Keywords
intra-EU migration
Integration
Media Literacy
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Copyright (c) 2022 Jeannine Teichert, Dorothee M. Meister
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This article discusses identity negotiations of German migrants in the United Kingdom (UK) via media in the context of Brexit. Based on Elias and Scotson’s (1990) idea of the established and the outsiders, German migrants show insecurities regarding their transnational European identity. After extensive efforts to establish a new private and professional home in the UK over years and even decades, everything seems to change with Britain’s exit from the EU and its associated societal change. Social exclusions, separation from former friends, and the fear of possible rejection from the labor market due to political disagreements eventually lead to migrants’ considerations to return to Germany. Although all participants still maintain an existing social network in Germany and claim to miss the German language, culture, and social attitude, they also feel alienated from their country of origin. As outsiders in both countries, continuous exchange with friends and family in Germany via media helps the German migrants to reduce fears of alienation and strengthen their hybrid transnational European identity.
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