Media and the limits of transnational solidarity: Unanswered questions in the relationship between diaspora, communication and community (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Media of Diaspora: Mapping the Globe
2003
Already recognized as a "substantial contribution" to our knowledge of diasporic/migrant/minority-ethnic media, editor Karim Karim's anthology The Media of the Diaspora was first published in hardcover in 2003. Part of Routledge's series on transnationalism and globalization edited by Steven Vertovec, the paperback version was not released until late in 2006. It includes the editor's introduction and some 14 case studies spanning six continents, all but two of which are published here for the first time. The lag in academic publishing makes it difficult for Karim to meet his aim to make a timely contribution to the emergent body of literature on diasporic media (p. xv). The question is whether The Media of the Diaspora remains as relevant today as when it was first published. The answer is a qualified yes. Diasporic studies have not penetrated Canadian communication studies well, and here are some statistics that bear that out: • less than 17 hits in CJC, most attributed to its 2006 special edition on Culture, Heritage and Art (Vol. 31, no. 1); • not more than 1% of all 298 standard research projects awarded to the field by SSHRC in 2007; • no regular dedicated course on ethnic/diasporic media in any Canadian communication program; and, • notable underrepresentation in the Metropolis research program. So the need for such a volume remains. Yet five years is a long time in geopolitical events, given the EU focus on 2008 as the Year of Interculturalism, the Muslim riots in the banlieux around Paris, the impending regime shift in U.S. foreign policy, and escalating complaints about hate expression within Canada. Although many of the case studies provide insightful and evergreen material with important historical context and comparative perspective for the Canadian researcher, it is Karim's own review essay (written soon after September 11, 2001) that appears most dated, although it remains useful for undergraduate teaching. Nonetheless, the political project remains. Strongly influenced by Homi Bhabha, Karim believes that transnational "third spaces" can be characterized by a considerable degree of creativity, offering hope for a genuinely cosmopolitan global citizenship. Perhaps the most interesting question that almost all the works address is under what conditions diasporic media contribute to the growth of world citizenship or, instead, promulgate further fragmentation. Citing the expert on the Chicano diaspora, Angie Dernersesian, Karim writes that he does not "think we need to celebrate the transnational movement for its own sake" (p. 4). Transnational communities should not automatically be assumed to be "the empire striking back" (p. 5). Indeed, Karim reminds us that diasporas are increasingly important participants in transnational economic activity. Significant growth in intercontinental traffic of media products under a market model emanating from diasporic locations is a growing feature of globalization-and at odds with the cultural studies view of diasporic media as "resistive" or "constitutive" of any cosmopolitan project. In his study of how Bollywood places the doubly displaced viewers of the Fijian Indians in Australia, author Manas Ray argues that the study of transnationality has to abjure the master narrative of diaspora as a "slip zone" of indeterminacy and shifting positionalities. The challenge instead is to explain hybridity as the nameable held under the sign of erasure (p. 34). Importantly, Ray's dialectical analysis "clubs" different postcolonial diasporas together as parties to an original historical contract to understand "Pan
Canadian Journal of Communication, 2009
Already recognized as a "substantial contribution" to our knowledge of diasporic/migrant/minority-ethnic media, editor Karim Karim's anthology The Media of the Diaspora was first published in hardcover in 2003. Part of Routledge's series on transnationalism and globalization edited by Steven Vertovec, the paperback version was not released until late in 2006. It includes the editor's introduction and some 14 case studies spanning six continents, all but two of which are published here for the first time. The lag in academic publishing makes it difficult for Karim to meet his aim to make a timely contribution to the emergent body of literature on diasporic media (p. xv). The question is whether The Media of the Diaspora remains as relevant today as when it was first published. The answer is a qualified yes. Diasporic studies have not penetrated Canadian communication studies well, and here are some statistics that bear that out: • less than 17 hits in CJC, most attributed to its 2006 special edition on Culture, Heritage and Art (Vol. 31, no. 1); • not more than 1% of all 298 standard research projects awarded to the field by SSHRC in 2007; • no regular dedicated course on ethnic/diasporic media in any Canadian communication program; and, • notable underrepresentation in the Metropolis research program. So the need for such a volume remains. Yet five years is a long time in geopolitical events, given the EU focus on 2008 as the Year of Interculturalism, the Muslim riots in the banlieux around Paris, the impending regime shift in U.S. foreign policy, and escalating complaints about hate expression within Canada. Although many of the case studies provide insightful and evergreen material with important historical context and comparative perspective for the Canadian researcher, it is Karim's own review essay (written soon after September 11, 2001) that appears most dated, although it remains useful for undergraduate teaching. Nonetheless, the political project remains. Strongly influenced by Homi Bhabha, Karim believes that transnational "third spaces" can be characterized by a considerable degree of creativity, offering hope for a genuinely cosmopolitan global citizenship. Perhaps the most interesting question that almost all the works address is under what conditions diasporic media contribute to the growth of world citizenship or, instead, promulgate further fragmentation. Citing the expert on the Chicano diaspora, Angie Dernersesian, Karim writes that he does not "think we need to celebrate the transnational movement for its own sake" (p. 4). Transnational communities should not automatically be assumed to be "the empire striking back" (p. 5). Indeed, Karim reminds us that diasporas are increasingly important participants in transnational economic activity. Significant growth in intercontinental traffic of media products under a market model emanating from diasporic locations is a growing feature of globalization-and at odds with the cultural studies view of diasporic media as "resistive" or "constitutive" of any cosmopolitan project. In his study of how Bollywood places the doubly displaced viewers of the Fijian Indians in Australia, author Manas Ray argues that the study of transnationality has to abjure the master narrative of diaspora as a "slip zone" of indeterminacy and shifting positionalities. The challenge instead is to explain hybridity as the nameable held under the sign of erasure (p. 34). Importantly, Ray's dialectical analysis "clubs" different postcolonial diasporas together as parties to an original historical contract to understand "Pan
Unpublished, 2008
This brief chapter conducts an overview of the print, broadcast and Internet-based operations of diasporic groups. The media of immigrants and ethnic minorities have been treated for almost a century as a marginal form of communications activities within nations. However, the emergence of the study of diasporas in more recent times has drawn substantial attention to these media. A stream of books and journal articles over the last few decades has been examining the substantial rise in the quantity and scope of ethnic media (Naficy 1993, Gillespie 1995, Hargreaves and McKinney 1997, Cunningham and Sinclair 2002, Sun 2002, Karim 2003, Browne 2005). Diasporas are using increasingly sophisticated communications technologies to produce media that operate within countries and across them. The relative prominence of these communication flows has come about due to a combination of factors including the growing wealth of minority communities, the rising acceptance of ethnic media among host societies and the increasing technological possibilities for “narrowcasting.”
Between and beyond: diasporic media spaces and transnational practices
Hofirek, O.; Klvanova, R.; Nekorjak, M. (eds.) Rethinking Contemporary Migration Events. Brno: CDK., 2008
This chapter focuses on the relationship between transnational migration and the media, namely on the roles the contemporary media play in the lives of diasporic communities. This relationship is analyzed in the context of the new media environment, characterized by the rapid spread of global communication technologies and growth of transnational media industries. As is argued here, these technologies and industries contribute significantly to processes of decoupling culture from territory, establishing new forms of cultural belonging and promoting new types of cultural practices. However, for many immigrants, they also provide vital tools for maintaining links to their homelands and cultures of origin. Reviewing and systematizing theoretical and empirical research conducted in this field, this chapter focuses particularly on the practices of media use shared by the members of diasporic communities around the world, as well as on their impact on cultural habits, identities and ways of inclusion into the migrants’ new societies. In conclusion, the author argues for abandoning the simple home/host dichotomy as a primary analytical tool for exploring diasporic media spaces, and calls for devoting more attention to the ways the media contribute to the emergence of plural and hybrid identities, stretching beyond the imaginary spaces of nation states.
Diaspora (in: The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods)
The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods, 2017
Diaspora refers to a group of people that has dispersed transnationally from a specific homeland, usually for a distinct reason such as war, poverty, or religious conflict. Although traditional definitions emphasized the forced displacement of such communities (diaspora as victims), typologies that emerged in the 1990s refer to various processes of dispersal, the communities that are dispersed, experiences of dispersion, as well as cultural expressions following from it. The concept has become a critical space for reflections about how media relate to modernism, globalization, human mobility, and global inequalities. This entry examines conceptualizations of diaspora, the development and use of diaspora research in the media and communication studies fields, and ethical considerations that may arise in diaspora research.
Mediatized Migrants: Media Cultures and Communicative Networking in the Diaspora
In this chapter we want to develop a different perspective on media and migration. It is specifically not our intention to make any rash statements on the role of certain media in the 'integration' of 'ethnic minorities' into 'national host societies' (cf. for this discussion . Rather, we want to formulate some considerations on how we can capture, on the one hand, the multidimensionality of diasporic media cultures (an approach that is typical in present media ethnography) without forgetting, on the other hand, that there are typical patterns of media appropriation across migrant groups. The foundation for this is an empirical study on the media appropriation and communicative connectivity of the Moroccan, Russian and Turkish diaspora in Germany. Based on this study we have developed the concept of 'mediatized migrants'. This concept argues that we must understand the present culture of migrants as media cultures, because we are now only able to comprehend them in the context of media communication. In this sense, migrants are nowadays mediatized; that means that their articulation of a migrant identity is deeply interwoven with and molded by different forms of media. However, the diasporic media cultures of mediatized migrants remain highly
Diaspora in the Digital Era: Minorities and Media Representation
This article argues that we need to understand media as spaces where minorities increasingly communicate interests, make claims and mobilize identities. With a focus on diasporic groups, the article looks at the multi-spatial character of communication and mobilization and its consequences for expression and communication of cultural and political belonging. Diasporic groups represent some of the most significant minorities across European nation-states. While living in – and in many cases being citizens of – European nation-states, they also sustain political and cultural connections across boundaries, largely through the media. This article argues that diasporic minority groups use the media in complex ways that feed back into their sense of cultural and political belonging. Only if we examine the diverse and complex ways in which minorities use the media to make sense of the world around them, can we begin to understand the wider significance of media and communications for minorities’ cultural and political representation and belonging.
In: Volkmer, Ingrid, (ed.) The Handbook of Global Media Research. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2012
2 4 other spatial contexts. For example, national media regulation is directly associated with national structures, but it also represents attempts to control urban media production, as at the same time being positioned between national projects of social cohesion and the transnational liberalisation of markets. As will be shown below, the proposed spatial matrix provides a realistic framework for studying the complexities associated with the globalisation of media, while avoiding the dangerous territory of methodological nationalism and while being able to benefit from both quantitative and qualitative, large scale, and small scale research conduct and analysis.
DIASPORIC MEDIA USAGE AS SITES FOR CREATION OF IDENTITIES – A STUDY REPORT
TRANSSTELLAR JOURNALS, 2018
Historically and etymologically, a diaspora is a dispersal of people from one country into many, notably the Jewish and Armenian Diasporas of past centuries and, in modern times, the great flows of people out of China and India and into the rest of Asia and the world. For centuries, humans have embarked sometimes wilfully and sometimes forcibly on transnational migrations, thereby creating a process of Diasporas linked by social characteristics like ethnicity, language, religion and culture. Analysing these varied diasporas in today’s global context highlights a very interesting point; i. e. the innovative use of transnational networks of communication as sites of both expressing and creating their identities. The social implications of such diasporic mediascapes are what this paper will seek to understand. Diasporic groups have often sought media as means of not only seeking connection to their homelands, but also as sites to create and assimilate their identities. The creation of Diasporic websites provides platforms to alumni associations, forthcoming cultural events and festivals to the availability of online versions of newspapers from their countries of origins; Diasporic media has further enhanced intercontinental connections, which has made these diasporic groups, and the diasporic media as sites for genuinely cosmopolitan citizenship would be a logical human outcome of globalisation This paper seeks to understand the multi-faceted dynamics of media and diaspora by undertaking the case study of the Middle Eastern diasporic television in Los Angeles, which has resulted in the minority and ethnic television video. The paper also studies the case of Kurdish satellite television channel - Med TV, which used media as site for creating political and cultural movement against Turkey, while having its office in London.