Ethnography and Archives of Gulf-Kerala Diasporic Media: Television Show Publicity Poster and Airport Signage

Abstract

ABSTRACT:How do we define ethnographic objects in media research, and what role do they play in anchoring the process of fieldwork? These two images,—one authorized and one requiring special permission—collected during fieldwork in India and the United Arab Emirates, show how the exchange of media objects and infrastructures between South Asia and the Middle Eastern Gulf are frequently mediated through the regional space of Kerala. Emerging from explorations of the transit zones created through diasporic media practices, this reflective piece situates a television publicity poster and an instance of airport signage within a praxis of media ethnography.