Voices from the Periphery: (De-)Constructing and Contesting Public Narratives about Post-Industrial Marginalization

• Applicant: Dr. Anke Fiedler
• Subject Area: Theatre and Media Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 528023607

'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.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: United Kingdom
• Partner Organisation: Arts and Humanities Research Council
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Antje Glück