scholarly journals ‘Such a white thing to do’: A discourse analysis of CAMH’s Coping with COVID-19 Campaign

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
McKaila Sullivan

This major research paper is a modified critical discourse analysis of lived experience testimonials from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)’s Coping with COVID-19 campaign. Social work practitioners and researchers must consider the inherent violence in the complex manifestations of sanism and racism (re)produced through discourse and their inextricable confluence with institutions, colonial legacies and realities which operate at this juncture in support of white supremacy. The identified discourses reproduce the ideal neoliberal subject and operate as technologies which maintain the colonial project and white supremacy. If we stake any claim to anti-racist praxis at this juncture, it is necessary to radically disclose our complicity within this colonial project, acknowledge our confluent realities and interrogate any claim to anti-racism. If we fail to interrogate these discourses constructing madness, we not only permit the violent trajectory of sanism but operationalize the deeply entrenched (re)production of violent white supremacy. key words: critical discourse analysis, sanism, racism, white supremacy, psychocentrism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
McKaila Sullivan

This major research paper is a modified critical discourse analysis of lived experience testimonials from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)’s Coping with COVID-19 campaign. Social work practitioners and researchers must consider the inherent violence in the complex manifestations of sanism and racism (re)produced through discourse and their inextricable confluence with institutions, colonial legacies and realities which operate at this juncture in support of white supremacy. The identified discourses reproduce the ideal neoliberal subject and operate as technologies which maintain the colonial project and white supremacy. If we stake any claim to anti-racist praxis at this juncture, it is necessary to radically disclose our complicity within this colonial project, acknowledge our confluent realities and interrogate any claim to anti-racism. If we fail to interrogate these discourses constructing madness, we not only permit the violent trajectory of sanism but operationalize the deeply entrenched (re)production of violent white supremacy. key words: critical discourse analysis, sanism, racism, white supremacy, psychocentrism


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Zerafa

This Major Research Paper consists of a critical discourse analysis of the operation of whiteness in the field of fat studies, focusing on how it becomes invisible and consequently manifests in emergent theorizing, especially at its establishment as an academic discipline. Two fat studies readers were selected, one published then and one written more recently, with six chapters selected from each. Using a dialectical-relational approach, these texts were analyzed both individually and intertextually to look at the origin stories of the field, the use of language to obscure whiteness, and the need for critical race/intersectional approaches. Findings show that fat studies has, and predominantly continues to, find itself in a self-imposed state of ‘whiteout’, through which Black, Indigenous, and Racialized people, voices, and experiences are sanitized, marginalized, or erased altogether. To challenge this, fat studies must take up whiteness and white supremacy toward its goal of fat liberation for all.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Anderson

This Major Research Project takes the form of a critical discourse analysis, with interest paid to the ways in which grief is being talked about right now, in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nine publicly available documents made up the studied discursive sample, with all texts having been produced by North American media outlets/sources. These documents were examined and analyzed through the lens of Anti-Oppressive Practice and Relational-Cultural theories. Discourses which were present across all samples were: ‘grief as death’, other griefs for other losses, grief managerialism, and collectivity/the requirement for connection. The analysis and discussion of these themes made connections to and raised questions of white supremacy, specifically around what is considered grievable in colonial society, what forms of grief are acceptable, and for members of which communities. Peer support as a community-healing modality was put forward, due to its anti-oppressive framework. Next steps include further areas of study, including that of grief supremacy and a more detailed, nuanced discourse analysis of the intersection between white supremacy, colonialism, and grief.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jocelyn Anderson

This Major Research Project takes the form of a critical discourse analysis, with interest paid to the ways in which grief is being talked about right now, in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nine publicly available documents made up the studied discursive sample, with all texts having been produced by North American media outlets/sources. These documents were examined and analyzed through the lens of Anti-Oppressive Practice and Relational-Cultural theories. Discourses which were present across all samples were: ‘grief as death’, other griefs for other losses, grief managerialism, and collectivity/the requirement for connection. The analysis and discussion of these themes made connections to and raised questions of white supremacy, specifically around what is considered grievable in colonial society, what forms of grief are acceptable, and for members of which communities. Peer support as a community-healing modality was put forward, due to its anti-oppressive framework. Next steps include further areas of study, including that of grief supremacy and a more detailed, nuanced discourse analysis of the intersection between white supremacy, colonialism, and grief.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Zerafa

This Major Research Paper consists of a critical discourse analysis of the operation of whiteness in the field of fat studies, focusing on how it becomes invisible and consequently manifests in emergent theorizing, especially at its establishment as an academic discipline. Two fat studies readers were selected, one published then and one written more recently, with six chapters selected from each. Using a dialectical-relational approach, these texts were analyzed both individually and intertextually to look at the origin stories of the field, the use of language to obscure whiteness, and the need for critical race/intersectional approaches. Findings show that fat studies has, and predominantly continues to, find itself in a self-imposed state of ‘whiteout’, through which Black, Indigenous, and Racialized people, voices, and experiences are sanitized, marginalized, or erased altogether. To challenge this, fat studies must take up whiteness and white supremacy toward its goal of fat liberation for all.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Chui

<div>This study seeks to explore how nature-based therapies are understood in Western “mental health” practices. Specifically, horticultural and equine-assisted therapeutic models are examined for discursive themes tied to mind-body connections, attachment and healing. Additionally, texts used to teach specific therapeutic modalities are examined to further explore common concepts such as mindfulness and coping. In conducting a review of relevant literature, similar themes were revealed which contributed to a base knowledge for understanding the discourse around nature-based therapies. Engaging in an anti-colonial theoretical framework and a modified critical discourse analysis methodology, this qualitative study explores the research question: “What are the discourses which inform Western nature-based therapies?” Ultimately, this study aims to develop a more thorough understanding of how these therapies are linked to Indigenous approaches, how practices may be appropriated and used by Western practitioners, and the shift in social work towards more wholistic therapeutic practices. </div>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Chui

<div>This study seeks to explore how nature-based therapies are understood in Western “mental health” practices. Specifically, horticultural and equine-assisted therapeutic models are examined for discursive themes tied to mind-body connections, attachment and healing. Additionally, texts used to teach specific therapeutic modalities are examined to further explore common concepts such as mindfulness and coping. In conducting a review of relevant literature, similar themes were revealed which contributed to a base knowledge for understanding the discourse around nature-based therapies. Engaging in an anti-colonial theoretical framework and a modified critical discourse analysis methodology, this qualitative study explores the research question: “What are the discourses which inform Western nature-based therapies?” Ultimately, this study aims to develop a more thorough understanding of how these therapies are linked to Indigenous approaches, how practices may be appropriated and used by Western practitioners, and the shift in social work towards more wholistic therapeutic practices. </div>


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 213
Author(s):  
Atin Fitriana

<p>The Javanese culture has a specific perspective on the ideal figure of women. This perspective is generally manifested in the classical texts, for example, in Serat Wulang Putri Adisara. Written by Nyi Adisara. Serat Wulang Putri contains the teachings for royal daughters in living their life as Javanese women based on Javanese teachings. In this manuscript, the readers can see the women figure portrayed from the perspective of a woman writer. This paper discusses the ideal women’s discourse in Serat Wulang Putri using the approach of critical discourse analysis from van Dijk. The analysis is conducted by considering the text’s microstructure, macrostructure, and cultural context. Through the analysis, we can see the ideal discourse of Javanese women based on Serat Wulang Putri. Furthermore, the text discusses women as figures who must pay attention to their attitudes and behavior, and can control their hearts, minds, and feelings. In this case, the author uses the male point of view to describe the characteristics of ideal Javanese women. Javanese women are also described as a weak figure and must obey what men command or expect from them.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Getchell

Sexual violence is a relevant topic in the Canadian mental health system. However, the dominant bio-medical understanding of mental health can be harmful to survivors. This study is focused on analyzing how sexual violence is discussed within the bio-medical mental health system. The bio-medical understanding of mental health is one that conceptualizes “mental illness” is brain disease and emphasizes pharmacological treatment. Sexual violence is a broad term that describes any violence, physical or psychological, carried out through sexual means or by targeting sexuality. Critical Discourse Analysis is used in this study to find and analyze discourses in the bio-medical mental health system found in three interviews with mental health service providers. The discourses that emerged were as follows: 1. people were “boiled down” to their diagnoses or experiences of sexual violence; 2. professionalism; 3. being funneled into “streams of care”; 4. what makes someone credible; and 5. who “gets it”. The MRP concludes with a discussion of implications of these findings for social work.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha DeBoer

The Major Research Paper seeks to examine the discursive practices that frame the issue of the feminization of forced displacement and construct representations of forcibly displaced women. It will examine the discourse that constructs representations of forcibly displaced women, which has implications for their protection and treatment in society. Forcibly displaced women are victimized through the representational discourse in terms of how they are spoken about and their visual depictions (Johnson, 2011). Based on feminist theory, the conceptual framework of the gender binary, gender and cultural essentialism, representations of victims, the discourse of victimization, and global feminism will be applied to a critical discourse analysis of the UHCR Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls. This paper argues that the linguistic constructs and discursive practice contribute to misrepresentations of forcibly displaced women.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document