PROJECT COMPLETED (2020-2023)

MYOUROPE seeks to start a scholarly conversation on how ‘old’ Europeans are perceived by ‘new’ Europeans in the discourses of mass migrations to Europe and to map these concepts and their articulations on the material relevant to Spain - the ‘new’ Spanish population of Moroccan/Algerian origin. It is clear that Europe has recently been suffering from sociopolitical weaknesses associated with financial instability and new migratory influxes, which have sparked a rise in populism and political extremism, leading some experts to speak of an identity crisis in European societies. This is currently a cause for concern for influential research institutions and policy makers at the European level, such as the R. Schuman Foundation, as well as for EU Experts.

Among the most formal and obvious reasons why Europe is coming to challenge its own identity is a dramatic influx of migrants as a result of wars and instability. A considerable share of these migrants bring lifestyles, customs and values which, as numerous research studies have shown, often clash with those of their host countries, leading to irritation and resentment on the part of the local population. However, while there is a large volume of research on how the West/Europe perceives these migrants, there is no research at all on how the incomers see their new home country, its culture and its people. We therefore think that launching research into migrant visions of Europe is of great importance for the following reasons: (1) migrants are ‘new Europeans’ and they are probably here to stay; (2) data on how they perceive Europe and its cultures will help to establish a dialogue between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ Europeans and, in the long run, improve intercultural communication and ultimately integration, which currently seems to be non-existent.

In this project we conduct a case study situated in Spain, focusing on immigrants of Moroccan/Algerian origin. We build corpora of material related to the way the ‘old’ Spanish/European society is seen by its ‘new’ members by using videos recorded by Youtube Algerian/Moroccan vloggers now living in Spain. Quantitative analysis is complemented by the use of conventional and multimodal corpus tools, to obtain a balanced picture of the way these ‘new’ European vloggers construct, negotiate and present their identities in the participatory digital space.

MYOUROPE is intended to provide a deeper understanding of the ‘new European’ discourses that about migrants’ new home country, its society and its culture - and add the missing link to the complex and multilayered design of European identities. Our findings could influence the design of effective future social integration policies. The project workshops and seminars will help us to strengthen our network of contacts with international researchers for the analysis of emergent ‘new’ European discourses.