22 May 2025

On May 19, 2025, Dr. Anastasia Menshikova successfully defended her dissertation, “Cultural Change: Studying Interdependencies in Public Discourse with Computational Text Analysis.” This marks the second PhD completion in our VR-funded research environment Mining for Meaning.

Anastasia Menshikova defends PhD thesis on social interdependencies in immigration discourses Photographer: Vsevolod Suschevskiy

Dr. Menshikova’s thesis applies computational text analysis to advance sociological understanding of how public discourse reflects and shapes cultural change. Focusing on the Swedish immigration debate, it explores how discourse shifts in response to disruptive events and political crises.

Across four essays, the dissertation examines (1) individual vs. compositional drivers of online discourse shifts after terrorist attacks, (2) the limited impact of terrorism on European public opinion despite high media salience, (3) a convergence in how immigration is discussed in newspapers and online forums during the 2015–16 refugee crisis, and (4) links between everyday interests and political preferences in Sweden's multi-party system. Together, the studies demonstrate how computational methods can reveal mechanisms of cultural change.

The thesis has been supervised by Marc Keuschnigg, Selcan Mutgan, and Måns Magnusson. We thank Ozan Aksoy (University College London) for serving as opponent, and the grading committee: Milena Tsvetkova (LSE), Hernan Mondani (Södertörn University), Moa Bursell (Mälardalen University), and Friedolin Merhout (Copenhagen University).

Contact

Latest news from LiU

A couple of people that are in a room.

ERC funding for two LiU researchers for the energy solutions of the future

LiU researchers Nara Kim and Catherine Aitchison, both at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, have each been awarded an ERC Starting Grant worth approximately SEK 18 million over five years in a highly competitive process.

Rasmus Åhman, forskning inom perioperativ vård och utfall efter operation. Målet på lång sikt är att förbättra prognosen för patienter som opereras i Sverige.

Level of education most strongly linked to survival after hip fracture

Level of education is the socio-economic factor most strongly associated with survival rates after acute hip surgery. This is shown in a LiU study of 58,000 people. The results can be used to identify patients who may need more support after surgery.

An older man wearing a hat and glasses.

How do genocide and crimes against humanity arise?

Dehumanisation is a driving force behind some of history’s worst atrocities, according to Professor David Livingstone Smith. As Visiting Professor at LiU he will investigate when, how and why one human being comes to see another as less than human.