How Media and Conflicts Make Migrants

Kirsten Forkert is a Reader in Media Theory at Birmingham City UniversityFederico Oliveri is a Research Fellow at the University of PisaGargi Bhattacharyya is Professor of Sociology at the University of East LondonJanna Graham is a Lecturer in Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London

'Overall, this book offers a new approach to the much-discussed role of international migration in Europe and its media portrayal from a critical postcolonial point of view. Its anecdotal storytelling renders it easier to read, while the formulation of clear appeals or calls to action blurs the line between activism and scholarly research.'Lilian Krüger, The International Spectator'This volume explores connections between media representations, global migrants, and perceptions upheld and challenged by viewers in the UK and Italy during the 2010s. The text oscillates between chapters that unpack issues like "white amnesia" and "postcolonial innocence" among white, Western viewers, and brief "interlude" chapters that convey migrants’ insights into navigating different media perspectives and experiences within their new settings. For instance, the authors note a shift from print to new media consumption that necessitates steady access to the internet and mobile technology, which flies in the face of stagnant images of migrants as "not entitled" to such technology, further limiting their access to and sharing of information. Ultimately, the authors call for building international systems to disrupt the willful "forgetting" of interconnected global histories fueling migrants’ voyages, and to help them thrive in their new countries. This book could be useful for courses in political science, media studies, communications, and ethnic studies. Visual pairings might include pertinent excerpts from British and Italian newscasts from the period, along with relevant news articles and online posts, with the potential to integrate these media into a reflective "migrantification" assignment.'CHOICE

• Introduction: Conflict, media and displacement in the Twenty-First Century1 How postcolonial innocence and white amnesia shape our understanding of the “refugee crisis”Interlude: Global war and media absences2 War Narratives: Making sense of conflictInterlude: Songs, jokes, movies and other diversions3 Social media, mutual aid and solidarity movements as a response to institutional breakdownInterlude: How it feels to be made a migrant: restrictions, frustration and longing4 The processes of migrantification: how displaced people are made into migrantsInterlude: Telling stories about war differently5 Refusing the demand for sad storiesConclusion: Unsettling dominant narratives about migration in a time of fluxBibliography