99140 - MEDIA, CONFINI E DIRITTI UMANI

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student: has deepened the relationship between borders and human rights; can understand how to analyse the role of media narratives in the process of demarcation of borders in contemporary society; has reflected on the possibilities of challenging and de-constructing these same narratives

Course contents

Many of today's borders and the institutional practices associated with them have shifted to the very centre of political space and are at the root of conflict, migration and suffering.
Symbolically representing a function and efficacy that they do not actually exercise, the control of borders and the walls that often demarcate them appear as a theatrical and spectacularized performance of power. A performance that reflects the productive power of the border, that is, the strategic role it plays as a fabrica mundi, its capacity to construct the world. The border can be understood as a social fact with a spatial dimension that we tend to consider natural, geographical, territorial. But which is instead a complex social institution, marked by the tension between practices of reinforcement and practices of crossing. It is a device that conditions the lives of millions of men and women who, on the move or sedentary, carry the borders with them.
The course starts by assuming that media contribute to the demarcation of borders in many ways, both in the everyday reality of life and in the social imaginary that precedes it: they do so by labelling the foreigner as different, by fuelling fear and hate speech, by reproducing racist stereotypes, and above all by legitimising emergency and securitisation policies.
Forgetting that human mobility plays an important role in human history, the strategies of representation and discursive practices conveyed by the media and political rhetoric describe migration as a perpetual emergency, as an exceptional phenomenon that must be managed in terms of a 'crisis'. The result is an emergency frame that amplifies the negative image of diversity and legitimises public opinion to hatred and discrimination on ethnic or cultural grounds.
On the basis of this theoretical framework, the course aims to address the relationship between borders and human rights, with particular reference to the representations that the media offer us of this relationship and the possibilities of de-constructing these same narratives.
Through the analytical frameworks of sociological research, but with an interdisciplinary approach ranging from geography to anthropology, from border studies to media studies, the course will explore how media contribute to demarcate the borders present in contemporary society and to define the status of those who cross them.
In particular, the course will explore the intersectional nature of the relationship between climate change, regimes of (im)mobility and social justice, highlighting the importance of artistic practices ( broadly understood) in rethinking the educational, cultural and political practices of our time.

Planned activities include the co-creation of a communication campaign to improve awareness of the relationship between climate change and mobility justice in people and to influence intervention policies and related practices.

Readings/Bibliography

Pierluigi Musaro; Paola Parmiggiani, Ospitalità mediatica. Le migrazioni nel discorso pubblico, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2022, pp. 160, available online: https://series.francoangeli.it/index.php/oa/catalog/book/791

Mastrojeni G. (2017), Peace, Security, Land and Sustainable Development, pp. 1-27, disponibile su: https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/2018-06/9.%20Peace%2C%2BSecurity%2Band%2BLand__G_Mastrojeni.pdf

Vignola M. (2022), Diritti Umani e Pluralismo Giuridico, in: Comprendere la Sociologia del Diritto, a cura di, De Felice D., Vianello F., Altopiedi R., Ferraris V., Carocci, Roma [capitolo] 

Bettini G. (2013), Climate Barbarians at the Gate? A critique of apocalyptic narratives on ‘climate refugees’, Geoforum 45, 2013, pp. 63–72, disponibile su: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016718512001947

Giuliani G. (2021), Dalle distopie dell’Antropocene alle utopie della cura*, Thomas Project 5, pp. 191-211, disponibile su: https://www.academia.edu/60990748/Gaia_Giuliani_Dalle_distopie_dellAntropocene_alle_utopie_della_cura

Bonati S., (2021), Dal climate denial alla natura da salvare: il riduzionismo nella narrazione dei cambiamenti climatici, Rivista geografica italiana, CXXVIII, Fasc. 2, pp. 53-68, disponibile su: https://123dok.org/document/7q0oengq-guarda-climate-denial-salvare-riduzionismo-narrazione-cambiamenti-climatici.html

OHCHR, (2020), Seven key elements on building human rights based narratives on migrants and migration, pp. 1-15, disponibile su: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/Migration/SevenKeyElements.pdf

Teaching methods

The course prioritises an active, participative didactic approach. Frontal lectures will be supplemented by in-depth studies and direct comparisons with problems and innovative experiments. Students will be required to be actively involved, through class discussions, analysis of case studies, and possible group work to be presented in class.

Assessment methods

Given the seminar's educational objectives, attendance is strongly recommended. In addition to knowledge of the syllabus, the assessment will take into account the students' active participation in the lectures, their ability to develop arguments independently, their ability to empirically situate theoretical generalisations, and their ability to develop a sociological reflection on the relationship between media, borders and human rights.

The methods for assessing the students' level of preparation consist of regular class discussions, the writing of an essay on a topic agreed with the lecturer, an exam in class and a collective project work.

Short Essay 20%

Active participation and group presentation 30%

Final exam 50%

Participation: Since this is a seminar, active participation in class is a crucial part of your learning. Through news articles, videos, web sites, or readings you will help the teacher to stimulate discussion during the class.

Presentation and final exam: This is a research-based presentation – intended as a synthesis of both the literary and political materials we have discussed during the course - that you (or your study group) will read or present to the class in whatever format you wish. Further, there is a final in class exam in which the students are required to answer to some open questions.

Short Essay: This will be on a focused topic of your choice, drawing on research and careful analysis of select readings for the class. Further guidance will be given in class

To pass the course you must pass ALL assessments.

To register the final grade is necessary that you enrol in the official dates in the website Almaesami (https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm) .

Teaching tools

The teaching tools are oral and technological.
To prepare for the examination, the student is required to prepare the texts indicated in the syllabus and to process the information (data, case studies, etc.) that will be presented during the seminars.
An extensive bibliography will be provided for those wishing to study the subject in greater depth.

Office hours

See the website of Pierluigi Musarò