Shayna Plaut | University of British Columbia (original) (raw)

Papers by Shayna Plaut

University of British Columbia Press eBooks, Aug 14, 2023

Routledge eBooks, Oct 19, 2018

The most recent migration of Roma from Central-Eastern Europe to Canada started in the 1990s. Sev... more The most recent migration of Roma from Central-Eastern Europe to Canada started in the 1990s. Several thousand people from former socialist countries, including Hungarian Roma, moved overseas. There were many reasons but for Roma, the motivations not only included a drastic loss of employment, but reemerging systemic and increasingly violent racism. This article focuses on the discursive framing of these motivations and the reaction within both Hungarian and Canadian newspapers from 1999 to 2013. In the article we show how the press engaged in framing and counter-framing the policies and politics of the host country through their coverage of "the Hungarian Roma" issue. Specifically, we focus on the differing and shifting spheres of consensus and the changing political/policy contexts by conducting an in-depth comparison of the changing media frames in Hungarian and Canadian newspaper coverage. We show how the "Hungarian Roma issue" becomes an example and reflection of the changing political culture.

The SAGE Handbook of Human Rights

Understanding Community Media

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2016

While Roma are both Europe's largest minority, there is no "homeland" state that claims to guard ... more While Roma are both Europe's largest minority, there is no "homeland" state that claims to guard their interest. The lack of "an external national homeland" [Brubaker, R. 1996. Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] to watchdog and safeguard their rights has a particular effect on how Roma engage as political actors and subjects. International donors/foundations have assumed the role of "external homeland". This article explores the effect that donors' funding priorities have on Romani advocacyspecifically Romani journalism. Drawing upon multi-sited fieldwork in five countries, extensive document analysis, and interviews, Idemonstrate that the change in Romani media content over the past two decades reflects the shift in funders' priorities, particularly in relation to the European project. "The Roma" become a tool for donors and European institutions to build a "European" identity while Romani-led advocacy becomes increasingly marganilized.

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication, 2019

Sociologists and media scholars have offered a robust body of literature regarding the daily work... more Sociologists and media scholars have offered a robust body of literature regarding the daily workings of global journalism—both in newsrooms and in the field. Although fixers are sometimes mentioned in this literature, the role they play in the production of global reporting is rarely analyzed. Such work often focuses on logistical assistance provided by fixers and discusses some tensions in the field regarding credit and security. Although this literature starts to paint an accurate picture of current trends in global journalism, it fails to critically examine how institutional and on-the-ground power dynamics impact a fixer’s work, let alone how global, systemic, and institutional dynamics shape which stories are reported and how the reporting itself is done. This is a glaring gap in knowledge as it ignores the impact that fixers can have on global journalism. To rectify this gap, all aspects of global journalism must be explored, including the economic forces that allow global jo...

Journalism Studies, 2019

is interested in how people represent themselves in their own media, with a particular interest i... more is interested in how people represent themselves in their own media, with a particular interest in peoples who do not fit neatly within the traditional notions of the nation-state. Shayna has researched and engaged with Romani media, migrant media and Indigenous media in Canada, the US and Europe for nearly 15 years. As a Fulbright and Vanier scholar, she has lived and worked in Hungary and the Balkans. She teaches and researches at the University of Winnipeg.

My dissertation explores how journalists who self-identify as “transnational” shape their journal... more My dissertation explores how journalists who self-identify as “transnational” shape their journalism to make human rights claims that trouble, open up and go beyond the nation-state. The project is a multi-sited, ethnographic, comparative case study of journalism education among two different transnational peoples: Romani/Gypsy and Saami (the Indigenous peoples in the current states of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia). Drawing upon 45 interviews with journalists and journalism educators, my research suggests there are two distinct strategies in how transnational peoples’ journalism is conceived, taught and assessed. These strategies influence and are influenced by larger socio-political contexts: the Saami media work within an Indigenous rights framework; their goal is to engage with journalism as a form of self-determination. This differs from Romani media programs, which are funded by non-state donors who aim to use Romani media as a form of claiming citizenship. These citizens...

Like all people we have been adapting our traditions…it is important to note that each of us come... more Like all people we have been adapting our traditions…it is important to note that each of us comes from a specific context: social, historical, political and geographic. We share similarities, hopes and dreams and lives full of oppression and denial of who we are as people. We all share a belief that our children's lives will be better because of what we do today."-Noeliane Villebroun, National Dene Chief (2006, p. 14) Queer people in all cultures often need to carve a place of acceptance in their "traditional communities;" however this is not the case within North American Indigenous communities. The role of people with mixed/ambiguous/plural genders traditionally had a special, if not revered role in the social and cultural fabric of over 100 Indigenous nations in North America 1. We argue that the prevalence of homophobia, including violent rejection and isolation from family and community found within Indigenous communities is, in fact, a relatively new phenomenon and a symptom of colonization that goes against traditional cultural norms of respect, if not cultivation, of difference in order to achieve balance 2. This balance is a fundamental part of Indigenous teachings and learning. Our paper builds upon academic, traditional and personal knowledge, to explore how such a drastic transformation took place across the continent in less than a century and how Indigenous communities can reclaim the traditional knowledge espoused by Two-Spirited people. We argue such reclaiming can, and should take place, through Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) especially through the teaching of Elders and the holistic notion 1 This statement is substantiated not only in academic literature such as Two-Spirit People (Jacobs, Thomas and Lang, 1997),Becoming Two-Spirit: Gay Identity and Social Acceptance in Indian Country (Gilley, 2006) and The Zuni Man-Woman (Roscoe, 1991) but also through the teachings of Elders' Leonard George (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) and personal communication (November 5, 2009) with Sandra Laframboise (Cree Nation). 2 A fundamental and reoccurring cultural norm in many North American Indigenous communities is the notion that all people are created by The Creator and thus all people are giftsincluding (but not especially) Two-Spirited people. This can be seen by Akimel O'odham, a Pima Elder, "We have always had some of 'them' around, nobody really hurt them. Oh, they were always teased, especially as children, but they are just part of life so no one really thinks anything about it. They are just part of the community." (Jacobs, Thomas and Lang, 1997, p.15

Over the past 20 years, courses addressing human rights have grown dramatically at both the under... more Over the past 20 years, courses addressing human rights have grown dramatically at both the undergraduate and graduate levels worldwide. Many of these courses are housed in specific disciplines, focus on specific issues, and require practical experience in the form of internships/practicums. Amid this growth there is a need to reflect on teaching human rights including the challenges, fears, and best practices. Recognizing that education takes place inside and outside a classroom, this roundtable brings together scholars teaching human rights in a variety of settings to examine the current state of university human rights education. This includes a discussion of course and program offerings, pedagogical approaches, and content. We aim to identify the key substantive, theoretical, and applied educational outcomes for human rights courses:  What do we want our students to learn?  In what way do disciplinary traditions enhance and/or hinder how we think about, challenge, and develop ...

Introduction Andrea Boscoboinik and Christian Giordano to speak, the necessary step, the precondi... more Introduction Andrea Boscoboinik and Christian Giordano to speak, the necessary step, the precondition, or the guarantee to solve socioeconomic problems, implies a mechanistic and ultimately a narrow view of social processes.

Ethnic and Racial Studies