Verso Prize for Cultural and Critical Studies awarded for study of “post-truth”
Elle Aspell-Sheppard won the prize with a sharp analysis of the rhetoric of President Trump’s electoral campaign.
The Verso Prize for the top student graduating from Birkbeck’s MA Cultural and Critical Studies has been awarded to Elle Aspell-Sheppard, for a dissertation which delivered an incisive piece of analysis of President Donald Trump and the rhetorical strategies he uses in his communication.
The independent, radical publishing house, Verso, has sponsored the prize since last year with the aim of highlighting bold new voices in contemporary cultural debate. Part of the prize is the publication of an extract of the winner’s dissertation on Verso’s blog.
The chosen extract focused on Trump’s electoral campaign, in particular the idea of “post-truth” and its effects on society. The external examiner described the essay as a “beautifully written piece of work, which brings Hannah Arendt’s thought successfully into the present moment…a thoughtful argument is advanced around the idea of post-truth as a contemporary keyword.”
Elle said: “I’m delighted to have received the Verso prize. It’s exciting and incredibly rewarding to have the support of Verso here at Birkbeck; their books fill our reading lists, are a wellspring of inspiration for research and writing – certainly, my own work attests to that - and are ultimately indispensable tools for a cultural critic.
“Piquing my interest in such topical subjects, and having the confidence to tackle them in an extended piece of writing, was the outcome of lucid discussions and excellent tuition over the last year – naturally, I’m incredibly grateful for the positive feedback and supervision during my dissertation that made the path so much clearer!
“Over the course of a whirlwind year of study, I’ve sharpened my abilities as a reader, thinker and debater. My experiences of thought-provoking tuition and invigorating debate have made it an unforgettable year of learning, and I’ll certainly carry this into my future.”
Dr Mark Blacklock, Convener of the MA said: “We’re delighted that Verso continue to support the award to the top degree on MA Cultural and Critical Studies and it is telling, though no surprise, that once again a Verso author is quoted in the piece: our students read Verso books because they are a significant source for the most incisive commentary on the contemporary cultural moment. I’m delighted that an extract from Elle’s piece will win a broader readership on the Verso blog – it’s the kind of cultural analysis that we all aim for: clear-headed, erudite and engaged, couched in reasoning that seems to have the force of inevitability.”
Further Information
- Read: ‘Speaking’, an extract of Elle’s winning dissertation
- Verso Books
- MA Cultural and Critical Studies
- Dr Mark Blacklock