Resisting a postcolonial construction of historical trauma and healing: Critical discourse analysis of public apologies in Canada

The contemporary discourse around historical trauma and healing is site for debate and resistance in public spheres. Guided by critical scholars in language and power as well as post-and settler colonialism, this study analyzes texts and contexts of two public apologies in Canada – Chinese head tax, and residential schools for Indigenous children – to examine how historical trauma and healing were understood, and by doing so how the subject and object were re/constructed to maintain or resist social (dis)orders – postcolonial racial orders – in the past and the present of Canada. Findings included: (1) a split and temporal distance between the wrong past and the benevolent present with governments constructing themselves as the good subject reifying a sincere fiction of a liberal, benevolent, and just white-nation; (2) no acknowledgement of the cause of historical trauma, namely colonial governing; (3) ongoing construction of the other racialized population as victims/burdens/lesser citizens to current Canada; and (4) the explicit demand to collective forgetting of the past/historical trauma as current healing and inclusion. We discuss social responsibilities when historical wounds continue to leave injuries and the risk of perpetuating systemic violence to people with whom we currently share the nation all of us call home.

International Business Company CEOs’ Public Apologies and their Users’ Responses

An important aspect of the emerging user care discourse is the apologies offered by companies. Previous research has focused on public apologies; however, there has been little focus on the users’ comments in response to apologies. This case study aimed to investigate (i) the structure of the public apologies in terms of their frequency and sequence, and (ii) the users’ responses to these apologies as indicated in their comments. Four public apologies were purposively selected: They were all presented in English by the executives and posted on Facebook between 2011 and 2015. The responses to these apologies were also collected. The results of content analysis indicate that apology strategies, including taking full responsibility, asking for forgiveness, being sincere, and being published in a timely manner are the most effective strategies to elicit positive responses. The results have useful implications for research and practice in the area.

Public apologies and the psychodynamics of orality

Though many scholars note the importance of the spoken apology, the overwhelming majority of research from the field of communication does not discuss apologies in terms of orality itself. Drawing on Walter Ong’s psychodynamics of orality, the author argues that we need to hear an apology as it is an instance of residual orality which does not make sense when analysed from the detached, rational, literate, perspective. In the moment of the spoken, ‘I’m sorry’, the desire to analyse our feelings in terms of abstract, rational concepts dissolves as we are called to forgiveness.

Knowledge types and presuppositions

Public apologies are so prevalent in our social lives that they have become a subject of scholarly investigation all over the globe. The present study, which involves coding, frequency counting, and qualitative analysis, examines the strategic aspects of 16 public apologies issued to Filipino apologizees. The results of our analysis indicate that apologizers often choose varied knowledge types and draw upon presuppositions to strategically omit details that can negatively influence their credibility and the reception of their apology. More specifically, apologizers use the audience’s presuppositions to avoid presenting common knowledge of the offense that may incriminate them further; they also omit the mention of future action that may hold them more accountable for their transgressions. Our present analysis bolsters the view that although the sincerity of public apologies cannot be exactly measured, they are still performed as part of image repair and management of interpersonal relationships.

Institutional Apologies and Forgiveness

Recently, many governments, universities, corporations, and other institutions have issued public apologies for the roles they played in serious instances of historical injustice. These apologies are particularly interesting in the case of wrongs that occurred in the distant past, toward individuals who are no longer living or capable of rendering forgiveness for such wrongs. When both the original perpetrators of these wrongs and their original victims are no longer living, one might have doubts about the conceptual and moral intelligibility of such apologies. The aim of this contribution is to try to answer this question, by examining the logic of such institutional apologies and their relation to questions of institutional blame and institutional forgiveness. It focuses, in particular, on whether it makes sense for American colleges and universities to offer apologies for their historical involvement with the practice of chattel slavery.

The Rhetorical Construction of Corporate Public Apologies

In this major research paper (MRP), I analyzed the ways in which rhetorical strategies are used in the construction of corporate public apologies. Organizational reputation management has become increasingly important in the digital age. When companies are criticized or accused of wrongdoing, it is essential to issue a timely and effective response to salvage stakeholder relationships. Speaking from the Rhetorical Tradition, Aristotle demonstrated that the art of persuasion is largely built upon three rhetorical appeals: the appeal to pathos (emotion), ethos (character), and logos (logic). Through methods of coding and rhetorical analyses, I examined 7 corporate public apologies released by high profile companies between 2008 and 2012. I found that corporate public apologies tend to appeal to ethos more than any other means of persuasion. Reflecting good organizational character is therefore, germane to organizations in crisis. Employed the least was the appeal to logos, or logic. I found that this rhetorical strategy was used primarily to strengthen other persuasive appeals such as appeals to emotion or character. Logos, used in isolation, was rare and arguably ineffective. It is in my opinion that the focus on rhetorical strategies is lacking in public relations literature. To conclude, I made several recommendations to organizations responding to criticisms or accusations of misconduct. These recommendations are to be taken with the understanding that their effectiveness was not considered for this project.

The Rhetorical Construction of Corporate Public Apologies

In this major research paper (MRP), I analyzed the ways in which rhetorical strategies are used in the construction of corporate public apologies. Organizational reputation management has become increasingly important in the digital age. When companies are criticized or accused of wrongdoing, it is essential to issue a timely and effective response to salvage stakeholder relationships. Speaking from the Rhetorical Tradition, Aristotle demonstrated that the art of persuasion is largely built upon three rhetorical appeals: the appeal to pathos (emotion), ethos (character), and logos (logic). Through methods of coding and rhetorical analyses, I examined 7 corporate public apologies released by high profile companies between 2008 and 2012. I found that corporate public apologies tend to appeal to ethos more than any other means of persuasion. Reflecting good organizational character is therefore, germane to organizations in crisis. Employed the least was the appeal to logos, or logic. I found that this rhetorical strategy was used primarily to strengthen other persuasive appeals such as appeals to emotion or character. Logos, used in isolation, was rare and arguably ineffective. It is in my opinion that the focus on rhetorical strategies is lacking in public relations literature. To conclude, I made several recommendations to organizations responding to criticisms or accusations of misconduct. These recommendations are to be taken with the understanding that their effectiveness was not considered for this project.

Exploring Apology Strategy by Indonesian Public Figures: A Pragmatic Study in Social Media

<p class="5AbstrakIsi">Public figures tend to use social media platforms to apologize in public<del cite="mailto:Author"></del> due to its practicality and effectiveness. Although public apology as a social phenomenon has been extensively studied in the English-speaking world, Indonesian public apologies have less attention from linguists and management scientists. This paper examines the speech act of apologizing made by Indonesian Public Figures in 2020 by analyzing <ins cite="mailto:Author"></ins>videos collected from YouTube. The data of the study was analyzed based on Murphy’s framework of formulate (2015). Findings include <ins cite="mailto:Author">that Indonesian public figures prefer all</ins> three categories of apology strategy: explicit, conventional-indirect, and non-conventional-indirect strategies. Mover, explanation, account, or excuse become the most frequent used to express their apology. It was then followed by expression of lack of intent and statement of repair.</p><p class="5AbstrakIsi"> </p><p class="6katakunci"><strong>Keywords:</strong> Pragmatic, Apology, Indonesia, Youtube, Public Figures</p><p class="6katakunci"> </p>