The present study explores Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s online communication on the microblogging platform Twitter. The study aims to present the populist characteristics embedded in the president’s tweets, as well as the strategies he uses in his communication on the social media platform. The pillars that structure this work are the different theories on the topic of populism, which address central points concerning the phenomenon’s characteristics, such as dichotomization between groups (the good and the bad people), a strong anti-establishment stance, creation of scapegoats and enemies, and the centrality of the leader. Additionally, theories that explain the relationship between populism and social media are also employed for the full comprehension of the problem at hand. The analysis examines Bolsonaro’s first year in office (2019) and focuses mainly on three different periods within that year. The data consists of 110 tweets submitted to analysis utilizing Discourse-Historical Approach, an analytical approach with a strong focus on context. The findings show how Bolsonaro’s communication on Twitter is immersed and dependent on strategies common to populist discourse, employing argumentative and discursive strategies that rely on the aspects such as topoi, the demonization of others, shifting of blame, positive self- and negative other- presentation, provocation and calculated ambivalence. This study contributes to the understanding of populist online communication in the Brazilian context, shedding light on the phenomenon of populism, in particular the current populist wave, outside the European and North American contexts, expanding the understanding about the topic to the global south.

abstract: While Huntington’s (1996) theory of “The Clash of Civilizations” illuminated the concept of the gap between the Western and non-Western cultures, the framework of an opposite approach, which intensively emphasizes and strives for mutual understanding, cooperation and solidarity towards peace, has created a new and vital discursive perspective and practice through the establishment of The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). As the domain of UNAOC has not received linguistic attention yet, the goal of the current dissertation is to investigate and reveal the notions and messages conveyed in the related context of Turkey’s accession to the EU by the Turkish Prime Minister (2003-2014) and the co- founder of the Alliance of Civilizations, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It seeks answers to the following questions: How does Mr. Erdogan conceptualize Turkey, which has geopolitically bridged the Western and non-Western cultures throughout the centuries, and which borders the boiling pot of the Middle East? How does the Prime Minister construct identities in the context of the Western and non-Western countries especially in his discussion of Turkey’s accession to the EU? How does the Prime Minister further reconceptualize the urgent need for global peace and stability in the world, contributing to the UNAOC directly and indirectly? This dissertation employs a cognitive framework approach which entails speech act theory and analogical reasoning, in addition to Reisigl and Wodak’s (2001) Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) to analyze Prime Minister Erdogan’s speeches in the international context. In conclusion, the discourse of UNAOC gives rise to new discursive practices for global peace, “countering the forces that fuel polarization and extremism” (http://www.unaoc.org/about/). The discursive construction of global phenomena, events and actions as defined in Erdogan’s speeches are reconceptualized on the basis of non-Western but secular pro-Western intertextuality and perspectivization. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2016

This study explores the discursive construction of Chinese women in the Chinese reality show Sisters Who Make Waves, with a special focus on the discursive shifts and their relevance to the wider discourse of and about Chinese women. The analysis is carried out on two levels: the discursive construction of Chinese women in the said reality show and its recontextualisation across other discourses including in the public sphere and semi-private opinions of Chinese women.  This research discusses the discursive construction of Chinese women in the Chinese media field and the discrepancy between “top-down” and “bottom-up” discourse. The project uses a multi-layer theoretical framework situated in media and society, gender and media representation, celebrity culture and digital labour to explore the discursive construction of Chinese women. The study applies to the reality show as the primary context, media perceptions as the recontextualising context, interviews with female employees in the Chinese internet industry as the secondary context. In order to investigate the arguments and discursive strategies in different contexts, this study employs a multilevel model of the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).  The findings discover that the said reality show focuses on the topos of age and the topos of beauty. These two main topoi cause different representations of social actors in Chinese media perceptions. As the representatives of female digital labour, the female employees in the Chinese internet industry construct three discursive strategies of self and relate their self-perception to those of other women. Furthermore, the study implies the discursive shifts in the discourse on Chinese women. This thesis contributes to understanding the discursive construction of women in the Chinese context, particularly the media and gender representations in the Chinese hybrid media system. In addition, this study stands outside the Western world and expands the understanding of the topic in a non-western setting.

Students diagnosed with long-term mental health conditions have been the focus of policy development for over a decade. Student mental health is on the increase and universities are legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students. Therefore it is crucial that nursing and midwifery education provides an inclusive learning environment, while maintaining fitness to practice standards. The focus of this study was to explore how discourses of mental health, reasonable adjustments and fitness standards influence nursing and midwifery education for students with a mental health condition. Principles of Wodak’s (2001) critical discourse analysis approach, which gives prominence to dominant discourses, their justifications and persuasive nature was utilised. Ten key written texts and 23 semi-structured interviews with students, lecturers and clinical mentors were conducted to acquire the constructions of mental health, reasonable adjustments and fitness requirements. The findings show that the dominant discourses attributed to students experiencing mental ill health were around medicine, difference and blame, all of which reinforced mental health stigma. In addition, mental health discourses within both verbal and written texts were not underpinned by disability discourses, allowing the exclusion of students who disclose mental ill health from accessing reasonable adjustments. In conclusion, students considered to have a mental health label faced discriminatory barriers and legislative and regulatory requirements of equality were not implemented.

Students diagnosed with long-term mental health conditions have been the focus of policy development for over a decade. Student mental health is on the increase and universities are legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments for disabled students. Therefore it is crucial that nursing and midwifery education provides an inclusive learning environment, while maintaining fitness to practice standards. The focus of this study was to explore how discourses of mental health, reasonable adjustments and fitness standards influence nursing and midwifery education for students with a mental health condition. Principles of Wodak’s (2001) critical discourse analysis approach, which gives prominence to dominant discourses, their justifications and persuasive nature was utilised. Ten key written texts and 23 semi-structured interviews with students, lecturers and clinical mentors were conducted to acquire the constructions of mental health, reasonable adjustments and fitness requirements. The findings show that the dominant discourses attributed to students experiencing mental ill health were around medicine, difference and blame, all of which reinforced mental health stigma. In addition, mental health discourses within both verbal and written texts were not underpinned by disability discourses, allowing the exclusion of students who disclose mental ill health from accessing reasonable adjustments. In conclusion, students considered to have a mental health label faced discriminatory barriers and legislative and regulatory requirements of equality were not implemented.

The aim of this study is to analyse the discourse surrounding the preservation of the Icelandic language in light of the growing immigrant population in Iceland. This is done by analysing and comparing two public language policies through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis, more specifically Discourse Historical Approach. This thesis contributes to the academic research on the Icelandic language and its immigrant population by offering a comparative study of a previously unexplored research topic. The findings indicate that there has been a discursive shift from conservative to more progressive attitudes towards the preservation of the Icelandic language, and the connection between language preservation and purification is beginning to weaken. The study shows that immigrants’ role as language users and language preservers is not sufficiently addressed or met, and a more inclusive approach towards the language is needed to facilitate the prosperous growth of a multicultural society and immigrants’ sense of belonging.