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Hot eller offer? - En analys av hur klimatflyktingar framställs i svensk media

Olofsson, Maria LU and Hansson, Maria LU (2010) SOPA63 20092
School of Social Work
Abstract
Studies have shown that refugees have been described in Swedish media as either victims or threats. Those stereotypical images affect how people understand refugees. It has also an impact on how professional social workers act when they meet them. We were interested in studying the discourse around a new phenomenon: climate refugees. Climate refugees have been a topic in Swedish media for the last decade. We wanted to study in what way climate refugees were described in Swedish newspapers. The starting point of our investigation was two questions:
• How are climate refugees defined in Swedish media?
• How are climate refugees portrayed in Swedish media?
We have done a discourse analyze on 105 articles from Swedish newspapers that... (More)
Studies have shown that refugees have been described in Swedish media as either victims or threats. Those stereotypical images affect how people understand refugees. It has also an impact on how professional social workers act when they meet them. We were interested in studying the discourse around a new phenomenon: climate refugees. Climate refugees have been a topic in Swedish media for the last decade. We wanted to study in what way climate refugees were described in Swedish newspapers. The starting point of our investigation was two questions:
• How are climate refugees defined in Swedish media?
• How are climate refugees portrayed in Swedish media?
We have done a discourse analyze on 105 articles from Swedish newspapers that contained the word climate refugee. In this analyze we have been using a social constructionist perspective. The following theoretical concepts have been used: claims making, ideal victims, discourse and finally We/the Others.
We found that climate refugees often are described as either a threat or a victim. Both of these descriptions mean that climate refugees risk to be conceived as abstract and impersonal. We also found that climate refugees are described as the Others, as something that is different from Us. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Olofsson, Maria LU and Hansson, Maria LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Threat or victim? – an analyze of how climate refugees are portrayed in Swedish media
course
SOPA63 20092
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
media, discourse, climate refugees, social construction
language
Swedish
id
1528978
date added to LUP
2010-01-25 15:15:32
date last changed
2010-01-25 15:15:32
@misc{1528978,
  abstract     = {{Studies have shown that refugees have been described in Swedish media as either victims or threats. Those stereotypical images affect how people understand refugees. It has also an impact on how professional social workers act when they meet them. We were interested in studying the discourse around a new phenomenon: climate refugees. Climate refugees have been a topic in Swedish media for the last decade. We wanted to study in what way climate refugees were described in Swedish newspapers. The starting point of our investigation was two questions:
•	How are climate refugees defined in Swedish media?
•	How are climate refugees portrayed in Swedish media?
We have done a discourse analyze on 105 articles from Swedish newspapers that contained the word climate refugee. In this analyze we have been using a social constructionist perspective. The following theoretical concepts have been used: claims making, ideal victims, discourse and finally We/the Others.     
We found that climate refugees often are described as either a threat or a victim. Both of these descriptions mean that climate refugees risk to be conceived as abstract and impersonal. We also found that climate refugees are described as the Others, as something that is different from Us.}},
  author       = {{Olofsson, Maria and Hansson, Maria}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Hot eller offer? - En analys av hur klimatflyktingar framställs i svensk media}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}