PANICOCENE. Reframing Climate Change-induced Mobilities

ongoing

News media framing is a critical yet frequently under-estimated contributor to the social and cultural perception of climate change-induced migration (CCIM). The research project proposes to explore how US and Italian printed and online news media have represented CCIM over the past 20 years, which is identified as a crucial timeframe during which discourses and narratives on CCIM have significantly intensified and changed, and to understand if and how news media and activists rely on research in CCIM. It specifically delves into the nature and structures of such narratives, especially in terms of stereotyping. This project wants to move away from a conceptualisation of the relation between climate change and mobilities in exceptional terms that still is dominant in media, NGO advocacy and in some policy and academic circles. The overall goals of this project are firstly to identify and analyze the ways by which news media may lead to stereotyping CCIM, in the context of major environmental disasters and with reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus impacting perceptions of readerships, general audiences and ultimately policy-making, and secondly to investigate and, possibly foster through the creation of a Platform, a collaboration between activists, journalists, and academics in CCIM issues. Beliving the power of representation is central to a climate mobility regime and using ‘mobility justice’ as an analytical lens, PANICOCENE would like to move beyond alarming and uncertain narratives on CCIM, which might increase ‘uncertainty’ in public understanding of the issue, and to find new and alternative ways to frame it and to disseminate research outside the academia in media debates.