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© IfK

Chair of media sociology and media appropriation

The chair of media sociology and media appropriation, headed by Prof. Dr. Jutta Röser, focuses on media appropriation and the interwoven relationship between media change and social transformation from a sociological perspective. Empirically, the research focuses on qualitative methods specializing in media ethnography. Characterized by a variety of different methods and research instruments, the ethnographic approach provides an in-depth understanding of media appropriation and media usage in everyday life. Therefore, the chair primarily conducts research concerning the following five focal points: 

(1) Reception Studies, Media Appropriation and Qualitative Methods

(2) Mediatization of Society and Everyday Life

(3) Domestication of Media Technologies in History and Present

(4) Migration, Religion and Social Inequality

(5) Cultural Studies and Gender Media Studies

 

Staff

Röser, Jutta, Prof. Dr. +49 251 83-24266 E-Mail
Dominiak, Jo Marie, M.A. +49 251 83-23013 E-Mail
Niemand, Stephan Dr. +49 251 83-24263 E-Mail
Reimer, Jacqueline, M.A. +49 251 83-21201 E-Mail

 

Former Staff

  • PD Dr. Kathrin Friederike Müller
  • Dr. Raik Roth

  • Projects

    Current Research Projects

    (Reception of) Muslim Media Representation and Societal Cohesion

    Several teaching research projects examine the reception of media representations of Muslims and media coverage of Islam. Numerous content analyses indicate that Muslims and Islam are largely reported in a context of violence and conflict. However, little is known about how media representations of Islam are actually percepted. Starting from this desideratum, the research projects will use qualitative methods to investigate a) how modes of reception differ along central categories (religious identity/gender/education) and b) what these modes of reception ultimately state about social cohesion.
    Head of project – Dr. Stephan Niemand

    Music Reception in Transition

    In her dissertation, Jo Marie Dominiak examines dynamics and transitions within the use and appropriation of music media, both in relation to the present and from a historical perspective. Based on insights of the mediatization approach the project aims to investigate dynamic changes within the everyday use of music media, while also putting the significance of other context factors, such as media economics, power relations and media technologies into perspective. Ultimately, the study wants to decipher in what ways the everyday use and appropriation of music media drive and dynamically affect mediatization processes and music media change.

    Internet, Technology, Gender – The Appropriation and Domestication of Changing Internet Technologies

    In her dissertation, Raik Roth examines the meaning and (re-)production of gender differences in the domestic internet appropriation of couples. Starting point of the study was the observation within the qualitative panel study (see project on The Mediatized Home below) that there were only very few females within the couple relationships that showed a certain expertise within internet appropriation. Instead, the majority of couples showed that either the men used the internet in a leading role or both partners used the Internet on an equal footing - while activities relating to hardware and repairing mostly remained the men’s task. From a constructivist perspective, the dissertation analyzes how and under what specific conditions these gender constellations are created by the couples in the appropriation processes and how they change between 2008 and 2013 in the course of the emergence of mobile internet technologies.

    Completed Research Projects

    The Mediatized Home: Changes of Domestic Communication Cultures

    The internet has spread massively through its domestication: How did these processes of acquisition and appropriation actually play out? How did couples incorporate the Internet into their everyday lives, what specific changes did mobile technologies bring and how have communication cultures changed? These and other questions are answered by the qualitative long-term panel study of couple households funded by the DFG. In ethnographically oriented household studies, a systematically compiled sample of 25 couples was asked about their domestic media usage and appropriation between 2008 and 2016. These finding are complemented by consulting 16 couples of the online avantgarde in 2016.

    © Springer VS

    The study was carried out as part of four DFG-funded projects. It was a subproject of the DFG program "Mediatized Worlds". 

    An overall evaluation was published in 2019:

    Röser, Jutta/Müller, Kathrin Friederike/Niemand, Stephan/Roth, Ulrike (2019): Das mediatisierte Zuhause im Wandel. Eine qualitative Panelstudie zur Verhäuslichung des Internets. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

    Reviews of the book have appeared in M&K and Publizistik as well as in rkm-journal.

    Peil, Corinna/ Röser, Jutta (2014): The Meaning of Home in the Context of Digitization, Mobilization and Mediatization. In: Hepp, Andreas/Krotz, Friedrich (Ed.): Mediatized Worlds: Culture and Society in a Media Age. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 233-249.

    Müller Kathrin Friederike, & Röser Jutta (2017). Convergence in domestic media use? The interplay of old and new media at home. InSparviero Sergio, Peil Corinna, & Balbi Gabriele (Eds.), Media Convergence and Deconvergence, p. 55-74. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Mediatized Everyday Life in Transition

    Stephan Niemand’s dissertation represents the first systematic analysis of the interwoven effect between transitions in everyday life such as parenthood, moving house or new partnerships and the usage of media. Based on an ethnographically-oriented panel study that consulted 25 couple households, it is precisely worked out how and why such transition phases and changes in the everyday structure trigger profound change in the domestic media use. Thus, the study provides a deeper understanding of the interrelationship between everyday life and media usage, including the question of why media use changes in the course of life. Focusing on particular transitions and changes in everyday life, a new and promising research perspective for communication and media studies is opened up.

    Niemand’s dissertation  was published in 2020 and was awarded twice, winning the dissertation award of the WWU Münster for excellent doctoral theses and the dissertation award granted by the Sociology of Media Communication section of the DGPuK (German Society for Media and Communication Studies).

    Stephan Niemand (2020): Alltagsumbrüche und Medienhandeln. Eine qualitative Panelstudie zum Wandel der Mediennutzung in Übergangsphasen. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

    Silversurfer 70plus

    The project presents qualitative findings on silver surfers aged 70 and older who only started using the Internet within their retirement phase. It shows how senior citizens discovered and appropriated the Internet and how they currently use and experience it. The findings particularly unfold the diverse access points to the internet within the group of the elderly: approaching the internet through volunteering, following suggestions from children and grandchildren who live far away or using the internet in order to keep up with current trends and social developments. The findings are based on a joint project by the participating authors as part of a one-year master’s research seminar at the University of Münster. In this context, 19 detailed qualitative interviews with silver surfers, 70 years of age or older, were carried out in their homes. In addition to these detailed evaluations, the book on the project contains media-ethnographic portraits of all respondents. The portraits show the headstrong and motivated way in which the silver surfers integrate the internet into their everyday lives.

    The book on the research project, funded by means of MedienAlumni, was published in 2017:

    Röser, Jutta (Hg.) (2017): Silversurfer 70plus. Qualitative Fallstudien zur Aneignung des In-ternets in der Rentenphase. München: kopaed.

    Reviews of the book have appeared in Publizistik and M+K.

    Media Representations of Women in Top-Level Positions: Female and Male Executives in Politics, Business and Science 

    First and foremost, the project dealt with the media representation of women and men in top-level positions. Two content analysis were able to show how often female and male executives appear in the media and what features and characteristics they are attributed to. Secondly, the project focused on the users' interaction with the media: Young women and men were conducted to talk about their views on executives in the media. In a third step, the project unfolded the journalist’s perspectives, by dealing with media images and texts through interviews. The project answers the question of how gender-linked images of power and influence are produced with and through the media. Ultimately, the analysis reveal the continuation of traditional masculinity, as well as indicating forms of modernization of femininity within media discourses. 

    The project was carried out in cooperation with Margreth Lünenborg from the Free University of Berlin and funded by the BMBF. The book on the research project was published in 2012 in the series Cultural Media Studies.

    Luenenborg, Margreth/ Roeser, Jutta/ Maier, Tanja/ Mueller, Kathrin Friederike (2011): Gender Analysis of Mediated Politics in Germany. In: Krunen, Tonny/Alvares, Claudia/ van Bauwel, Sofie (Ed.): Gendered Transformations. Theory and Practices on Gender and Media. [ECREA- Book Series] Bristol/Chicago: intellect, 57-75.

    Lünenborg, Margreth/Röser, Jutta (Hrsg.) (2012): Ungleich mächtig. Das Gendering von Führungspersonen aus Politik, Wirtschaft und Wissenschaft in der Medienkommunikation. Bielefeld: transcript.

  • Publications

     

    Latest Publications

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    Talks

    • Peil, Corinna; Röser, Jutta (): ‘Understanding re-domestication: a neglected concept’. ECREA 2022, 9th European Communication Conference (Aarhus University), Aarhus, .
    • Röser, Jutta; Niemand, Stephan (): „Mediatisierung qualitativ erforschen und theoretisch erweitern: Medienethnografie als theoriegenerierendes Forschungssetting“. 3. Tagung des Netzwerks Qualitative Methoden „Theorien in der qualitativen Forschung“ (Netzwerks Qualitative Methoden), FU Berlin, .
    • Röser, Jutta; Niemand, Stephan (): „Mediatisierung qualitativ erforschen und theoretisch erweitern: Medienethnografie als theoriegenerierendes Forschungssetting“. 3. Tagung des Netzwerks Qualitative Methoden „Theorien in der qualitativen Forschung“ (Netzwerks Qualitative Methoden), FU Berlin, .

    • Niemand, Stephan (): „Rezeption muslimischer Repräsentationen und gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt. Wie sich Angehörige der muslimischen Diaspora zu Medienbildern des Islam positionieren“. Tagung der Sektion und Fachgruppe Medienpädagogik (DGfE und DGPuK) „Gesellschaftlicher Zusammenhalt: Kommunikation und Konsens“, Universität Leipzig, Deutschland (online), .
    • Röser, Jutta; Dominiak, Jo Marie (): ‘How old and new music media coexist in everyday life: media consumption between dynamics and persistence’. Old media persistence: An ECREA virtual postconference on the relevance and persistence of traditional media, Braga, Portugal (online), .
    • Niemand, Stephan (): „Transitions in life and changes in media use“. ECREA'S 8th European Communication Conference “Communication and trust: Building safe, sustainable and promising future.” Section Audience and receptions studies, Braga, Portugal (online), .
    • Niemand, Stephan (): „From Being in Love to Pain of Separation. About the change in media use alongside relationship phases“. Dreiländertagung für Kommunikationswissenschaft DGPuK, ÖGK und SGKM zum Thema "#Kommunikation #(R)Evolution. Zum Wandel der Kommunikation in der digitalen Gesellschaft" (Universität Zürich), Zürich, .
    • Röser, Jutta (): „Dynamics and Persistence in Mediatization. A Theoretical Perspective on the Change of Media Use - exemplified by a Study on the Corona Situation“. Dreiländertagung für Kommunikationswissenschaft DGPuK, ÖGK und SGKM zum Thema "#Kommunikation #(R)Evolution. Zum Wandel der Kommunikation in der digitalen Gesellschaft, Universität Zürich, .

    • Niemand, Stephan; Röser, Jutta (): „The constellation of couples as an obstacle to equal expertise with digital media“. Tagung der DGPuK-FG "Medien, Öffentlichkeit, Geschlecht" zum Thema "Technik – Medien – Geschlecht revisited: Die Bedeutung von Gender in digitalisierten Medienwelten" (Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft), Universität Münster, .
    • Niemand, Stephan; Röser, Jutta (): „The constellation of couples as an obstacle to equal expertise with digital media“. Tagung der DGPuK-FG "Medien, Öffentlichkeit, Geschlecht" zum Thema "Technik – Medien – Geschlecht revisited: Die Bedeutung von Gender in digitalisierten Medienwelten" (Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft), Universität Münster, .
    • Niemand, Stephan (): „Transitionsprozesse und der Wandel von Mediennutzungsmustern im Lebensverlauf“. Jahrestagung der FG „Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung“ (Institut für Publizistik, JGU Mainz), Universität Mainz, .

    • Niemand, Stephan (): „Alltägliche Lebensführung als gelebte Selbstbestimmung: Theoretische Reflexionen zur Analyse von Alltagsumbrüchen und dem Wandel des Medienhandelns“. Jahrestagung der DGPuK "Selbstbestimmung in der digitalen Welt", Universität Mannheim, Deutschland, .

    • Niemand, Stephan (): „Mediatisierungsprozesse im Kontext von Elternschaft: Zur Bedeutung der Mediennutzung im Rahmen der familiären Fürsorgepraktiken“. Workshop "Techno-soziale Praktiken des doing family: Mediatisierungstheoretische Perspektiven auf die Heterogenisierung von Familienformen" (Institut für Soziologie), Justus-Liebig Universität Gießen, Deutschland, .
    • Niemand, Stephan (): „Alltagsumbrüche und Medienhandeln: Der Einfluss von biografisch-lebensweltlichen Zäsuren auf die häusliche Mediennutzung“. DGPuK-Jahrestagung „100 Jahre Kommunikationswissenschaft in Deutschland: Von einem Spezialfach zur Integrationsdisziplin" (Institut für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft), Universität Leipzig, Deutschland, .
    • Niemand, Stephan (): „Zum Zusammenhang von Alltagsumbrüchen und Medienhandeln: Theoretische und methodische Reflexionen“. Vortrag beim Doktorandenkolloquium im Rahmen der Jahrestagung der FG „Rezeptions- und Wirkungsforschung“ (Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR)), University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, .

    • Röser, Jutta; Müller, Kathrin F.; Niemand, Stephan; Roth, Ulrike (): „Beharrung, Grenzziehung, Non-Linearität (…): Formen von Diskontinuitäten am Beispiel des mediatisierten Zuhauses“. Workshop „Diskontinuitäten der Mediatisierung“ (Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft), Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Deutschland, .
    • Müller, Kathrin F.; Niemand, Stephan; Röser, Jutta (): ‘Mediatization across the life span: The initiation of new media practices via biographically decisive events’. ICA-Jahrestagung „Communication Across the Life Span“, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA, .
    • Röser, Jutta; Peil, Corinna; Niemand, Stephan (): ‘The co-existence of old and new media: Practices of digital and non-digital media use at home’. Conference “Users across Media” (Department for Media, Cognition and Communication), University of Copenhagen, Denmark, .
    • Müller, Kathrin Friederike; Niemand, Stephan; Röser, Jutta; Roth, Ulrike (): „Medienethnografische Haushaltsporträts als Auswertungsinstrument: Techniken der kontextsensiblen Rezeptionsanalyse“. Tagung "Auswertung qualitativer Daten. Strategien, Verfahren und Methoden der Interpretation nicht-standardisierter Daten in der Kommunikationswissenschaft" (Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Deutschland, .

    • Röser, Jutta; Müller, Kathrin F.; Niemand, Stephan (): ‘Convergence as an addition: The interplay of old and new media in German households’. ECREA-Conference „Communication for Empowerment: Citizens, Markets, Innovations”, Universität Lusófona, Lisbon, Portugal, .