Visual depictions of the Polish–German border: a quantitative analysis of visual dimension of bordering practices

Abstract

We find both the quantitative approach to (de)bordering practices research and visual studies about the Polish-German border relatively underdeveloped. This paper aims at filling methodological and empirical gaps we have found in these areas. We conducted a visual content analysis of 1402 pictures of the Słubice-Frankfurt (Oder) area, sampled from Instagram, local press, and a local art project. Our coding frame enabled taking interpretations and motivations of actors into account by treating photos as manifestations of bordering practices. We used a combined approach of hypothesis-testing by common statistical methods and exploratory cluster analysis. Results include significant differences between the content of the images dependent on the depicted country and the picture source. Finally, we also critically assessed the methodological potential of the proposed method of selecting and coding photographs.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The source is understood to be the photo's origin: press, Instagram, and Mediatheka. More detailed information on this is provided later in the paper.

2 More information about this art project can be found here: https://www.slubfurt.net [access 4 May 2020].

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre under Grant UMO-2016/23/G/HS6/04021 (project ‘De-Re-Bord. Socio-spatial transformations in German-Polish ‘interstices’. Practices of debordering and rebordering’)

Notes on contributors

Łukasz Rogowski

Łukasz Rogowski is sociologist, assistant professor at the Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. He is interested in visual sociology, visual research, ethics of qualitative research, sociology of mobilities, sociology of new media. He has participated in many research projects focused on, among others, urban visual culture, visual competence, social usage of smartphones and mobile applications.

Przemysław Rura

Przemysław Rura is a Ph.D. candidate at Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. His research interests focus on visual and sensory methodologies, as well as everyday life and practices.

Adam Rybak

Adam Rybak is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Sociology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. His current research focuses on survey methodology, in particular with using metanalysis of comparative survey projects.