Cultural Identity and Resistance in Afro-Uruguay: A Thematic and Critical Discourse Analysis of Digital Anti-racism

ABSTRACTThis article argues for an increased emphasis on resistance in Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), thereby joining calls for more Positive Discourse Analysis (PDA), a branch of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) focused on progressive—rather than oppressive—discourse that has been slowly gaining traction in international circles but remains largely unknown within U.S. communication studies. While CDS brings oppression and resistance together in theory, in practice it is overwhelmingly focused on deconstructing oppression, not reconstructing resistance. In spite of calls for more generative analyses focused on progressive discourses, PDA has not yet been established as a necessary complement to CDA. Thus, CDS’s potential as a lens for understanding resistance is underdeveloped. In an effort to push CDS in a more progressive direction, this article considers the role of design in CDS and outlines the aims, contributions, and challenges of PDA as a tool for emancipatory CDS research. A critical action implicative discourse analysis of neurodiversity discourse is provided as a model of PDA that may be useful for scholars interested in analyzing progressive discourse as well as disability rights activists interested in challenging cognitive ableism.

Batik art is famous with unique designs and patterns, which display the beauty of textile art and reflect the values ​​and cultural identity of the community. In Malaysia, there are four main motifs recognized: floral, fauna, geometric, and abstract patterns. Among the popular motifs are plants such as bamboo shoots, ylang-ylang flowers, champaca, and others. The batik art in Sabah also possesses its own unique characteristics and identity based on its designs and patterns. This paper discusses the concept of producing contemporary batik patterns in Sabah, focusing on aspects of creativity and beauty. Additionally, this study analyzes the techniques used in producing Sabah batik patterns, which serve as symbols of cultural identity and pride for the local community. The research employs a qualitative approach, with data collected through interviews with batik makers and cultural experts to analyze the creativity of Sabah batik. Furthermore, this study reveals the beauty in the creation of Sabah batik patterns that combine traditional elements with innovative motifs inspired by nature. In conclusion, Sabah batik is a beautiful artistic manifestation, representing an important iconic symbol of Sabah's cultural identity. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of traditional arts such as Sabah batik, ensuring its continued relevance and influence in the modern world through the production of contemporary batik patterns in Sabah. Keywords: Borneo, Batik, concept, production, patterns, cultural identity

In this article, Norman Fairclough and Isabella Fairclough propose a procedural approach to moral critique within Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). This approach is grounded in the integration of practical argumentation as a framework for reasoning about action and decisionmaking. Through this framework, the authors aim to reduce the advocacy and bias that often accompany normative critique grounded in preestablished value systems or moral assumptions. The approach advanced by Norman and Isabella Fairclough—termed dialectical reasoning —emerges as part of a broader effort to review and redirect the dialectical–relational model, which has long served as the theoretical foundation of Norman Fairclough’s work in CDA. Instead, they propose an analytical orientation that draws on dialectical reasoning and foregrounds deliberation and critical accountability. In its revised formulation, this approach draws on multiple disciplines, including critical linguistics, discourse studies, critical sociology, and argumentation theory. It is particularly suited to the analysis of political discourse as a deliberative practice that unfolds under conditions of uncertainty, value conflict, and the need for justified decision-making. Rather than presupposing fixed moral frameworks, this model advocates for the evaluation of arguments advanced both by political actors and by discourse analysts themselves through context-sensitive practical reasoning. Thus, the model constitutes an attempt to advance a stronger and more impartial form of critique—one that preserves the scientific and moral dimensions of critique in research without falling into the pitfalls of normative moral theorizing based on predetermined values or prescriptive moral sources. (1) Norman Fairclough & Isabela Fairclough. (2018) "A Procedural Approach to Ethical Critique in CDA", in Critical Discourse Studies, 15(2), pp. 169-185.

Analyses of media discourses on judicial verdicts in sexual violence cases offer critical insight into how this topic is mediated. This study explores post-verdict mainstream and social media reaction to two high-profile verdicts in sexual assault cases in Ireland and Spain: #IBelieveHer, launched in March 2018 following the acquittal of four men accused of rape in Belfast, and #YoTeCreo which coalesced online after five men were given a lesser sentence for sexual abuse in Pamplona in April 2018. This study first identifies the stance taken by mainstream media where verdicts were contrary to “popular” opinion. Secondly, it analyses dominant hashtags that emerged on Twitter following both verdicts. Finally, it traces similarities and differences in discourse patterns identified on mainstream and social media platforms across both countries. For analysis, we employed a Critical Discourse Analysis-based theoretical framework (e.g.,KhosraviNik 2017, “Social Media Critical Discourse Studies (SM-CDS).” In Handbook of Critical Discourse Analysis, 582–596) with resources from Framing Analysis (e.g.,Goffman 1974, Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Vancouver: Harvard University Press) for methodological purposes. Findings suggest Spanish print media contained greater debate around legal understandings of sexual violence while the Spanish Twitter campaign was outward-oriented and explicitly feminist. #IBelieveHer displayed a narrower focus, with the “celebrity” dimension to this case contributing to a personalised, less nuanced, discourse on social and print media and more polarised discussion.

While racist discourse has received much attention in Critical Discourse Studies (CDS), there is a dearth of scholarship on the anti-racist text and talk. A critical observation is that the anti-racist movement, and hence, discourse, often exclude women. With the goal of contributing to this gap in the CDS literature, the current analysis examines Black women's discourses concerning anti-Black racism in general and Black Feminism in particular. Four YouTube videos that feature both conference talks and news programs surrounding the topic of Black Feminism are analysed for recurring themes using thematic analysis and discourse structures from the perspective of critical discourse analysis. Findings reveal that the primary themes that emerged are the inclusion of Black women, Police brutality and unaccountability, and Black Feminism Defined, with various subthemes. In addition, the discourse structures examined are lexical choice, presupposition, pronominal choice, and the use of tag questions, among others. This study serves to further our understanding of the linguistic manifestation of ideologies through discourse concerning anti-racism and Black Feminism.

Chapter one sets the scene for this pivot publication. In addition to giving an outline of the monograph’s research objectives and presenting an overview of past research on Wikipedia, this chapter details the theoretical framework motivating the holistic approach to Wikipedia taken in this study. I discuss why it is important to know about Wikipedia’s modus operandi, technological affordances, policies and general site characteristics as well as its position in society and its potential societal functions. In this context, I draw on Herring’s research in Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA) and complement this with a discussion of developments in (Critical) Discourse Studies to underscore the importance of contextualisation and theorisation when examining digital discourse. Finally, this chapter gives a brief outline of the remaining chapters.KeywordsWikipedia(Critical) discourse studies (CDS)Computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA)Social media critical discourse analysis (SM-CDS)Contextualisation

Research has found humour and gender to be linked (Davies, 2006, Gendered sense of humor as expressed through aesthetic typifications. Journal of Pragmatics, 38(1), 96–113. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2005.06.006; Kotthoff 2006, Gender and humor: The state of the art. Journal of pragmatics, 38(1), 4–25. doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2005.06.003), specifically within languages/cultures (see Thielemann, 2011, Displays of’ new’ gender arrangements in Russian jokes. In M. Dynel (Ed.), The pragmatics of humour across discourse domains (pp. 147–172). John Benjamins, for jokes in Russian). In this respect, women are often subject of jokes and, in some cases, this reproduces the gendered imbalance of suitable roles in private and public spaces. In this paper, I examine the message of two jokes told by Italian fathers policing their daughters’ sexuality, as well as the interactions between myself and these fathers on Twitter. Using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar, 2007, Feminist critical discourse analysis: Articulating a feminist discourse praxis. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(2), 141–164. doi:10.1080/17405900701464816; Lazar, 2018, Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis. In J. Flowerdew, & E. J. Richardson (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Critical Discourse Studies (pp. 372–387). Routledge), Social Media Critical Discourse Studies (KhosraviNik, 2018, Social Media Critical Discourse Studies (SM-CDS). In J. Flowerdew, & E. J. Richardson (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Critical Discourse Studies (pp. 582–596). Routledge) and through adapting a framework designed to approach sexist jokes (Sunderland, 2007, Contradictions in gendered discourses: feminist readings of sexist jokes? Gender & Language, 1(2), 207–228. doi:10.1558/genl.v1i2.207), I discuss: (a) the ‘who/what the text is about’, and (b) a desire to a traditional fatherhood emerging from the interactions in it’s just banter and the good and happy father. Specifically, I discuss fatherhood as linked to an ontological desire (Kiesling, 2011, The interactional construction of desire as gender. Gender and Language, 5(2), 213–239. doi:10.1558/genl.v5i2.213) in connection to an alleged transition from old to new fatherhood (Cannito 2019, Beyond ‘Traditional’ and ‘New’: An Attempt of Redefinition of Contemporary Fatherhoods through Discursive Practices and Practices of Care. Men and Masculinities, 1–19; Magaraggia, 2013, Tensions between fatherhood and the social construction of masculinity in Italy. Current Sociology, 61(1), 76–92. doi:10.1177/0011392112464231) in Italy.

Cooperative Mentorship: Negotiating Social Media Use within the Family

Rendang is a kind of food that has become one of cultural heritages of Minangkabau tribe. It is not only a local food that has been crowned the best food in the world by CNN, but it also serves as the cultural identity. Most of people think that rendang is only made from beef of buffalo meat. In fact, rendang has many varieties that relate to the types of the area and the local natural resources where it is cooked. West Sumatra consists of mountainous and coastal areas. One of the popular rendang varieties in coastal areas is Rendang Lokan—it is not made from beef but oyster (lokan). Rendang Lokan is a kind of food for people who live in this area. They use resources of the sea for their foods. Rendang, for Minangkabau tribe, is not only considered as a traditional food but also as a symbol of cultural identity from a certain area. This article is aimed at discussing the history of using Oyster as the main ingredient for rendang as one of the rendang varieties coming from the coastal areas in West Sumatra. The results show that rendang lokan is a representation of the characteristics of Minangkabau people who have the ability to adapt themselves to the local environmental conditions in maintaining their cultural identity. Rendang lokan was initially created as the adjustment of the Minangkabau people who live in the coastal areas to the local natural resources and their economic conditions.

This article examines the history of Russian colonization in Kazakhstan, focusing on identity, resistance, and independence within Russia’s neo-imperial ambitions. It addresses the socio-political barriers in postcolonial Kazakhstan due to ties with Russia and explores how the Soviet migration policies shaped Kazakhstan’s demographic and political landscape. The study outlines the phases of Russian colonization, contrasting Russian narratives of a civilizing mission with Kazakh perspectives on exploitation and cultural erasure. Using postcolonial theory, it deconstructs these narratives and reveals power dynamics. Kazakh literature and poetry are analyzed as mediums of resistance, emphasizing the horse as a symbol of cultural identity. The article concludes by discussing the post-Soviet cultural transformations and the role of literature in nation-building, highlighting the importance of reclaiming cultural symbols and myths for understanding Kazakhstan’s colonial history and postcolonial transformation.

The #AustralianBeachspace Project: Examining Opportunities for Research Dissemination Using Instagram

Since food is important to define and embody the gastronomic characteristics of a place, it is considered as part of the cultural capital that represents the expression of a country, society and history. Therefore, the symbolic foods of the region form the basis of the culinary culture. Iconic foods culturally encompass historical depth, skills, knowledge, eating habits, and other traditions. Although it varies from culture to culture, foods that reflect the values of the countries or regions are seen as a symbol of cultural identity. In this context the main purpose of the current research is to determine what is the iconic foods in Hatay cuisine, where the variety of food is very high. For this purpose study is an exploratory research. The data related to the research were collected between April 30 - May 15 2023 by means of a questionnaire. In total, 412 questionnaires were obtained from public of Hatay. The results of the this study shows the potential of 55 the iconic dishes in Hatay cuisine. Origins of these foods and their cultural values shows that the of iconic dishes in Hatay cuisine is a symbol of cultural identity.

The advancement in Artificial Intelligence technology revolutionizes new opportunities and challenges, particularly with large language model ChatGPT, in various domains, especially in the educational platform. This research endeavors a comprehensive analysis to explore the concerns and expressions associated with this AI tool on the social media platform X and in academic contexts. Two distinct datasets, comprising X data and survey responses from academics, were utilized to achieve the objectives. This research examines the valuable concerns regarding ChatGPT among X users on social media platform. To implement the Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques which included Sentiment Analysis and Topic Modeling using Latent Dirichlet Analysis (LDA), the study aimed to identify the significant insights expressed by the social media users. The analysis obtained that, most frequent discussed topic was “ChatGPT”. The majority of discussions among the X users were positive in sentiment (49%), focusing on the utility of ChatGPT. Comparatively, negative discussions (47%) were also expressed by the users (47%) about students’ cheating in exams, and the generation of inaccurate information, which could affect students’ learning skills, and their critical thinking. Furthermore, approximately 27% of the discussions were expressed neutral sentiment regarding the generation of contents by ChatGPT. Various machine learning models were implemented to predict the classification of sentiment labels correctly. The Random Forest model performed well to classify all the sentiment labels correctly compared to others with highest accuracy of 62%. This research also unveiled the academics’ opinion in the context of education. A case study was conducted among the academics, where approximately 59% reported using ChatGPT for academic purposes and academics (24%) use this tool occasionally. In terms of its usefulness, 32% academics consider it is as useful, especially for generating writing contents. Additionally, 29% of them believed that this tool primarily improves students’ language and writing skills but they also expressed the concerns about overreliance potentially impacting their critical thinking and violating academic integrity. The major concerned keywords for academics include “research”, “accuracy of information”, and “critical thinking”, while for students, “academic integrity”, “critical thinking”, “risk”, “copy-paste”, and “creativity skills”. The majority of the sentiments regarding the concerns were negative for students (38%), and minority for academics (28%). Overall, academics expressed positive sentiments about the utility of using ChatGPT. This research highlights these findings and recommends further exploration of using this tool in educational practices with a focus on the identified concerns to guide future implementation.

This study aims to analyse power, dominance, racial discrimination, and power exercise that is narratively established through a subtle network of metaphors in a fiction work, The Kite Runner. The Kite Runner exposes the socioeconomic conditions in the borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan, revealing the differences between power manipulation and the domestic performance of powerful social groups. The work also explores how religious and status dichotomies circumvent the progress of minority groups and align their physical features with their receding power and financial features. An adopted model of critical discourse analysis (CDA) indicates power, economic, and racial dichotomies in the book while revealing the shades of metaphors through conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) in a post-colonial text. Dogmatic ideographs are perpetuated in every public sphere through language and established gradually through unprovoking tools of metaphors. The metaphors are uncovered through CMT, providing a helpful understanding of different conceptual domains. Rhetorically, CDA helped reveal the racial discrimination, human rights violations, and hatred against minorities embedded in the selected metaphors. This investigation is very significant in connection with the current scenario of cross-cultural studies, as it mainly depicts the prevailing social trends regarding two different settings. The study may benefit intelligentsia interested in post-colonial and decolonial discourse and diaspora literature. Keywords: Conceptual Metaphor Theory, Critical Discourse Analysis, Metaphor, Power Expansion, Racial Discrimination Agbo, I. I., Kadiri, G. C., & Ijem, B. U. (2018). Critical metaphor analysis of political discourse in Nigeria. English Language Teaching, 11(5), 95–105. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v11n5p95 Burke, K. (2017). A rhetoric of motives. 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The paper examines communicative repertoires and cultural identity construction among students of the National University of Lesotho in the social media space. The paper argues that culture and cultural identity on social media are a complex. Specifically, the studies the manner and ways in which the students deployed communicative repertoires on social media to index their individual and collective identities. Cultural convergence and divergence together with hybridity provides a solid foundation on which the paper is anchored. The chapter combines Fishman (1965, 1972) conceptualisation of domain and Halliday and Hassan’s (1976) approach to discourse analysis as methods for analysing the data. The study is qualitative. In all, 40 students participated in the study. Three groups of 10 students took part in different focus group discussions while ten students were interviewed. The research also analysed screen shots of the students’ posts, comments and communication on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp to find out how they pointed to the students’ individual and collective identities. The paper concludes that on social media culture and cultural identity can take many forms and that a “glocalised” linguistic community is a community where both the local and global linguistic resources available to a community are deployed for a variety of communicative purposes. These communicative repertoires employed on social media mark out the individual and collective identity of the of the students.