News

We would like to cordially invite you to the Research Colloquium of the Master Program African Verbal and Visual Arts taking place each Tuesday at 2.15 pm in room S 93, GW I (on Campus). The colloquium is organized by Brady Blackburn and Claudia Favarato. 

Please find here the schedule. 

If you would like to attend this presentation online, please email brady.c.blackburn@uni-bayreuth.de or claudia.favarato@uni-bayreuth.de to request the Zoom link. 

Coming Colloquium

On November 19th, Hamza Amarouche, PhD student at Goethe University Frankfurt and INALCO Paris, will present on "The "Reels of ideologies" and social practice on Social Media: A Conceptual Analysis of Amazigh Media Discourse".

In the digital age, online activism supporting Amazigh identity has thrived on social media platforms, championed by activists across North Africa and the diaspora. This surge, characterised by a range of ideologies, gives rise to reels of ideologies within the virtual domain, confronting diverse perspectives while simultaneously shaping the social practice within the discourse order of Facebook pages operated by Amazigh media and their journalists.

This presentation delves into theoretical approaches to this phenomenon, highlighting the conflicting ideologies featured on the Facebook pages of media outlets such as Tiyremt, Le Matin d'Algerie, Tangalt, and La Depeche de Kabylie, which appear on social media. lt examines their material existence within virtual institutional practices, their impact on the construction of identity-related subjects associated with Amazigh identity, and their critical role in class struggles, particularly within discourse and discursive practices.

Dozens of influencers actively promote Amazigh identity online, covering diverse fields such as literature, art, and cuisine. Their content contributes to shaping a "social reality and identities," in Fairclough's terms. Common sense plays a key role in users' acceptance of promotional content around Amazigh culture, underlining that ideologies are most effective when they become naturalised. However, this stability should not obscure the ongoing ideological struggle to reshape discursive practices and counter opposing ideologies. Nowadays, internet users readily break down the boundaries of common sense, challenging traditional beliefs and reshaping social practices through continuous interactions.

Finally, the presentation discusses the concept of the "reels of ideologies" on social media underscoring how new parameters, such as "reels" on Facebook and Instagram, sometimes present divergent ideologies. User interaction generates an infinite reels of ideologies, contributing to either the stabilisation or destabilisation of the common sense observed on social media. This, in turn, influences social practice and media outlets.

In summary, online activism for Amazigh identity is evolving toward a comprehensive consideration of structures and events, creating a dynamic reels of ideologies on social media, where diverse thoughts and opinions converge towards an ideological consensus aimed at ensuring content sustainability or driving social change.