This paper reports on an exploratory, qualitative study of media use among Syrian refugees in Turkey, focusing on two locations: a refugee camp in Sanliurfa and a community center in Istanbul. It seeks to provide new angles for conceptualizing the “connected refugee” by adopting a non-media-centric and ethnographic approach that emphasizes diversity, local contexts and everydayness. Firstly, the paper discusses the interplay between individual and collective ownership of media and ICTs, which is linked to certain power dynamics and an informal (...) economy of solidarity. Secondly, the role of popular media for establishing ontological security in an interstitial and unstable position is discussed. (shrink)

This article presents an analysis of Turkish film screenings in Belgium as a case study of diasporic media practices in Europe. Turkish blockbusters have only recently become part of the programs of Belgian mainstream film theaters. This study provides insight into both historical and recent dynamics that characterize this new film and audience segment in film exhibition. After analyzing transnational patterns of distribution, selection and promotion, we put forward that changing circulation patterns and the associated power relations define the social (...) and spatial conditions of reception, resulting in the creation of new semi-public diasporic spaces. Thus, the links between the political economy of media and audience research are discussed. The findings of this article are based on archival and press research and a series of semi-structured expert interviews with exhibition and distribution professionals, as well as social workers and representatives from Turkish cultural associations. (shrink)