Talk:
\n“When Online Campaigns Hit the Ground: Ethnographic Insights into Women’s Everyday Campaign Experiences”<\/p>\n
by
\nSusan Banducci
\nUniversity of Birmingham
\ns.a.banducci@bham.ac.uk<\/p>\n
Date and Room Info
\nMonday, April 13, 2026, 12:30 p.m.
\nA-130<\/p>\n
Abstract<\/p>\n
In this talk I examine how women political candidates campaign online and offline in contemporary elections, based on collaborative ethnographic research conducted in Turkey, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Shadowing more than 50 women candidates during election campaigns, the study draws on participant observation, interviews, and candidate surveys to understand what campaigning looks like in everyday practice and the emotion work involved. Our observations show how digital and offline campaigning are closely connected. Rather than replacing face-to-face activities, social media is mainly used to support and showcase work done on the ground. Candidates use digital platforms to document their efforts, signal credibility, and demonstrate that they are viable contenders. In addition, digital campaigning may increase the focus on personal identity and private lives but this is also driven by the nature of personalised campaigns. Because women candidates tend to face greater scrutiny of their emotions, appearance, and family roles, additional pressure can be placed on them. I argue that campaign work should be understood more broadly to include the emotion work required to negotiate this greater scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Short Bio<\/p>\n
Susan Banducci is a 125th Anniversary Chair at the University of Birmingham, the founding former Director of the Exeter Q-Step Centre, and a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences. Susan’s research interests are in the areas of comparative political behaviour, media, and political communication. She is PI on an ERC Advanced Grant (2022-2026, https:\/\/www.birmingham.ac.uk\/research\/projects\/twice-as-hard-half-as-good).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talk: “When Online Campaigns Hit the Ground: Ethnographic Insights into Women’s Everyday Campaign Experiences” by Susan Banducci University of Birmingham s.a.banducci@bham.ac.uk Date and Room Info Monday, April 13, 2026, 12:30 p.m. A-130 Abstract In this talk I examine how women political candidates campaign online and offline in contemporary elections, based [\u2026] <\/p>\n