The Culturelink Centre organised a lecture by Dr. Helena Popović titled “Media hunting migrants: racialized representations of migrants in Croatian media” on Monday, June 16, 2025, at the IRMO Library. The lecture is part of the Culturelink Guest Lecture Series, launched by the Centre last year as a part of CULTMED project.
In her presentation, Dr. Popović, Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, presented the results of a research project analysing how Croatian media report on migrants, with a particular focus on racialization and the construction of migrant identities. By examining common reporting patterns, she demonstrated how migrants are most often portrayed through a security discourse and as a societal threat, which contributes to the spread of fear and intolerance in public discourse.
The lecture included an analysis of media articles on migrants from 2018 and 2019 and a reflection on the role of the media in shaping public opinion on migration. Special emphasis was placed on the textual mechanisms used to represent migrants, which led to their dehumanisation and cultural “othering.”
A discussion followed the lecture, during which participants raised questions about the possibilities for a more responsible and just media approach to migration, as well as the role of education and cultural policy in combating racism and xenophobia.
The lecture was moderated by Dr. Jaka Primorac.
With this lecture, IRMO marked the 12th Refugee Week! – an initiative held in the weeks around World Refugee Day on June 20, aiming to raise awareness among policymakers, the general public, and Croatian citizens about the situation of refugees and other marginalized groups in Croatia.
