Discourse In Society Research Articles

The Development of Public Conscience: Hume’s Third Way Between Hobbes and Locke

Hume devised a third way between Hobbes and Locke that bolstered the former’s defense of stability and the latter’s defense of rebellion. This feat remains underappreciated. Hume’s third way rests on the idea of the public conscience, which, like Hobbes’s idea of the public conscience, derives from communication and consensus. The public conscience orients us toward the public interest, which, in Hume’s theory, is the authoritative standard by which individuals and government alike must abide. In this paper, I elaborate on the moral psychological principles that underlie Hume’s concept of the public conscience, which is liable to both conservative liberal and progressive liberal interpretations. And I argue that Hume’s third way provides valuable insight into the logic of public political discourse in liberal societies.

Thick Black women and misogynoir in the Caribbean

ABSTRACT It is well documented that thick Black female bodies are idealized in Afro-Caribbean communities. However, there is also a long and deep history of oppression of thick Black women in Caribbean spaces based on their race, gender, and body shape and size, which continues to inform the lives of thick Black women in postcolonial Caribbean societies. This paper is an exploratory, grounded analysis of thick Black women’s quotidian experiences in this dialectic, explicitly focusing on Jamaica. Using Caribbean research methodologies situated in decolonial feminist epistemologies, I explore the everyday realities of voluptuous Black women who have to negotiate white Eurocentric body discourses in contemporary Jamaican society. The study foregrounds the voices of thick Black women as they articulate their own lived realities with navigating ‘misogynoir’ in Jamaican public spaces.

Pragmatically oriented linguistic units in advertising of religious tours

INTRODUCTION. The relevance of the study is related to the study of the features of the implementation of tourist advertising in such a dynamically developing real segment as religion. The role of tourist advertising is increasing, and it is becoming especially important to study specific pragmatic oriented language units devoted to religious discourse. The purpose of the study is to identify lexical, morphological units and stylistic devices used in tourist religious discourse.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The research material was advertising texts promoting religious tours on the Internet. The collection and writing of factual material was carried out using conceptual analysis, interpretive analysis was used to determine and explain the linguistic features of religious advertising text.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The appeal to advertising texts promoting religious tours allowed to identify pragmatically oriented linguistic units. Religious discourse, oriented towards introducing a person to faith within the framework of a certain confession, contributes to the implementation of religious tours (pilgrimage, educational and pilgrimageeducational). Religious advertising discourse in the field of tourism can be oriented towards the discourses of consumer society, but at the same time give them new, religious and sacred outlines.CONCLUSION. The identified lexical units and stylistic means in tourist advertisements on the topic of religious tours allow us to consider that religious tourist advertisement has a number of characteristics inherent only to it and occupies its own special place among currently existing types of discourse. These advertisements can be considered special speech patterns of text aimed at implementing the pragmatic function of advertising messages.

The most successful and influential Americans come from a surprisingly narrow range of ‘elite’ educational backgrounds

The highest-achieving figures in politics, business, academia, and the media dominate public discourse and wield great influence in society. Education—perhaps especially at “elite” colleges and universities—may lie at the heart of the divide between the general public and these top achievers. In this paper, we build a new data set for the American “elite” and systematically examine the link between selective schools and outstanding achievements. In Study 1, across 30 different achievement groups totaling 26,198 people, we document patterns of attendance at a set of 34 “Elite” 34 schools, the 8 Ivy League schools, and Harvard University in particular. In Study 2, we surveyed 1810 laypeople to estimate how well they are aware of the key empirical facts from Study 1. We found that exceptional achievement is surprisingly strongly associated with “elite” education, especially obtaining a degree from Harvard, and the general public tends to underestimate the size of this effect. Attending one of just 34 institutions of higher education out of the roughly 4000 in the U.S. appears to be a critical and surprising factor separating extraordinary achievers from others in their fields.

Identity, Creativity and Performance Spaces in Wales and Southwest England

Globally, performative spaces and venues of artistic creativity are governed by sets of conventions which impact the creative process. In this article, we discuss the experiences of four different creatives, operating in four different creative spaces. A poet and football player, a theatre producer and script writer, a gallery curator, and a ballet dancer have all shared their experiences of how traditionally white and heteronormative discourses regulate their respective creative spaces, the ways they conform to or transgress these norms, and the ways their interactions with their chosen creative spaces affect their creativity. These creatives have identities which are somehow ‘marked’, somehow ‘different’ from the ‘norms’ Wales and South-West England. Whether members of the LGBTQ+ community, migrants to Wales from European and Caribbean countries, or being a different race to many around them, the creatives all have complicated interactions with the norms of their creative spaces within Wales and South-West England. These creative’s identities often clash with an entrenched lack of diversity and the broader expectations of British society. Despite, or perhaps, because of, these conflicts and tensions, each of the creatives discussed here found immense joy in the relationship between their identity/ies and their creative spaces and discovered how their own identity/ies are a central driving force for their creativity. Regardless of the differences of their mediums, each creative interviewed sought to centre their identity, to help them create art which can challenge dominant white and heteronormative discourses in wider British society.

The Representation of Female Biblical Figures in Major Israeli Discourses

Israeli girls’ names that remained prevalent over lengthy periods were examined with the aim of determining their representation in social discourses as defined by Foucault (2002). Rare names occurring three to ten times per year from 1948 to 2015 were examined as well. Foucault defined four dichotomous axes that distinguish social discourses, with each axis characterized by social normativity at one end and original creativity at the other. The four dichotomous axes of discourse according to Foucault are ‘discursive event opposed to creation’, ‘discursive series opposed to unity’, ‘discursive regularity opposed to originality’ and, ‘condition of possibility opposed to signification’. The most prevalent girls’ names were considered as representation of the social normativity, while the rare names were considered as representations of social discourse contains original creativity. 19 prevalent names were found, 12 of which stayed on the most-popular-names list for 68 years, and seven of which appeared on the list for at least 40 years. Fifteen of these 19 names are the names of female figures from the Old Testament. Eight of the names are those of the most important women in the Bible – women who also have enjoyed the greatest degree of favor in Jewish tradition. Four other names are those of assertive women whose actions were viewed unfavorably in Jewish tradition. An analysis of these names in Foucauldian terms indicated that the most-popular-names list for girls constitutes part of three simultaneous social discourses in Israeli society across its component subgroups. These three discourses are: traditional Jewish discourse, Zionist discourse, and Israeli discourse. The latter discourse has not only featured names that appeared for many years on the popular-names list; it has also featured, in more than half the cases, names belonging to the rare-names lists – a phenomenon consistent with creativity, in Foucauldian terms.

Disney characters as moral role models: a discourse analysis of Coco and Encanto

Popular culture characters and narratives can influence people’s understanding of moral actions, and thus guide their behaviors accordingly. Films have proven to be strong anchors in people’s understanding of morality. We examine the perception of resilience as a moral characteristic in examining not just how people become resilient (thereby focusing on impact and action) but also to study “resilience” as a discourse and discussion in society as a moral message. We argue that popular culture narratives, particularly Disney films, help reinforce moral meanings of resilience. By conducting a discourse analysis of two films-Encanto and Coco and particularly focusing on resilience, we aim to contribute to a deepened understanding of Disney’s role in producing morality through diverse narratives and characters who serve as role models.

ГОРОДСКИЕ СООБЩЕСТВА В 1920-е гг. (НА ПРИМЕРЕ СЛОБОД И ПРИГОРОДОВ г. КРАСНОЯРСКА ЕНИСЕЙСКОЙ ГУБЕРНИИ)

The paper attempts to reconstruct certain aspects of the daily life of residents of urban communities - residents of slobodas and suburbs of Krasnoyarsk in the 1920s – as an insufficiently studied phenomenon of local history. The relevance of the topic is determined by the possibility of identifying the social consequences of compact living of groups with similar sociocultural and status characteristics. In the context of intensified migration processes in modern urban landscapes, places of autonomous residence of such groups are often formed, creating an increased riskiness, which actualizes the need to address the topic, including in the context of historical experience. In the paper, the main research perspective is focused on the analysis of archival sources identified by the author - minutes of meetings of local history circles organized at the State Museum of the Prienisei Region and the Pedagogical Museum of Krasnoyarsk - and the representation of inhabitants of slobodas and suburbs in regional media of the 1920s. Based on a study of the characteristics of the sociocultural appearance of the residents of these territories, interaction with other actors in the urban space, reconstruction of the conditions of everyday life and ways of spending free time, the process of compiling a social characteristic is initiated, the reasons for giving the inhabitants of slobodas and suburbs of Krasnoyarsk similar status characteristics and possible reasons for socio-spatial segregation in the discourse of local society are identified. The results of the study makes it possible to conclude that in the local conditions of a provincial Siberian city in the 1920s the peculiarities of everyday life and work, and the leisure preferences of residents of slobodas and suburbs became one of the reasons for the appearance of “invisible borders” within the urban space. Prospects for further research are related to the possibility of drawing up a holistic picture of the daily life of urban residents of provincial territories in the first years after the restoration of Soviet power and identifying the reasons.

Michel Foucault's Critical Discourse Analysis of Controversy News in Islamic Boarding Schools

This research aims to analyze the construction of power and knowledge within the polemics that occurred at Al-Zaytun Islamic Boarding Schools. The study adopts a critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach, utilizing the framework of Michel Foucault's thinking. The primary data source for this research consists of news coverage published by Kompas.com, a leading news website in Indonesia. The collected news articles underwent a rigorous qualitative analysis process guided by the principles of critical discourse analysis and Michel Foucault's framework. Research shows that differences in interpretation and understanding of religious teachings cause controversies in Islamic boarding schools. The construction of power and knowledge in Islamic boarding schools plays a vital role in shaping the views and actions of individuals and the wider community. Islamic boarding schools have authority in interpreting and teaching religious teachings to students, and this includes a hierarchical structure in leadership, decisions taken by kyai or caregivers, and control over the religious knowledge conveyed to students. This research provides a deeper understanding of power, knowledge, and resistance dynamics within the context of polemics. From Michel Foucault's perspective, critical discourse analysis offers a critical view of the relationship between power, knowledge, and discourse in society.

Salient discourses in international society: When and how have United Nations global conferences acted as catalysts?

Salient discourses in international society: When and how have United Nations global conferences acted as catalysts?

Race, gender, and Occidentalism in global reactionary discourses

Abstract This article seeks to deepen understanding of the global politics of reactionary discursive formations, which at the current conjuncture increasingly coalesce around self-victimising articulations of racial nationalism and a rejection of social justice struggles, often delegitimated as ‘elitist’ in Western core contexts or ‘Western’ in postcolonial spaces. Drawing on insights from feminist and postcolonial scholarship on racial entanglements, masculinism, and Occidentalism, I argue that racialised and gendered imaginations about an emasculated and overly multiracial West and, relatedly, renewed East/West binaries enable reactionary discourses in both Western societies and elsewhere through adaptable mechanisms of mediating between the international and the domestic. I then extend an analysis of global racial entanglements and gendered East/West binaries to Chinese anti-baizuo discourse from both online nationalists and dissident intellectuals, which provides a prime example of how grammars of global reactionary discourse are localised in different political projects and ideological constellations. It demonstrates how reactionary imaginations of the West are instrumental for animating narratives of racial-civilisational hierarchy and masculinist notions of politics and society hostile to egalitarian and emancipatory ideals in a ‘non-Western’ context. Moreover, by highlighting overlaps and divergence in the refashioning of dualistic constructs in American and Chinese ‘anti-woke’ narratives, I show that reactionary discourses operate not only across the geopolitical divide, but also through it, invoked by opposing political forces sharing ethnonationalist and masculinist logics in processes of mutual othering to perpetuate antagonistic identities. The article contributes to the intersection between critical research on the global right and postcolonial International Relations (IR).

Female archetypes in the mythological model of television news culture

This study is aimed at identifying patterns of the embodiment of the female image in the information stories of domestic and foreign TV channels. The subject of this article is a mythological model of constructing reality in modern mass media. The object is television news stories in 2017-2023, in which female archetypes are most clearly revealed. Special attention is paid to the information coverage of the foreign topic of the feminist action MeToo and the domestic criminal case of the Khachaturian sisters. The research is aimed at comparing the mythological structure of the plot with the techniques of television broadcasting and understanding the broadcast of the female image on television screens. Thus, the article puts forward a hypothesis: when covering information topics, the media uses a model of a mythological structure, and as a result, a system of archetypes that forms the viewer's opinion. This work is based on the theory of archetypes developed by the scientist K. Jung, which is visualized in the information topics of the last decade. The analysis is of scientific interest in connection with the growing feminist discourse in society, of which television is becoming one of the key broadcasters. Of particular importance is the study of the symbolization of the female image on the television screen through the concepts of C. Jung and E. Neumann, using the example of the main themes of feminist discourse in recent years. The novelty of the research lies in a new theoretical understanding of the ways in which television content affects the viewer. The main conclusions of the study are the confirmation of a scientific hypothesis: about the use of the media of a mythological structure through which a system of archetypes is broadcast, which in turn leads to a stable formation of public opinion. In addition, the author examines the mythological archetypes of communication, which represent the main ways of transmitting information in the modern world.

Nisu reconfiguration: establishing gender-reversed fan-celebrity fantasies in Chinese society

ABSTRACT Millions of Chinese celebrity fans online increasingly engage in nisu queer fandom—female fans imagining cisgender male celebrities as their girlfriends, wives, etc.—in a male-female gender binary social context. Based on unobtrusive observation and semi-structured interviews among nisu fans of four Chinese actors, this article foregrounds fans’ own perspectives to analyze how their gender awareness shapes their formation of gender-reversed fan-celebrity fantasies and thus their confrontations with mainstream gender ideologies. Findings are presented in two parts. First, nisu fans build three types of fan-celebrity connections: 1) praising actor(s) for performing feminine qualities, 2) gazing at actor(s) from a dominant position, and 3) appreciating actor(s)’ potential gender non-binary charisma. Second, nisu fans understand both how their emerging awareness and expressions of gender beliefs challenge traditional gender norms and how their practices remain intuitive and implicit rather than political. I conclude that nisu fans’ playful gender reconfiguration with fandom ultimately inspires meaningful developments of gender discourses in broader Chinese society.

Scenarios of Imperial Incorporation of Asiatic Russia within the Discourse of Celebrations Dedicated to the 300<sup>th</sup> Anniversary of Russian Expansion into Siberia (1881–1882)

Based on materials from publications dedicated to the celebration of the 300thanniversary of the Russian expansion into Siberia, the article reconsiders the content of the discourse of celebrations that happened on October 26, 1881, in the capital centers of the Russian Empire, as a promising model for the consolidation of the authorities and society in solving critical issues facing by the government in the eastern outskirts of the empire. The historiographical review reveals that researchers show solidarity in choosing the timing of the anniversary events. The scholars conducted a thorough analysis of the discussions surrounding the determination of the time of celebration in the discourse of authorities and society. They concluded that the debates about the precise dates and years of the “Siberian conquest” were peripheral in nature and not of significant concern in the professional community or public opinion. The study identifies the main “platforms” of the jubilee discourse, as well as the ceremonial and storytelling aspects of the commemoration, dominated during the celebration of the Russian Expansion into Siberia, in the context of formulating and translating the current imperial scenarios to incorporate Asian Russia into the general imperial space. It has been established that the ceremonial components of the jubilee discourse outlined the priorities of the imperial center in making decisions of a colonization nature. The narrative part of the discourse showcased the willingness and ability of the authorities to engage with the social forces. This was particularly evident in the discussion and formulation of the programmatic narrative, which focused on the inclusion of Asian territories in the empire. The discourse emphasized the paramount importance of connecting the European and Asian parts of Russia by rail and introduced flexible algorithms for resolving foreign issues. Furthermore, the discourse aimed to reduce the share of exile as a tool of colonization and promote government-level involvement in the resettlement process.

The potential of creative uses of metonymy for climate protest

This paper develops the notion of metonymy scenarios by exploring the social and cognitive dimensions of various creative uses of metonymy in a collection of digital banners created for the Global Climate Strike movement. The paper argues that the banners exploit existing metonymic relationships to activate dominant anthropocentric discourses in society, and to subvert them via processes of recontextualisation and reappropriation, in order to challenge system conventions and normative attitudes regarding climate change. The literature to date has not adequately considered metonymy as a dynamic and scenario-activating cognitive operation, nor has it thoroughly investigated the relationship between metonymy and irony. However, the data analysed here show that several creative uses of metonymy, including twice-true metonymy, metonymy in combination with metaphor, and the juxtaposition of different metonymies are markers of what this paper posits as metonymic mininarratives or scenarios.

Tribal Masculinity: An Alternative of Anti-ecological Masculinity

Masculinity is considered as behavior and attributes expected out of men. It is a socially constructed concept that is shaped by gender roles, societal expectations, and power dynamics that vary across cultures and historical periods. The studies concerning men, masculinity, and nature relations emerged as a response to the essentialized notion of associating men with culture, patriarchy, oppression, and women with nature, rather than focusing on the complexity of masculinities and their relation with nature. Further, Ecomasculinity and Ecological masculinism are Western concepts and frameworks that evolved out of the studies concerning men-nature relationships. Considering the plurality of masculinity and the nuances of men-nature relationships, this paper explores the intersection of men, masculinity, and nature in Tribal society in the context of South India. The study employs textual analysis as a method to explore men-nature relationships. The text considered for the analysis is the novel Huntsman by Lakshmi Saravanakumar, translated into English by Aswini Kumar. The novel presents an indigenous tribal society rooted in the forest with interpersonal connections between humans and non-humans. The paper demonstrates how the concept of Home, Indigeneity, and life in tribal society caters to the construction of the notion of masculinity, which emphasizes caring attitudes toward nature. The perspective of indigenous society challenges the traditional notion of masculinity as dominant and oppressive. This paper argues that masculine discourse in Tribal society is counter-hegemonic, and is built on caring towards humans and nonhumans rather than domination.

Assimilation and Transgression: Doing Trans* Activism in Indonesia and Iran

ABSTRACT This commentary engages with Jón Ingvar Kjaran and Zara Saeidzadeh’s research article, “Trans* Activism in Indonesia and Iran: Working Against Misrecognition and Enhancing the Intelligibility of Trans* Subjectivities.” The authors examine the conditions and form trans* activism takes in “doing” gender in Muslim-dominated societies of Indonesia and Iran. It is argued that trans* experience interacts with Islamic norms to persist in gaining intelligibility and recognition, challenging the existing medico-religious discourse in Islamic societies, as well as liberal humanist intellectual traditions of the West. Trans* activism in Indonesia and Iran, therefore, reveals a complex inquiry in locating hospitality at the borders where trans identity and Islam meet.

Exploring Mental Health Portrayals in "Death Note": a Closer Look at the Manga's Impact

This paper explores the nuanced portrayals of mental health issues in the manga series "Death Note" by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. Focusing on the protagonist Light Yagami's descent into megalomania, and the antagonist's psychopathic tendencies, the analysis delves into the complex exploration of power, morality, and justice. Additionally, the paper examines the depiction of other mental health issues such as sociopathy, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression within the narrative. "Death Note" is recognized for its impact on readers and its contribution to the broader conversation on mental health, sparking discussions about empathy, responsibility in storytelling, and societal perceptions. Emphasizing the importance of responsible representation, the conclusion advocates for manga creators to prioritize accurate depictions of mental health, fostering understanding and contributing positively to the ongoing discourse in society.

POLITICAL AND LEGAL CATEGORY ‟POLITICAL HATRED” IN THE DIGITAL PUBLIC DISCOURSE OF GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY AND IN THE JUDICIAL AND INVESTIGATIVE PRACTICE OF MODERN RUSSIA

The purpose of this publication is a systematic analysis of the political and legal category “political hatred” in the sphere of civil public space, as well as in the law enforcement and judicial investigative practice of modern Russia. The main general scientific methods that are used to achieve this goal are systemic, normative and comparative research methods, elements of logical analysis, as well as such private empirical methods as discourse analysis, content analysis and monitoring of digital discourse of government and society. Topicality of the issue under consideration lies in the fact that in the context of the conduct of the Ukraine conflict, the number of criminal cases classified on the grounds of “political hatred” has sharply increased in judicial investigative practice. At the same time, in existing legal acts and in the scientific literature on political and legal issues, a detailed categorical analysis of the concept of “political hatred”, its features and content is almost completely absent. The authors of this article tried to eliminate this objectively arising gap by developing, on the basis of theoretical analysis and study of law enforcement practice, their own vision of the emerging situation and interpretation of the political and legal category of “political hatred”.

Narrating Resistance: Representation of Nineteenth Century Bengali Muslim Women in Akhtar Mahal's Niyantrita

The participation and Muslim women’s contributions of the nineteenth and the early twentieth century in the social reform movements in India have remained largely unexplored. The documented literary history of the period till date furthermore does not accord a reasonable space for Muslim women authors. The present paper attempts to intervene in the context of the gaps throughout recorded history where women, especially Muslim are posited almost overlooked in the discourses of society, religion, and literature. The paper intends to examine how Muslim women are portrayed in the social and religious discourses of India and/ or undivided Bengal, marking their challenges at multiple levels in literary and socio-cultural history. It intends to critically examine the Bengali Muslim writer Akhtar Mahal’s pioneering novella, Niyantrita (1926) that explores Muslim women’s aversion to hierarchical structures of the contemporary Indian society. Begum Akhtar Mahal (1901-1928) was an eminent Muslim writer who continued writing despite the adversities she faced after her early marriage at the age of fourteen. Born in 1901 in an aristocratic and educated family, Akhtar was introduced into an atmosphere that was truly conducive to literary and artistic pursuits, even though there was no question of sending the girls to school or college in the initial decades of the 1900s. But the feudal environment of her in-laws house was absolutely different from her paternal home. Women keen on education or music or art were not appreciated in her marital home. These are the aspects that led her to raise her voice of resistance against patriarchal oppression. Two of her seminal works are Niyantrita and Maran Baran. The Bengali Muslim negotiation with modernity and even with anti-colonial struggles has not been well recorded. Most accounts speak of ‘backwardness’, where the Bengali Muslim ‘renaissance’ takes place about fifty years after the Bengal renaissance. The institutionalized patriarchal setting was held responsible for an “enforced” seclusion. This rendered Muslim women significantly less visible to historical and social analyses than their Indian counterparts. Akhtar Mahal intricately weaves a tapestry of romance entangled with the heart-wrenching realities of forced marriages that often plague Muslim societies. The tale chronicles a life filled with sorrow, delicately narrated in a poignant and mournful fashion. This narrative touches upon the experiences of Muslim women, colonialism, patriarchy, and the echo of resistance.