ATLAM – Audio/visual Transfer in Latin American Migration
ATLAM is a 4-year PhD research project (2023-2027) conducted at Ghent University within the research groups of Multiples, TRACE and CESSMIR.
The research is further informed by a research stay and ethnographic fieldwork in Mexico, at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana – Xochimilco (CDMX), within the doctoral program of Humanities & Social Sciences (Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales).
Fields of Research
- Sociolinguistics
- (Digital) Migration Studies
- Critical Discourse Studies
- Translation Studies
This research explores processes of transnational identity construction through audio/visual discourse & transfers in Abya Yala – Latin America. Facing significant challenges in an increasingly hostile political climate towards migration, migrants actively build new communities and cultural practices along the way, while maintaining close ties with their homeland.
The project critically analyses dominant migration discourses-particularly in Mexico-(re)produced at increasingly accelerated pace in digital media landscapes. The research further explores the potential of audio/visual transfer & translations to foster alternative narratives on migration, focusing on the potential audio/visual (such as photography, documentary, visual art, music & dance) to foster new perceptions and imaginaries on migration.
Combining methods of Participatory Ethnography with migrants, activists and artists in Mexico, and Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of an audio/visual corpus, the research centers perspectives in/from Abya Yala (Latin America) – and aims to foreground audio/visual discourse’s impact on perceptions on migration, and migrants’ own sense of identity and belonging.