Recently we have taken the initiative to organize a joint lunch seminar of ERMeCC and History@Erasmus twice a year to stimulate exchange and collaboration across the different research centres within our School. The seminars will always take place on Mondays. During the seminar, two researchers - one from ERMeCC and one from History@Erasmus - will present a short paper of 15 minutes each, with a discussion afterwards.
We are glad to announce that Dr. Delia Dumitrica and Dr. Robbert-Jan Adriaansen have accepted the invitation to present their current research at the first edition of the ESHCC lunch seminar on Monday 9 July, from 12.30-13.30 hours in Polak (Y) 2-14. Below please find more information about the research they will be presenting.
Transnational Flows in National Social Movements: the 2017 Anti-Corruption Civic Mobilization in Romania
Delia Dumitrica (ERMeCC, Dept. of Media and Communication)
Contemporary social movements have been described as shifting from the logic of spatial organization to that of flows and networks. Yet, in spite of the shift, the crucial question of how to mobilize citizens for collective action remains. How are the different global flows – of people, capital, symbols, etc. – characterizing the new logic of social movements playing out in the mobilization for collective action and to what effect? To answer these questions, the presentation discusses the 2017 anti-corruption mobilization in Romania. The movement constitutes an example of a grassroots initiative, almost entirely reliant upon Facebook for organization and communication. The presentation outlines the various transnational dimensions permeating this movement and which include, among others, flows of symbols, cosmopolitan imaginaries, and relationships with diasporas, international organizations and supranational political institutions.
Picturing Auschwitz. Historical Meaning-making on Instagram
Robbert-Jan Adriaansen (History@Erasmus, Dept. of History, Centre for Historical Culture)
While historians still think about history in terms of book-length narratives, social media have opened up various new ways of historical meaning-making that have changed the landscape of popular historical culture for good. This paper discusses how people make violent and traumatic pasts meaningful on Instagram, focusing especially on Instagram posts covering Auschwitz. It will show how different semiotic modes are used and combined to make the past meaningful, and will discuss questions such as: why do people use faux-vintage filters on pictures of Auschwitz? What do hash-tags tell us about how people perceive Auschwitz? What do selfies in Auschwitz tell us about the tourist gaze?