Citizen Journalism as Conceptual Practice

Bolette B. Blaagaard is Associate Professor of Communications at Aalborg University, Denmark. She is the co– editor of Deconstructing Europe: Postcolonial Perspectives (2012), After Cosmopolitanism (2013), Transformations of Religion and the Public Sphere: Postsecular Publics (2014), among others.

At a time where ‘citizen journalism’ is being celebrated, Bolette Blaagaard has written a thoughtfully measured account in the context of its anticolonial commitments in the Virgin Islands under Danish rule. She spells out in nuanced ways the challenges and burdens, but also the power and potential impacts in the reach for freedom and democratic self-rule. Theoretically grounded, well-versed in the colonial archive, and analytically sharp, this is a compelling contribution to our understanding of citizen journalism historically and contemporarily.

• 1. Shifting Perspectives: Understanding Citizen Journalism Through a “Politics of Location” / 2. Deconstructing the Citizen Journalist / 3. Political Citizen Journalism: Cosmopolitanism and Citizenship in the Colonies / 4. Embodied Citizen Journalism: Archives and Postcolonial Memory / 5. Citizen Journalism and the Politics of Visibility / 6. Conclusions: Citizen Journalism as an Act for Transformation / Bibliography / Index