How a newspaper constructs a national identity: 'the Ugandan' vs. 'the refugee'

Several studies have shown that media play a huge role in constructing national identities. These studies are often carried out in the context of ‘othering’, since a collective dissociation of ‘the other’ in many cases strengthens the feeling of nationalism. Studies on how African media play a role in the formation of national identities are scarce, however. A regularly used example of ‘the other’ is the refugee and one of the largest refugee-hosting countries world-wide is Uganda. This thesis therefore studies how the New Vision, one of the biggest Ugandan newspapers, covers news on refugees and how the New Vision then contributes to the construction of a national identity in Uganda. Three methods were used: a participatory research in the form of an internship, a discourse analysis of text and finally a discourse analysis of pictures. The results show that the New Vision focuses on the idea that the government does everything in its power to help refugees and portrays ‘the Ugandan...Show moreSeveral studies have shown that media play a huge role in constructing national identities. These studies are often carried out in the context of ‘othering’, since a collective dissociation of ‘the other’ in many cases strengthens the feeling of nationalism. Studies on how African media play a role in the formation of national identities are scarce, however. A regularly used example of ‘the other’ is the refugee and one of the largest refugee-hosting countries world-wide is Uganda. This thesis therefore studies how the New Vision, one of the biggest Ugandan newspapers, covers news on refugees and how the New Vision then contributes to the construction of a national identity in Uganda. Three methods were used: a participatory research in the form of an internship, a discourse analysis of text and finally a discourse analysis of pictures. The results show that the New Vision focuses on the idea that the government does everything in its power to help refugees and portrays ‘the Ugandan’ as very welcoming towards refugees.Show less

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How a newspaper constructs a national identity: 'the Ugandan' vs. 'the refugee'