Books by Eugenia Siapera
Gender Hate Online: Understanding the New Anti-Feminism, 2019
Gender Hate Online addresses the dynamic nature of misogyny: how it travels, what technological a... more Gender Hate Online addresses the dynamic nature of misogyny: how it travels, what technological and cultural affordances support or obstruct this and what impact reappropriated expressions of misogyny have in other cultures. It adds significantly to an emergent body of scholarship on this topic by bringing together a variety of theoretical approaches, while also including reflections on the past, present, and future of feminism and its interconnections with technologies and media. It also addresses the fact that most work on this area has been focused on the Global North, by including perspectives from Pakistan, India and Russia as well as intersectional and transcultural analyses. Finally, it addresses ways in which women fight back and reclaim online spaces, offering practical applications as well as critical analyses.
This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Context of Blogs in Brazil History of Blogs a... more This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Context of Blogs in Brazil History of Blogs and Journalism in the Brazilian Case: From Resistance to Colonization News Blogs: Reconfiguring Journalism? Blogs, Journalists, and News Organizations: Tensions, Symbiosis and/or Independence? Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References IntroductionContext of Blogs in BrazilHistory of Blogs and Journalism in the Brazilian Case: From Resistance to ColonizationNews Blogs: Reconfiguring Journalism?Blogs, Journalists, and News Organizations: Tensions, Symbiosis and/or Independence?ConclusionAcknowledgementsNotesReferences
The Handbook of Global Online Journalism
The Handbook of Global Online Journalism
Understanding New Media, Sage
At the Interface: Continuity and Transformation in Culture and Politics
Papers by Eugenia Siapera
Post-Crisis Journalism
Journalism Studies, 2014
This article is concerned with the crisis in Greek journalism and with the potential for critique... more This article is concerned with the crisis in Greek journalism and with the potential for critiques to lead to a renewal. Drawing on the pragmatic sociology of critique and using the notion of critical juncture, it argues that the role played by critiques coming from journalists themselves has been overlooked. Such critiques, emerging organically from the field, open up new opportunities and feed into practices and new journalistic initiatives. Documenting the state of journalism in Greece, the empirical part of the article traces three critiques developed by the “rank and file” of journalism: the critique of decline, which suggests the construction of a new regulatory body that will oversee journalistic practice, ethics and standards; the critique of the creative force of the crisis, which suggests that journalism adopts the logics of new media, including collaboration, sharing and witnessing; and the radical critique, which seeks to rehabilitate journalism through placing it in the midst of society and removing it from the business of selling news. The latter critique has led to the formulation of some radical new journalistic cooperative projects. While the success of these critiques, and the ideas they contain, depends on how they become articulated with broader socio-political, economic and technological developments, their formulation and circulation in the field is crucial as it helps shape post-crisis journalism from the bottom up.
Minority Activism on the Web: Between Deliberative Democracy and Multiculturalism
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2005
Focusing on refugee support groups set up and operated by minority groups themselves, this paper ... more Focusing on refugee support groups set up and operated by minority groups themselves, this paper asks how minority groups in Britain use the Internet in their interventions in the politics of asylum/immigration. How do minority groups online attempt to contribute to this politics, ...
Losuqaderno, 2020
When the announcement of patient zero spread, Italy and Europe were both unable and unprepared to... more When the announcement of patient zero spread, Italy and Europe were both unable and unprepared to comprehend and deal with the spread of the disease. In the space of a few weeks the pandemic a ected most European countries, leading to the unprecedented measure of the lockdowns. While lockdowns provided an e ective means of curbing the spread of the virus, protracted social isolation and con nement has psychosocial e ects that need to be understood and processed as part of the collective trauma of the virus. While e ects such as anxiety and depression have been discussed, an overlooked but important dimension concerns the breakdown of the continuity between the house and the city, with all that these places socially represent. The typical psychological association is between house and safety and urban space and danger.
Our cities – considered familiar and taken for granted – changed their faces, losing their standard shared social meanings and lled with dangerous representations. Both mainstream and social media played a pivotal role in constructing a general sense of social fear because of the uncertainty and lack of information about the clinical evolution of the virus, the speed of the spreading of unchecked news and the power of the pandemic. At the same time, digital spaces o ered new social contexts where users can experience solidarity, empathy, and a general sense of safety.
We use the expression“social fear”in two senses. Firstly, to refer to the fear of other people, and the consequent fear of socialising (Rauling, Wee, 1984), that was activated as defence mechanism during the lockdown. Some people have developed social fear as a consequence of a long period of isolation. However, social fear is also another way to refer to moral panic (Debrix, 2014): the uncertainty of the moment generated a greater need of information; but, the dissemination of unclear and contradic- tory information increased and spread panic and fear. In both cases, social fear and the anxiety it generates lead to the creation of coping mechanisms that allow people to manage their stress. In this context, we are interested in examining coping strategies emerging at a particular‘’interface’’: that
of the urban and social, to the home and personal space. In seeking to bridge the tensions between these spaces, the contradictions generated between the past and present experiences, and by nding ways to articulate these together in new ways, users are creating new coping strategies that may allow them to manage the trauma of the pandemic.
European Journal of Cultural Studies, 2019
This article focuses on the discourses in support of refugees as developed in Greece by local gra... more This article focuses on the discourses in support of refugees as developed in Greece by local grassroots groups. The article theorises the public debate of the refugee issue as taking place in a hybrid media system, in which elites and policy makers, mainstream media, large non-governmental organisations and smaller solidarity groups as well as everyday people participate in unequal ways in constructing this debate and its parameters. In focusing on the solidarity discourses emerging from the grassroots, this article hopes to show how these groups seek to re-politicise the question of refugees, directly countering the (post)humanitarian and charity discourses of non-governmental organisations as well as the racist and security frames found in the mass media and policy discourses. In focusing on Greece, this article shows how two crises, the refugee and austerity crises – both symptoms of an underlying deep structural crisis of capitalism – may be dealt with in ways that overcome dilemmas of belongingness and otherness. In empirically supporting such arguments, the article posits the issue of solidarity to refugees as a research question: what kinds of solidarity do refugee support groups in Greece mobilise? This is addressed through focusing on the Facebook pages of 12 local solidarity initiatives. The analysis concludes that their alternative discourse is not based on spectacle and pity, nor on irony, but on togetherness and solidarity. This solidarity takes three forms, human, social and class solidarity, all feeding into the creation of a political project revolving around ideas of autonomy and self-organisation, freedom, equality and justice.
Open Library of the Humanities, 2019
This article is concerned with the distinction between acceptable race talk in social media and o... more This article is concerned with the distinction between acceptable race talk in social media and organised, extreme or ‘frozen’ racism which is considered hate speech and removed. While in the literature this distinction is used to point to different variants, styles and mutations of racism, in social media platforms and in European regulatory frameworks it becomes policy. The empirical part of the article considers this distinction drawing upon a series of posts following a stabbing incident in a small Irish town, which organised Twitter accounts sought to connect to terrorism. The empirical analysis examines the tweets of those accounts and the comments left on the Facebook page and website of one of the main Irish online news outlets. The analysis shows few if any differences between the two, concluding that there is a blending of supremacist and everyday, ambient racist discourses. This blending indicates the operation of a transnational contagion, given the shared vocabularies and discourses. It further problematises the distinction between ‘illegal hate speech’ and ‘acceptable race talk’, and throws into question the principle underlying both the policies of social media as well as the European efforts to de-toxify the digital public sphere.
Feminist Media Studies, 2018
This special issue seeks to identify and theorise the complex
relationships ... more This special issue seeks to identify and theorise the complex
relationships between online culture, technology and misogyny.
It asks how the internet’s anti-woman spaces and discourses have
been transformed by the technological affordances of new digital
platforms, and whether they are borne of the same types of
discontents articulated in older forms of anti-feminism, or to what
extent they might articulate a different constellation of social, cultural
and gender-political factors. This collection of work is intended to
lend focus and cohesion to a growing body of research in this area;
to map, contextualise and take stock of current frameworks, making
scholars aware of one another’s work and methodologies, and
hopefully forging new interdisciplinary collaborations and directions
for future work. Crucially, we move beyond the Anglophone world,
to include perspectives from countries which have different gender-
political and technological landscapes. In addition to mapping the
new misogyny, several contributions also address digital feminist
responses, evaluating their successes, limitations and impact on the
shape of digital gender politics in future.
Refugees and Network Publics on Twitter: Networked Framing, Affect, and Capture
This article constitutes a big data study of Twitter during the peak of the so-called refugee cri... more This article constitutes a big data study of Twitter during the peak of the so-called refugee crisis in the period between October 2015 and May 2016. The article analyzed almost 7.5 million tweets collected through hashtags such as #refugee, #refugeecrisis, # flüchtling, and others. Theoretically, the article draws on concepts such as hybrid media, affective publics, networked framing, and voice. In the context of any increasingly hybrid media, we ask what are the frames on refugees that emerge on Twitter, who are the emerging elites, and to what extent do these frames represent alternative voices. Overall, the findings indicate that overall, the dominant frames remain the same, revolving around security and safety on one hand and humanitarianism on the other. The study also identified some explicitly racist hashtags linked to some of the security and safety frames. Elite politicians, media, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) represent the most prominent actors. In general, the refugee issue on Twitter was found to be subsumed and instrumentalized by political interests. Affect and networked frames are captured by and within a specific political position that we found revolving around the personage of Donald Trump and the increasingly strident anti-immigration voices in Europe. In these terms, the results indicate that Twitter’s contribution to the refugee debate is profoundly equivocal.
Mediapolis, 2016
Focusing on the case of Greece, this chapter is tracing the contours of a new paradigm of... more Focusing on the case of Greece, this chapter is tracing the contours of a new paradigm of radical journalism. We argue that this new paradigm is radical in five ways: in terms of its organization, in
terms of the identities of its producers, in terms of its orientations vis-à-vis the political establishment and the society, in terms of its contents, and in terms of its relationship with readers and publics. Taken together these show a new radical role for journalism, focusing on addressing the present needs of a society in crisis. Journalism’s political role was far too long annexed to a Gramscian understanding
of hegemony and the role of intellectuals who agitate and persuade. The rise of a new radical journalism in conditions of crisis signifies a more fundamental and organic relationship of journalism to society that requires more than agit prop. Radical journalists are not seeking to lead or to agitate or to report disconnected from society. Rather, this journalism born of the crisis and operating as critique
can be seen as a journalism of praxis or doing: this is why the emphasis is more on building or restoring social relationships, rather than in legitimising existing ones as in the case of liberal journalism. This
shows a new avenue and political role for journalism, in which it becomes an integral part of society and in which it is firmly
oriented towards social needs.
This article reviews the central problematique of citizenship, arguing that the challenges impose... more This article reviews the central problematique of citizenship, arguing that the challenges imposed by neoliberal globalisation involve the loss of political, social and civil rights. By negating the mediations performed by citizenship between the people and the state, post-democracy renders citizenship meaningless. The article traces two main responses to this, a reactionary and a progressive one, none of which can address the problems of citizenship. The grains of a new response are found in three developments: a new ontology of the citizen, brought into being through digital acts; the existence of dual power, creating new forms of governance and social reproduction from below; and between these, the development of new procedures that directly engage with state power. Taken together, these considerations indicate a new possibility for the radicalisation of citizenship rather than a return to the former state of affairs.
(Digital) Activism at the Interstices: Anarchist and Self-Organizing Movements in Greece
The paper traces the history and evolution of the anarchist and self-organising movements in Gree... more The paper traces the history and evolution of the anarchist and self-organising movements in Greece, paying attention to their communicative practices and their implications for political praxis. After years of repression, and following the hegemony of the social democratic Pasok, and subsequently Syriza, the movements are currently coming to their own. Beginning with a brief history of the movements and more broadly of the left in Greece, the paper focuses on the current moment, determined by three events: the revolt of 2008, the movement of the squares in 2011, and the rise and u-turn of Syriza in 2015. Examining the critiques, discourses and communicative practices of the antagonistic movement as a whole, the paper argues that these constitute an alternative path to organizing beyond populist hegemony. Equally, the antagonistc movement tries to eschew the problems associated with the so-called folk politics, by paying attention to the growth of the movement through combining affect and experience, new learning and action, and through ultimately contributing to fundamental shifts in political subjectivities.
Resumo Este artigo trata da mudança do papel da mídia e do jorna-lismo em um contexto pós-democrá... more Resumo Este artigo trata da mudança do papel da mídia e do jorna-lismo em um contexto pós-democrático. Centrando-se no caso dos documentários radicais na Grécia, o texto examina as maneiras pelas quais a política neoliberal de austeridade tem contribuído para uma mudança rumo a uma política pós-democrática onde as decisões são tomadas em outros locais e o papel do governo nacional é o de reforçar tais po-líticas. Neste contexto, perguntamos qual é o papel da mídia e do jornalismo e se eles não podem mais agir como cães de guarda. Examinando os documentários radicais como parte de um campo mais amplo de mídia radical na Grécia, mostramos como eles inauguram uma economia política diferente, para além da mercantilização de conteúdos e da informação, operando para o benefício social em vez do lu-cro. Além disso, ao documentar a crise, dando voz aos afe-tados e àqueles que planejam um futuro além da crise, esses documentários são parte de uma mudança rumo a mode-los mais colaborativos de organização social, e um movi-mento para construção de uma economia social. Seu papel específico se encontra em ajudar a restaurar o corpo social e contribuir para o processo de se tornar comum, onde a solidariedade e a confiança social são recuperadas. Abstract This article is concerned with the changing role of the media and journalism in a post-democratic context. Focusing on the case of radical documentaries in Greece, the article examines the ways in which neoliberal policies of austerity have contributed to a shift towards a post-democratic po-lity where decisions are taken elsewhere and the national government's role is that of enforcing such policies. In this context, we ask what is the role of the media and journalism if they can no longer act as watchdogs. Examining radical documentaries as part of the broader field of radical media in Greece, we find that they inaugurate a different political economy, beyond that of commodifying contents and information, operating for social benefit rather than for profit. Additionally, by thematising the crisis, giving voice to those affected and to those planning a future beyond the crisis, these documentaries are part of a shift towards more collaborative models of social organization, and a movement towards the building of a social economy. Their specific role in this is found to be one of helping to restore the social body and to contribute to processes of commo-ning, whereby solidarity and social trust is recovered.
Book review: Alana Lentin and Gavan Titley, The crises of multiculturalism: Racism in a neoliberal age
Global Media and Communication, 2012
Attacks on multiculturalism are becoming increasingly popular. In Europe, there is hardly a polit... more Attacks on multiculturalism are becoming increasingly popular. In Europe, there is hardly a politician that has not attacked racism: David Cameron's first speech as Prime Minister condemned it and Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy were not far behind. Perhaps, more worryingly, when Anders Breivik attacked young people in Oslo, his crimes were seen by some as evidence of multiculturalism in crisis. Has multiculturalism indeed failed?
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Books by Eugenia Siapera
Papers by Eugenia Siapera
Our cities – considered familiar and taken for granted – changed their faces, losing their standard shared social meanings and lled with dangerous representations. Both mainstream and social media played a pivotal role in constructing a general sense of social fear because of the uncertainty and lack of information about the clinical evolution of the virus, the speed of the spreading of unchecked news and the power of the pandemic. At the same time, digital spaces o ered new social contexts where users can experience solidarity, empathy, and a general sense of safety.
We use the expression“social fear”in two senses. Firstly, to refer to the fear of other people, and the consequent fear of socialising (Rauling, Wee, 1984), that was activated as defence mechanism during the lockdown. Some people have developed social fear as a consequence of a long period of isolation. However, social fear is also another way to refer to moral panic (Debrix, 2014): the uncertainty of the moment generated a greater need of information; but, the dissemination of unclear and contradic- tory information increased and spread panic and fear. In both cases, social fear and the anxiety it generates lead to the creation of coping mechanisms that allow people to manage their stress. In this context, we are interested in examining coping strategies emerging at a particular‘’interface’’: that
of the urban and social, to the home and personal space. In seeking to bridge the tensions between these spaces, the contradictions generated between the past and present experiences, and by nding ways to articulate these together in new ways, users are creating new coping strategies that may allow them to manage the trauma of the pandemic.
relationships between online culture, technology and misogyny.
It asks how the internet’s anti-woman spaces and discourses have
been transformed by the technological affordances of new digital
platforms, and whether they are borne of the same types of
discontents articulated in older forms of anti-feminism, or to what
extent they might articulate a different constellation of social, cultural
and gender-political factors. This collection of work is intended to
lend focus and cohesion to a growing body of research in this area;
to map, contextualise and take stock of current frameworks, making
scholars aware of one another’s work and methodologies, and
hopefully forging new interdisciplinary collaborations and directions
for future work. Crucially, we move beyond the Anglophone world,
to include perspectives from countries which have different gender-
political and technological landscapes. In addition to mapping the
new misogyny, several contributions also address digital feminist
responses, evaluating their successes, limitations and impact on the
shape of digital gender politics in future.
terms of the identities of its producers, in terms of its orientations vis-à-vis the political establishment and the society, in terms of its contents, and in terms of its relationship with readers and publics. Taken together these show a new radical role for journalism, focusing on addressing the present needs of a society in crisis. Journalism’s political role was far too long annexed to a Gramscian understanding
of hegemony and the role of intellectuals who agitate and persuade. The rise of a new radical journalism in conditions of crisis signifies a more fundamental and organic relationship of journalism to society that requires more than agit prop. Radical journalists are not seeking to lead or to agitate or to report disconnected from society. Rather, this journalism born of the crisis and operating as critique
can be seen as a journalism of praxis or doing: this is why the emphasis is more on building or restoring social relationships, rather than in legitimising existing ones as in the case of liberal journalism. This
shows a new avenue and political role for journalism, in which it becomes an integral part of society and in which it is firmly
oriented towards social needs.