Articulation Theory Research Articles

The politics of constructing counternarratives against Orientalism in popular media reception: the case of Mulan (2020)

ABSTRACT This article investigates into Orientalism in Disney’s Caro, Niki, dir. 2020. Mulan. Orlando, FL: The Walt Disney Company. and its resistant reading on Chinese social media platform Douban. It adopts a qualitative method to discipline data collected from Douban, then analyzing them in light of Stuart Hall’s articulation theory and Henry Jenkins’ ‘collective intelligence’. The analysis first reveals two ‘articulated’ Orientalist discourses in the film undergirded by a form of ‘new racism’, which serves to perpetuate the existing racial and gender hierarchies in the West–East power matrix. Then it shows how Douban users’ collective intelligence can potentially ‘disarticulate’ and ‘rearticulate’ Orientalism through a kind of microphysical, collective rewriting. The research argues that both disarticulation and rearticulation are a means by which Douban users indulge the civic imagination for alternative geopolitics in popular culture representation; compared with disarticulation, their rearticulatory practice is less effectual due to the inclusion of self-conflicting discursive elements, which ironically lay bare traces of their own discursive formation. This irony, this article suggests, calls into question the dominant-resistant binary paradigm that predominates current media reception studies. The article concludes by rethinking Orientalism and its Douban resistance in light of ‘Chineseness as identity work’, which deconstructs the oppositional paradigm and enlightens Orientalist film studies in global contexts.

Subverting the Hegemonic Order: Caste, Power, and Resistance in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger

This paper explores the insidious function of cultural hegemony in sustaining caste-based domination within Indian society, specifically in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. The study examines how consent, coercion and ideological dominance normalize systematic exploitation and uphold long-standing caste and class hierarchies using Antonio Gramsci’s theoretical framework. The paper critiques caste based disparities that underpin elite hegemonic power by analyzing the protagonist Balram Halwai. Adiga’s representation of Balram’s progression from enslavement to entrepreneurship underscores his struggle against oppressive powers to confirm how caste and economic exploitation are interwoven. In addition, to examine the evolving nature of cultural dominance modern theories from Nancy Fraser and Stuart Hall are employed along with Gramsci’s foundational ideas. The emergence and extraction of social class within a capitalist structure is clarified by Hall’s articulation theory and Fraser’s account of neoliberal identity-based injustices. The White Tiger, according to this study, is a striking critique of cultural hegemony principally in its depiction of institutional connivance and infused servitude. The paper underlines that the transformative power of literature has ability to challenge dominant power structures by situating Adiga’s work within greater debates of resistance and hegemony. To achieve social equality in the society, the paper fosters for counter-hegemonic initiatives that dismantle deeply entrenched hierarchical structures.

Contested Meanings of Hate Speech and the Post-Truth Condition on Digital Platforms

In the everyday context, the term “hate speech” has become increasingly politicized and emotionally charged, yet these vernacular constructions of hate speech remain under-explored. Used as both a rhetorical weapon and an object of genuine concern, various understandings of hate speech circulate within interactive everyday cultures of digital media, shaped by the digitalised media environment. With the combination of computational and qualititative research methods, this article explores the struggle over meanings of hate speech. From a large dataset of 289,933 messages, we identified the 10 most relevant themes. We further used articulation theory to analyze different political and social articulations of hate speech. We situate these articulations to the context of post-truth condition, characterized with crisis of trust and truth-telling. Our study identified articulations of confusion, uncertainty, ridicule, trivialization, and censorship in the context of hate speech. The results show that the struggle over the power to define hate speech simultaneously involves a struggle to overturn the definitional power of research institutions and official and knowledge authorities. Overall, the study contributes to the research on hate speech by showing the vernacular, contextual and localized nature of hate speech that emerges in reference to particular political actors, events and debates. Furthermore, the study illustrates the societal importance of the hate speech debate and the ways in which the concept itself, through multiple articulations, is used as tool in the post-truth battle to impede and disturb democratic debate and to serve particular political ends.

FUNGSI POLITIK PUITIKA MAGIS DALAM CERPEN “ULAR DAN AMARAH” KARYA A.S. LAKSANA DALAM MENGARTIKULASIKAN PANDANGAN TERHADAP KEKERASAN MEI 1998

This research aims to reveal the political function of magical poetics in the short story “Ular dan Amarah” by A.S. Laksana with the theory of magical realism, political function, and articulation. Methodologically, this research consists of poetic data and political data, which are collected, respectively, from short story texts and historical-political-social humanities texts. Both two is analyzed using coherent interpretation and relational analysis between literary work and politics. The are two main findings in this research. First, this short story fulfills the five elements of magical realism so it is a literary work in the magical realism genre. These elements constitute poetics which itself contains a political function. Based on reading the content, parsing discursive words, and the researcher’s knowledge, this short story refers to incidents of violence against ethnic Chinese in May 1998. Second, by making use of the magical, this short story articulates the view that China as a victim is a marginal group that has no power so it must be emphasized and strengthened. This is an effort not to forget this incident and continue to demand state responsibility. The author also criticized this magical thing that violence should not be responded to with violence as done by the character Seto in the short story. On the other hand, non-violent resistance is the “wise” path that must be taken considering that this short story appeared in 2017, dozens of years after the violent incident occurred, resulting in “retention”, which made the violent response change to “wise”.

Climate Change Versus Economic Growth: Quantifying, Identifying and Comparing Articulations in News Media Using Dynamic Topic Modeling

ABSTRACT Climate change and economic growth are often portrayed as incompatible in both scientific literature and the media, yet they are treated as separate themes. This study analyses 24 years of Finnish news data (2000–2023, n = 39,375) using dynamic topic modeling to explore how these themes intersect and have evolved over time. Results reveal that climate change emerged as a distinct topic within the economic growth dataset, and vice versa. Initially focused on emissions and international agreements, the discourse within economic growth coverage evolved to connect climate change with sustainable energy practices and broader socio-economic issues. Conversely, economic growth appeared in the climate change news discussing governmental, business, and societal perspectives, often critiquing capitalism and emphasizing welfare and education. The findings demonstrate a gradual shift toward integrating economic and environmental narratives, suggesting that sustainable economic growth is increasingly viewed as essential in addressing climate change. In applying articulation theory to dynamic topic modeling, the study highlights the importance of contextualizing machine-driven methodology results within broader socio-political and economic landscapes.

The Effects of Emerging Trade Patterns in Agikuyu Women’s Indigenous Food Crops on Food Security in Nyeri County from 1902 To 1980

The purpose of this paper was to assess the effect of emerging trade patterns in women’s indigenous food crops on food security from 1902 to 1980. This study was conducted in three sub-counties: Kieni East, Mathira East, and Nyeri Central. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources. The research employed a historical research design based on qualitative procedures. The design enabled the researcher to explain, describe and give a historical analysis of the findings. This being a historical study, non-probability sampling procedures were used such as purposive and snowball sampling techniques to gather relevant information. A sample size threshold of 54 respondents was interviewed and the main research instruments were the interview guide and focus group discussion. Data for this study was analyzed qualitatively using documentary content analysis, description and narration of the historical events. Data was also corroborated and both context and content analysis were done to ensure the reliability and validity of the information. Interpretation was done within the framework of Marxist feminist theory and articulation theory. The study established that the women’s local food crops trade system has not been static. The colonial capitalist economic practices brought about profound changes in the economic and social fabric of Nyeri County and significantly undermined the women’s local trade. This resulted in both positive and negative influences on the dimensions of food security in the study area. It was established that the indigenous food crops that women exchanged in the local markets were well adapted to local conditions, sustainably available and provided essential nutrients necessary for the health and well-being of the community. The findings of this study illustrate the pivotal role of Agikuyu women in local trade systems and a substantial contribution to food security in Nyeri County. The study concludes that the Ministry of Trade should come up with deliberate measures that will integrate women’s local trade into the country’s economic policies and practices and also consider the valuable contribution of women's local trade in mitigating food shortage and ensuring eradication of extreme poverty and hunger

(ART)iculation Theory

Articulation theory is the study of how relations of subordination and dominance emerge between individuals across the frameworks of norms and institutions that organize their states of affairs. As such, we must formalize this development in a dynamic way. Below, I utilize vector notation to illustrate interactions between the frameworks individuals reference when organizing their experience, indicating how exchanges between two or more levels of society and/or individual (events, persons, institutions) constitute the state of affairs under consideration. Afterwards, I develop a method to apply this framework to analyze current states of affairs. In so doing, I propose an analysis of what are, by definition, dynamic, complex, adaptive and paradigmatically constructed phenomena.

Articulating Self and Other: Edward Henry Palmer—"Sheikh Abdallah"—and the Middle East

abstract: This essay draws on Stuart Hall's theory of articulation by examining the writings of Edward Henry Palmer. Palmer (1840–82) was a scholar and man of letters widely known in Victorian Britain for his Middle Eastern travels and his studies of Arabic culture and literature at Cambridge University. Palmer's writings on Middle Eastern society, poetry, history, and religious traditions allowed him to develop critiques of dissenting voices in Britain, mainly those of atheists and working-class communities. He also addressed fears of Islam at a time when Britain was concerned about safe access to Middle Eastern routes to India—a time marked by Christian-Muslim clashes in Eastern Europe and Muslim rebellion in India. By examining how Self and Others were articulated in non-reductionist, non-essentialist ways, this essay reveals that Victorian debates about religion, empire, and material progress shaped and were shaped by British encounters with the Middle East.

Expanding student access to higher education: Examining the strategic processes for enhancing access to higher education from TVET colleges to universities of technology

In this article, the vexed issue of expanding access to higher education in South Africa is explored by investigating the pathways between technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges and universities of technology (UoTs). Central to this examination is the Unfurling Post-School Education and Training (UPSET) project, which seeks to formalise these pathways and establish a more inclusive and adaptable higher education system. Drawing on Hall’s (1996) theory of articulation and the concept of relational autonomy, the article highlights the transformative potential of strategic collaborations between TVET colleges and UoTs. Using a qualitative case study conducted at a university of technology in the Western Cape province, South Africa, the article describes the complexities of developing jointly offered higher certificates (HCs) in the post-school sector. It emphasises the strategic role of the UPSET project in revitalising existing practices and cultivating deliberate processes and practices to expand access to vocational education. The article contends that UoTs are ideally positioned to facilitate jointly offered HCs based on their integration of theoretical and practical knowledge and their robust industry affiliations. Furthermore, the article highlights various epistemological approaches to developing HCs in UoTs. It argues for a more integrated higher education system that values both vocational and academic pathways and contributes to social justice and economic empowerment in South Africa.

Change in the Agikuyu Women’s Local Trade on Indigenous Food Crops in Nyeri County from 1902 to 1980

The purpose of this paper was to analyze the change in the Agikuyu women’s local trade on indigenous food crops in Nyeri County from 1902 to 1980 This study was conducted in three sub-counties: Kieni East, Mathira East, and Nyeri Central. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources .The research employed a historical research design based on qualitative procedures. The design enabled the researcher to explain, describe and give a historical analysis of the findings. This being a historical study, non-probability sampling procedures were used such as purposive and snowball sampling techniques to gather relevant information. A sample size threshold of 54 respondents was interviewed the main research instruments were the interview guide and focus group discussion. Data for this study was analyzed qualitatively using documentary content analysis, description and narration of the historical events. Data was also corroborated and both context and content analysis were done to ensure reliability and validity of the information. Interpretation was done within the framework of Marxist feminist theory and articulation theory. The study established that the women’s local food crops trade system has not been static the colonial capitalist economic practices brought about profound changes in the economic and social fabric in Nyeri County and significantly undermined the women’s local trade. This resulted to both positive and negative influence to the dimensions of food security in the study area. It was established that the indigenous food crops that women exchanged in the local markets were well adapted to local conditions, sustainably available and provided essential nutrients necessary for the health and well-being of the community. The findings of this study illustrate the pivotal role of Agikuyu women in local trade systems and its substantial contribution to food security in Nyeri County. The study concludes that the ministry of trade should come up with deliberate measures that will integrate women’s local trade into the country’s economic policies and practices and also consider the valuable contribution of women local trade in mitigating food shortage and ensuring eradication of extreme poverty and hunger

The Role of Pre-Colonial Agikuyu Women’s Local Trade on Indigenous Food Crops and Food Security in Nyeri County Before 1902

The purpose of this paper was to establish the role of pre-colonial Agikuyu women’s local trade on indigenous food Crops in enhancing food security in Nyeri County before 1902. The research was guided by two theories Marxist feminist theory and articulation theory. This study was conducted in three sub-counties: Kieni East, Mathira East, and Nyeri Central. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources such as key informants, archival data and document analysis. A sample size threshold of 54 respondents was interviewed. The main research instruments were the interview guide and focus group discussion. Data for this study was analyzed qualitatively using documentary content analysis, description and narration of the historical events. Data was also corroborated and both context and content analysis were done to ensure reliability and validity of the information. The study established that in pre-colonial period women formed the backbone of Nyeri County's food security through their local exchange system leveraging their deep understanding on well-established trade networks of indigenous food crops that helped to mitigate food shortage. The established that the indigenous food crops that women exchanged in the local markets were well adapted to local conditions, sustainably available and provided essential nutrients necessary for the health and well-being of the community. The findings of this study illustrate the pivotal role of Agikuyu women in local trade systems and its substantial contribution to food security in Nyeri County. The study concludes that the ministry of trade should come up with deliberate measures that will integrate women’s local trade into the country’s economic policies and practices and also consider the valuable contribution of women local trade in mitigating food shortage and ensuring eradication of extreme poverty and hunger

REPRESENTATION OF BALINESE CULTURE IN GUN GUN’S MAHABHARATA EPIC PUPPET COMIC

The Mahabharata epic is better known to people in Bali, especially in shadow puppet plays. However, since 1955, the Mahabharata epic has been presented in the form of comics. This way of storytelling continued until 2014 with the printing of the Mahabharata epic puppet comic by Gun Gun, which presents Balinese cultural icons. This research aims to describe the representation of Balinese culture in Gun Gun’s Mahabharata epic puppet comic. The research method employed a critical qualitative design. Data collection was conducted through observation, interview, and literature study. The theories utilised are comic theory, hegemony theory, representation theory, and articulation theory. The findings indicate that Gun Gun’s Mahabharata epic puppet comic employs three forms of Balinese cultural representation. The three forms are as follows: (1) visual representation, whereby characters and backgrounds are depicted in comics in a manner that evokes Balinese architecture, including wantilan, pura, and togog; (2) verbal representation, which is evidenced by the presence of Balinese vocabulary in the dialogue of the characters, such as om swastiastu, kerahayuan, yadnya, Hyang Widhi, and darma; and (3) narrative representation, which is evident in the explicit portrayal of Hindu teachings, including karma phala. The dialogue of the characters, such as om swastiastu, kerahayuan, yadnya, Hyang Widhi, and darma, and the narrative representation that shows explicitly the teachings of Hinduism, such as karma phala, are also forms of cultural representation. The study of Balinese cultural representation in the Mahabharata epic comic contributes to the understanding that comics also serve as a medium for the adaptation of external cultural influences, thereby reinforcing Balinese identity. Keywords: Balinese culture, Mahabharata epic, comics, representation, Balinese identity

Melanesian reimagining: a digital tok stori of Papua New Guinean identity on Instagram

Expanding social media research on the Pacific Digital Revolution, this article explores the significance of Papua New Guineans’ digital and visual articulations of Papua New Guinean identity through Instagram by analysing two public Papua New Guinean Instagram accounts, @archiveples and @taniabphoto. The research triangulates between Pacific, Indigenous, and Cultural studies, drawing on articulation theory and a multimodal thematic and visual cultural studies analysis. A Melanesian tok stori (storytelling) framework reveals how social media interactions fit within a culturally relevant Melanesian concept of storytelling and illustrates how social media has become a contemporary site for Pacific digital storytelling. This digital tok stori is a decolonsing digital wave of the Pacific artistic renaissance and reimagining emerging in 1970s post-independence art and literature. This research demonstrates how Papua New Guineans are subversively harnessing the tools and affordances of social media to counter reductive colonial narratives and mass media representations of Papua New Guineans.

Articulating whiteness

ABSTRACT In almost three decades of work on whiteness in communication studies, it has developed in a number of different directions. In contemporary cultural politics, whiteness has transformed into an even more powerful discursive force in society. This piece reflects on the history of the journal, Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, and argues that one of its legacies, articulation theory, offers a particularly productive approach for the further development of whiteness studies.

Best friends forever – really? The group of friends as the ideal model of sociability in children’s animations

This article explores the intensifying friendship ideal current in children’s media culture. The article argues that children’s animations, such as Lego Friends , educate children about a desirable model of sociability, namely that of the closed group of friends. While the recent research on friendship has focused on the technological mechanisms of friendship in specific textual practices and platforms, the concept of friendship itself and its cultural re-significances has received less attention. In this analysis, Lego Friends is approached from the perspective of popular cultural meaning making: how and in relation to what are friendships represented as not only valuable but also necessary social relationships. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s theory of articulation, the article suggests that the intensifying friendship ideal reflects the contemporary adult concern of social exclusion, rooted in neoliberal economic insecurities.

Study on stability and bearing characteristics of macroscopic pressure arch of surrounding rock in western deep buried stope of China

In view of the obvious loose and weak occurrence characteristics of the deeply buried thick weakly cemented stratum in the western mining area of China, the bearing characteristics and stability mechanism of the macrography surrounding rock pressure arch (SRPA) are studied. Firstly, considering the engineering characteristics of deep mining, a SRPA model with trapezoidal load was constructed based on the three-hinged arch theory, the shape characteristic, rise-span ratio and arch thickness equations were derived, the arch thickness under different stress paths is analyzed to characterize the bearing performance of pressure arch. Secondly, the internal force distribution law and destabilization damage type were studied by establishing a two-dimensional bearing SRPA model through arch without articulation theory. The instability type and location can be accurately judged and verified by simulation of similar materials. The results show that, the rational arch axis of SRPA is a cubic parabola with opening downward, its rise-span ratio is between 0.3 and 0.5. Increasing the rise-span ratio and lateral pressure coefficient can promote the stable bearing capacity of arch. Axial force distribution on the SRPA section is basically consistent with the arch axis, and the arch has the best bearing characteristics. The positive bending moment occurs in the ranges of [0°, 30°] and [81°, 90°] on both sides of the symmetry axis, where is prone to tensile failure. The maximum shear force is concentrated on the arch waist and skewback, and these sections are prone to shear failure. The instability modes of SRPA can be divided into “skewback—vault (arch waist)” and “vault (arch waist)—skewback”. The research results have theoretical guiding significance for mining roof management.

The general meaning as a potential

ABSTRACT This article examines the idea of the “potentiality” of language phenomena as expressed by Vilém Mathesius in 1911, and its relation to the debate on the general or basic concept of a linguistic category, discussed by Roman Jakobson, Louis Hjelmslev and others around 1935. We track the concept of potentiality in Roman Jakobson’s and Louis Hjelmslev’s texts from the period, then we point out similarities with ideas expressed by Émile Benveniste around the same time. Next, we examine Mathesius’ very different idea of potentiality as the state of linguistic expressions that may be otherwise. However, by tracking the problem through Mathesius’ later texts, I follow how his theorization gradually develops to converge with Jakobson’s. I will stress the importance for Mathesius as a professor of English philology of the problem of the sentence, with a focus on the Focus-Topic articulation theory in the whole process.

Функційні вияви парцелятів в ідіостилі Івана Франка

The article is devoted to the study of parcelat, which is one of the means of expressive syntax. The use of parcellation is characteristic feature of artistic and conversational styles, which demonstrates the combination of various syntactic forms of expression dictated by communicative requirements. Parcelat is the result of the segmentation of a sentence as a complete syntactic and intonation-content structure into several elements (basic part and segment) in order to actualize individual fragments of the message. In the context of the theory of actual articulation, the main part (core) of the parcelat occupies the thematic position, and the segment (parcel) is an expression of the rheme. The lack of linguistic works dedicated to the study of parcelat in the artistic heritage of Ivan Franko arouses scientific interest in studying the peculiarities of the functioning of parcelat in the writer's artistic works and determining their tasks in achieving a perlocutionary effect on the reader. The purpose of the scientific article is to study the peculiarities of the functioning of parcelat within a simple sentence based on the materials of Ivan Franko's literary works ("Petrii and Dovbuschuku" (1 ed.), "Borislav laughs", "Cross paths", "Petrii and Dovbuschuku" (2 ed.)), belonging to different periods of the writer's creativity. Parceled homogeneous predicates are the most used within a simple sentence, parceled homogeneous adjuncts, homogeneous circumstances and parceled predicate, meaning, adjunct, circumstance and the main member of a one-syllable sentence are much less recorded. Most often, the writer used parcelat with a non-conjunctive connection, less often – with a conjunctive one, sporadically used parcelat, the formal marker of which is a dot pause between the components. We note the quantitative growth of cases of parcellation in the writer's artistic works belonging to the late period of creativity. In the research, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the parcelat within a simple sentence, used by Ivan Franko in the artistic works of different periods of creativity, was carried out, which made it possible to reveal dynamic processes in their functioning. We see the prospect of further exploration in the involvement of a larger number of Ivan Franko's artistic works in order to reveal their functional and pragmatic potential in the writer's idiostyle. Key words: simple sentence, segmentation, parcelat, expressive syntax, pragmatics of artistic text, Ivan Franko.

A Concept of Housing and Settlements based Sustainable Spatial Articulation for Indonesian Cities

This article aimed at introduce and offer a concept of 'spatial articulation' that sustainable in developing the ideal urban housings and settlements in Indonesia, 'Spatial Articulation' is a concept or a theory developed from the theory of 'Articulation of Mode of Production'—A theory in the realm of macro sociology that offers the assumption that social formations on the periphery (developing countries) are mastered, at least, by two modes of production, capitalist mode of production and pre-capitalist mode of production—where one of them dominated the other(s). In addition, Urban Critical theories and Henri Lefebrve's concept on Production of ​​Space also contributed to the birth of the Theory of Urban Spatial Articulation. The assumption is that when the capitalists sector reproduces the "abstract (that planned) spaces”, then sooner or later, the pre-capitalist sector will do the articulation by reproducing the "differential (that unplanned) space” in or around the "abstract spaces" that reproduced by the capitalist sector.

Articulation: Individuals to Collectives

his work illustrates the inner workings of a model set forth by Stuart Hall that analyzes how social formations emerge, interact, evolve, and dissolve over time. It treats social-cultural and political movements as complex adaptive systems and utilizes information theory to treat these conceptual entities as physical systems. In so doing, Articulation theory shows how relations of subordination and dominance emerge and provides a solution to how individual acts may harbor non-local effects on and within social formations.