отвечают на вопросы лектора с помощью телефонов, ответы выводятся на экран, лектор комментирует их.

Dr. Alexandra Arkhipova, photo from the personal archive.

Dr. Alexandra Arkhipova is a social anthropologist and Visiting Professor at the École Normale Supérieure (2024-2026). She studies political folklore, rumours, and narratives. Additionally, she runs a popular blog on Telegram (@anthro_fun) and Facebook dedicated to social anthropology and the analysis of the current situation in Russia, with 78,000 subscribers on Telegram.

In recent years, she has been researching the reactions of Russians to social and political events, including how Russian society responds to the war in Ukraine. In 2023, she created a virtual exhibition of anti-war street art, NoWobble, featuring around 500 pieces of graffiti, stickers, and flyers that Russians secretly place in public spaces to protest the war.

After Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine, Arkhipova was designated a “foreign agent” by Russian authorities — a status that strips individuals of their ability to work and live in the country. She was forced to leave Russia and now lives and works in exile in France, focusing on the study of propaganda language in contemporary Russia.