Representations of individuals in discourses of laïcité from Le Monde: confirming or challenging the republican framework of identity?

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn recent decades, the notions of laïcité and identity have been subjects of controversy in France. The two concepts have become sufficiently co-associated since the 1990s to ensure each almost systematically entails the other. Findings from previous studies have pointed out harmful implications of this pervasive association for minorities in France, especially Muslims. This study examines further the ways laïcité and identity are interwoven by exploring who is represented (and how) in newspaper articles from Le Monde dealing with laïcité. Informed by critical intercultural communication scholarship, intersectionality, and a Foucaultian approach to discourse, this study pays particular attention to the way identity categories are articulated with one another and in which power structures they are embedded. A selection of articles published in the leading national newspaper Le Monde between 2011 and 2014 was collected for in-depth analysis. Results indicate tensions as regards the use of identity categories and representations of individuals within discourses of laïcité. Implications concerning the overall republican framework and the concept of laïcité are discussed.