Mediatized public sphere, immigrant activism, and anti-immigration: social representations and identity disputes in Portugal.

Abstract

This research project proposes an analytical approach to the dynamics of the mediatized public sphere in Portugal concerning migration issues. By integrating concepts related to the public sphere, mediatization, social representations, and migration studies, we aim to investigate how identity disputes unfold around migration issues in the mediatized public sphere in Portugal. To achieve this, we will employ tools from both in-person and virtual ethnography, conduct in-depth interviews, and analyze social representations of immigration in journalism and advertising. Our goals include characterizing the mediatized public sphere in Portugal, identifying the repertoire of action and mobilization of anti-immigration activist groups and Brazilian immigrants, understanding the formation and dissemination of social representations in the public debate on immigration, and thereby contributing to the understanding of social and identity dynamics in the context of the mediatized public sphere.