COUNTER-NARRATIVES AGAINST PREJUDICE: HOW SECOND-GENERATION YOUTH REVERSE MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS

How Second-Generation Youth Reverse Media Representations

Authors

  • Marilena Macaluso University of Palermo
  • Marianna Siino University of Palermo
  • Giuseppina Tumminelli University of Palermo

Keywords:

second-generation, media representation, Islamophobia, Counter-narratives

Abstract

This paper deals with the OLTRE project (ISF - DG Migration and Home Affairs, EU) funded for preventing the radicalization of the second-generation migrants in Italy and created by a network made up of universities and private companies. This article shows the results of a study about the engagement of second-generation youth in the co-production of the online communication social campaign realized as output of the OLTRE project.

The guidelines for the campaign came from our in-depth sociological field research (42 qualitative interviews of 2G youths, 18-30 years, in 7 Italian towns (Palermo, Cagliari, Rome, Bologna, Milan, Padua, Turin) and from theatre laboratories made by second-generation youth collecting narratives, representations, stories and emotions about their representation of the radicalization risk and protection factors, etc. This corpus was useful for the social communication campaign to prevent radicalization, engaging the research participants as key players, co-designing the counter-narrative contents and studying their viral dissemination with the support of second-generation second-generation young content creators on the social networks in order to promote cultural change.

The paper analyzes the process of creating media content intended for the social campaign of the OLTRE project: from the representation that second-generation youth perceive as distorted to the product that provides a counter-narrative and/or an alternative narrative. This paper shows how the young content creators interacted with each other creating new contents, highlighting how counter-narratives can represent useful tools for deconstructing complex issues, such as Islamophobia or radicalization.

Author Biographies

Marilena Macaluso, University of Palermo

Marilena Macaluso (Ph.D.) is Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the Department of Cultures and Societies of the University of Palermo, Italy. She is the head of the double degree program (Erasmus+) for the Master’s Degree in Public, Business, and Advertising Communication (Unipa, Italy) and the Mastèr in Négociation, Communicaton et Mèdiation Culturelle, Traduction (Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunisia). She is a member of the Executive Committee of the European Sociological Association. She was responsible for Unipa of the Oltre project (Horizon 2020, ISF - CSEP). Her research focuses on political participation and communication, inclusive decision-making; political socialization; migration; mafia-style organizations; and public administration. She has authored several books and articles, including: Democrazia e Consultazione On Line (2007), L'Impresa Mafiosa? Colletti Bianchi e Crimini di Potere (with A. Dino 2016), Socializzazione Politica e Potere Quotidiano (with G. Tumminelli 2017); “Partiti Populisti, Diritti e Uguaglianza di Genere” (SOCIETÀMUTAMENTOPOLITICA 2020).

Marianna Siino, University of Palermo

Marianna Siino (Ph.D.) is Researcher of Sociology and Social Research Methods at the Department of Cultures and Societies of the University of Palermo, Italy. She is part of national and international research groups and projects. She is member of the Italian, European and International Sociological Association. She is currently co-developing the research protocol for the experimental phase of the Horizon 2020 Project “Smooth. Educational commons and active social inclusion”. She has authored several publications, including: Studiare il bullismo nelle scuole. Metodi e strumenti per rilevare gli atteggiamenti degli insegnanti (FrancoAngeli, 2021); “Doble presencia o doble racismo? Inclusión y exclusión de los jóvenes de segunda generación en italia” (with M. Macaluso and G. Tumminelli), in Durán Ruiz D. F.J., (ed.), Menores, migrantes en tiempos de pandemia (Comares, 2021); “Seconde Generazioni” Identità e Partecipazione Politica (with M. Macaluso and G. Tumminelli, FrancoAngeli, 2020)

Giuseppina Tumminelli, University of Palermo

Giuseppina Tumminelli (Ph.D) is Researcher in Political Sociology at the Department of Political Sciences and International Relations of the University of Palermo, Italy. She is a member of many national and international research groups for projects dealing with migrations. She is a member of the European Sociological Association and International Sociological Association.

Her research focuses on migration, socialization and political socialization, social change. She has authored several books and articles, including: Goodbye, Stranger. Lo “straniero” come categoria politica (2021), L’impatto dell’emergenza Covid-19 sui processi di integrazione nel sistema di accoglienza (2021), Integrazione dei rifugiati un percorso complesso (2020), “Second-Generation Muslim Youth Between Perception and Change: A Case Study on the Prevention of Radicalization” (with M. Macaluso, A. Spampinato and A. Volterrani 2020), Migrazioni in Sicilia 2020 (ed. with S. Greco 2021); Citizens’ Participation Palermo, an Italian Case Study of Civic Engagement (2019).

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Published

2022-07-27

How to Cite

Macaluso, M., Siino, M., & Tumminelli, G. (2022). COUNTER-NARRATIVES AGAINST PREJUDICE: HOW SECOND-GENERATION YOUTH REVERSE MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS: How Second-Generation Youth Reverse Media Representations. Mediascapes Journal, 19(1), 113–127. Retrieved from https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa03/mediascapes/article/view/17834

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2022): Immaginari post-pandemici

Section

Articles for the monographic section

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.