MEDIACTIVE |
Issue
4: AsylumThe fourth issue of Mediactive takes on asylum.
The media representation of the asylum-seeker as stranger, social parasite,
virus, recalls the anti-semitic reaction to Jewish immigration at the
beginning of the twentieth century. What do the hateful and racist representations
of migrants and the individual paranoia invoked by cultural difference
tell us about European cultures? New Labour's employment policies and
flexible labour market suck in cheap illegal migrant labour even while
its leading politicians call for the rapid expulsion of economic migrants.
How might we manage the flow of people in a European-wide context? It
is not easy to love one's neighbour as one's self, but refugees and those
seeking better life for themselves and their families call for an ethical
response from the host society. Can we create a collective response to
migration which is just and equal, and based on mutual give-and-take and
an ethic of concern for the other?
The issue asks what it means to be a good neighbour; analyses the dynamics
of hate and xenophobia; addresses the politics of human security; argues
that refugees/asylum seekers are the coming condition humaine;
and sets out the ideas for a new European identity.
Contributors: Zygmunt Bauman, Rosemary Bechler, Farhad Dalal, Jonathan
Rutherford, Nira Yuval-Davis.
March 2005 ISBN 1905007140
Buy a single
issue: £8.00
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