Identity, Inequality and the Media in Brexit-Covid-19-Britain

英国退欧和新冠肺炎大流行是同时发生的事件，媒体和政府的叙述提供了信息，将对英国社会产生累积和变革性的影响。国家被要求同时管理这两种身份，暴露了阶级、种族、民族、国籍、移民身份和代际身份的根本不平等。关于英国退欧的主要媒体叙事集中在社会两极分化上，脱欧派和留欧派在身份和不平等经历上的所谓差异就是明证。另一方面，新冠肺炎在媒体话语中被毫不留情地描述为一种“让社会团结起来”、不“歧视”的疾病，是一个社会“均衡器”。然而，一些政界人士和媒体框定新冠肺炎和英国退欧社会经济影响的这些不同方式，可能既会与日常体验的现实相呼应，也可能与之形成强烈反差。我们试图在这项研究中探索不平等的日常经历与媒体对英国退欧和新冠肺炎的叙事之间的互动。通过这样做，这项研究旨在更好地理解新冠肺炎危机如何加深了英国退欧过程中暴露出来的不同身份之间的不平等，以及新的不平等是否正在出现。这项研究项目的目的是：(1)回答有关身份认同和不平等现象在不同背景下表达出来的研究问题，这些背景是英国退欧和据说伴随着新冠肺炎最初爆发的国家的“走到一起”的特征，以及它们的长期影响，其中特别关注相互交织在一起的阶级、种族、族裔、国籍、移民身份、年龄、代际和地理位置的不平等。(2)考察媒体和与媒体的日常接触在多大程度上反映和强化了对社会两极分化和不平等的叙述，在新一轮新冠肺炎浪潮的背景下，这些可能会发生怎样的变化；在我们面临持续的脱欧问题时，以及英国退欧的不断演变。(3)向相关政策制定者、媒体和公众强调新冠肺炎和英国退欧造成的短期和长期不平等，以找到缓解这些不平等的策略。为了实现这些目标，我们将在现有研究项目的基础上，对个人经验和媒体叙事进行新的研究，该项目探索媒体在英国脱欧中的身份、归属和角色问题。通过在我们对英国退欧的研究的基础上，我们可以对新冠肺炎在英国脱欧的社会和政治影响提供独特的纵向理解。在这项研究中，我们将把在英格兰各地进行的深度访谈与小组调查数据以及对国家和地方(现场)媒体数据的分析结合在一起。这项研究将于2020年6月/7月开始，第一波小组调查和媒体内容分析，第二波小组调查将于2020年10月进行，届时预计将取消进一步的限制，第三波将于2021年1月开始，这将为为期六个月的人种学研究提供背景并与之同时开始。实地调查将包括对我们之前采访的参与者的采访，这是我们英国退欧项目的一部分。这将包括与西南部(埃克塞特和德文郡)、东北部(纽卡斯尔和诺森伯兰)和米德兰(莱斯特和波士顿)的与会者进行深入讨论。我们寻求了解参与者对这一流行病的持续经历，使他们能够反思自己的经历，这将提供一个更全面的视角，立足于日常生活，并补充调查研究和媒体分析。我们还将与一位艺术家合作制作一个艺术装置，传达我们认同的新冠肺炎和英国退欧的经历、情感和不平等。

Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic are simultaneously occurring events informed by media and government narratives that will have a cumulative and transformative impact on British society. That the country is being asked to manage both at the same time is exposing fundamental inequalities across identities of class, race, ethnicity, nationality, migration status and generation. The dominant media narrative of Brexit was centred on social polarisation evidenced by the supposed differences in identities and experiences of inequality of Leavers and Remainers. On the other hand, COVID-19 has been uncritically described in media discourse as a disease that is "bringing society together", does not "discriminate", and is a social "leveller." Yet, these different ways in which the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and Brexit have been framed by some politicians and the media are likely to both echo and strongly contrast with the reality of everyday experiences. It is the interactions between everyday experiences of inequalities and media narratives of Brexit and COVID-19 that we seek to explore in this research. In so doing, this research sets out to better understand how the COVID-19 crisis has deepened the inequalities across identities exposed in Brexit Britain and whether new inequalities are emerging. The aims of this research project are to:(1) Answer research questions on the articulation of identities and inequalities in the contrasting contexts of the "social polarisation" that characterized Brexit Britain and the "coming together" of the nation that is said to have followed the initial onset of COVID-19, along with their long-term effects, with a particular focus on the entwined inequalities of class, race, ethnicity, nationality, migration status, age, generation and geography. (2) Examine the extent to which narratives of social polarisation and inequality are reflected and reinforced by the media and everyday engagements with them, how these might change in the context of further waves of COVID-19; and the evolving place of Brexit as we face the ongoing issue of leaving the EU.(3) Highlight the immediate and longer-term inequalities produced by COVID-19 and Brexit to relevant policy makers, the media and the public to find strategies to mitigate against these inequalities.To fulfil these aims, we will conduct new research on individual experiences and media narratives that builds on our existing research project that explores questions of identity, belonging and the role of the media in Brexit Britain. By building on our research on Brexit, we can provide a unique longitudinal understanding of the social and political impact of COVID-19 in Brexit Britain. In this study, we will integrate in-depth interviews conducted across England with panel survey data and analysis of national and local (to the fieldsites) media data. The research will begin in June/July 2020 with the first wave of a panel survey and media content analysis, with a second wave of the panel survey taking place in October 2020 when it is expected that further restrictions will have been lifted, and a third wave in January 2021, which will provide the context for and coincide with the beginning of six months of ethnographic research. The fieldwork will consist of interviews with participants we previously interviewed as part of our Brexit project. This will include in-depth discussions with participants in the South West (Exeter and Devon), North East (Newcastle and Northumberland) and Midlands (Leicester and Boston). We seek an understanding of participants' ongoing experiences of the pandemic, allowing them to reflect back on their experiences, which will provide a fuller perspective, grounded in daily life and complementing the survey research and media analysis. We will also collaborate with an artist to co-produce an art installation that will convey the experiences, emotions and inequalities of COVID-19 and Brexit that we identify.