Media and the refugee camp : The historical making of space, time, and politics in the modern refugee regime

As digital technologies become ever more involved in the experiences of refugees and the governance of borders and migration, surprisingly little is known about the histories of media practices and media technologies in the context of refugeehood. ”Media and the Refugee Camp” historically explores the space of the refugee camp as a site of the modern refugee regime from a media historical perspective.

By investigating how media practices of residents, authorities, and activists have mattered in constructing conditions for space, time, and politics in the refugee camp, this thesis traces the role of media and communication as existential in being and being made a refugee in Germany after 1945. Zooming in on a space that seemingly lies at the margins of society, this dissertation rather flags the refugee camp as a central hub of media practices that uphold and negotiate borders and modes of distinction in society at large.

Philipp Seuferling is based at the Department for Media and Communication Studies at Södertörn University, Stockholm. His research interests comprise the intersections of media, migration and borders, and their histories.