Preface, MIGRANTS, CULTURAL IDENTITY AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION

This work, which has been conceived in a user-andenvironmentallyfriendly digital format, focuses on theissue of migrants and refugees from the perspectives ofboth media representation and cultural identity. Thistheme is undeniably central because of the high influenceof media representations and collective perceptionson migration policies. In these times of globalrisk, political decisions repeatedly comply with highlypopular opinions, which are predominant within agiven society. This is where the role of media becomescrucial, as they not only mediate the relationshipsbetween societies and migrants’ problems, but theyalso maneuver them.Some of the greatest living sociologists concur inconsidering risk as a key element in the structuring andmodifying of praxis, which refers to our communities’political and daily life. Antony Giddens identifies in the“risk culture” one of the main factors to understand thephenomena at the basis of our current age. Ulrick Beckeven goes as far defining our modern society as the“risk society”, considering that communities decidetheir political, social and economic actions accordingto what might happen in the future.