Defense by Anne Vestergaard Jørgensen

In order to obtain the PhD degree  

 

Anne Vestergaard Jørgensen

 

has submitted her PhD thesis

Distance and suffering

Humanitarian discourse in the age of Mediatization

Humanitarian organizations are key agents in establishing relations, symbolic as well as concrete, between Western publics and distant populations in need. The practices of these organizations thus have implications not only for the quality of the assistance they provide, but also for the conception of humanitarianism that they promote.

In terms of public support and organizational proficiency this could be argued to be the golden age of humanitarianism but, in fact, humanitarianism is widely argued to be in crisis. By analyzing the appeal material of Amnesty International, Save the Children and Red Cross from 1970 to today, the thesis explores the consequences of mediatization for the identity of humanitarian organizations and for the dispositions vis-à-vis distant sufferers that appeal discourses enable. Critical discourse analysis, mediation and mediatization theory provide the vantage point from which humanitarian organizations are viewed as born out of processes of mutual constitution between organizations, publics and media.

Time and place

 

Friday 24 June, 2011

14:30 - 16:30

 

Copenhagen Business School

 

Porcelænshaven 20

2000 Frederiksberg

 

Råvarebygningen, Room 1.20

Reception

 

After the defense OMS PhD School will host a small reception just outside room 1.20

 

Dissertation

 

The dissertation will be available at Openarchive.cbs.dk

 

Arranged by

 

Department of Intercultural Communication and Management

 

Supervisors

 

Professor Lilie Chouliaraki

London School of Economics

Professor Mette Morsing

Copenhagen Business School

 

Assessment Committee

 

Associate professor

Hans Krause Hansen (chair)

Copenhagen Business School

 

Professor Kim Schrøder

 

Roskilde University

 

Associate Professor

 

Helen Yanacopulos

The Open University