Event
SG – Power of Media Narratives
Media play an important role in how we make sense of the world. Explore the power that representations have when they become narratives.
About Power of Media Narratives
Media play an important role in how we make sense of the world. Their representations of reality contribute to shaping what we know, and influence how we socially and emotionally relate to others. Whose suffering attracts our attention and why? Who is to blame? Who deserves our compassion and recognition? Who is deemed human? Who is not? Tonight, Dr. Isabel Awad reflects on these questions by drawing on a wide range of textual and visual examples from (inter)national media. Her examination sheds light on the layers of divergent effects of media representations on us. Why this matters, will be at the heart of her presentation as she explores the power that representations have when they become narratives. Discover how engaging critically with the media, not only improves our understanding of the world, but constructively addresses inclinations to become overwhelmed or normalise the abnormal.
About lecture series Normalising the Abnormal
Developments which keep overtaking each other on the world stage have been challenging our emotional stamina and pressed hard on our moral compasses. It has even led many to tune out of following the news. This series explores psychological and social numbing which has crept into processing what we know and how we feel whilst moral alarm bells may be blaring inside many heads and hearts. Studium Generale invites you to unpack the personal and collective mechanisms at play in normalising the abnormal.
About Isabel Awad Cherit
Isabel Awad is Associate Professor at the Department of Media and Communication, Erasmus University Rotterdam. She has dedicated her teaching and research to understanding the conditions for democratic communication and social justice against a backdrop of social inequality. Much of her work focuses on how the (news) media contribute to the inclusion/exclusion of marginalised social groups and on the efforts of specific actors (journalists, activists, ordinary citizens) to navigate creatively within hegemonic media environments. Insights from this work underscore the importance of citizens’ critical engagement with the news and other media narratives.
Isabel is theme lead (on Diversity and Inclusion) within the Vital Cities and Citizens Erasmus Initiative. A native from Chile, Isabel studied journalism and aesthetics in Universidad Católica de Chile and obtained her PhD in Communication from Stanford University (USA).