Discursive portrayal of Islam as “a part of America’s story” in Obama’s presidential speeches

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 915-937
Author(s):  
Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini ◽  
Mahdieh Noori
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Data Coding ◽  
American President ◽  
Critical Discourse Studies ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Muslim Communities ◽  
Fundamental Values ◽  
Over Time

Abstract This article investigates the image portrayed of Islam and Muslims in official speeches of the former US President, Barack Obama during his two terms in office. Applying qualitative data coding procedures and based on a Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) approach, we examine 377 speeches delivered in the period of 2009–2016 within the macro context of US involvements in contemporary international politics to uncover the discursive image of Islam and Islamic attributes projected and subtly reproduced over time by Obama during his presidency. The outcome comprises four major themes shaped around the notions of America’s fundamental values; Dialogue with Muslim communities; Defining good Islam; and Defining bad Muslims. Through a detailed discussion of the discursive construction of these themes and specifically referring to their lexical highlights, we illustrate aspects of Islam-related issues in the view of an American president.

Critical Discourse Studies of Language and Sexuality

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Koller
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Relative Lack ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Critical Discourse Studies ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Queer Discourse

This chapter looks at how sexuality, including sexual identity, has been addressed in critical discourse studies. It will first review previous work (e.g., Marko 2008; Morrish and Sauntson 2011) and point out the relative lack of relevant studies in this area, given that research into language and sexuality is mostly indebted to anthropology, sociolinguistics, and conversation analysis. Building on queer discourse studies (Motschenbacher and Stegu 2013), the chapter suggests a way of critically analyzing discourses on sexuality, where discourse is defined as textually mediated social action, with text producers utilizing linguistic resources and sociocognitive representations to establish, maintain, or challenge power relations. Critical discourse studies combine the description of linguistic features with their interpretation and explanation in context and ultimately make transparent the way in which language and discourse either construct and reinforce, or challenge and subvert, normativity. The chapter closes with an illustrative example of the discursive construction of lesbian identities.

scholarly journals The imaginaries of the Eurasian Union: discursive construction of post-Soviet transnationality in Russia and Kazakhstan

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (247) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Ryazanova-Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Construction ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Critical Discourse Studies ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Political Imaginary ◽  
Integration Project

AbstractCouched in the critical discourse studies perspective and developing the notion of political imaginary, this article explores the imaginaries of the transnational integration project of the Eurasian Union that are produced in elite discourses in its two key states, Russia and Kazakhstan. The corpus used comprises transcripts of the two states’ parliamentary discussions and speeches by presidents Putin and Nazarbaev. The article focuses on meaning construction through the discursive types, strategies, and topoi employed in the discourses of the new Union, and the linguistic forms called upon for their articulation. Two discursive strands narrating the Eurasian Union are singled out – the

Discursive double-legitimation of (avoiding) another war in Obama’s 2013 address on Syria

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 706-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyyed-Abdolhamid Mirhosseini
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
American Military ◽  
Critical Discourse Studies ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Military Engagement ◽  
The One

Abstract This article explores legitimacy-building in United States President’s 2013 Address to the Nation on Syria. Based on a slightly modified version of Theo van Leeuwen’s (2008) model of the discursive construction of legitimation and with a view of the war in Syria as the super-macro context of the Address, the investigation illustrates how the speech attempts to legitimate the prospect of a direct American military engagement in Syria on the one hand, and to justify avoiding another war that may prove too costly, on the other. Through the illustration of such double-legitimation discursive practices, the study portrays how critical discourse studies can provide the ground for awareness of a delicate aspect of the discourse of politics and the rhetoric of politicians in shaping public consent and projecting an always-legitimate image of even contradictory political positions, decisions, and actions.

scholarly journals As redes sociais e a construção dos antagonismos: a imigração brasileira em Portugal representada em comentários do Facebook

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (49) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Henrique Valle-Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Close Relation ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Qualitative Data Analysis ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Audience Interaction ◽  
Critical Discourse Studies ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
The Impact

O presente estudo visa analisar a representação dos atores sociais em discursos sobre a imigração brasileira em Portugal, tendo em vista os eixos da referenciação nominal, da dêixis pessoal, da manifestação de topoi, da intertextualidade e da interdiscursividade, a partir de uma abordagem baseada nos Estudos Críticos do Discurso (KhosraviNik & Unger 2016; Van Dijk 1984, 2006, 2018; Wodak 2001; e.o.). Para a sua realização, foram selecionados 143 comentários públicos de páginas de jornais portugueses no Facebook, coletados entre 29 de agosto de 2018 e 30 de abril de 2019, com conteúdos que apresentaram manifestações de Othering. Após o tratamento e análise qualitativa destes dados, concluiu-se que este tipo de discurso, ao realizar-se numa plataforma altamente interativa, apresenta relações com as agendas destes geradores de conteúdo e tem por fim outros intuitos implícitos, tais como o impacto em termos interacionais e a amplificação das ideologias do grupo de pertencimento.The current study aims to analyse the representation of social actors in discourses about Brazilian immigration in Portugal, taking into account nominal reference, personal deixis, topoi manifestation, intertextuality and interdiscursivity, based on the Critical Discourse Studies' approach (KhosraviNik & Unger 2016; Van Dijk 1984, 2006, 2018; Wodak 2001; e.o.). For sampling, 143 public comments of pages of Portuguese newspapers on Facebook were collected between August 2018 and April 2019, all of which presented Othering-related content. After treatment and qualitative data analysis, it was possible to conclude that this type of discourse, once on a highly interactive platform, present close relation to agendas of content generators, having other implicit goals such as the impact on audience interaction and the amplification of in-group ideologies.

scholarly journals The Politics of Voice in the Stereotypical Representation of the Pashtuns: A Critical Study of Khaled Hosseini’s Novels

2018 ◽  
Vol III (II) ◽  
pp. 385-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rab Nawaz Khan ◽  
Abdul Waheed Qureshi
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Discourse Studies ◽  
Discourse Studies

The current study is an attempt to critically analyze the role and politics of voice in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns in terms of categorical and stereotypical representation of the Pashtuns. It is a critical discourse study (Norman Fairclough, 1989, 2018) of the selected data. Moreover, the data is viewed from the perspective of critical discourse studies. The novels under study are polyphonic in nature, and the characters belong to various Afghan ethnic backgrounds, like the Pashtuns, the Tajiks and the Hazaras. The study concludes that the novelist's choice of the characters with their respective voices and the roles assigned to them are political, ideological and somewhat biased. The Pashtuns have been stereotypically represented by categorizing them as the social, well-educated and more or less liberal Pashtuns, the tribal and traditionalist Pashtuns, extremist and fundamentalist Pashtuns, like Taliban. Misrepresentation of the tribal and fundamentalist Pashtuns as racists, ethnic nationalists, ideologists, sexists, exclusionists, traditionalists and power-abusers is indicative of the novelist's biasedness and exaggeration.

scholarly journals Trump, memes and the Alt-right: Emotive and affective criticism and praise

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 789-809
Author(s):  
Lyndon C.S. Way
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
New Politics ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Authority Figures ◽  
Critical Discourse Studies ◽  
Discourse Studies ◽  
Political Decisions ◽  
The Ideal

Internet memes are the most pervasive and malleable form of digital popular culture (Wiggins 2019: vii). They are a way a society expresses and thinks of itself (Denisova 2019: 2) used for the purpose of satire, parody, critique to posit an argument (Wiggins 2019, see also Ponton 2021, this issue). The acts of viewing, creating, sharing and commenting on memes that criticise or troll authority figures have become central to our political processes becom[ing] one of the most important forms of political participation and activism today (Merrin 2019: 201). However, memes do not communicate to us in logical arguments, but emotionally and affectively through short quips and images that entertain. Memes are part of a new politics of affectivity, identification, emotion and humour (Merrin 2019: 222). In this paper, we examine not only what politics memes communicate to us, but how this is done. We analyse memes, some in mainstream social media circulation, that praise and criticise the authoritarian tendencies of former US President Donald Trump, taken from 4Chan, a home of many alt-right ideas. Through a Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies approach, we demonstrate how images and lexical choices in memes do not communicate to us in logical, well-structured arguments, but lean on affective and emotional discourses of racism, nationalism and power. As such, though memes have the potential to emotionally engage with their intended audiences, this is done at the expense of communicating nuanced and detailed information on political players and issues. This works against the ideal of a public sphere where debate and discussion inform political decisions in a population, essential pillars of a democratic society (Habermas 1991).

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