Campus Connection

Documentary, discussion April 17 show divisions, fear and resistance in Europe

Imagine a window into nine countries in Europe where people are deeply divided. Much like the U.S., Europeans want to explain what led to the increased nationalism in their country and a hardening sense of “us and them.” Nationalists have fueled feelings of fear, renewing feelings of xenophobia and leaving many feeling like strangers in their own land, says Shayna Plaut, research manager for the Global Reporting Center. Plaut helped lead a documentary partnership project that delivers this window into Europe.  Short video clips — most between 60-90 seconds — created by filmmakers, cartoonists, musicians, journalists and scholars, as well as average citizens tell stories of the rise of nationalism in Europe. The videos — all free to view online — range from an Italian nationalist who describes a fear of immigrants taking over jobs to a Jewish Swedish student who lives in a city ravaged by anti-Semitism. UWL will screen the documentary “Strangers at Home” as part of the event “Listening to the Strangers Among Us: Exploring Current Narratives of Fear & Resistance” at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 17, in the Brian and Lori Hesprich Auditorium, Graff Main Hall. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Plaut on the importance and power of storytelling and listening. It is particularly important to do so in this time of increased nationalism and Islamophobia worldwide including in Europe and the US., she says. The event is free and open to the public. Plaut will also share the Global Reporting Centre’s most recent research project. “A post-colonial approach to journalism and the implications for Islamophobia” will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, at the Brian and Lori Hesprich Auditorium, Graff Main Hall. See details below. Plaut warns against hard and fast explanations for the increase in nationalism. People have a tendency to search for simple explanations such as poor economic conditions or an influx of refugees, she says. Any time people look for one explanation, it’s a sign that they don’t understand the problem and will be diagnosing it in the wrong place. Therefore, they will not be able to create viable solutions, she notes. “Strangers at Home” takes a different approach, asking local people to tell their own stories to a North American audience. They use their own words, images and mediums to respond to a general question of “What is happening in terms of the rise of the right in your country?” But it is not “citizenship-based journalism,” rather it is partnernship-based journalism, she explains. The storytellers work with Plaut and others at the Global Reporting Centre, based in Vancouver, Canada, to create the best short films possible about their truths and realities. The response has been positive – from the journalism, policy and academic spheres, she says. Strangers at Home, which was presented at the United Nations, the Council of Europe and Universities across the US, Canada and Europe, was recently announced as an official Webby Honorree. If people want change, a start is “listening to some uncomfortable stories instead of thinking we have the answers,” says Plaut. Plaut says Americans are looking for answers to the same questions as people in Europe, but they’re seeking solutions within their own silos. She hopes the documentary, as well as the methods used to get it, shine a light on the way to find solutions. “I hope people recognize that in order to change things, you need to understand the realities of different contexts,” she explains. “You need to understand that it’s not one solution, and you need to respectfully engage people you may not agree with.”

Fixers Project: How news stories are shaped

Plaut will also lead a presentation on a “post-colonial approach to journalism and the implications for Islamophobia.” The talk will focus on how media stories get created and the ramifications of how those stories are told. “We tend to think of media or journalism like it comes out of the sky pre-packaged,” she says. “But there are journalists behind journalism, and an entire media system … set up for what stories are told and what stories are not told.” The talk will explore the findings of the study, “Fixing the Relationship between Journalists and Fixers,” as well as its implications for the rise of Islamophobia in western media and policy. In particular, Plaut will talk about how local people who are well connected to a country help foreign journalists get stories. These “fixers” are ultimately playing an important role in shaping news stories and, as a result, the public’s perception of other countries and policy implications. Plaut will discuss how the imbalances of race, language and money shape “news” and policy in the Global North. Plaut, who is co-investigator on the Fixers Project, funded by the Canadian Media Research Council, has been both a fixer and a journalist. Plaut helped lead a study that surveyed both journalists and fixers to better understand their relationship and address some of the challenges they face. With 450 responses, the project opens eyes to the landscape of global journalism, highlighting the process of how people get stories and the role power plays. Plaut hopes her presentations show how scholarship can and should be related to what’s happening in the world, and the power and responsibility that come with scholarship. “For both of these projects, the way we went about doing the research was just as important as the product, which is accessible to the public.” Learn more about the Fixers project. View "Strangers at Home" 

About Shayna Plaut

Shayna Plaut’s work sits at the intersection of academia, journalism and advocacy. Plaut has researched and engaged with Romani media, migrant media and Indigenous media in Canada, the U.S. and Europe since 2001. As a Fulbright and Vanier scholar, she has lived and worked in Hungary and the Balkans. Plaut is the research manager for the Global Reporting Centre and the project manager for Strangers at Home. Shayna’s academic writing has been published in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Journalism Practice, Alternatives: Global, Local, Political, The European Educational Research Journal, and International Journal for Human Rights, as well as several book chapters. Plaut is the Human Rights Editor for Praxis Center for Social Justice with Kalamazoo College. Plaut has served as a consultant for the United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International, and a variety of migrant and human rights organizations. She received her doctorate from the University of British Columbia, her M.A. from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree from Antioch College.