Voices from the Periphery: (De-)Constructing and Contesting Public Narratives about Post-Industrial Marginalization (VOICES)
Lead Research Organisation:
Bournemouth University
Department Name: Faculty of Media and Communication
Abstract
Summary of the VOICES project
'Post-industrialism' is often understood in public and academic discourse as code for decay,
deprivation, poverty, unemployment, extremism and racism. These stereotypical and
stigmatizing images of post-industrial communities usually enter a society's consciousness
through the media. However, whether residents of post-industrial communities identify with
these public narratives, even perceive themselves as outsiders, disempowered and
disadvantaged-in other words, as 'marginalized'-is one of the research gaps that the
VOICES project seeks to fill. Using a systematic research design informed by critical discourse
theory and social structure/inequality research, the project aims to contrast an elite-centered
with a grassroots perspective on the marginalization of post-industrial milieus: first, by
examining the role of the media as key agents in the public construction of post-industrial
marginalization and the formation of post-industrial marginalized identities; and second, by
exploring the modes of subjectification of residents of post-industrial centers against these
dominant mass-mediated narratives. Two thematic work packages will investigate five
interrelated areas to analyze cultural manifestations such as marginalization: media regulation,
media production and representation (top-down perspectives), media consumption, and the
identity of post-industrial milieus (bottom-up perspectives). The study will compare three
communities in Northern England (Middlesbrough, Rotherham and Redcar) and Eastern
Germany (Eisenhüttenstadt, Weisswasser and Lauchhammer), all of which have seen the
decline of historically identity-forming industrial work. The lived realities of these post-industrial
communities will be made tangible through a citizen science approach, including qualitative
storytelling salons, in-depth interviews, focus groups and diaries-ultimately with the goal of
providing a more nuanced perspective of post-industrial milieus and their self-perceptions,
experiences, feelings and views, including those that may have a negative impact on a nation's
democratic culture. On the media front, critical discourse analyses of relevant news and social
media, as well as interviews with journalists and focus groups, are planned to identify potential
marginalization drivers within both countries' media systems. Through this holistic, systematic
and comparative approach, the scientific aim of the VOICES project is to (re)conceptualize
'media marginalization' to make the concept fruitful for future research at the intersection of
social structure/inequality research, media and communication studies. The main impact of the
project is to develop recommendations to mitigate media marginalization and to give voice to
and listen to people from publicly marginalized communities through a variety of outputs such
as digital storytelling salons, podcasts and journalist guidelines for reporting on
marginalization.
'Post-industrialism' is often understood in public and academic discourse as code for decay,
deprivation, poverty, unemployment, extremism and racism. These stereotypical and
stigmatizing images of post-industrial communities usually enter a society's consciousness
through the media. However, whether residents of post-industrial communities identify with
these public narratives, even perceive themselves as outsiders, disempowered and
disadvantaged-in other words, as 'marginalized'-is one of the research gaps that the
VOICES project seeks to fill. Using a systematic research design informed by critical discourse
theory and social structure/inequality research, the project aims to contrast an elite-centered
with a grassroots perspective on the marginalization of post-industrial milieus: first, by
examining the role of the media as key agents in the public construction of post-industrial
marginalization and the formation of post-industrial marginalized identities; and second, by
exploring the modes of subjectification of residents of post-industrial centers against these
dominant mass-mediated narratives. Two thematic work packages will investigate five
interrelated areas to analyze cultural manifestations such as marginalization: media regulation,
media production and representation (top-down perspectives), media consumption, and the
identity of post-industrial milieus (bottom-up perspectives). The study will compare three
communities in Northern England (Middlesbrough, Rotherham and Redcar) and Eastern
Germany (Eisenhüttenstadt, Weisswasser and Lauchhammer), all of which have seen the
decline of historically identity-forming industrial work. The lived realities of these post-industrial
communities will be made tangible through a citizen science approach, including qualitative
storytelling salons, in-depth interviews, focus groups and diaries-ultimately with the goal of
providing a more nuanced perspective of post-industrial milieus and their self-perceptions,
experiences, feelings and views, including those that may have a negative impact on a nation's
democratic culture. On the media front, critical discourse analyses of relevant news and social
media, as well as interviews with journalists and focus groups, are planned to identify potential
marginalization drivers within both countries' media systems. Through this holistic, systematic
and comparative approach, the scientific aim of the VOICES project is to (re)conceptualize
'media marginalization' to make the concept fruitful for future research at the intersection of
social structure/inequality research, media and communication studies. The main impact of the
project is to develop recommendations to mitigate media marginalization and to give voice to
and listen to people from publicly marginalized communities through a variety of outputs such
as digital storytelling salons, podcasts and journalist guidelines for reporting on
marginalization.
