Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: This thesis explores ways in which online activism regarding Syrian refugee women is translated to the offline sphere; what the experiences, issues and concerns of refugee women are; and whether this online activism reflects the real concerns of the refugee women.Methodologically, this paper is based on fieldwork in Jordan for six weeks during the summer of 2013.The fieldwork was conducted in three main regions: the Za'atri Refugee Camp, Amman City, and the outskirts of Amman.Data collection took place through thirty-three in-depth, semi-structured interviews, approximately 100 hours of participant observation, and discourse analysis of online spaces.Analysis of the findings indicates that: 1) social networking websites, such as Facebook, function as channels for promoting stereotypical and/or hegemonic representations of Syrian refugee women's issues; 2) offline activism of activist organizations in Jordan has in many cases a feminist component; however, online activism of these organizations is mainly for humanitarian purposes with no visibility of the diversity of refugee women's experiences;3) because activists' usage of ICTs has advantages and disadvantages, ICTs are still resources that can be used both for and against social change activism, and thus offline activism remains the major indicator for actual success of any social change movement; 4) through the process of becoming refugees, Syrian women have heterogeneous experiences, which refute the dominant global and social media representations that
Author: Katty Alhayek
Institution: Ohio University
Language: English
Topic: Gender, Feminism, and Media
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2619809415