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

英国脱欧和COVID-19大流行是同时发生的事件，媒体和政府的叙述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个问题，这暴露了阶级、种族、民族、国籍、移民身份和代际身份之间的根本不平等。媒体对英国脱欧的主流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证明了这一点。另一方面，媒体话语不加批判地将COVID-19描述为一种“使社会团结”、不“歧视”和社会“平等”的疾病。然而，一些政客和媒体对COVID-19和英国脱欧的社会经济影响的不同描述，可能与日常经历的现实既相呼应，又形成鲜明对比。我们在这项研究中试图探索的是日常不平等经历与媒体对英国脱欧和COVID-19的叙述之间的相互作用。通过这样做，本研究旨在更好地了解COVID-19危机如何加深了脱欧后英国暴露的身份不平等，以及新的不平等是否正在出现。本研究项目的目的是：(1)回答有关身份和不平等的研究问题，这些问题是在脱欧后英国的“社会两极分化”和COVID-19初发后英国的“团结”的对比背景下表达的，以及它们的长期影响，特别关注阶级、种族、民族、国籍、移民身份、年龄、世代和地理等相互交织的不平等。(2)研究媒体及其日常接触在多大程度上反映和强化了社会两极分化和不平等的叙述，以及在2019冠状病毒病进一步爆发的背景下，这些叙述可能会发生什么变化；以及在我们面临脱欧问题之际，英国脱欧形势的演变。(3)向相关政策制定者、媒体和公众强调2019冠状病毒病和英国脱欧造成的近期和长期不平等，以寻求缓解这些不平等的战略。为了实现这些目标，我们将对个人经历和媒体叙事进行新的研究，这些研究建立在我们现有的研究项目的基础上，该项目探讨了英国脱欧后媒体的身份、归属和角色问题。通过对英国脱欧的研究，我们可以对COVID-19在英国脱欧后的社会和政治影响提供独特的纵向理解。在这项研究中，我们将把在英国进行的深度访谈与小组调查数据以及对国家和地方（到现场）媒体数据的分析结合起来。该研究将于2020年6月/ 7月开始，第一波小组调查和媒体内容分析将于2020年10月开始，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，第三波调查将于2021年1月开始，这将为为期六个月的民族志研究提供背景并与之相吻合。实地考察将包括对我们之前在英国退欧项目中采访过的参与者的采访。这将包括与西南（埃克塞特和德文郡）、东北（纽卡斯尔和诺森伯兰）和中部（莱斯特和波士顿）的参与者进行深入讨论。我们力求了解与会者对大流行病的持续经历，使他们能够回顾自己的经历，这将提供更全面的视角，以日常生活为基础，补充调查研究和媒体分析。我们还将与一位艺术家合作，共同制作一件艺术装置，传达我们所认同的COVID-19和英国脱欧的经历、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.