The “Media” Subproject

Principle Investigator: Prof. Dr. Elke Grittmann, University of Applied Sciences in Magdeburg-Stendal

Project Staff: Daniela Müller, M.A., University of Göttingen, Göttinger Center for Gender Studies (GCG)

Subject Areas: Communication Sciences and Media Culture

The aim of the “Gender relations and forced migration in media discourse” subproject is to explore the knowledge production about forced migration in media discourse with regard to gender differentiation patterns of interpretation and discursive formations of different inclusion processes. The study focuses on the re-production of gendered narratives and images regarding the situation of refugees in the context of initial reception and integration processes. The research subject is national and the regional media coverage in selected locations and municipalities in Lower Saxony where refugees have been housed in initial reception centers and other accommodation. Compared to the national media discourse, the study hypothesizes a much more specific discourse on the situation, accommodation, acceptance and inclusion at the regional level. The research project provides a framework for the collaborative research project as a whole to analyze locally virulent, media-filtered public knowledge at the intersection of gender and forced migration. The analysis focuses on the following topics of the subprojects 2-4: support structures (Subproject 2), violence (Subproject 3), and labor market integration (Subproject 4). In addition, classifications and values (e.g. humanitarian values of help, protection) are of particular interest in terms of this differentiation, because they can lead to gendered action-leading effects. In general, the media analysis will provide deeper insights in the role of mass media in the constitution/construction of gendered narratives in the so-called “refugee crisis.”

Contact

Göttinger Center for Gender Studies (GCG)
University of Göttingen
Platz der Göttinger Sieben 7
37073 Göttingen
Phone: +49 551 3921894
elke.grittmann@hs-magdeburg.de
daniela.mueller@uni-goettingen.de