Phenomena of vituperation and disparagement, of humiliation and derision not only have an astonishing occurrence in contemporary politics and society; from a cross-cultural, epoch-spanning perspective, they present themselves as fundamental operations of societal communication. As moments of social disruption, stabilization, and mobilization, they harbor the potential to build communities and shape societies; their work is simultaneously destructive and productive.
The joint research project introduces the concept ‘invectivity’ as an umbrella term for such phenomena. ‘Invectivity’ denotes those aspects of (verbal and nonverbal, oral and written, gestural and pictorial) communication that are capable of degrading, offending or excluding others.