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

英国脱欧和COVID-19疫情是同时发生的事件，媒体和政府的报道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，暴露了阶级、种族、民族、国籍、移民身份和世代之间的根本不平等。英国脱欧的主流媒体叙事集中在社会两极分化上，这一点由脱欧者和留欧者在身份和不平等经历方面的假定差异所证明。另一方面，COVID-19在媒体话语中被不加批判地描述为一种“将社会团结在一起”、不“歧视”、是社会“平等者”的疾病。“然而，一些政治家和媒体对COVID-19和英国退欧的社会经济影响的不同方式可能与日常经历的现实相呼应并形成强烈对比。我们在这项研究中试图探索的是不平等的日常经历与英国脱欧和COVID-19的媒体叙事之间的相互作用。在这样做的过程中，这项研究旨在更好地了解COVID-19危机如何加深了英国脱欧暴露的身份不平等，以及是否正在出现新的不平等。该研究项目的目的是：（1）回答关于身份和不平等的研究问题，在英国脱欧的“社会两极分化”和据说在COVID-19最初爆发后的国家“走到一起”的对比背景下，沿着其长期影响，特别关注阶级，种族，民族，国籍，移民身份，年龄，世代和地理的不平等。(2)研究社会两极分化和不平等的叙述在多大程度上被媒体和与他们的日常接触所反映和强化，在新冠肺炎的进一步浪潮的背景下，这些可能会如何改变;以及英国脱欧的演变，因为我们面临着持续的问题离开欧盟。(3)我们将在现有研究项目的基础上，对个人经历和媒体叙事进行新的研究，探讨身份认同、归属感和媒体在英国脱欧中的作用等问题。通过我们对英国脱欧的研究，我们可以提供对COVID-19在英国脱欧的社会和政治影响的独特纵向理解。在这项研究中，我们将整合在英格兰各地进行的深入访谈与小组调查数据和国家和地方（实地）媒体数据的分析。该研究将于2020年6月/7月开始开始，进行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，第三波调查将于2021年1月进行，这将为六个月的民族志研究提供背景并与之相吻合。实地考察将包括与我们以前采访过的参与者的访谈，作为我们英国脱欧项目的一部分。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郡）和中部地区（莱斯特和波士顿）的参与者进行深入讨论。我们力求了解参与者对这一大流行病的持续经历，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，共同制作一个艺术装置，传达我们所识别的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.