Making Sense of Refugees Online: Perspective Taking, Political Imagination, and Internet Memes

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 440-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlad Petre Glăveanu ◽  
Constance de Saint-Laurent ◽  
Ioana Literat
Keyword(s):  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Political Imagination ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
The Core ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Social ◽  
European Refugee Crisis ◽  
Visual Artifacts

There are many dimensions to the ongoing European refugee crisis, including economic, political, and humanitarian. Underlying them, however, is the issue of self–other relations and, in particular, the ways in which Western societies imagine others and otherness, defined in cultural, religious, and political terms. At the core of this political imagination, we propose, are certain understandings of refugees, of how they think, feel, and intend to act. In this article, we aim to unpack the social and psychological mechanisms involved in taking the perspective of refugees on digital platforms. The focus here is on refugee-related memes shared on Reddit, and the conversations around these visual artifacts. Our findings indicate that participants in these forums most often construct the perspective of refugees from an outside position, based on a commitment to difference, and rarely try to identify with the situation of refugees.

scholarly journals Unknowable Protagonists and Narrative Delirium in American Psycho and Hotline Miami: A Case Study in Character Engagement Across the Media

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Caracciolo
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Literary Fiction ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Bret Easton Ellis ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Media

Abstract Empathetic perspective-taking is one of the main psychological mechanisms behind audiences’ engagement with narrative (Coplan 2004; Eder 2006). What happens, however, when a story confronts with a character whose emotions, motivations, and beliefs we fail to understand? This paper examines the phenomenon of “unreadable minds” (Abbott 2008) from a transmedial perspective: how do audiences relate to a character who defies all attempts at making sense of his or her identity despite being the main focus of a narrative? My case studies - the novel American Psycho (1991) by Bret Easton Ellis and the video game Hotline Miami (Dennaton Games 2012) - foreground two such characters: by calling attention to the opaqueness of their protagonists, they heighten the audiences’ interest in - and puzzlement at - their identity. In my comparative analysis I explore two dimensions that contribute to audiences’ sense of unknowability of the protagonists: the hallucinations and delusions experienced by both characters (an instance of what Bernaerts [2009] calls “narrative delirium”); and their extreme violence, which raises unanswered ethical questions. While bringing out the continuities between American Psycho and Hotline Miami, I also highlight how the interactivity of Hotline Miami makes the central paradox of relating to an unknowable character even more salient for the audience. In this way, I show that the video game medium has reached a level of interpretive complexity that can stand the comparison with literary fiction.

When States Fail: The Politics of Orthodox Churches, Forced Displacement and Humanitarian Structures in Serbia and Ukraine

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucian N Leustean
Keyword(s):  
Humanitarian Aid ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
State Failure ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Forced Displacement ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Governance ◽  
European Refugee Crisis ◽  
The Government

Abstract In Serbia, during the 2015 European refugee crisis, the Orthodox Church mobilized communities in providing humanitarian aid before local authorities and the government issued an organized response. Two years later, in December 2017, with the support of the Orthodox Church, Ukraine exchanged war prisoners with the separatist authorities in Donbas. In both countries, the social and political involvement of Orthodox Churches in dealing with forced displacement was unprecedented. Drawing on literature review and interviews with 25 representatives of governmental and civil-society bodies, members of the clergy and academics, this article explores the ways in which, in Serbia and Ukraine, when states fail to offer support for populations affected by violence, religious communities have been among the first actors to take over state governance and provide human security. It argues that, by doing so, Orthodox Churches become open to politicization from state authorities. The article contributes to the study of religion and forced displacement by linking the politicization of Orthodox Churches to the concept of state failure.

Ways and Voices in the Psychoanalysis of Links According to Enrique Pichon-Rivière

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Jaitin
Keyword(s):  
Couple Therapy ◽  
Clinical Observation ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Voice ◽  
Different Levels

This article covers several stages of the work of Pichon-Rivière. In the 1950s he introduced the hypothesis of "the link as a four way relationship" (of reciprocal love and hate) between the baby and the mother. Clinical work with psychosis and psychosomatic disorders prompted him to examine how mental illness arises; its areas of expression, the degree of symbolisation, and the different fields of clinical observation. From the 1960s onwards, his experience with groups and families led him to explore a second path leading to "the voices of the link"—the voice of the internal family sub-group, and the place of the social and cultural voice where the link develops. This brought him to the definition of the link as a "bi-corporal and tri-personal structure". The author brings together the different levels of the analysis of the link, using as a clinical example the process of a psychoanalytic couple therapy with second generation descendants of a genocide within the limits of the transferential and countertransferential field. Body language (the core of the transgenerational link) and the couple's absences and presence during sessions create a rhythm that gives rise to an illusion, ultimately transforming the intersubjective link between the partners in the couple and with the analyst.

STUDI TATA RUANG RUMAH TINGGAL SUKU TALANG MAMAK (Spatial Study Talang Mamak Tribe House)

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Gun Faisal ◽  
Dimas Wihardyanto
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Theory Method ◽  
The Core ◽  
Grounded Theory Method ◽  
Hunting And Gathering ◽  
The Social ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Household Activities ◽  
Axial Coding

The Talang Mamak tribe, one of Indonesian tribe, still practices the hunting and gathering of natural produce despite the fact that among them have chosen to settle permanently and doing farming activities. The aim of this research is to study the characteristics of the Talang Mamak house. The method used in this research is grounded theory method, based on the open coding, axial coding as well selective coding techniques. The method used to find the variation layout of the houses and then evaluate the characters and concept of the layouts. The conclusion of this study is that the core of the Talang Mamak house is based on the connectivity of four rooms namely: Ruang Haluan, Ruang Tangah, Ruang Tampuan and Pandapuran. The house has an open layout where all daily household activities are done without barriers. The social status of the owner is identified by houses furniture and staf

Property

2020 ◽  
pp. 276-292
Author(s):  
J. E. Penner
Keyword(s):  
Property Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Property Law ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Social ◽  
Bundle Of Rights ◽  
High Level

This chapter discusses property law. It considers the idea that property had a “nominalist” ontology, and it was in danger of “disintegration” as a working legal category for that very reason. Nominalism about property has had a significant impact in U.S. case law. The concern here, however, is whether it is a helpful stance to take as a theorist of property. The chapter argues that it is not. There are indeed “high” level abstractions about property which one cannot plausibly do without if one is to understand property rights and property law doctrine. Moreover, the “bundle of rights” (BOR) challenge does not assist one in making sense of these abstractions. The chapter then looks at the conceptual failure of BOR and the New Private Law as it relates to property. BOR is generally regarded as being underpinned by what might be called the Hohfeld-Honoré synthesis. The synthesis rests upon a fairly serious mistake, which is that while the Hohfeldian examination of jural norms is analytic if it is anything, Honor’s elaboration of the incidents making up ownership is anything but—it is functional. This means that Honoré describes the situation of the owner not principally in terms of his Hohfeldian powers, duties, and rights vis-à-vis others, but in terms of the social or economic advantages that an owner has by virtue of his position, and the terms and limitations of those advantages.

Citizen Deliberation Online

2019 ◽  
pp. 689-712
Author(s):  
Patrícia Rossini ◽  
Jennifer Stromer-Galley
Keyword(s):  
Political Engagement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Core ◽  
Political Conversation ◽  
Political Talk ◽  
Citizen Deliberation ◽  
The Impact

Political conversation is at the heart of democratic societies, and it is an important precursor of political engagement. As society has become intertwined with the communication infrastructure of the Internet, we need to understand its uses and the implications of those uses for democracy. This chapter provides an overview of the core topics of scholarly concern around online citizen deliberation, focusing on three key areas of research: the standards of quality of communication and the normative stance on citizen deliberation online; the impact and importance of digital platforms in structuring political talk; and the differences between formal and informal political talk spaces. After providing a critical review of these three major areas of research, we outline directions for future research on online citizen deliberation.

A critical appraisal of diversity in digital knowledge production: Segregated inclusion on YouTube

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110348
Author(s):  
Kaiping Chen ◽  
June Jeon ◽  
Yanxi Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Critical Appraisal ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Core ◽  
Inclusion Phenomenon ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Digital Knowledge

Diversity in knowledge production is a core challenge facing science communication. Despite extensive works showing how diversity has been undermined in science communication, little is known about to what extent social media augments or hinders diversity for science communication. This article addresses this gap by examining the profile and network diversities of knowledge producers on a popular social media platform—YouTube. We revealed the pattern of the juxtaposition of inclusiveness and segregation in this digital platform, which we define as “segregated inclusion.” We found that diverse profiles are presented in digital knowledge production. However, the network among these knowledge producers reveals the rich-get-richer effect. At the intersection of profile and network diversities, we found a decrease in the overall profile diversity when we moved toward the center of the core producers. This segregated inclusion phenomenon questions how inequalities in science communication are replicated and amplified in relation to digital platforms.

The visual international politics of the European refugee crisis: Tragedy, humanitarianism, borders

2021 ◽  
pp. 001083672198936
Author(s):  
Lene Hansen ◽  
Rebecca Adler-Nissen ◽  
Katrine Emilie Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Visual Environment ◽  
Border Control ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Visual Content ◽  
Visual Discourse ◽  
News Photography ◽  
European Refugee Crisis ◽  
The Eu

The European refugee crisis has been communicated visually through images such as those of Alan Kurdi lying dead on the beach, by body bags on the harbor front of Lampedusa, by people walking through Europe and by border guards and fences. This article examines the broader visual environment within which EU policy-making took place from October 2013 to October 2015. It identifies ‘tragedy’ as the key term used by the EU to explain its actions and decisions and points out that discourses of humanitarianism and border control were both in place. The article provides a theoretical account of how humanitarianism and border control might be visualized by news photography. Adopting a multi-method design and analyzing a dataset of more than 1000 photos, the article presents a visual discourse analysis of five generic iconic motifs and a quantitative visual content analysis of shifts and continuity across four moments in time. The article connects these visual analyses to the policies and discourses of the EU holding that the ambiguity of the EU’s discourse was mirrored by the wider visual environment.

Digital platforms aren’t mere tools —they’re complex environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
Antero Garcia ◽  
T. Philip Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Educational Stakeholders ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
The Social ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Social Uses

Antero Garcia and T. Philip Nichols explore how classrooms and schools must reframe their conceptions of technology from a focus on tools that serve specific purposes to a focus on platforms and their ecologies. In doing so, they argue, educational stakeholders should attend to three different dimensions of how technology is integrated in schools: the social uses of digital technologies, the design decisions that were made about these products, and the material resources that help make them operate. This approach requires educators to ask complicated questions about what technology does in schools and how to teach with and about it.

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