Logging into Diaspora – Media and Online Identity Narratives among Romanians in Ireland

Authors

  • Gloria Macri Dublin City University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS522011443

Keywords:

diaspora, identity, media, internet, ethnography, Romanian

Abstract

This article provides an empirical account of the way members of the Romanian community in Ireland use media (and essentially the online space) as sources for their collective feelings of diasporic identification and also to negotiate and articulate these identity narratives. Diasporic identities are here understood as ongoing processes of understanding themselves and, at the same time, being defined by others. Identities are thus constructed at the intersection of the continuously flowing boundaries between ‘Us’ and Them’. It is at the boundaries that symbolic space is negotiated and identities are fiercely debated, constructed and re-constructed. Some of the existing studies (Nedelcu, 2000; Hiller and Franz, 2004) confirm that the Internet undeniably meets the basic informational and communication needs of an ethnic community, thus being an intrinsic part in the life of many diasporic communities. The study presented here aims to reach further and explore the complex meaning and the role of virtual space in the process of articulation of diasporic narratives of identity. This ethnographic study focuses on the online discussion forum of the Romanian Community in Ireland. The forum was chosen as the preferred research context mainly because it constitutes a lively debate arena; it is the pulsating heart that keeps the community alive. The study presents an analysis of data collected over a six-year period (2004-2010) in the forum archives.

Downloads

Published

2011-06-14

How to Cite

Macri, G. (2011). Logging into Diaspora – Media and Online Identity Narratives among Romanians in Ireland. Observatorio (OBS*), 5(2). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS522011443

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2011)

Section

Articles

License

Observatorio (OBS*) has an academic journal profile. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of its contents, and freely available to individuals and institutions without charge or formal permission. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes free of charge and without permission. Authors will not be charged for publication or submission to this journal. Authors who publish in Observatorio (OBS*) will release their contributions under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-2.0 generic. This licence allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given - being the author the copyright holder. This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may: • Collect and preserve currently accessible materials; • Use material consistent with original license terms; • Provide copies to other LOCKSS appliances for purposes of audit and repair. Fair use of a copyrighted work, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include: 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2. the nature of the copyrighted work; 3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; & 4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. In accord with these provisions, the OBS journal believes in the vigorous assertion and defense of Fair Use by scholars engaged in academic research, teaching and non-commercial publishing. Thus, we view the inclusion of “quotations” from existing print, visual, audio and audio-visual texts to be appropriate examples of Fair Use, as are reproductions of visual images for the purpose of scholarly analysis. We encourage authors to obtain appropriate permissions to use materials originally produced by others, but do not require such permissions as long as the usage of such materials falls within the boundaries of Fair Use.