This book addresses different forms of discourse by analysing the emergence of power dynamics in communication and their importance in shaping the production and reception of messages. The chapters focus on specific cognitive aspects, such as the verbal expression of reasoning or emotions, as well as on linguistic and discursive processes. The interaction between reasoning, feelings, and emotions is described in relation to several fields of discourse where power dynamics may emerge and includes, among others, political, media, and academic discourse. This volume aims to include representative instances of this heterogeneity and is deeply rooted, both theoretically and methodologically, in the acknowledgment that the investigation of the complex interaction between reason and emotion in discursive productions cannot be exempt from the adoption of a multi-disciplinary perspective. By providing a critical reflection of their methodological decisions, and describing the implications of their research projects, the contributors offer insights which are relevant for students, researchers, and practitioners operating in the broad field of discourse studies.
Author(s): Patrizia Anesa, Aurora Fragonara
Series: Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 200
City: Cham
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Tables
Post-disciplinary Approaches to Discourse Analysis
1 Introduction
2 Structure of the Volume
3 Implications for Post-disciplinary Discourse Approaches
References
Defamatory Communication via Cognitive Space Dimensions Analysis: Pragma-Semantic Approach
1 Introduction
2 Cognitive Space Approach
3 Cognitive Structure of Metacommunication
3.1 Why Metacommunication?
3.2 Gender Dimension of Cognitive Space
3.3 Age Dimension of Cognitive Space
3.4 Structural Dimension of Cognitive Space: The Type of Observer
4 Conclusion
References
Exploiting Irrational Evaluations: The Discursive Features of Scams Across Genres
1 The Language of Scams
2 Research Framework
2.1 Communicative Model
2.2 Material
3 Persuasive Dynamics
4 Cognitive Errors
5 Exploiting Genre Awareness
6 Conclusions and Further Applications
References
The Rhetoric of Resistance: Women Regaining Power Through Language
1 Introduction
2 Ideology, Power, and Persuasion
3 Corpus Justification and Methodology
4 Analysis and Results
4.1 Struggle for Authority
4.1.1 Asserting Women’s Authority as Truth-Tellers
4.1.2 Asserting Their Authority as Truth-Leaders Asking for Change
4.2 Ideological Struggle
4.2.1 Delegitimization of the Existing Ideology
4.2.2 Building a Community of Shared Experience and Political Action
5 Conclusion
References
The Discursive Representation of Violence in the Context of the Migration Crisis in Europe: A CDA Case Study on the Discursive Support of Non-violence in the Media Reporting on the Chemnitz Events
1 Introduction
2 Background
2.1 The Chemnitz Events
2.2 Extremism and Violence in Saxony
2.3 Non-violence
2.4 Prosocial Violence
3 Method
3.1 Quantitative Data Analysis
3.2 Qualitative Data Analysis
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 The Extent of the Presence of the Semantic Field of Violence
4.2 Social Actors Narrated as Violent
4.3 The Discursive Representation of Social Actors: Inclusion and Exclusion
4.4 The Discursive Representation of Social Actions
5 Conclusion
References
Gender-Based Violence in Italian Local Newspapers: How Argument Structure Constructions Can Diminish a Perpetrator’s Responsibility
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Background
2.1 The Components of Argument Structure Constructions
2.2 The Meanings Associated with Argument Structure Constructions
2.3 The Discursive Effects of Argument Structure Constructions
3 Data and Methods
4 The Analysis of Argument Structure Constructions
4.1 Constructions with Backgrounded or Suppressed Agent: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
4.2 Constructions with Foregrounded Agent: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
5 Discussion
6 Conclusions
References
The Ethos of the Spokesperson: A Populist Attempt to Exploit Empathic Connections
1 Introduction
2 The Theoretical Framework
2.1 The Concept of Ethos and Its Relevance in Political Discourse
2.2 Empathy and Discourse
3 The Corpus Presentation and Analysis
3.1 The Features of Twitter
3.2 Methodology
3.3 Results
3.3.1 The Pronoun “We” and its Discursive Counterparts
3.3.2 The Use of Indirect and Represented Speech
3.3.3 Short Storytelling Events
4 Conclusion
References
Of Emotion Terms and E-Implicatures: An Exploratory Study of the Explicit and Implicit Emotional Dimensions in a Corpus of Language Teachers’ Newsletters
1 Introduction
2 Emotion and Language: Theoretical Framework
2.1 (Im)Politeness Theory and Emotions
2.2 Emotional Inferencing
3 Dataset and Methodology
4 Analysis
4.1 The Use of Explicit Emotional Lexis
4.2 Emotional Inferencing
5 Concluding Remarks
References
Index
