'Heimat' - More than a sense of home: Reviving a medieval concept for communication research

Heimat represents our home, but the medieval German term stands for more than this: it is the place where we grew up, people to whom we feel connected, landscapes, language or dialect, traditions and customs, and feelings of security, safety, contentment, and coziness. Due to growing global threats and challenges, people all over the world have developed a strong need for these positive feelings in recent years, and politics and the media are increasingly catering to this need. There has been little empirical research on these phenomena. Therefore, by reviving the concept of Heimat this article provides a fruitful theoretical foundation as well as various research perspectives as inspiring starting points for communication research on Heimat in the media.