About this module

Who doesn’t know the feeling:  You’re on your way home from an evening at the bar, possibly from a university meeting or from a public event. A specific situation keeps running through your mind. You keep replaying what you said, or more to the point, what you didn’t say. You are discontent, unhappy with your lack of quick-wittedness and your lack of knowledge, especially when it comes to brutish, simplifying, populist slurs and discourses.
More and more often we encounter populist, nationalist and anti-democratic slogans that deliberately create divisions between “us” and “them,” or demonize marginalized groups.
Analysts, politicians, journalists and citizens agree that populism poses one of the most dangerous threats to pluralist democracy. Populist discourse often relies on oversimplification, scapegoating, and the manipulation of emotions. (See “Stay strong and resilient against populism“) Once we encounter, hear or witness populism, many of us feel helpless in the face of a discourse where truth and facts play a subordinate role and complex political problems are blamed on minorities and seemingly simple solutions are offered without any evidence. But how do we react to such slogans in day to day life, in the community, in peer groups?

This module aims to raise awareness on subjects of prejudice and discrimination in society and strengthen our ability to deal with (right-wing) populist statements. Active citizenship does not come automatically, it is useful to find support and acquire tools in order to better deal with outspoken populism.