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“Returning Home to a Locked City” : a media study of the Wuhanese diaspora during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Huang, Ting LU (2020) MKVM13 20201
Media and Communication Studies
Department of Communication and Media
Abstract
This research focuses on the extreme case of when the Chinese city of Wuhan was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Combining media study with a spatial perspective, it aims to reveal how the Wuhanese diaspora use and engage with the media to relate back to Wuhan while they are geographically absent. This study reflects on how they form a sense of place towards both their home city and host regions. It also further explores how they behave and negotiate with their identities during the crisis. Through semi-structured interviews with ten Wuhanese diaspora members, the study uses first-hand materials to illustrate how diasporic individuals make sense of the media and the media’s roles in forming the diasporas’ identities... (More)
This research focuses on the extreme case of when the Chinese city of Wuhan was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Combining media study with a spatial perspective, it aims to reveal how the Wuhanese diaspora use and engage with the media to relate back to Wuhan while they are geographically absent. This study reflects on how they form a sense of place towards both their home city and host regions. It also further explores how they behave and negotiate with their identities during the crisis. Through semi-structured interviews with ten Wuhanese diaspora members, the study uses first-hand materials to illustrate how diasporic individuals make sense of the media and the media’s roles in forming the diasporas’ identities and their relations with the home city.

The findings illustrate that the Chinese media’s global reach provides the diaspora with alternatives for information and identities. The frequent transnational media practices put them in an “in-between” position that allows them to resist both sides while receiving information from both the original society and host society, which further contributes to the diaspora group’s sense of being in an “independent place.” The study also shows that the diaspora’s engagement with the media is embedded in an everyday context. Through the habitual return to certain mediasphere, memory updates, and imaginations, the Wuhanese diaspora formed a sense of the home city, which provided them with a sense of belonging as well as inspired them to feel a sense of responsibility to take action both online and offline. The research further reveals that the shared intentions and identities allow the Wuhanese diasporas to form their own communities and respond to the crisis in groups. These communities that can be both virtual and material support the diaspora members, with the downside that they are exclusive to the broader society. Moreover, the diaspora and their communities adopted different strategies to deal with conflicts during the crisis. While some of them shut down their communications channels to avoid possible conflicts, others became a “pulling” factor that influenced others. Acting from an “in-between’ place, they challenged the homogeneous societies of their home country and their host region. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Huang, Ting LU
supervisor
organization
course
MKVM13 20201
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
media spatiality, transnationalism, Wuhan, diaspora, COVID-19 pandemic
language
English
id
9009420
date added to LUP
2020-06-16 07:39:08
date last changed
2020-06-16 07:39:08
@misc{9009420,
  abstract     = {{This research focuses on the extreme case of when the Chinese city of Wuhan was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Combining media study with a spatial perspective, it aims to reveal how the Wuhanese diaspora use and engage with the media to relate back to Wuhan while they are geographically absent. This study reflects on how they form a sense of place towards both their home city and host regions. It also further explores how they behave and negotiate with their identities during the crisis. Through semi-structured interviews with ten Wuhanese diaspora members, the study uses first-hand materials to illustrate how diasporic individuals make sense of the media and the media’s roles in forming the diasporas’ identities and their relations with the home city. 

The findings illustrate that the Chinese media’s global reach provides the diaspora with alternatives for information and identities. The frequent transnational media practices put them in an “in-between” position that allows them to resist both sides while receiving information from both the original society and host society, which further contributes to the diaspora group’s sense of being in an “independent place.” The study also shows that the diaspora’s engagement with the media is embedded in an everyday context. Through the habitual return to certain mediasphere, memory updates, and imaginations, the Wuhanese diaspora formed a sense of the home city, which provided them with a sense of belonging as well as inspired them to feel a sense of responsibility to take action both online and offline. The research further reveals that the shared intentions and identities allow the Wuhanese diasporas to form their own communities and respond to the crisis in groups. These communities that can be both virtual and material support the diaspora members, with the downside that they are exclusive to the broader society. Moreover, the diaspora and their communities adopted different strategies to deal with conflicts during the crisis. While some of them shut down their communications channels to avoid possible conflicts, others became a “pulling” factor that influenced others. Acting from an “in-between’ place, they challenged the homogeneous societies of their home country and their host region.}},
  author       = {{Huang, Ting}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“Returning Home to a Locked City” : a media study of the Wuhanese diaspora during the COVID-19 Pandemic}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}