Essay Sample on Out-Grouping in Modern Society: Examining the Impact of Liberal and Egalitarian Discourses

Introduction

The liberal and egalitarian discourses impact the quality of outgroups constructs in modern society. Arguably, the critical human disasters of slavery in the USA and the Holocaust in Europe have affected the older discourses on out-groupings and have aligned them to take the focus of quasi-argumentative elaboration, which is focused on culture and not race in the creation 'us' versus 'them.' British newspapers have, within such context, increasingly engaged in dialogs about refugees, asylum seekers, and immigration, through various international and domestic issues. The paper will focus on how the British newspapers represent outgroups in the current conflict between Turkey and the European Union.

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Aim

This academic essay investigates the discursive strategies used by several British newspapers in how they represent refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers in recent news articles about the current conflict between the European Union and Turkey. This academic essay applies Faircloughian CDA as a theoretical and methodological approach.

Background

Situational Context

On February 28, 2020, turkey opened its gates to Greece, which led to the entry of refugees to the EU and as a result of the threats by Erdogan and set a scene for a new refugee crisis. The clash between the two countries has created a crisis that has dramatically affected refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers. They have been denied access to Greece, being discriminated against in the EU, and moved back to their countries. However, both sides blame each other for the breach of the deal they signed among themselves in 2016. Security forces in Greek have prevented people from trying to enter their country, and this has led to many confrontations. There are cases where migrants have reported being assaulted by security forces as they try to enter into Greek, and being forced back into their country. Besides, the media of the British newspapers have played a vital role in the process through their biased news reporting about the refugees, migrants and, asylum seekers.

Possible Broader Theory/The Theory of Media Representation

Besides studying the discursive strategies of British media, one could examine the differences in the discourse between the refugee crisis in 2016 with a broader theory of media representation. This theory allows for an even more significant, in-depth understanding of the link between linguistic and media representation. The linguistics Norman Fairclough and Roger Fowler provide the above information in their books Language in the News: Discourse and Ideology in the Press by Fowler (1991) and Media Discourse by Fairclough (1995).

CDA

In his book Critical discourse analysis: the critical study of Language, Norman Fairclough (1995) presents Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a three-dimensional framework with three different, yet very connected forms of analysis. He describes them as "analysis of (spoken or written) language texts, analysis of discourse practice (processes of text production, distribution, and consumption) and analysis of discursive events as instances of sociocultural practice." (Fairclough, 1995). Fairclough explains this theoretical and methodological approach as a way to study Language in its connection to power and ideology (p.1). Furthermore, John E. Richardson (2007) further elaborates on Fairclough's three-dimensional framework. He explains that discourse is understood through a text's form and function, then the text's relation to how the version is produced and consumed, and the relation of the production and consumption to the broader society in which the book occurs (Richardson, p. 37). Additionally, Richardson suggests his readers, to follow the Faircloughian way of CDA by starting with a textual analysis followed by discursive and social practice analysis (p.37). Moreover, Simpson. P, Mayr, and Stratham (2019), in their book Language and Power, explain CDA as a theory that handles all of the interrelated categories; discourse, power, ideology, and social structure (Simpson, Mayr, & Statham, 2019, p. 59). CDA's primary purpose is to decode and denaturalize ideology strategies to reveal the power structures in the discourse, which can cause social problems (p.60). Ultimately, the mentioned advocates of CDA provide excellent methods for researching within the field of CDA.

Design of The Study

The study design will form the backbone of this analysis as it will determine how and which methods to use in the data analyses. The review will be done using Norman Fairclough's framework of texual analysis. It will cover media reporting and its impact on the refugee crisis in Europe, including the current conflict between EU and turkey. The study area was selected due to its role in the current affairs of refugees around the world. The selection of the media text is made through the sifting of media that contains strong content, high readership, and political views. The analysis will include tabloids and broadsheets to further understand how the media shapes opinion regarding refugees matters. These being an analytical study, it will test the relationship between press presentations on refugees and the impact they have on the image and opinion of readers on refugees. The study will answer the question of why media presentations are essential in shaping opinion. It will involve a cross-sectional analysis and case studies to analyze the material.

Norman Fairclough's framework of analyzing text will help analyze texts through analysis of social and cultural practices that frame discourse practice and writings. The micro-level study will involve text syntax, metaphoric structure, and rhetorical devices. The meso-level will consist of looking at the production of the text and power options. The macro-level deals will deal with the intertextual relationship and how external factors influence how the text is analyzed.

The study employs critical discourse analysis, which is part of the qualitative method. The method of Fairclough's CDA is concerned with understanding a pressing issue in the social setting, which in this case, is the issue of media misrepresentation of the refugees, migrants and, asylum seekers in the EU. The analysis focus on the use of texts by newspapers to make sense of the impact media has on opinions held by people in host countries and the world. The analysis will construct social relations and actions in everyday life. At the same time, build individuals and text positions to make possible different meanings, versions, and ideas of impacts of media reporting (Simpson, Mayr, & Statham, 2018). Various British news articles were analyzed to establish how they represent the outgroup minorities: refugees in the European Union and among the newspapers, including The Guardian, Daily Mail, and Sunday Times. Furthermore, the comparison between various publications in terms of their headlines, context, and textual framing is vital in portraying the message media outlets relay to people.

References

Erkoyun, E. (2020, March 9). Turkey to talk with the EU about migrant issues. City A.M. (London, England), p. 15. Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view? p=AWNB&docref=news/1799761C87EA65D0.

News Service, R. (2020, March 9). Erdogan to seek more EU help for refugees stuck in Turkey. Cyprus Mail (Nicosia, Cyprus). Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view? p=AWNB&docref=news/17999C30D5DC5040.

Nellas in Athens, D. (2020, March 9). Refugee center burns amid clashes on the Turkish border - NewsPanorama Around the world in 10 storiesGREECE. i: The Paper For Today (London, England), p. 24. Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view? p=AWNB&docref=news/1799801D265ED0A0.

New Clashes Erupt On Border. (2020, March 7). Plymouth Evening Herald (England), p. 13. Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view? p=AWNB&docref=news/17991C7E1FABA698.

Parker, N. (2020, March 7). Trapped on the edge of freedom - AGONY OF 75,000 REFUGEES RUSHING TO 'NEW CALAIS'l TURKS PROMISE' DOOR TO EUROPE' GREEK RIOT COPS SHUT THE BORDER 10,000 ARE LEFT COLD, ILL STARVING. Sun, The (London, England), p. 32,33. Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view? p=AWNB&docref=news/1798DFEC8DED3B38.

Pidd and agencies, H. (2020, March 8). International Women's Day: As asylum seekers protest at the Turkish border, women, and children are thousands who took to streets around the world, but some protests turned violent. Guardian, The (London, England), p. 9. Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view?

Quinn, D. (2020, March 8). Do we want to 'build that wall' like Trump? - Refugees blocked at the Greek border, while Ireland could take. Sunday Times, The (London, England), p. 21. Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/179983BAF5374E68.

Shkurko, J. (2020, March 9). Cyprus deploys special forces to the Greek-Turkish border (Updated). Cyprus Mail (Nicosia, Cyprus). Available from NewsBank: Access World News: http://haproxy.newsbank.com:11021:11021/apps/news/document-view? p=AWNB&docref=news/17999460F4FF17C8.

Simpson, P., Mayr, A., & Statham, S. (2018). Language and power: A resource book for students. Routledge.

Tisdall, S. (2020, March 7). This shoddy Idlib ceasefire won't end the war - or the suffering of Syrians - This deal stitched up between Russia and Turkey reinforces Putin's grip and Erdogan's position as Moscow's man in Nato. Observer, The (London, England). Available from NewsBank: Access World News.