Memetizing genocides and post-genocide peacebuilding: ambivalent implications of memes for youth participationand imaginaries in Rwanda

Mostra el registre complet Registre parcial de l'ítem

• dc.contributor.author Ataci, Tugce
• dc.date.accessioned 2023-11-08T07:40:42Z
• dc.date.embargoEnd info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2024-04-21
• dc.date.issued 2022
• dc.description Data de publicació electrónica: 21-11-2022
• dc.description.abstract In contexts where young people feel prohibited from reflecting openly on sensitive political issues, they may explore alternative ways to communicate and negotiate their opinions and beliefs. Internet memes are popular digital artifacts that offer a space for such debates. This research focuses on the Internet memes that were created and used as an unconventional method for discussing post-genocide peacebuilding processes among Rwandan youth. These memes were made in storytelling workshops that involved interacting with transmedia projects and creating stories about peacebuilding and reconciliation processes in Rwanda, Guatemala and Cambodia. Within this context, this study approaches memes as participatory tools that allow (1) youth inclusion in post-genocide peacebuilding, often considered an ‘adult topic’ and (2) the mapping out of the social imaginaries of peace by young people in post-genocide societies. The paper analyzes how and why young Rwandans negotiate peacebuilding processes through memes and the ambivalence of utilizing memes for youth participation. The results suggest that meme-making emerged mainly as a response to intergenerational differences in discussing the genocide and peace-related issues. Humor in the memes unveiled differences in the ways of addressing peacebuilding processes. Detachment from other contexts resulted in more sarcastic articulations, whereas proximity led to more positive reflections on how peacebuilding should unfold in post-genocide societies. While meme-making proved to be useful for sparking discussions and manifesting imaginaries of peace, it also showed how certain dominant discourses about peacebuilding processes are embraced and often not contested within memes due to self-censorship.
• dc.embargo.liftdate 2024-04-21
• dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
• dc.identifier.citation Ataci T. Memetizing genocides and post-genocide peacebuilding: ambivalent implications of memes for youth participationand imaginaries in Rwanda. Inf Commun Soc. 2022. 22 p. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2022.2146984
• dc.identifier.doi https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2146984
• dc.identifier.issn 1369-118X
• dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/58234
• dc.language.iso eng
• dc.publisher Taylor & Francis
• dc.relation.ispartof Information, Communication & Society. 2022. 22 p.
• dc.rights © This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Information, Communication and Society on 21 of November 2022, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2146984
• dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
• dc.subject.keyword Youth
• dc.subject.keyword memes
• dc.subject.keyword peacebuilding
• dc.subject.keyword humor
• dc.subject.keyword Rwanda
• dc.title Memetizing genocides and post-genocide peacebuilding: ambivalent implications of memes for youth participationand imaginaries in Rwanda
• dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
• dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion