1. Transnational Public Spheres and Online Media
Intersectional Conflict and Dialogue: Transnational Migrant and Digital Diaspora Networks
Transnational Public Spheres and Online Media
Dennis Nguyen
PhD Candidate, University of Hull
MA (Coventry University,UK)
Magister Artium (University of Münster, Germany)
Date: 11/04/2013

2. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
Structure
The Internet and Public Spheres
Web Spheres
Manifestations of Transnational Publicity Online
Methodological Challenges
Outlook
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3. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
The Internet…
…provides technological means for new forms of public communication,
…consists of “spaces of communication” (web spheres),
…is virtually global in scope,
…content and networks determine local or transnational orientation,
…supplements but not substitutes (mass media-based) offline publicity,
…integrates different modes of public communication.
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4. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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5. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
‘We conceptualize a web sphere as not simply a collection
of web sites, but as a set of dynamically defined digital
resources spanning multiple web sites deemed relevant
or related to a central event, concept or theme, and often
connected by hyperlinks’
(Schneider/Foot 2006: 158 my italics and emphasis)
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6. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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7. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
Shared topical and temporal framework
Condensation of related online communication
Focus on structure (referencing and hyperlinking)
Immanent dynamism of scope
Web spheres as partial public spheres (Teilöffentlichkeiten) of different “duration”
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8. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
‘[…]we can understand
transnational public spheres as spaces of the condensation
of public, media transmitted processes of communication
that transcend the national reference area and fulfill a
normative function’
(Hepp/Brüggemann et al. 2012: 25, my translation)
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9. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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10. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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11. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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12. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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13. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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14. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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15. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
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16. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
Varying yet not mutually exclusive manifestations
Different “intensities” of transnationalism in online media:
Indirect/weak (e.g. debates on EU in “culturally closed” forums)
Direct/strong (e.g. debates on EU in “culturally pluralistic” forums)
Context-dependent scale (not necessarily “either-or”)
Each particular online platform needs individual assessment
Versatile construability of transnationalism on the Web
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17. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
Empirical Analysis of Transnational Web Spheres
Multi-level research process
Content analytical approaches (complementary)
Frame- and framing analyses
Network analysis
Linguistic limitations
Sampling can be difficult (due to dynamic nature)
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18. Transnational Publicity and Online Media
Manifold research subjects
Understanding the structure and dynamics of transnational online publicity
Analyzing both content and networks
Assessment of societal and political relevance
Integration of research methods
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