“We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee Camps
This article provides a historical perspective on media practices in refugee camps. Through an analysis of archival material emerging from refugee camps in Germany between 1945 and 2000, roles and functions of media practices in the camp experience among forced migrants are demonstrated. The refugee...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cogitatio
2019-06-01
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| Series: | Media and Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/1869 |
| _version_ | 1811344258005729280 |
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| author | Philipp Seuferling |
| author_facet | Philipp Seuferling |
| author_sort | Philipp Seuferling |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article provides a historical perspective on media practices in refugee camps. Through an analysis of archival material emerging from refugee camps in Germany between 1945 and 2000, roles and functions of media practices in the camp experience among forced migrants are demonstrated. The refugee camp is conceptualized as a heterotopian space, where media practices took place in pre-digital media environments. The archival records show how media practices of refugees responded to the spatial constraints of the camp. At the same time, media practices emerged from the precarious power relations between refugees, administration, and activists. Opportunities, spaces, and access to media practices and technologies were provided, yet at the same time restricted, by the camp structure and administration, as well as created by refugees and volunteers. Media activist practices, such as the voicing of demands for the availability of media, demonstrate how access to media was fought for within the power structures and affordances of the analogue environment. While basic media infrastructure had to be fought for more than in the digital era and surveillance and control of media practices was more intense, the basic need for access to information and connectivity was similar in pre-digital times, resulting in media activism. This exploration of unconsidered technological environments in media and refugee studies can arguably nuance our understanding of the role of media technologies in “refugee crises”. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:44:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-94da09ee414d4374b91099a843d06947 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-2439 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:44:37Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Media and Communication |
| spelling | doaj.art-94da09ee414d4374b91099a843d069472022-12-22T02:32:47ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392019-06-017220721710.17645/mac.v7i2.18691087“We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee CampsPhilipp Seuferling0Media and Communication Studies, Södertörn University, SwedenThis article provides a historical perspective on media practices in refugee camps. Through an analysis of archival material emerging from refugee camps in Germany between 1945 and 2000, roles and functions of media practices in the camp experience among forced migrants are demonstrated. The refugee camp is conceptualized as a heterotopian space, where media practices took place in pre-digital media environments. The archival records show how media practices of refugees responded to the spatial constraints of the camp. At the same time, media practices emerged from the precarious power relations between refugees, administration, and activists. Opportunities, spaces, and access to media practices and technologies were provided, yet at the same time restricted, by the camp structure and administration, as well as created by refugees and volunteers. Media activist practices, such as the voicing of demands for the availability of media, demonstrate how access to media was fought for within the power structures and affordances of the analogue environment. While basic media infrastructure had to be fought for more than in the digital era and surveillance and control of media practices was more intense, the basic need for access to information and connectivity was similar in pre-digital times, resulting in media activism. This exploration of unconsidered technological environments in media and refugee studies can arguably nuance our understanding of the role of media technologies in “refugee crises”.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/1869communication historyforced migrationGermanymedia activismmedia practicesrefugee camp |
| spellingShingle | Philipp Seuferling “We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee Camps Media and Communication communication history forced migration Germany media activism media practices refugee camp |
| title | “We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee Camps |
| title_full | “We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee Camps |
| title_fullStr | “We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee Camps |
| title_full_unstemmed | “We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee Camps |
| title_short | “We Demand Better Ways to Communicate”: Pre-Digital Media Practices in Refugee Camps |
| title_sort | we demand better ways to communicate pre digital media practices in refugee camps |
| topic | communication history forced migration Germany media activism media practices refugee camp |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/1869 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT philippseuferling wedemandbetterwaystocommunicatepredigitalmediapracticesinrefugeecamps |