Do Afghan women need saving? This study focuses on the discourse of the USA’s First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush in the years (2001-2009) and how she represents the women in Afghanistan in the context of the USA-led intervention in Afghanistan. My aim is to understand how the USA intervention can be legitimized through Mrs. Bush’s argumentation of bringing human rights to Afghan women. In the analysis in this thesis, Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis is used in combination with feminist and postcolonial theory to understand her discourse about the women in Afghanistan and how her resulting discourse functions in connection with the USA-led intervention in Afghanistan. The study concludes that Mrs. Bush constructs the Afghan women as in need of help and in connection the USA as the helping hand who have an obligation to save the women in Afghanistan. In combination with strategic use of ‘embedded feminism’ and an oriental discourse Mrs. Bush’s discourse functions to make the USA-led intervention in Afghanistan seem legitimate.

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Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der intuitiven Verwendung sprachlicher Elemente, welche hinsichtlich der im Kommunikationsprozess entstehenden Bedeutungen problematisch sein können. Hierfür wurde eine gefilmte Musikunterrichtsstunde analysiert. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass die Lehrkraft durch eine unbewusste Verwendung des Begriffs “afrikanische Sachen” die Kategorien “afrikanisch” und “nicht-afrikanisch” etabliert. Diese werden von den Schüler*innen adaptiert und ihnen nach einer individuellen, subjektiven Selektion im Unterricht vorkommende Elemente untergeordnet, welche dann innerhalb einer hegemonialen Struktur positioniert werden, wobei ebenso Hierarchisierungsprozesse möglich sind. Ferner besteht die Möglichkeit, dass die Stilisierung kultureller Unterschiede seitens der Schüler*innen zur Folge hat, dass Kulturen an sich von ihnen als hermetische und unanfechtbare Einheiten wahrgenommen werden. In den Worten einer an der Musikunterrichtsstunde teilnehmenden Person: “afrikanisch singen [ist] anders.”

Syftet med detta arbete är att göra en kvantitativ, korpusbaserad undersökning av den språkliga andrafieringen av tre minoritetsgrupper: romer, vietnameser och ukrainare, i den tjeckiska mediadiskursen under 15 år, samt att få ett omfattande, representativt resultat genom att jämföra neutrala, positiva och negativa adjektiv som står intill sökorden. Till teoretisk grund ligger hur språket hjälper till att bygga och förstärka maktstrukturer samt hur korpussökningar efter kollokationer och närliggande ord kan tydliggöra en språklig andrafiering. Här används en kvantitativ metod för att besvara analytiska frågor om dessa benämningar. Materialet som ligger till grund för analysen är SYN version 4 i det tjeckiska Nationalkorpuset – i sin helhet består det av 275 miljoner meningar. Det verkar inte tidigare ha utförts någon sådan undersökning på ett så stort material, även om några forskare har använt liknande metoder. Resultatet bekräftar att de olika grupperna beskrivs på olika sätt, och är, genom det stora källmaterialet, ett bevis på hur språket i mediadiskursen speglar diskursen i samhället i stort.

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No description available.

This study explores the acculturation experiences of long-term Western residents in Japan using a broad intercultural studies approach. First, the historical context of Westerners coming to Japan is discussed. Next, literature from the field of intercultural studies is considered. This literature is used to provide a framework for analyzing Western sojourners’ acculturation experiences in Japan, as well as for choosing the research methods for conducting a qualitative analysis. The research involved interviewing 12 expatriates from English-speaking countries who have been in Japan for at least 10 years. Their acculturation experiences were analyzed, with a particular focus on finding hidden barriers to acculturation. The study concludes that numerous barriers to acculturation do exist. Commonly observable barriers included lack of employment security for some sojourners, and a poor fit between an individual’s personality and the host culture. These issues are applicable to anyone adapting to life in a different culture. However, this research also exposed a number of hidden barriers arguably unique to the Western sojourner’s acculturation experience in Japan. These barriers include the challenge of developing satisfying relationships with Japanese, due primarily to different expectations for psychological closeness and self-disclosure in Japan and the West. Another is the social effect of Othering, the centuries-old process where Japanese society divides things into those which are Japanese and those which are not, and the consequent empathy deficit that Japanese experience toward outsiders. The thesis concludes by offering recommendations for how long-term Western residents in Japan can improve their adaptation and acculturation experience. These include the obvious advantages of learning the Japanese language, and the less obvious benefits of learning and practicing mindful intercultural communication.

This essay analyzes the theme of “Otherness” in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein through three different lenses: queer readings, feminist readings, and disability studies, which will offer multiple perspectives of the “Otherness” present in the novel. The essay will engage with critics such as Benjamin Bagocius, Fuson Wang, and Colleen Hobbs. The aim of this essay is to utilize analyzed passages in Upper Secondary classrooms to cultivate critical thinking among students on issues of oppression and privilege in order to foster Anti-Oppressive education. The essay begins by introducing the concept of “Otherness” and its significance in Frankenstein. It then delves into the three different lenses and their perspectives on the theme of “Otherness.” Through these different readings, the essay demonstrates the complex and multi-layered nature of “Otherness” in Frankenstein. Furthermore, the essay argues that this analysis can be used to establish an Anti-Oppressive education in the Upper Secondary classroom. By critically examining how oppression and privilege operate in the novel, students can learn to recognize and challenge oppressive systems in society.  The essay then moves into a discussion of why an Anti-Oppressive education is necessary. Specifically, it briefly critiques the Swedish curriculum for addressing oppression in a way that increases tolerance towards marginalized groups, rather than recognizing privilege and challenging the systemic roots of oppression.

This paper explores vilification in the popular counterterrorism show, Fox’s "24." A critical, in-depth analysis of three prominent antagonists from the show illustrates the different ways in which they are vilified. Each of the three characters is examined to understand which type of villain he or she embodies in "24," which of the show’s moral codes the villain affronts, and how he or she is punished or treated as a result. The analysis considers the broadcast of the show’s first six seasons in relation to neoconservative and Christian Right values that characterized the George W. Bush administration after 9/11. It finds that the show’s characterizations of all three villains—an Islamic extremist, a femme fatale, and a shirking bureaucrat—reinforce dominant xenophobic, patriarchal, and hypermasculine values, which underscored the Bush administration’s war on terror.

This study examines the difference in Expressen’s portrayal of two similar murder cases in Sweden with the key difference being the ethnicity of the perpetrators. The main purpose is to determine if the media is using a discriminatory rhetoric in their covering of crime and if they are upholding a “we and them” view of the world. Former research shows signs of othering in the media around discourse of crime and immigrants and discusses medias’ cementing of a post-colonial worldview. This study uses framing theory and othering theory as a theoretical framework and is conducted through a quantitative content analysis of the written articles, about the murder cases of Wilma Andersson and Tova Moberg, across the time period of them going missing, to the point where the murderer is sentenced. The results show no signs of othering or discrimination in the Expressen articles and both the perpetrators and victims are framed equally in almost every aspect. Furthermore there is no significant connection between the sources cited and the framing in those articles, which could indicate an awareness in Expressens news process and how they influence the public.