Author: Cecilia Gordano Peile
Programme: Doctoral Programme on the Information and Knowledge Society
Language: English
Supervisors: Dr Adela Ros (Thesis Supervisor), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Dr Lisa Nakamura, University of Michigan and Dr Teun van Dijk, Pompeu Fabra University
Faculty / Institute: Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3)
Subjects: Science and Knowledge. Research. Culture. Humanities
Key words: Migration industry, Mobile phones, Money transfers, Critical discourse analysis, Cultural studies, Spain
Area of knowledge: Information and Knowledge Society
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Summary
The thesis argues that private enterprises providing connectivity services are increasingly becoming influential actors in contemporary migration. It focuses on the commercial discourses of providers of mobile phone and money transfer services in Spain, contrasting them with Ecuadorian and Moroccan migrant users' experiences of connectivity to keep in touch with their personal networks in both origin and destination societies. The research design combined cultural studies and critical discourse studies to look at migrants' accounts as well as service providers' first-hand accounts, and commercial advertising texts. On the one hand, the conclusions showed the mechanisms through which corporate discourses have commodified and aestheticized migrants' experiences of connectivity. On the other hand, they evidenced migrants' active roles as agents of their connectivity strategies, appropriating the services offered, creating low-cost strategies that turn constraints into opportunities in times of increasing mobility, digital connectivity, and the consolidation of a service-based economy.