Social Media & Migration: The Connected Migrant
Saskia Kok, University of Amsterdam
Smartphones and social media platforms such as Facebook have enabled new forms of connectivity and mobility amongst tech-savvy migrants, augmenting a transnationalism whereby migrant groups are able to construct new networks of belonging and political engagement. This talk provides a current stance on new methods and techniques for studying transnational migration in the digital age. The transnational networks of the ‘connected Somali migrant’ are taken as a starting point to argue that digital technology is mainly used to strengthen community based practices and social integration in the host-land, as opposed to transnational advocacy for the homeland. It is argued that web data and network analysis offers promising approaches to the study of connected migration, including social integration, policy-making and issue advocacy.
About the speaker
Saskia Kok is PhD researcher at the Digital Methods Initiative, University of Amsterdam, where she studies the spatial and territorial processes of transnational migration in the digital age. She previously worked at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in the areas of Economic and Political Affairs and the Ready-Made Garment sector. Currently, she is conducting fieldwork in Bangladesh on the level of mobilization and (dis)connectivity of Rohingya refugees. Her research interests include the application of digital methods for the study of migration and international public policy.
Venue: Conference room 0.16-0.17
Date: 15 February 2017
Time: 12:00 - 13:00 CEST
