Pavillon Marie-Victorin
Outremont, QC H2V 2J7
Canada
The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship presents:
Victoria Esses (University of Western Ontario)
Media Portrayals of Refugees: Nature and Consequences
You can learn more about Professor Esses by clicking here.
Watch Victoria Esses’ talk from our Facebook page.
Where and When: Friday, October 19, 2018 from 3:00 to 5:00pm. Room D-427, Marie-Victorin BuildingUniversité de Montréal.
Abstract: Refugee resettlement policies and the treatment of refugees are often contentious issues involving uncertainty and unease. The media may take advantage of this uncertainty to create a crisis mentality in which refugee claimants are portrayed as “enemies at the gate” who are attempting to invade Western nations and take advantage of their generosity. Although it has been suggested that such depictions promote the dehumanization of refugees, there has been little direct evidence for this claim. In this presentation I will describe our program of research addressing this gap by using experimental methods to examine the causal effects of common media portrayals of refugees on dehumanization and its consequences. I will conclude by discussing strategies for counteracting such dehumanization.
This series is sponsored by the Inter-university Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, which is funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC).