The role of media in cultural and social identities construction
People
(Responsible)
D'Amato G.
(Co-responsible)
(Co-responsible)
Cola M.
(Collaborator)
Mauri Brusa M.
(Collaborator)
Abstract
The research focuses on two dimensions: it will determine the characteristics and specificities of media consumption (media diet) of Kosovars in Switzerland; and it will analyze the role of media consumption on the integration process and social and cultural identities construction. The study will for the first part being descriptive and determine the media diet of Kosovar immigrants in the three linguistic regions of Switzerland concerning radio, daily press and magazines, television, home-video, internet, books and cinema. The objective is to provide a picture of the type of media used, the modalities of consumption, as well as the semantic roles attached so to determine which factors, personal and socio-cultural, are inscribed in media consumption. The second part of the study will be explorative. It will determine the role of media in language and knowledge acquisition and investigate the communication networks and the imagined communities maintained through media use. The main focus in this second part is on the integration process, in particular focusing on social identities, both in terms of self-identification and hetero-identification, and cultural identities. In particular, the aim is to determine if and under which conditions media consumption fosters assimilation and integration or, on the other side, separation and marginalization. The research will also analyze how immigrants´ media use influences on the one side identification processes, or in other words a sense of belonging to one or more social groups, and on the other side how the exposition to different cultural media products affects the cultural identities of individuals. As a final objective, the study will verify the connections between these two identity aspects and the integration process. Following the example set by media studies the research will focus on qualitative methods, and in particular those formulated by ethnography. The research will be based on three tools: in-depth interviews; observation; focus group. Concerning the sample, the study focuses on one of the most important migrant communities in Switzerland: Albanian speaking Kosovars, which represents a prominent target group of integration policies but at the same time very few data are available on it. The size of the community is important: reliable estimates account for over 150´000 individuals living in Switzerland. This immigrant group is particularly heterogeneous in terms of migration motives (economic, political), time spent in Switzerland, and religious beliefs.
Additional information
Publications
- Cola M., Mauri Brusa M. (2013) Researching ethnic minority groups as audiences: Methodological challenges and research strategies. in G. Patriarche, H. Bilandzic, J.L. Jensen and J. Jurisic (eds.), Researching Transforming Audiences. Methodological Issues and Innovations in Audience Research, London: Routledge, pp. 107-123
- Mauri Brusa M., Cola M. (2012) Identities in-between. The conflict between family traditions and media consumption in 2nd generation migrants. 4th European Communication Conference ECREA, Istanbul: 24-27 October
- Dhoest A., Cola M., Mauri Brusa M., Lemish D. (2012) Studying Ethnic Minorities’ Media Uses: Comparative Conceptual and Methodological Reflections, Communication, Culture & Critique, pp. 372-391
- Dhoest A., Cola M., Mauri Brusa M., Lemish D. (2012) Studying Ethnic Minorities’ Media Uses: Comparative Conceptual and Methodological Reflections. International Communication Association conference 2012 Phoenix
- Cola M., Iseni B., Mauri Brusa M. (2012) The Kosovar diaspora in Switzerland: construction of identities between media use and diasporic traits, Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, Special issue: Diasporic Identities, Media, and the Public Space, Vol. 14 (4), pp. 47-63
- Cola M., Mauri Brusa M. (2012) The Kosovar Diaspora in Switzerland: cultures, identities and sense of belongings. In A. Eamer (ed.) Border Terrains: World Diasporas in the 21st Century. Oxford: Inter-disciplinary Press, pp. 119-128
- Cola M., Iseni B., Mauri Brusa M. (2011) Between Switzerland and Kosovo. Negotiating identities in transnational spaces. International Workshop: Migrant Transnationalism and Integration in Digital Era, Neuchâtel: 25th November (invited speakers)
- Cola M. (2011) Patterns of audience and users engagement with media technologies: the case of the Kosovar Diaspora in Switzerland. ECREA – Diaspora, Migration and Media Section (DMM, National University of Ireland, Maynooth: 2-3 December