Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf, Winter 2013/14
Prof. Dr. Oliver Zöllner

Course title: Media, Migration and Identity in a Globalised World
Course module: European & international studies
Language of instruction: English
Dates: 24 Oct / 21 Nov / 19 Dec / 16 Jan
Thursdays 10:30 to 14:00
Venue: 25.02.00.36


About this course:

Migration has become a common feature of modern world society, creating ever new forms of diasporas. Such long-term expat communities with ties and links to more than just one country are, to a considerable degree, based upon processes of media communication – it is 'the media' that help those diasporas maintain and form identities. Media and communication studies have opened up to the challenges posed by diasporic groups. Methods borrowed from ethnography have almost become standard tools for describing and analysing the often 'globalised' use of media and communication channels by various diasporas.
This course will give an introduction to the field of media ethnography. It will focus on electronic media (radio, television, Internet) that operate in the context of localised 'globalisation'. A guiding question will be what kind of role(s) media play in the construction of national, cultural, or rather transnational or transcultural allegiances and identities among diasporic communities. We'll find out more about these complex phenomena by doing our own on-site fieldwork, thereby boiling down abstract theoretical issues to empirical results.
Advice: If you don't enjoy reading, and if you're not inclined to spending a good deal of your time on fieldwork (yes, indeed: observing and interviewing people, collecting and analysing data, etc.) please do not register for this course.

Allgemeiner Hinweis: Es gilt die Anwesenheitsregelung des Instituts für Sozialwissenschaften.


Reading list:
Clifford, James (1994): Diasporas. In: Cultural Anthropology, 9(3), S. 302-338.
Dracklé, Dorle (2005): Vergleichende Medienethnografie. In: Hepp, Andreas et al. (Hrsg.): Globalisierung der Medienkommunikation. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: VS, S. 187-205.
Gillespie, Marie (1995): Television, ethnicity and cultural change. London, New York: Routledge.
Gillespie, Marie (2002): Transnationale Kommunikation und die Kulturpolitik in der südasiatischen Diaspora. In: Hepp, Andreas/Löffelholz, Martin (Hrsg.): Grundlagentexte zur transkulturellen Kommunikation. Konstanz: UVK, S. 617-643.
Hall, Stuart (1990): Cultural identity and diaspora. In: Rutherford, Jonathan (ed.): Identity. Community, culture, difference. London: Lawrence & Wishart, S. 222-237.
Murphy, Patrick D./Kraidy, Marwan M. (2003): Towards an ethnographic approach to global media studies. In: Murphy, Patrick D./Kraidy, Marwan M. (eds.): Global media studies. Ethnographic perspectives. New York, London: Routledge, S. 3-19.
Karim, Karim H. (ed.)(2003): The media of diaspora. London, New York: Routledge.
Kraidy, Marwan M./ Murphy, Patrick D. (2003): Media ethnography. Local, global, or translocal?. In: Murphy, Patrick D./Kraidy, Marwan M. (eds.): Global media studies. Ethnographic perspectives. New York, London: Routledge, S. 299-307.


» Helpful Internet resources for locating relevant books and articles:
» Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf
» Karlsruher Virtueller Katalog
» Project "e-Diasporas Atlas"


» Send the prof an email: oliver.zoellner @ uni-duesseldorf.de [oz]
» Impressum (Credits) & Datenschutz