On 22 September 2026, the Master’s Degree in Languages and Technology (MULT) at the Universitat Politècnica de València welcomed Giovanni Garofalo, Full Professor of Spanish Language and Translation at the University of Bergamo, who delivered the session The Pieces of the Rhetorical Lego: Argumentation and Manipulation in Spanish Political Discourse as part of the course Theoretical Foundations for Language Processing.
During the four-hour session, held at the Department of Applied Linguistics, students had the opportunity to explore the argumentative and persuasive mechanisms found in contemporary political discourse in greater depth. The session combined theoretical foundations drawn from classical rhetoric and the New Rhetoric with the applied analysis of authentic examples of political communication.
Using examples taken mainly from social media and other digital environments, students examined a range of argumentative and discursive strategies, including the use of fallacies, the redefinition of concepts, polarisation, the construction of interpretative frames, and the discursive creation of models and antimodels. The session also encouraged reflection on the relationship between language, ideology and persuasion, as well as on the mechanisms through which certain discourses can shape the interpretation of social and political reality.
The activity helped connect the theoretical contents of course 32067 – Theoretical Foundations for Language Processing with real examples of language use, providing students with tools to develop a critical and systematic approach to public discourse.
On behalf of the Master’s programme, we would like to thank Dr María Luisa Carrió Pastor for inviting Dr Giovanni Garofalo to deliver this session.
This initiative forms part of MULT’s internationalisation and academic enrichment activities and is aligned with the UPV SIRVE Strategic Plan, as it promotes interdisciplinary and critical postgraduate education closely connected with research and with the communicative challenges of contemporary society.