Duncan

Duncan

Discourse-historical approach

“From a case study analyzing an

Associated Press article discussing Pakistani responses to U.S. drone attacks, we

observe negative (re)presentation of Indigenous peoples in Pakistan as authors

use rhetorical strategies to achieve erasure in subsequent revisions. I interpret

the authors as employing such strategies to legitimize United States' power under

the axiological guise of protecting "democracy."”

358

“December 2009, Obama both announced his strategy

in Afghanistan and Pakistan involving a surge of 30,000 troops and "authorized

an expansion of the C.I.A.'s drone program in Pakistan's [...] tribal areas" (Shane

2009, para. 4).”

while drones are violation….continue to be used.

“During meetings with

tribal leaders from the FATA and on a live interview with prominent female TV

anchors in Pakistan, Indigenous peoples in Pakistan, including women and tribal

leaders, expressed disapprobation for the U.S. using drones to attack Taliban and

al-Oaida, especially in South Waziristan.”

Robert Brns : “In this

article. Indigenous peoples in Pakistan from the Waziristan agencies receive prominent

voices as they actively expressed resentment toward U.S. military aggression”

359

“Nevertheless, in

an updated version of the article published at 11:52 a.m. EDT (=10:52 a.m. CT),

the author silences Indigenous voices by erasure (Gal and Irvine 1995). That is, the

update, which occupied the same spatial location and obscures the original text by

rendering it virtually irretrievable, deleted tribal peoples' concerns almost entirely.”

“Addition of novel content that replaces erased Indigenous voices instantiates new

intertextual and interdiscursive relationships that reveal ideological transformations

from the original article to its subsequent revision. AP released a total of

three "updated" versions within 24 hours, the final two published at 5:43 p.m. CT”

“In the example analyzed here,

we see U.S. power legitimized in discourse as Pakistani, Indigenous, and women's

power is de-legitimized (Reisigl and Wodak 2009, 89). The effects of these power

struggles between social actors directly impinge on Pakistani and Indigenous

sovereignty, and self-determination for tribal peoples in the FATA. Significantly,

Clinton's visit, and publication of Burns' AP article, occurred during a time when

American public opinion for the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan was waning,

and when America awaited Obama's strategic decisions regarding continued war

efforts in these nations.”

story as text  - story production

“However, since the notion of a "single text" becomes an abstraction through

neotextualization, we can highlight both process and product, or outcome, of the

text, along with social practices that relate to each.”

360

news discourse – homogenized – filters out what is not wanted

“To view how power is legitimized and de-legitimized in the AP article concerning

Pakistani responses to U.S. drone attacks, I follow the discourse-historical approach

(DHA) within Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (Fairclough and Wodak

1997; Reisigl and Wodak 2001; 2009). Both are interdisciplinary, as the focus is

not solely on examining linguistic units, but also complex social phenomena tied

to language. The assumption behind the approaches of CDA and DHA is that language

is a "social practice," and that "social power abuse, dominance, and inequality

are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political

context" (Fairclough 1992; Fairclough and Wodak 1997; Van Dijk 2003, 352).”

“1) its emphasis on the principle of triangulation, 2) its particular notion of context,

3) discursive strategies aimed at positive self- and negative other-presentation, and

4) its three "interconnected aspects" that compose a "complex concept of social

critique" based in critical theory (Reisigl and Wodak 2001, 32). In what follows, I

briefly treat each of these as they pertain to this work.”

Triangulation

By integrating

this emphasis, DHA enables analysts to transcend the "purely linguistic dimension"

of data utilized in discourse-analytic approaches to account for, for example,

historical, political, and social dimensions of language use (Reisigl and Wodak

2001, 35). These elements are crucial, since discourse is embedded in social contexts.

361

Interplay between:

( 1 ) The text-internal co-text of each utterance or clause

(2) The extralinguistic (text-external) social variables and institutional frames of

a specific "context of situation"

(3) The broader socio-political and historical context of the speech event, which

discursive practices are embedded in and related to

(4) The intertextual and interdiscursive relationships of the respective speech

event to other relevant events

“Herein, I employ "text" or "discourse immanent

critique" to perform a hermeneutic exegesis of the AP article, paying special attention

to linguistic means and realizations used in rhetorical strategies of reference,

predication, and perspectivation (Resigl and Wodak 2001, 32, 44; 2009, 94). The

second critique type, "sociodiagnostic critique," moves beyond the textual realm

of analysis to address social practices performed in the text, such as manipulation

through erasure, power (de-)legitimization, and presentation of social actors in

accordance with particular goals (Reisigl and Wodak 2001, 32-33).”

“To further account for my interpretational conclusions, and to achieve the salient

point of triangulation, I integrate the impact of Internet-based international

knowledge from new media studies (Beaudoin 2008), highlighting potential influence

of the AP article along with the contributions that updated versions make

to collective memory and consciousness. Additionally, I situate the article within

postcolonial critique (Said 1978; 1993; Young 2001; 2003) and Indigenous feminisms

(Ramirez 2007; Smith and Kauanui 2008; Hall 2008) to interpret ideologies

behind revisions and content discrepancies between neo-texts.”

“Such action is characterized

by positive self-presentation of the colonizer and negative other-presentation

of the colonized in addition to silencing those oppressed by the colonial power.

Indigenous feminisms assert that colonialism is "sexualized," and predicts that

Indigenous peoples, in particular women, are disproportionately recipients of violence,

oppression, and domination resulting in inequality (Barker 2008). The focus

of Indigenous feminisms is to promote Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.”

362

intextextualtiy – multiple revised versions

“For clarification, I am not discussing pre-publication revisions for which analysts

lack access, as they are not available in the "real world." Rather, the revisions

in mind occur to a released text that has entered into discourse. In our case, the

AP released the Internet article, producing a concrete text. Yet, when an author or

news source updates a text, the revision(s), which can differ substantially from the

initial article, occupies the same spatial location as did the original. This process

can recur, leading to the production of "texts" while simultaneously presenting

the illusion that a single text exists. So, ironically, four individuals can read separate

versions of the "same" article and still discuss, for example, "the AP article

on Pakistani responses to U.S. drone attacks." This occurs despite speakers' intentional

reference to a concrete text or neo-text.”

“1) perceived singularity,

and 2) distinct dissimilarities between revisions. Since the notion of a

"single" text in these unique instances is an abstraction that embodies multiple

"texts," we say that revisions are neo-texts that emanate from a single (i.e., original)

text. The process of revision and production of neo-texts is, therefore, one

of neotextualization.”

364

“Transfer of elements also may occur during

neotextualization (as in the present case), and this process resonates with that

of recontextualization, especially given its transformational properties (Wodak

and Fairclough 2010; Muntigl 2000). Nevertheless, recontextualization typically

occurs between texts in the concrete sense, and thus fails to capture the unique

ontology of texts and neo-texts that neotextualization demonstrates.”

“Context that is internal to the abstract text

becomes rather obscured, since the neo-texts can occupy the same space as the

original publication, giving the impression that only a single text exists. Also, intertextual

relationships, in light of the previous discussion, can be established in

three manners: between an abstract text with a concrete text, between two abstract

texts, or between concrete neo-texts and concrete texts. Due to the distinctive

characteristics of neotextualization, the scope of the analysis here is rather limited

in order to demonstrate these unique attributes. Further neotextual analyses —

for example, of different genres, organizations and topics — are necessary to both

determine its status and understand to what extent (and when) it operates, but at

minimum this grants us a more detailed typology of context, intertextuality, and

recontextualization.”

“This aspect is of key importance in neotexutalization,

since thematic or topic reference can occur despite alterations to LRs

within a given topic. In Figure 1,1 signify transfer of topics and LRs with doubledotted

arrows. As this example demonstrates, a topic may carry over to a neo-text,

but LRs can be replaced with either novel or modified utterances that treat the

same general theme. The discrepancy between (neo-)text-specific LRs instantiate

distinct discourses and, I argue, are significant sites of analysis wherein we observe

rhetorical strategies aimed at positive self- and negative other-presentation,

including erasure.”

365

“(1) How are persons, objects, phenomena/events, processes and actions named

and referred to linguistically?

(2) What characteristics, qualities and features are attributed to social actors,

objects, phenomena/events and processes?

(3) From what point of view are these namings and attributions expressed?”

(4) What linguistic realizations does the author include, modify, append, or

delete from text to neo-text, or from neo-text to neo-text?

(5) How is the overall structure of the (neo-)text manipulated to communicate

particular ideologies and points-of-view?

366

(visuals of neotexts)

369

“As data from the tables demonstrates, discrepancies between a text and its revisions/

neo-texts are unique to neotextualization. Differences among (neo-)texts

provide potentially relevant sites of analysis wherein omissions, additions, and

modifications exhibit text-specific LRs employed for positive self- and negative other-

presentation. Additionally, since content deletes, the notion of erasure is a core

element that, as I argue, relates directly to discursive strategies and socio-political

actions.”

372

tribal replaced

373 – language completely omitted

374

“Therefore, the focus of the neo-texts

is under the perspective of terrorist activity that kills "women and children." On

the other hand, civilian deaths by U.S. drone missiles, also including women and

children, are "trivialized, ignored, and censored" (Michael Yellow Bird, personal

communication, 2009).”

376

Fascinating…and sad

“However, combining the notions

that the Internet is increasingly prominent in developing knowledge with

Van Dijk's observation that "the news is imbued with ideologies," we note that the

news are negatively poised as outlets for manipulation, power (de-)legitmization,

and self- and other-presentation (Van Dijk 2009, 202). Neotextualizations, when

they occur, offer analysts insight to some means by which authors, editors, and

producers of Internet news, as social actors, preserve homogeneity and the status

quo. Internet news, then, can serve to propagate colonial norms, especially with

regard to Indigenous peoples. Instead of increasing knowledge, Internet media

can be used to support, for example, national interests, and therefore discursively

(re)produce a limited range of epistemologies. Furthermore, neotextualization

complicates knowledge people have regarding individual "texts" given the unique

intertextual and interdiscursive relations that are subsumed under an abstract singular

concept. These considerations are extremely important with regard to the

AP article on Pakistani responses to U.S. drones given the international reach of

the organization. AP boasts that "[o]n a given day, more than half the world's

population sees news from the AP" (FAQs 2009).”

377

“The United States, under postcolonial theory, is currently the

most dominant colonial power, though it does not possess a "traditional" colonial

legacy (Osterhammel 2005). As such, U.S. military aggression can be considered

expansionist, though not exclusively in a geographical sense, and supportive of national

interests, such as the spread of "democracy" and controlling relations with

a nuclear-armed nation. Historically, Indigenous peoples have been and still are

overwhelming recipients of violence and violation of sovereignty. Not surprisingly

then, we see these events transpiring in the FATA of Pakistan, especially with U.S.

drone attacks in tribal lands. Moreover, due to at least superficial similarities in

U.S. attacks in tribal agencies in Pakistan and continued domination of Indigenous

peoples within the U.S., future research should seek to understand the explicit discursive

means that transcend spatial and temporal boundaries in order to link past

and the present both in the U.S. and in tribal areas in Pakistan (see SiUiman 2008).”

378

“Finally, when viewing these theoretical frameworks in conjunction with DHA,

there exists a common theme of defending human rights and promoting social

justice and equality. Each seeks to transform society by integrating knowledge

into practical application. This case study provides a hypothesis that instances of

neotextualization can involve ideological transformations, which can be utilized

by media producers to manipulate knowledge. By explicitly revealing discursive

strategies aimed at manipulation and power (de-)legitimization in Internet news,

we encourage transparency and clarify the means by which Indigenous sovereignty

and self-determination is obscured by efforts to advance the national interests

of colonial/imperial powers. Thus, neotextual analysis can support efforts toward

realizing Indigenous sovereignty. StiU, by narrowing on one example of neotextualization,

this analysis could be critiqued as erasing Indigenous voices in a way

that other methods, such as ethnography, might not. Nevertheless, at present I

merely seek to raise awareness and to supplement present and future scholarship

that "values the transformative power of indigenous, subjugated knowledges"

(Denzin and Lincoln 2008, 2).”

What is “indigineous”? Deeper culture that we don’t understand