Call for Papers
Fortress Europe: Media, Migration and Borders
(Editors: Sara Marino & Simon Dawes)
The aim of this Call for Papers is to discuss the value of contemporary media in both challenging and enforcing the idea of Fortress Europe. The virulent anti-migration rhetoric initiated by politicians and the media has become a main topic of discussion within the European public agenda in the last years. As freedom of movement has been granted to all citizens, thus representing a milestone in the development of a multiculturalist discourse, concomitantly we have seen the securing of external borders and the increasing perception of migration as a ‘problem’ rather than as an economic and cultural source for receiving countries. In the UK, the ‘Calais migrant problem’ has been described as a global crisis with no solution; meanwhile, political upheaval in the Middle East and across Africa has challenged Europe’s ability to respond to a growing refugee crisis. And yet, every day thousands of migrants and refugees try to reach Europe. In order to “defend” its borders, the response of the European Union and its member states has been to invest in surveillance technology, security forces and detention centers with one overriding aim: to construct an impenetrable fortress at Europe’s borders to keep people out.
We invite researchers and postgraduate students to explore the media’s role in constructing parameters of belonging and exclusion within Europe. Articles are therefore encouraged on, but not limited to, any of the following topics:
- media coverage of the recent ‘Calais migrant crisis’ or the ‘refugee crisis’ in the Mediterranean;
- media representation of ‘(illegal) migrants’, ‘refugees’ or ‘(failed) asylum seekers’;
- the idea of cultural difference as celebrated in commercial and public media;
- political cartoons, satire and critique of the ‘migrant crisis’ or ‘Fortress Europe’;
- ethnographic research into the everyday lives and media practices of migrants, and how this approach can challenge ideas of discrimination and exclusion;
- the legal and legislative framework of the EU and European nation-states on immigration, as well as the deficiencies of EU migration policy;
- the work of NGOs and campaign groups for the rights of migrants;
- theoretical and methodological questions of borders, mobility, inequality, mediation/mediatization, inclusion/exclusion, justice, identity, journalistic practice.
Prospective authors are encouraged to contact the editors as soon as possible to discuss their contribution. Articles of 6000 words should be submitted to the editors by 15st November 2015. Articles will be peer-reviewed and decided on within one month, and revised and final versions will be expected by 17th January 2016. Publication will be early 2016.
Editors: Sara Marino [log in to unmask] & Simon Dawes [log in to unmask]
Full guidelines for submission can be found here: http://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/about/submissions