Alexander Stagnell – Researcher in Rhetoric

I am Docent in rhetoric at Södertörn University. In my dissertation, which I defended at Uppsala University in 2019, I treated the history and concept of diplomacy. Currently, I am working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Group in Rhetoric and Linguistic Argumentation (GRAL), Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and Södertörn University. My postdoctoral research is funded by the Swedish Research Council’s International postdoc-programme. Here you can find more information about ongoing and previous research projects.

Research

My research has, for the most part, been focusing on three topics: (i) the role of rhetoric within the political; (ii) the history and ideology of war and diplomacy; and (iii) the relationship between rhetoric, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. My latest book Diplomacy and Ideology: From the French Revolution to the Digital Age was published in the summer of 2020 by Routledge. My research has also been published in academic journals such as Philosophy & Rhetoric and Crisis and Critique. More information, links, and full texts of my publications are available here.

Besides my own research I also translate, mainly philosophy and rhetorical theory, from French and English into Swedish.

Teaching

I have primarily been teaching courses on the intellectual history of rhetoric, rhetorical theory, rhetorical criticism, and in public speaking. I have also developed thematic courses on a number of topics, including for instance populist rhetoric and the thought of Barbara Cassin. I also supervise student theses in rhetoric.