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- Volume 22, Issue 5, 2023
Journal of Language and Politics - Volume 22, Issue 5, 2023
Volume 22, Issue 5, 2023
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Cultivation of sustainability in a discourse of change
Author(s): Franzisca Wederpp.: 577–600 (24)More LessAbstractSustainability has been well used (and abused) as “buzz-word”, label or language token for certain behavior and action in political, organizational and increasingly in individual communication. Based on critical approaches in language, discourse and communication studies, the paper explores potential processes of normalization of sustainability as a new norm, discusses new theories and methodological variations that can be applied to better understand sustainable development, and offers a theoretical concept for cultivation of sustainability as a dialectic process of questioning and stabilization in transformation and change processes. Complemented by a communication for development and social change perspective, the paper lays the theoretical foundation for an understanding of sustainability as organizing principle in socio-ecological change processes, which is further elaborated in the contributions of this Special Issue, which are introduced at the end.
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Anthropomorphism, anthropocentrism, and human-orientation in environmental discourse
Author(s): Casey R. Schmittpp.: 601–621 (21)More LessAbstractThis article surveys and reflects upon the influence of anthropomorphism in environmental and sustainability discourses. It summarizes key perspectives on and tensions surrounding anthropomorphizing rhetorics, ultimately arguing that such rhetorics need not be anthropocentric. The article first defines core concepts and terminology, including anthropomorphism and anthropocentrism. It then provides an ideological history of environmental communication’s tension between humanism and more-than-humanism, highlighting the role of communication and symbolism in shaping (or constraining) perspectives and making a case for a middle path of human-oriented (rather than human-centered) appeals, before concluding with recommendations for future work.
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Rhetorical (ir)responsibility in the Australian Parliament
Author(s): Simon McLaughlin and Franzisca Wederpp.: 622–639 (18)More LessAbstractIn this conceptual paper, we differentiate between political decisions and the conversations where these decisions are discussed and facilitated. We complement existing work on argumentation in political communication by applying Aristotle’s Rhetoric to the study of climate change debate. We show how Aristotle’s principles for ethical and rational political speech work toward audience trust and encourage deliberative debate and decision-making. Our deliberative perspective is supported by a case study analysis of Australia’s parliamentary climate change debate. We resurrect Aristotle’s Rhetoric both as an analytical tool for critical analysis and a potential framework for constructive climate change debate. Following the conceptualisation of parliamentary debate as a conversational space where decision-making processes are facilitated, we introduce Aristotle’s Rhetoric and the concept of ‘rhetorical responsibility’, which is further explored and exemplified in the case study. We conclude with future research questions for discourse and political communication studies.
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ICT environmentalism and the sustainability game
Author(s): Hunter Vaughan, Anne Pasek, Nicholas R. Silcox and Nicole Starosielskipp.: 640–660 (21)More LessAbstractOver the past three decades, corporate branding has trended strongly towards environmental conscientiousness and green rhetoric, often heralded under the term “sustainability” – a broad and mutable rhetorical strategy that not only serves industry self-interest but is mobilized by civil society actors as well. This tension is especially apparent in the information communication technologies (ICT) sector. Employing Wittgenstein’s concept of the language-game, this article describes how sustainability has been deployed by tech companies, and how these efforts have also been contested – and strategically mobilized – by activist environmental non-profits and critical scholars seeking to reform tech sector practices. Combining environmental communication, political economy, and discourse analysis, we investigate the conceptualization and communication of sustainability as a discourse within and against the sector.
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From controversy to common ground
Author(s): Julia Litofcenko, Andrea Vogler, Michael Meyer and Martin Mehrwaldpp.: 661–686 (26)More LessAbstractOnce a concept of the radical environmentalist movement, the term sustainability was incorporated into the hegemonic discourse. Prior research argues that this occurred through a process in which the original controversy between ecological and economic issues has evolved from an antagonist opposition to a broad concurrence. While this development has mainly been analysed qualitatively, we apply quantitative analysis of mass media in Austria between 1990 and 2020 to trace the changing use of the term. Applying methods of corpus linguistics, topic modelling, and dictionary based analysis, we find that the discourse has become less polarized over time, deploying increasingly positive language, and catering more and more towards the conservative parts of the population. Political actors’ presence declines significantly after 2000, and simultaneously, commercial and individual solutions are more widely discussed – everyone is responsible, and no one is to blame.
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“Hope dies – Action begins”
Author(s): Hanna E. Morrispp.: 687–706 (20)More LessAbstractDrawing upon motifs of death, mass extinction, and predictions of chaos and collapse, the UK-based Extinction Rebellion (XR) demarcates itself as a different kind of environmental movement precisely because it “tells the truth” (in XR’s own words) about the climate crisis during a time of supposed false hope, denial, and delusion. In this paper, I analyze – through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) – how XR’s postnatural visions shape (and limit) the movement’s demands and proposals for change. My analysis reveals how XR’s calls for action are guided by a sense of loss and mourning for a future after nature’s end that are embedded with nostalgic undercurrents of a very particular mode of green nationalism. The potential exclusions and limitations of XR’s green nationalism are explored in this paper.
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Discourses on gender in climate change adaptation projects of Bangladesh
Author(s): Debashish Sarker Dev and Elske van de Fliertpp.: 707–729 (23)More LessAbstractThe study examines why certain discourses on gender are more powerful than others in describing intentions for gender inclusion in development projects. A critical discourse analysis was carried out on texts of climate change adaptation projects implemented during 2009–2020 in rural Bangladesh. This article argues that gender is currently not considered enough in climate action and that gender discourses focus primarily on ‘women’s participation, more precisely, ‘women’s presence in poverty reduction and empowerment projects. The discourses reinscribe to the long-established economic priorities of development rather than exploring new dimensions to challenge social norms that define perpetual gender inequalities. This study suggests that greater attention is required to address the gender realities of non-binary categories, ethnic groups, non-poor social classes, and religious minorities to effectively plan and implement adaptation projects to support the diverse needs of vulnerable people.
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Dimensions of time and space in narratives for climate action
Author(s): Emma Frances Bloomfieldpp.: 730–749 (20)More LessAbstractAddressing climate change requires engaging with the fluid, dynamic, and amorphous narrative of humanature relationships. I view environmental rhetoric as practices of storytelling that structure reality, guide actions, and shape understanding of the environment. Through rhetorical criticism, I analyzed fragments of climate activist discourse related to the narratives’ temporal and spatial scopes. I argue that reimagining the scope of our climate narratives’ temporal (chronos-kairos) and spatial (chora-topos) dimensions are inventional opportunities to motivate climate action toward more sustainable futures.
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Review of Li & Hu (2021): Reappraising Self and Others: A Corpus-based Study of Chinese Political Discourse in English Translation
Author(s): Qiuxi Liupp.: 750–753 (4)More LessThis article reviews Reappraising Self and Others: A Corpus-based Study of Chinese Political Discourse in English Translation
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Review of Demasi, Burke & Tileagă (2021): Political communication: Discursive perspectives
Author(s): Xinyue Wang and Enhua Guopp.: 754–758 (5)More LessThis article reviews Political communication: Discursive perspectives
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Review of Livnat, Shukrun-Nagar & Hirsch (2020): The Discourse of Indirectness: Cues, Voices and Functions
Author(s): Yuan Pingpp.: 759–762 (4)More LessThis article reviews The Discourse of Indirectness: Cues, Voices and Functions
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Review of Musolff & Breeze (2022): Pandemic and Crisis Discourse Communicating COVID-19 and Public Health Strategy
Author(s): Qian Mapp.: 763–766 (4)More LessThis article reviews Pandemic and Crisis Discourse Communicating COVID-19 and Public Health Strategy
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Review of Lütge, Merse & Rauschert (2022): Global Citizenship in Foreign Language Education: Concepts, Practices, Connections
Author(s): Xiaoxiao Songpp.: 767–770 (4)More LessThis article reviews Global Citizenship in Foreign Language Education: Concepts, Practices, Connections
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Review of Akbari (2020): Iran’s Language Planning Confronting English Abbreviations: Persian Terminology Planning
Author(s): Lingyun Lv and Renqiang Wangpp.: 771–774 (4)More LessThis article reviews Iran’s Language Planning Confronting English Abbreviations: Persian Terminology Planning
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Review of Chun (2022): Applied Linguistics and Politics
Author(s): Qijun Songpp.: 775–778 (4)More LessThis article reviews Applied Linguistics and Politics
Volumes & issues
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Volume 24 (2025)
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Volume 23 (2024)
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Volume 22 (2023)
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Volume 21 (2022)
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Volume 20 (2021)
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Volume 19 (2020)
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Volume 18 (2019)
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Volume 17 (2018)
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Volume (2018)
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Volume 16 (2017)
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Volume 15 (2016)
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Volume 14 (2015)
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Volume 13 (2014)
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Volume 12 (2013)
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Volume 11 (2012)
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Volume 10 (2011)
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Volume 9 (2010)
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Volume 8 (2009)
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Volume 7 (2008)
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Volume 6 (2007)
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Volume 5 (2006)
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Volume 4 (2005)
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Volume 3 (2004)
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Volume 2 (2003)
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Volume 1 (2002)
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