What is the research about?

We want to understand people’s views on and experiences of Brexit. For example, we are interested in how people’s views on and experiences of immigration inform their views on Brexit. We are interested in hearing about all people’s attitudes about and experiences of Brexit across a wide spectrum of ethnic, national, religious, class, gender and generational identities. We would like to situate these views within people’s diverse senses of belonging to their local place, community, family, the nation and Europe. We also want to better understand the role of the media (e.g. newspaper, radio, social media) in the formation of people’s attitudes and experiences on these issues.

How will we do the research?

We will conduct in-depth fieldwork across England (including the northeast, the midlands and in the southwest). We will also track media stories on a large scale across newspapers, radio, television broadcasts and social media. We will explore the extent to which these media stories inform people’s views on Brexit.

Who is carrying out the research?

The field research will be carried out by a team of ethnographers (including two social anthropologists and one human geographer). The ethnographers will work with a team of media analysis scholars (all political scientists) that will map and code media. All academics involved in the project are either employed by the University of Exeter or Newcastle University.

Who is funding the research?

This research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.