Authoritative Discourse Research Articles

Chasing the authoritarian spectre: Detecting authoritarian discourse with large language models

AbstractThe paper introduces a deep‐learning model fine‐tuned for detecting authoritarian discourse in political speeches. Set up as a regression problem with weak supervision logic, the model is trained for the task of classification of segments of text for being/not being associated with authoritarian discourse. Rather than trying to define what an authoritarian discourse is, the model builds on the assumption that authoritarian leaders inherently define it. In other words, authoritarian leaders talk like authoritarians. When combined with the discourse defined by democratic leaders, the model learns the instances that are more often associated with authoritarians on the one hand and democrats on the other. The paper discusses several evaluation tests using the model and advocates for its usefulness in a broad range of research problems. It presents a new methodology for studying latent political concepts and positions as an alternative to more traditional research strategies.

Because of thương: Listening to the voices of Vietnamese early childhood educators

This paper explores the self-authoring of two early childhood educators in Vietnam’s disadvantaged areas, Ha and Dong, to understand their marginalization and resilience in their daily practices. Guided by a Bakhtinian view, teachers’ self-authoring is conceptualized as an ongoing process in which the teachers articulate authoritarian discourses, and integrate them with their ideas to develop their internally persuasive discourses—their own knowledge of themselves as professionals. Data was collected via semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation; and analyzed in parallel with Bakhtin’s theoretical concept of self-authoring and the post-structuralist feminist approach. The findings represent the political, social, and gendered discourses addressing and being addressed by the preschool teachers. The study suggests that compassion and devotion to work for children contribute to the teachers’ making sense of their professional roles. This paper calls for a need to center the voices of Vietnamese early childhood teachers in policy-making, teacher training, and research practices, towards educational sustainability.

The Contemporary Transformation of Mythical Women: Helen and Penelope in Margaret Atwoods Reconstruction

The feminist movement has driven the reinterpretation of classical texts such as Homers epics, with Margaret Atwoods works exemplifying this trend. Atwood has created poetry and novels rooted in the tradition of feminist rewriting, utilizing mythological female figures like Helen and Penelope to explore their inner worlds and unveil the long-concealed mechanisms of patriarchal power. Employing techniques such as multiple perspectives and nonlinear narratives, she disrupts the constraints of a singular authoritative discourse. By merging the ancient with the modern, Atwood highlights the shared experiences of women while portraying the awakening of female consciousness. She transforms the stereotypical images of the whore and the virtuous wife into complex, autonomous individuals, challenging traditional gender role definitions. Atwoods rewritings are not merely retellings of the original stories but also explorations of the deeper structures of gender power. She weaves a rich cultural network of women, opening new frontiers for literature of their own.

The Public’s Response to the Book of Mormon

When the Book of Mormon was published in March 1830, it represented a textual shift from the Bible as the representation of sole scriptural truth to the possibility of the Book of Mormon as an equal contender. Within the New York newspaper scene, the Book of Mormon was constructed as a novel false scripture as well as a true culmination of prophecy by competing parties. Within these parties, social actors presented interesting rhetorical dynamics between the establishment of authority and competing Christian canons. Both parties use scripture – the Bible and the Book of Mormon – as tools to navigate the world. One party uses the Bible to argue that the Book of Mormon stands in opposition to an established Christian canon. The other argues that the Book of Mormon is a fulfilment of prophecy made necessary by the Bible. This paper explores the clash of authoritative discourses between those who understood the Book of Mormon as scripture and those who did not. Nevertheless, both groups insist on taking “scripture” seriously. Reading the archive with critical phenomenology, I argue that the publication of the Book of Mormon represents a historical moment where the identity formations of nineteenth-century Americans relied on a discourse of authority mediated through competing canons.

Fifty Years of Secrecy: The Politics of Oblivion and Perpetuation of the Dictatorship’s Impunity in Contemporary Uruguay

This article explores the long duration of posttransitional authoritarian discourses of “national security” in Uruguay, in the five decades since the coup that led to a State terrorist regime. We posit that the current deployment of Cold war era discourses justifying state terrorism constitute foundational master tools that enable modern-day military and alt-right autocrats to conceal human rights violations and appropriate the liberal human rights discourse for illiberal political ends. Authoritarians of this new type use these resignified democratic discourses to perpetuate their power, gain influence, and legitimize their repressive illiberal practices. The article uses three public debates relating to the military’s illicit actions in the dictatorship and their involvement in contemporary politics via the new military political party, Cabildo Abierto, to show how these authoritarian tools are deployed in political discourse. We analyze a corpus of texts from recent judicial documents with military “confessions,” official withholding of secret archives, and law proposals presented in Congress. Our findings show that dictatorship-era discourses of “national security” are employed by contemporary military and right-wing political actors for the purpose of sustaining their power. We reveal continuities in dictatorship era discourse practices and strategies that contribute to the emergence of new autocratic social actors who enter the political sphere to capture state resources and protect their group interests. Our findings contribute to the exploration of discursive uses of the past in the present resulting in increased political polarization and autocratic tendencies in contemporary Uruguay.

Jürgen Habermas revisited via Tim Cook's Wikipedia biography: A hermeneutic approach to critical Information Systems research

Critical Information Systems (IS) research is sometimes appreciated for the shades of gray it adds to sunny portraits of technology's emancipatory potential. In this article, we revisit a theory about Wikipedia’s putative freedom from the authority of corporate media's editors and authors. We present the curious example of Tim Cook's Wikipedia biography and its history of crowd-sourced editorial decisions, published on Wikipedia's talk pages. We use a hermeneutic method to subject the theory about Wikipedia's “rational discourse” and “emancipatory potential” to a soft, empirical test. When we examined Cook's Wikipedia biography and its editorial decisions, what we found pertained to authoritative discourse – the opposite of “rational discourse” – as well as Jürgen Habermas's concept of dramaturgical action. Our discussion aims to change how critical scholars think about IS's Habermasian theories and emancipatory technology. Our contribution – a critical intervention – is a clear alternative to mainstream IS research's moral prescriptions and mechanistic causes.

Religião e política: embate de sentidos sobre a fé evangélica em posts de pastores no Instagram

ABSTRACT This work aims to reflect on possible meanings for the evangelical faith based on utterances produced by three evangelical ministers in their social networks when they enunciate on themes that are linked, directly or indirectly, to political agendas. Based on the theoretical scope of studies in Applied Linguistics and on Bakhtinian conceptions of language, our analyzes point to three predominant meanings, which mean the evangelical faith as: i) reaffirmation of identity; ii) exercise of otherness and respect to the other; and iii) political practice. Such meanings demonstrate that there are contradictions within the religious discursivity, which allows the beating between hate speeches and respect and empathy ones within the realm of the evangelical faith. Thus, looking for cracks in religious discourse that oppose fundamentalist and authoritarian discourses is an ethical duty of a religious leader who recognizes his social and discursive role as influential in taking positions and, therefore, in the lives of the members of their congregation.

Comprehension and understanding of the book “It was forever until it was over. The last Soviet generation”

The article discusses the book by A. Yurchak, in which he offers a scientific explanation of the causes and process of the completion of socialist culture and the death of the USSR. The author analyzes the central concept used in this explanation — “authoritative discourse”, showing that the latter is interpreted in two ways: within the framework of the semiotic approach outlined by John Austin, and the “dispositive” approach developed by Michel Foucault. Based on the analysis of the case from the book, the author offers his own reconstruction and concepts (“schemas”, “life world”, “sociality”) that can complement Yurchak’s research. A comparison of the latter’s explanation and the explanation of sociologist Leonid Ionin, carried out during the period of perestroika and reforms, made it possible to clarify Yurchak’s approach and methodology.

Analysis of Language Politeness in Students and Lecturer Interactions on WhatsApp group: a Pragmatic approach

This research presents an analysis of language politeness in interactions between students and lecturers on WhatsApp group. With the increasing integration of digital platforms in educational settings, understanding the dynamics of language use and politeness in these contexts becomes crucial. The study aims to investigate the strategies employed by students and lecturers to convey politeness and maintain positive interactions within a virtual learning environment. The research adopts a qualitative approach, utilizing discourse analysis to examine messages exchanged on WhatsApp group among students and lecturers. The data collection involved capturing and archiving conversations from WhatsApp group in English Syntax course in 2021/2022 academic year of English Department in Universitas Komputer Indonesia (Unikom). The data are analyzed using Leech’s politeness theory. According to Leech the politeness principles are divided into six, namely the tact maxim, generosity maxim, approbation maxim, modesty maxim, agreement maxim, and sympathy maxim. The results show that the percentage of conformity regarding compliance and violation of maxims with the result being 100% conform, so that politeness in language interactions between students and lecturers in WhatsApp media in the course was stated to be very polite. The findings indicate that both students and lecturers employ various politeness strategies to foster positive communication. These strategies include the use of indirect speech acts, mitigating language, politeness markers, and positive politeness strategies such as expressing gratitude and offering support. Furthermore, the analysis reveals the influence of power dynamics on language politeness. Lecturers were found to engage in a more authoritative discourse, while students often adopted deferential and respectful language. However, instances of assertiveness from students were also observed, challenging traditional power differentials and promoting a more egalitarian communication style. The implications of this research shed light on the importance of fostering respectful and polite communication within virtual learning environments. The findings can inform educators and students on effective language use to maintain positive interactions and create inclusive educational spaces. Furthermore, the study contributes to the existing literature on digital communication and politeness strategies, adding valuable insights into the specific context of WhatsApp group interactions in educational settings. Keywords: Language politeness, Virtual Learning Environment, WhatsApp Group, Maxims

История экономической мысли глазами структуралиста (Часть 2. Маршалл, «реориентация теории ценности» и аутсайдеры)

The article represents the second part of structuralist notes on the history of economic thought. The first part dealt with the classical school, and now the emphasis is on the history of marginalists and neoclassicism. It also characterizes outsider economists who believe that the development of science has gone the wrong way, ignoring unproductive economic activities and growth blocking mechanisms. The most significant discoveries pushed to the fringes of the mainstream by authoritative discourse are the variants of unequal exchange and different purchasing value of money considered by Chamberlin and Robinson, as well as the lack of a homogeneous relationship between costs, utility, and price, implicitly present in the works of Schumpeter. With regard to consumer goods and services, the absence of such existence a homogeneous relationship was discovered by Veblen, although it is still considered an exception. However, fund-saving scientific and technological progress makes it a rule to replace machines with new machines that are superior to the old ones both in quality and in price. More productive machines and technologies are also cheaper per unit of useful effect. The history of thought legitimizes many provisions of the modern mainstream, which are particular «marginal» cases. Considering the consequences of the crisis of 2008–2009, one should expect further fragmentation of the history of thought and the loss of its function of legitimizing the directions of modern theory.

How the US Oath of Allegiance weakens citizenship, encodes discrimination, and muddies the moment of becoming

AbstractSwearing a naturalisation oath, such as the US oath of allegiance, is the culminating step of naturalised citizenship and a moment that exposes tensions between linguistic theory and the law. Drawing on speech act theory, discourse analysis, and ethnography, this article exposes these tensions by deconstructing the language and history of the US naturalisation oath, its role in naturalisation ceremonies, and the ways it is taught in citizenship classes. This article describes the exclusionary history of the US oath and its role as a present‐day enforcer of English hegemony. We then analyse how the authoritative discourse of the naturalisation oath signals its historical significance, while also imbuing it with a level of lexical and syntactic complexity that can hamper comprehension. Throughout, we notice that policies and practitioners carry different understandings of when the exact transitory moment occurs from non‐citizen to citizen, which could be seen as undermining the illocutionary act of promising the oath. We end by offering recommendations for educators to integrate a discussion of the naturalisation oath into their citizenship class curriculum.

From an Input to an Output: The Discursive Uses of External Research Funding in Academic Career Assessment

AbstractSuccess in the competition for external grants has become an important indicator when progressing in academic careers. Drawing on interview data with academics across various career stages and academic fields at one Finnish university, the study identifies four discourses that elucidate why research grants are deemed significant in advancing an academic career. The findings indicate that it is appealing for universities to use research funding success as an assessment criterion due to its connections to authoritative discourses in higher education and research policy. For example, funding success is seen as a symbol of high academic quality and as a signal of an individual’s ability to thrive in a resource-scarce environment. However, in the context of limited resources for research and the introduction of new societally oriented funding instruments, utilizing funding success as an assessment criterion overlooks academics’ different prerequisites for gaining funding.

Listening to the Voices of China’s Future: A Qualitative Study of Social Media Usage and Elite Trust Among Chinese Urban University Students

This study uses qualitative interviews to explore social media usage and trust in elites among Chinese urban college students. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted to understand how social media interacts with students’ judgments and perceptions of elite groups such as entrepreneurs and politicians. The results revealed that social media content influences students by corroborating personal experiences, providing descriptive information, and disseminating various perspectives. Social media also serves as a platform for students to find role models and verify or defy authoritative discourse, which may be a response to feelings of social isolation. Both personal experiences and social media information play similar roles in shaping opinions about elites. Negative evaluations of elites centered on meaninglessness, vanity, and exploitation. The findings provide insight into how social media interacts with trust among young people in China amid the country’s rapid economic changes.

Symbolic representations in dispute: The hate speech in Brazilian political advertising

This study aims to examine the authoritarian discourse embodied in political advertisements, focusing on the dissemination of hatred and attacks on opponents. We aim to understand the use of advertising as a resource that provides a space for the clash of imaginary formations and the effects of meaning that these clashes promote. This research is anchored in the theoretical proposal of materialist discourse analysis, focusing on the notions of imaginary formation (Pêcheux, 2014a and 2014b); (Orlandi, 2015) and authoritarian discourse (Orlandi, 2011), in addition to the concepts of culture industry (Adorno & Horkheimer, 1985), imaginary superindustry (Bucci, 2021) and excited society (Türcke, 2010). The adopted methodology is qualitative and part of an interpretive and reflective process in which the corpus of analysis consists of discourses that circulate on social media through advertisements that construct controlled symbolic representations. The analyses reveal that a dispute scenario that undermines mediations has arisen in Brazil, establishing a process of the interdiction of the other in the constitution of subjectivities and resulting in symbolic violence of the order of the imaginary.

Some ‘circulating’ doxic ideas about multilingualism in French-speaking schools

Abstract Despite the inclusive nature of recent educational reforms in French-speaking Belgium, few teachers implement multilingual approaches in their classrooms. On the contrary, the education system perpetuates a monolingual doxa by ignoring the home languages of newcomer or immigrant pupils, or even by prohibiting the use of these languages in school. We propose a discursive analysis of some ‘circulating’ doxic ideas (Charaudeau 1997; Paveau 1999) in the school environment: multilingualism is often associated with images of mixing, confusion or degeneration; didactic gestures are based on stereotyped student figures (so-called ‘vulnerable’, ‘eager’ students) which reproduce a homogeneous and (de)classifying discourse; the deficient vision of the pupils’ language skills serves the argumentation in a doxic causality where the explanation of cause (such as the pupils’ bilingualism) to effect (their poor school performance) is based on authoritative discourses with evidential value. The data analyzed are based on semi-structured interviews and informal exchanges with secondary school teachers in French-speaking Belgium.

English Teachers’ Practice of Classroom Discourse in Light of Zone of Proximal Development Theory and Scaffolding Techniques

This research examines English teachers’ use of classroom discourse in the light of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) theory and scaffolding techniques. English teachers play an essential role in increasing dialogic interaction in their English language learners (ELLs). The participants were 18 English teachers from government secondary school in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia. The observation sheet used to collect data concentrated on major points of classroom discourse in the lesson stages of teaching English including lesson planning, explanation, and evaluation. The results highlight high-level practice of some strategies that support authoritative discourse in some strategies in the three lesson stages. However, the findings reveal lower levels of teachers’ use of strategies that support teaching in the ZPD. The findings also reveal an increase in the use of some strategies such as concentration on correcting errors in the planning stage before implementing the lesson. Furthermore, the findings reveal an increase in teachers’ use of some strategies such as encouraging continuous classroom discourse without providing correct responses for learners before discussions in the teaching stage. Also, it indicates a high-level increase in the use of some strategies such as evaluation of previously memorized concepts, and asking questions to evaluate students’ performance levels in the evaluation stage.

Russian Authoritarian Discourse of the 20th and 21st Centuries as a Subject of Study in the University Classroom

Russian Authoritarian Discourse of the 20th and 21st Centuries as a Subject of Study in the University Classroom

Truth and Reconciliation in Charleston, SC—Slavery Central

As a tourist destination dependent on its reputation for elegant architecture, fine dining, and good manners, Charleston, South Carolina regularly tops industry journal lists of “Best Cities” to visit both in the United States and internationally. The city’s place in atlases of world history is assured, however, not by virtue of its architecture, cuisine, or politeness but because it was the single most important port in continental North America for the importation of enslaved Africans. The paradoxical coexistence of these two factors illustrates Simon Gikandi’s thesis in Slavery and the Culture of Taste that “the institution of slavery and the culture of taste were fundamental in the shaping of modern identity, and that they did so not apart but as nonidentical twins.” Charleston’s recent—belated—attempts to address the racial violence that underlies the surface are confronted by another, closely associated paradox: that politeness can be its own form of violence. Current legislative moves to limit or flat-out outlaw teaching about race exemplify the kind of “authoritative discourse” that Pierre Bourdieu describes as “condemn[ing] the occupants of dominated positions either to silence or to shocking outspokenness” (191). This essay assesses work by three Black writers—Marcus Amaker, Kwame Dawes, and Nikky Finney—who, in writing about Charleston and South Carolina, have had to find ways to wrestle with the problem of how to make their voices heard without being dismissed as shockingly outspoken.

Directives Limiting Care in the Perianesthesia Setting: A Foucauldian Case Study Report

PurposeThe purpose of this inquiry is to explore how adult patients with limiting directives, their families, and clinicians make decisions about resuscitative status during anesthesia. Although current practice guidelines recommend mandatory reconsideration of do not resuscitate and other limiting directives before anesthesia, the automatic suspension of directives limiting care continues in the adult perianesthesia setting. How patients and clinicians talk about these limiting directives is underexplored in the literature. DesignThis qualitative inquiry used the Foucauldian Poststructural Case Study Design. MethodsData were collected through interviews and observation of patients with existing advance directives who underwent surgery, family members, and perianesthesia clinicians who participated in their care. Contextualizing analysis, a qualitative methodology that fits well with Foucauldian Poststructural Case Study Design, was used to rigorously examine the data. FindingsTwenty-seven participants completed the observation and interview components of the study. Observation data were collected from an additional 18 participants. Four authoritative discourses that constructed choices available to patients and clinicians were identified. The “We’ll just suspend” discourse permeates perianesthesia culture and produces a will to suspend the limiting directive among clinicians. Discourses about lack of time, a desire not to talk about advance directives unless it is essential to care, and confusion about who is responsible for addressing the limiting directive were also identified in the case. In addition, patients had difficulty translating advance directive choices into the perianesthesia context, and this difficulty may be misunderstood by clinicians as agreement with the plan of care. Finally, power networks may sequester knowledge about patients' choices, leading to tension among clinicians and creating barriers to honoring patients’ advance directive choices. ConclusionsResults suggest that even where policies of mandatory advance directive reconsideration exist, patients may experience environments that constrain their choices and decision-making agency.

“Phonics Monkeys” and “Real Life Reading”: Heteroglossic Views of a State Reading Initiative

ABSTRACT Framed by Bakhtinian theories of authoritative discourse and heteroglossia, this study examines perceptions of a Science-of-Reading-based state reading initiative five years into implementation. Using interview transcripts, researchers engaged in polyphonic analysis to bring the voices of teachers, reading interventionists, parents, administrators, and state department of education officials into created dialogue. Findings from this qualitative study suggest there were contrasting perspectives about reading and the SRI, that many participants felt the initiative narrowed reading instruction and constrained teachers’ agency, and that, overall, there have been limited opportunities for dialogue about the initiative. Findings demonstrate that a narrow view of reading research may silence and delegitimize some stakeholder voices. This state’s goal of sharpening the focus of reading instruction led to instruction that was perceived by some stakeholders as narrow, boring, and meaningless, unlikely to create the statewide culture of reading that was targeted. Implications for this and future state reading initiatives point to the value of dialogue among varied stakeholders, which might allow for the idiosyncrasies of the teaching and learning of reading and writing to be addressed.