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Peace, safe and freedom’: Regime-critical activism and artistic expression by Syrians in Denmark and Sweden

Bibliographic Data

ID12913323
AuthorsJosepha Wessels (0000-0003-2682-035X, Malmö University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume13
Issue1
Pages7-29
Publication date2020-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Arab & Muslim Media Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-9411 • E-ISSN: 1751-942X
PublisherIntellect (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1386/jammr_00008_1
OpenAlexW3015485812
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited23

This article seeks to understand mediatized dynamics of regime-critical activism and cultural performances by Syrians in Europe. The focus of this research is on the Öresund-region between Denmark and Sweden. Sweden was the first country in Europe to give immediate permanent residence to Syrian refugees. It initially received most of the Syrian refugees in 2015. After the arrival of large groups of Syrians at Malmö station in that year, a growing network of volunteers responded to the influx of refugees. Syrians started to build relationships with local activists and have since joined in organizing publicly mediated events, creating a new landscape for creative industries and performance arts in the region. Applying a protest communication ecology approach, I use a wide definition of media which includes the aesthetics of street demonstrations, performance arts and music, mediated and communicated through digital online platforms. I apply an adjusted concept of communitas , including digital media and online communication as analytical concept to observe and describe not only how communitas is re-formed between Syrian refugees after arrival but also how it emerges between Syrians and local hosts

Communitas · Digital media · Dream · Liminality · Media studies · Political science · Refugee · Residence · Sociology · Syrian refugees · The arts · Anthropology · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Law · Psychology · Public Spaces through Art · Social Media and Politics

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