Author Archives: ek288

Autumn 2019 Invited Talks

This term our group is hosting (together with the Centre for Language and Linguistics) two international invited talks:

CLL / DPS Group Lunchtime Talk

Invited Speaker: Dr Stavros Assimakopoulos, University of Malta

Time and Venue: *Friday* November 1st, 12-1:30pm, COLT3

Title: Ιndirectness, implicature and discrimination

Abstract:

While an often useful indicator, explicitness is not the only determining criterion in the identification of discriminatory discourse. As Leets (2003: 146) observes, discussing racism, “[m]ost contemporary societies do disapprove of racially offensive language, and it is now less common to hear public, verbal invocations of racism”, which has led several scholars to argue that, in recent years, “overt prejudicial bias has been transformed into subtle and increasingly covert expressions”. Critical analyses have long recognised the central role that indirect tactics play in the communication of a negative attitude towards a target minority group, but have traditionally been based on monologue-type texts. Recognising the changing landscape with the emergence of Web 2.0, the research carried out for the purposes of the EU-funded C.O.N.T.A.C.T. project (cf. Assimakopoulos et al. 2017) focused on the investigation of discriminatory discourse in online comments made in reaction to news reports pertaining to migrant and LGBTIQ issues. In this talk, I will present some of the results of this research, focusing on the ways in which discriminatory attitudes are – often inadvertently – perpetuated in everyday discourse practices. To this end, I will implement the notion of implicature with a view to showing how the communication of an array of weak implicatures that ‘sneak’ into the collective perception of the general public can lead to an appropriation of discriminatory stances.

 

CLL / DPS Group Invited Talk

Invited Speaker: Dr Dimitris Serafis, Università della Svizzera italiana (USI, Switzerland)

Time and Venue: Wednesday November 13th, 4:30-6pm, CCLT1

Title: Portrayals of refugees and immigrants in Greek newspapers: Integrating multimodal critical discourse analysis and argumentation.

Abstract:

Drawing on Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA), and integrating it with argumentation studies, in the present paper we propose a methodological synergy that enables scrutiny of racist conceptualizations cultivated by the representation of migrants and refugees in headlines and photographs in newspaper articles along with the argumentative potential that is implicitly sustained in these multimodal representations.

Workshop on the marketization of HE

On March 1st 2019, the Discourse, Power, and Society group ran a day workshop on the Marketisation of Higher Education from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis. The event was hosted at The Temporary Centre for Resistance: a space for Kent staff and students to make, discuss and imagine a future university (the space is run by Precarious@KentUni & Studio 3 GalleryDiscourse)

 

Schedule:

11-12: Introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis and overview of approaches (Alexandra Polyzou)
12:15-13: CDA Methodologies (Alexandra Polyzou & Ibi Reichl)
13-14: Lunch Break (bring your own lunch)
14-14:45: Presentation of “Critical Discourse Analysis and the Marketization of Public Discourse: The Universities” by Norman Fairclough (Eleni Kapogianni)
15-16:30: Data Analysis session in groups
16:30-17:30: Discussion and Conclusions

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2105085086449295/

Spring/Summer 2019 Programme

Week Date Time Venue Event description
15 30/01/2019 4:30-6pm CCCU – NT03 Discourse, Power, and Society Group

Research presentation by Jacopo Castaldi

“”Power, Media and the Representation of Reality: Working toward a Mediation- Analysis Framework”

17 13/02/2019 4:30-6pm COLT3 Invited Talk

Dr Aleksandra Cichocka (University of Kent)

“On the Grammar of Politics—or Why Conservatives Prefer Nouns”

18 20/02/2019 4:30-6pm Studio3, Jarman building Discourse, Power, and Society Group

Research presentation by Ibtisam Boutemedjet

“Classroom Discourse Analysis: Investigating Gender in Algerian EFL Classroom Interaction”

19 27/02/2019 4:30-6pm CCCU – NT03 Discourse, Power, and Society Group

Research presentation by Nour Eddine Brahimi

19 01/03/2019 11am – 5pm Studio3, Jarman building Discourse, Power, and Society group:

Workshop: The Marketization of Higher Education: A Critical Discourse Approach

 

21 13/03/2019 4:30-6pm GLT3 Invited Talk

Prof. Paul Kerswill (University of York)

“Multiethnolects as contact languages”

Autumn 2018 Programme

Date Venue
Wed 3 Oct CCCU, Ns09 (Newton building, 2nd floor) Discussion: Discourse and Identity
Wed 8 March UKC, GS07 (Grimmond Seminar Room 7) Discussion of reading: “Religion, Language, Mind” by Paul Chilton
Wed 31 Oct CCCU, Nt03 (Newton building, 3rd floor) Chris Anderson

‘DFLs’ versus ‘Locals’: Discursive Conflict on Social Media and the Battle for Regional Identity

Wed 14 Nov UKC, GS07 (Grimmond Seminar Room 7) Andrew Goatly

Verbal humour: Liberation or Control?

Wed 28 Nov CCCU, Nt03 (Newton building, 3rd floor) Amina Kebabi

Making sense of the self through who we are and through the Other

Wed 12 Dec UKC, GS07 (Grimmond Seminar Room 7) Dan Wang

Negotiating the metaphorical representations of the Chinese housing crisis

Autumn 2017 Programme

Date Venue* Session
11/10/2017 UKC, DLT1 Talk by Adrian Holliday: ‘Arriving at discourses of culture – research trajectory, choices and data’
18/10/2017 CCCU, Erasmus Es01 Discussion: What does it mean to analyse discourse critically?

Reading: http://www.shu.ac.uk/daol/articles/v1/n1/a1/antaki2002002-paper.html

1/11/2017 UKC, room tbc Talk by Andrew Goatly: ‘’Ecolinguistics: Critical Discourse Analysis and the Environment’
15/11/2017 CCCU, Erasmus Es01 Talk by Deanna Demetriou: ‘Welfare restrictions and ‘Benefit Tourists’: Representations and evaluations of EU migrants in the UK’
29/11/2017 UKC, room tbc Data analysis session led by Richard Davie
13/12/2017 CCCU, Erasmus Es01 Discussion: ‘Religion, mind, language, and discourse’ by Paul Chilton

(available at academia.edu and from the group organisers)

Spring Term 2017 Programme

The following events will take place during Spring Term. All meetings are on Wednesdays, 4-5:30pm. Rooms will be confirmed prior to each meeting.

Date Event Venue
Wed 22 February The Widdowson – Fairclough debate on Critical Discourse Analysis
Readings:

  • Widdowson, H. Critical Discourse Analysis (Chapter 6). In: Widdowson, Henry. 2004. Text, Context, Pretext: Critical Isssues in Discourse Analysis. London Blackwell. 89–111
  • Fairclough, N. 1996. A reply to Henry Widdowson’s “Discourse Analysis: a critical review”. Language and Literature 5(1), 49-56.
CCCU

Governor’s House,  GHf05

Wed 8 March Bee Scherer (CCCU): On Queer Theory (talk & discussion) UKC (DS1-Darwin)
Wed 15 March Charlotte Taylor (University of Sussex) :TBC (talk & discussion) CCCU
Wed 22 March Alexandra Polyzou (CCU) Presupposition, CDA, and Cognition (talk & discussion) UKC (RS4-Rutherford)