Reflections of Realities
Reflected Selves through Social Media View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ronald Bulanda
Social media platforms allow for individuals to express their identities and/or how they wish to be perceived. These platforms also allow individuals to receive both negative and positive appraisals from countless others. So, while social media has the potential to promote connections between users and affirmation of one's sense of self, it simultaneously can promote conflict and disagreement. Using sociological and social psychological approaches, I assess the how and why people use social media platforms to construct and maintain their sense of self, and how and why it can be so challenging to do so. Specifically, I focus on the factors that contribute to common online hostilities and seemingly growing polarization between groups. Similarly, I assess how online negativity has implications for the users' sense of selves (identity).
The Movement to Redress the Japanese Military "Comfort Women": Analysing Media Narratives View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Gil Soo Han
The paper analyses grassroots’ concerns about the Japanese military “comfort women,” forcibly recruited to military “comfort stations” during the Second World War. Gyeongsang-Namdo Province had the greatest number of victims of this type. Citizens of Tongyeong and Geoje cities in the Province developed a website (Dagagagi) to support the victims from the communities. The website represents the contemporary citizens’ nationalism and national identities with reference to the crimes committed by imperial Japan and the community’s efforts to seek apologies. The paper's central question is: Why did it take half a century for the victims to come out and seek apologies and compensation? The author downloaded the Dagagagi’s contents (360-pages-A4) and analysed them, using NVivo software. In analyzing the data, the author used Margaret Archer’s realist social scientific perspective to look for the most prevalent structure, culture and people’s agency over the last several decades. South Korea’s advanced economic status and increasing power in the international community are crucial elements in the community’s efforts. The power imbalance between Chosun Korea and imperial Japan produced the victims. Japan’s imperial approach has continued and refused to make public apologies. However, empowered by international communities to support human rights and Korean governments’ and NGOs’ support, Korean grassroots organisations have developed significant momentum to support the victims and seek apologies from the Japanese government. The activities include: highschool girls’ letter writing to the Japanese parliament, installation of the Statue of Justice, and visiting Japan and collaborating with Japanese activists for the sake of human dignities.
The Deepest Fake News: Establishment Media and the Erasure of the Colonial Present View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session John Collins
While the issue of “fake news” has generated significant critical attention since the 2016 US elections, there is an ongoing need to examine the broader, longstanding problems associated with our existing news media system. These include the power of “establishment media” outlets in setting the public agenda, privileging certain voices and perspectives over others, reinforcing corporate and state power, and naturalizing the existing social order in general. There is an equally urgent need to recognize that projects of settler colonization, rather than being located only in the past, are a defining aspect of present-day realities – in effect, the deepest of deep structures – in places such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and Palestine. In this paper, I discuss the results of my research into the relative absence of the concept of settler colonialism in coverage provided by three US establishment media outlets: the New York Times, National Public Radio, and CNN. I argue that establishment media play a significant role in rendering these realities invisible or poorly understood, thereby blunting the power of the critiques offered by indigenous victims of settler projects and making it difficult for members of settler communities to come to terms with their privilege and ethical responsibilities.
