I believe that research has to be interesting - read relevant - prior to being true. I try to apply this in my own investigations and wish that others did that too. At the very least this would save researchers from their patronizing role - presenting themselves as always readily useful to society, as opposed to actually doing original and interesting work.

My research revolves around the intersection of the internet, society, and culture—including the arts and especially film. My method is essentially readin, in a deep and sustained sense of the term, which is becoming something of a lost art, unfortunately.

In my BA thesis, defended in 2014, I anticipated how the internet would intensify issues of attention and erode our capacity for long-term learning. During my MA, I shifted focus toward political culture and philosophy, engaging with French postmodern thinkers like Michel Foucault and Bruno Latour. My MA thesis applied critical discourse analysis to examine the rhetoric of Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters, particularly those galvanized by the #GamerGate controversy. Its main contribution was to trace the epistemic foundations of right-wing rhetoric to contradictions deeply embedded in liberal political philosophy.
In my PhD work I revised theories of participation bringing them closer to social media milleu by drawing from psychoanalytical literature. Response I received from the research community was mind-boggling.

if you would like to converse, challenge or collaborate with me – be my guest, for I do care deeply about those issues. It is surprisingly easy to earn a PhD without anyone ever asking such questions!

Lukas Mozdeika