Journal of Language and Politics - Online First

This article examines the discursive construction of nature as represented by the Swedish TV documentary Tvångsförflyttningar – Bággojohtin, which narrates the history of forced displacements of the indigenous people of Sami in northern Sweden in the early 20th century. Our discursive-material analysis highlights the role of nature in these displacements, and how, in these tragic historical developments, nature was regulated by the antagonistically positioned discursive frameworks of the state and the Sami, both of which, in very different ways, sought to integrate it into their respective systems of meaning. By bringing attention to the interconnection of the discursive and the material, we argue that nature, through a series of subversive acts, resisted both the environmental governmentality of the state and the counter-hegemonic environmental knowledge of the Sami. Thus, the article contributes to the understanding of the multiple discursive struggles around flora and fauna, but also nature’s own agency and voice.

Individuals perceive the real world via interpretive schema, and actively classify and interpret their life experiences into what are defined as frames, to make sense of the world around them. Why certain frames are chosen can be explored from the cognitive and communicative perspective. In this light, this study explores how the Chinese news media frame the coverage on Sino-US trade dispute, discursively legitimizing their ideological stance and action. The case study demonstrates that Chinese media exploit multifarious frames to construct the Chinese national identity, which correspondingly and strategically highlight such frames (Cooperation, Health, Journey) as conform to culture value or render the audience empathy. It is suggested to construct political conflict discourse via strategic choices of appropriate social, moral or cultural frames to reframe the dispute. Chinese media can also deploy agenda-setting to enhance political communication.