Sociality revisited? : the use of the internet and mobile phones in urban Cameroon / Bettina Anja Frei.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Frei, Bettina Anja.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet--Social aspects--Cameroon.

Internet.

Cyberspace--Social aspects--Cameroon.

Cyberspace.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (548 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Mankon, Bamdena : Langaa Research & Pub. CIG, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book draws on the perspectives of non-migrants and urban youth in Bamenda, in the Northwest region of Cameroon, as well as on the views of Cameroonian migrants in Switzerland, to explore the meaning and role of New Media in the negotiation of sociality in transnational migration. New Media facilitated connectedness serve as a privileged lens through which Cameroonians, home and away, scrutinise and mediate sociality. In this rich ethnography, Bettina Frei describes how the internet and mobile phones are adopted by migrants and their non-migrant counterparts in order to maintain transnatio

Contents:

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Contents

Acknowledgements

Abstract

List of Acronyms

List of Figures

1. Sociality revisited? Liveness, and the use of the internet and mobile phones in urban Cameroon

Introduction, ethnographic background and theoretical framework

General introduction

The setting - The site of fieldwork, and youth as a social category

A local history of migration

The situation of New Media technology in Bamenda - history and background

Framing the research topic: liveness as a lens

Theoretical framework - mobility, transnationalism, New Media, and social transformation

Outlook

2. Anxiety of mobility, New Media use, and imaginations of a "good life"

New Media use and mobility - intentional practices and motivations for migration

Life situations, New Media use, and migration purposes

The (re-)production of imaginaries and narratives in the local setting

Imagination of spaces and places

Imagination as social practice - imageries and narratives about migration and "white man's kontri"

Conclusion - Transnational mobility, liveness as a potential, and the power of imagination

3. New Media, their materiality, and their contribution to social spaces: between potential and local conditions

The materialization of cyber cafés and computer technology in the setting

New Media's influences in the public sphere - materiality, discourses and critique

Different loci of sociality - from face-to-face to mediated social interaction

Youth and embodied imaginaries -performances and feelings of being (dis)-connected

Conclusion - New Media and social spaces: liveness and a "sense of place"

4. Practices of social networking - face-to-face and mediated social ties and support

Social units and networks based on co-presence - families, friends and lovers.

Social networks and practices of networking through New Media of communication

Local and translocal social networking and accessing social capital

Being part of local and translocal social networks of support

Conclusion - Creating liveness by adding face-to-face and mediated social networks and opportunities for support

5. Physically distant but emotionally close - transforming qualities of social ties

Reflections on "closeness", "trust", and "intimacy" as qualities in social interaction

New Media and mediated communication

Negotiating a sense of closeness: observing conduct in mediated social interaction

Mediated closeness: "good communication" and communication contents

Conclusion: Negotiating, creating or avoiding liveness in mediated social interaction

6. Practices of Connecting and Disconnecting Negotiations of Social Relations between Migrants and Non-Migrants

Migrants, non-migrants, and generations - conflicting views and colliding interests

The migrants - between the country of residence and dreams of return

Imagination and solidarity - migrants between pressure and demonstrating success

Negotiating expectations - through "managing" communication media

Keeping a foothold in one's place of origin - negotiating "virtual presence" at home

Negotiating social and moral positions and status among migrants and non-migrants

Conclusion: Between accord and disappointment - liveness through New Media as a means to effect claims and rights in social relations between migrants and non-migrants

7. Self-Reflection and Fieldwork Methods

Using New Media in my research - as a working tool and research topic

Having multiple identities in the field

Transnational research collaboration

Different perspectives - different findings

Fieldwork methods

Opportunities and challenges in fieldwork.

Conclusion: Interconnections of my personal experience with the research topic

8. Liveness, mobility and New Media use: between dislocation and feelings of closeness

Mobilities, insecurities, and the dimensions of agency

Liveness, transforming sociality, and the dimensions of agency

Dealing with space, time, distance and closeness - reflections on "globalization processes" and interrelations of agency and structure

How can this research and thesis contribute to a better understanding of the field?

Concluding résumé

References

Appendix

Back cover.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9789956790289

9956790281

9789956790760

9956790761

OCLC:

862887960