Lilie Chouliaraki [LSE]: Refugees and the crisis of responsibility

This lecture focuses on the dominant visual culture around the recent ‘refugees crisis’ in Europe. Drawing on a typology of relevant images across media, it maps out the field of visibility within which refugees become perceptible to European publics and examines the distinct forms of responsibility, which the refugees are associated with (monitorial, affective, activist, post-humanitarian).

In conclusion, it raises questions about the capacity of these forms of responsibility to engage with refugees as human others and to promote a culture of care and solidarity, outlining alternative media practices that could possibly foster different visual cultures.

All seminars are free. Please register to attend on Eventbrite.

Biography

Lilie Chouliaraki is Professor of Media and Communication at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has written extensively on media ethics (particularly the problem of mediated suffering), digital journalism and human rights/humanitarian communication. She is the author or editor of seven books, including ‘Discourse in Late Modernity. Rethinking Critical Discourse Analysis’ (EUP, 1999); ‘The Spectatorship of Suffering’ (Sage, 2006/2011) and ‘The Ironic Spectator. Solidarity in the Age of Post-humanitarianism’ (Polity: 2013; Outstanding Book Award 2015; International Communication Association).
Follow Lilie Chouliaraki on Twitter.