Javascript must be enabled to continue!
Romanian Diasporic Facebook Groups as Public Spheres
View through CrossRef
Abstract
The pilot Survey discussed in this paper was designed to understand to what extent Romanian Diasporic Facebook groups (RDFGs) build up public spheres, i.e. spaces in which people can form public opinions that can shape political subjectivity (Habermas 178) and to understand the impact of the RDFGs administrators as community organisers. The Survey incorporated questions on the administrators’ features, group structures, levels of activism and explicit interest in public affairs expressed within these groups. Invitations to participate in the Survey were issued via Facebook Messenger exclusively to RDFGs administrators. The participants reported that their groups were mainly top-down informal structures. They stressed the apolitical profiles of the groups they administer although some reported that the critique of homeland politicians constituted significant discussion threads and said that members often organise offline events that could be described as political. Some respondents reported instances of “political revolts” within groups, in which the ordinary members (OMs) initiated critical dialogues on the group’s walls which questioned the positions of the admins. Interestingly, an illusory sense of superiority was revealed in the administrators’ responses as compared to their evaluation of the interests of the OMs, as well as a state of ambivalence in relation to the censorship practices and workload linked to their administrative roles.
Title: Romanian Diasporic Facebook Groups as Public Spheres
Description:
Abstract
The pilot Survey discussed in this paper was designed to understand to what extent Romanian Diasporic Facebook groups (RDFGs) build up public spheres, i.
e.
spaces in which people can form public opinions that can shape political subjectivity (Habermas 178) and to understand the impact of the RDFGs administrators as community organisers.
The Survey incorporated questions on the administrators’ features, group structures, levels of activism and explicit interest in public affairs expressed within these groups.
Invitations to participate in the Survey were issued via Facebook Messenger exclusively to RDFGs administrators.
The participants reported that their groups were mainly top-down informal structures.
They stressed the apolitical profiles of the groups they administer although some reported that the critique of homeland politicians constituted significant discussion threads and said that members often organise offline events that could be described as political.
Some respondents reported instances of “political revolts” within groups, in which the ordinary members (OMs) initiated critical dialogues on the group’s walls which questioned the positions of the admins.
Interestingly, an illusory sense of superiority was revealed in the administrators’ responses as compared to their evaluation of the interests of the OMs, as well as a state of ambivalence in relation to the censorship practices and workload linked to their administrative roles.
Related Results
Diasporic still life: Midnight at the Dragon Café and the cultural politics of stasis
Diasporic still life: Midnight at the Dragon Café and the cultural politics of stasis
This article revisits and reevaluates the role that “stasis” can play as a literary technique in diasporic Chinese Canadian writing. To these ends I read Chinese Canadian author Ju...
Facebook comme plate-forme de développement des compétences professionnelles des enseignants et des étudiants de langue: une étude de cas
Facebook comme plate-forme de développement des compétences professionnelles des enseignants et des étudiants de langue: une étude de cas
En la actualidad, la difusión de tecnologías y, en particular, la creación de redes sociales, exige que los profesores de idiomas aprendan nuevos datos en sus prácticas docentes. S...
Being (co-)present: Reflecting the personal and public spheres of asylum seeking in relation to connectivity
Being (co-)present: Reflecting the personal and public spheres of asylum seeking in relation to connectivity
This article links the personal use/meaning of information and communications technology for refugees and asylum seekers with their visibility/invisibility in public spaces. More p...
A history of vocational ethics and professional identity: How organization scholars navigate academic value spheres
A history of vocational ethics and professional identity: How organization scholars navigate academic value spheres
In recent years, Michael Burawoy has sparked a discussion about the role of social sciences in society. He calls for an increased interaction between different value spheres in soc...
Refugee solidarity in Europe: Shifting the discourse
Refugee solidarity in Europe: Shifting the discourse
This article focuses on the discourses in support of refugees as developed in Greece by local grassroots groups. The article theorises the public debate of the refugee issue as tak...
Brașovul și cartea veche între 1805 și 1827
Brașovul și cartea veche între 1805 și 1827
This paper presents the volume “Graphic Art of Old Romanian Books Printed in Brașov” (1805-1827) written by Anca Elisabeta Tatay and Cornel Tatai-Baltă and published in excellent g...
Improving knowledge of the subgenus Agrodiaetus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Polyommatus) in Eastern Europe: Overview of the Romanian fauna
Improving knowledge of the subgenus Agrodiaetus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Polyommatus) in Eastern Europe: Overview of the Romanian fauna
The butterfly subgenus Agrodiaetus of the genus Polyommatus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) is distributed in the western and central Palaearctic and represents a taxonomically challengi...
Dacă nu mai există limitări de gen în arealul profesional, de ce ar mai exista ele în limbă? / If there are no gender limitations in the professional realm, why would they persist in language?
Dacă nu mai există limitări de gen în arealul profesional, de ce ar mai exista ele în limbă? / If there are no gender limitations in the professional realm, why would they persist in language?
The historical evolution of languages has been more than once influenced by the sheer influence of scholars who re-channeled some linguistic phenomena or simply consecrated aspects...