Nothing more to see

How does visibility relate to belonging and community formation? Theories and politics have often emphasized the necessity of public visibility to end marginalization and exclusion. But to be seen by a mass of people is not a guarantee for being included in a community, but may in some cases rather mean danger and exposure. Emil Edenborg´s dissertation explores the problem of belonging and visibility through three case studies on contestations of belonging as enacted in Russian media during 2013-15: the ban on “homosexual propaganda”, the Olympic Games in Sochi and the war in Ukraine. He suggests that politics of belonging involves efforts to organize what can be seen and heard in public as well as how it can be interpreted and felt, but also attempts to contest such arrangements of visibility.