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Chapter 12. Othering in Estonian online discussions about refugees

  • Liisi Laineste
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Representing the Other in European Media Discourses
This chapter is in the book Representing the Other in European Media Discourses

Abstract

Talking about the Other evokes strong emotions tied to cultural narratives and folkloric motifs that are shared within communities. Following these discussions offers an entry point into practices of othering and their psychological, cultural and folkloric components. The chapter analyses how the Other is described in semi-public media, reflecting on the refugee crisis that intensified in 2015.

The analysis follows online discussions about the 2015 refugee crisis in Estonian public forums. In particular, the focus will be on the incident that triggered much public reverberation, namely setting fire to the refugee centre in Vao, north-eastern Estonia, in early September 2015. The interdisciplinary study is based on insights on othering from the areas of folkloristics and linguistics and relies on the methods offered by digital humanities. It aims to draw conclusions from the news readers’ comments to describe how online forums communicate conflicting emotions and opinions about the Other in the context of conflict. The results suggest that viewpoints become even more polarised in the discussion, othering both the strangers / refugees as well as local Estonian groups for or against accepting immigrants. In the course of heated discussions, folk rhetorics support long-established narratives of cultural trauma.

Abstract

Talking about the Other evokes strong emotions tied to cultural narratives and folkloric motifs that are shared within communities. Following these discussions offers an entry point into practices of othering and their psychological, cultural and folkloric components. The chapter analyses how the Other is described in semi-public media, reflecting on the refugee crisis that intensified in 2015.

The analysis follows online discussions about the 2015 refugee crisis in Estonian public forums. In particular, the focus will be on the incident that triggered much public reverberation, namely setting fire to the refugee centre in Vao, north-eastern Estonia, in early September 2015. The interdisciplinary study is based on insights on othering from the areas of folkloristics and linguistics and relies on the methods offered by digital humanities. It aims to draw conclusions from the news readers’ comments to describe how online forums communicate conflicting emotions and opinions about the Other in the context of conflict. The results suggest that viewpoints become even more polarised in the discussion, othering both the strangers / refugees as well as local Estonian groups for or against accepting immigrants. In the course of heated discussions, folk rhetorics support long-established narratives of cultural trauma.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Media representations of the “other” Europeans 1
  4. Part I. Othering as political and media practice
  5. Chapter 1. Orbán’s Hungary 25
  6. Chapter 2. Togetherness or othering? 55
  7. Chapter 3. The European “stranger” in Le Monde ’s headline discourse 81
  8. Chapter 4. Profiling of new Europeans in the British conservative press 103
  9. Chapter 5. Construing the Other 121
  10. Chapter 6. Discursive legitimation of criminalization and victimization of sub-Saharan immigrants in Spanish El País and ABC newspapers 135
  11. Part II. Othering as interpersonal and interactional practice
  12. Chapter 7. Negotiating an identity 157
  13. Chapter 8. Representations of Eastern Europeans in the UK in reader comments of two British online newspapers 183
  14. Chapter 9. Othering others 207
  15. Chapter 10. The othering of Roma migrants in British and Czech online news discussion forums 235
  16. Chapter 11. The Roma as ultimate European minority and ultimate outsider? 259
  17. Chapter 12. Othering in Estonian online discussions about refugees 281
  18. Contributors 305
  19. Index 309
https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.74.13lai

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Media representations of the “other” Europeans 1
  4. Part I. Othering as political and media practice
  5. Chapter 1. Orbán’s Hungary 25
  6. Chapter 2. Togetherness or othering? 55
  7. Chapter 3. The European “stranger” in Le Monde ’s headline discourse 81
  8. Chapter 4. Profiling of new Europeans in the British conservative press 103
  9. Chapter 5. Construing the Other 121
  10. Chapter 6. Discursive legitimation of criminalization and victimization of sub-Saharan immigrants in Spanish El País and ABC newspapers 135
  11. Part II. Othering as interpersonal and interactional practice
  12. Chapter 7. Negotiating an identity 157
  13. Chapter 8. Representations of Eastern Europeans in the UK in reader comments of two British online newspapers 183
  14. Chapter 9. Othering others 207
  15. Chapter 10. The othering of Roma migrants in British and Czech online news discussion forums 235
  16. Chapter 11. The Roma as ultimate European minority and ultimate outsider? 259
  17. Chapter 12. Othering in Estonian online discussions about refugees 281
  18. Contributors 305
  19. Index 309
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