Elite Discourse

Elite Discourse examines how language and communication – or just discourse – define, mediate and legitimize class privilege. It does so from the perspective of those people and places who often stand to gain most from inequality. Collectively, chapters consider language and communication that is elitist in its appeal to distinction, excellence and superiority; they also describe the ways in which various groups and institutions lay claim to ‘eliteness’ as a way to position themselves (or to be positioned by others) as elite or non-elite. As such, chapters are concerned as much with discourse about elite status as they are with the discourse of elites – those groups commonly defined by their material wealth, political control, or demographic rarity. Ultimately, Elite Discourse views ‘elite’ as something we do, rather than something we necessarily have or are. Indeed, elite status and eliteness point us to the rhetorical strategies by which many people differentiate themselves and by which they access symbolic-material resources for shoring up their status, privilege and power. This book was originally published as a special issue of Social Semiotics.

"This study of 'elite racism,' which can be subtle but is in fact pervasive and sometimes mundane, is an important contribution to the study of racism and a fine example of comparative race and ethnic studies. Intended for undergraduate and graduate students and scholars, it can also be profitably read by anyone interested in understanding the multiple manifestations of racism in U.S. and European societies." --Choice

The economic liberalization of India, changes in global structures, and the rapid emergence of India on the global landscape have been accompanied by the dramatic rise in popular, public, and elite discourses that offer the promise to imagine India. Written mostly in the future tense, these discourses conceive of India through specific frames of global change and simultaneously offer prescriptive suggestions for the pathways to fulfilling the vision. Both as summary accounts of the shifts taking place in India and in the relationships of India with other global actors as well as roadmaps for the immediate and longer term directions for India, these discourses offer meaningful entry points into elite imaginations of India. Engaging these imaginations creates a framework for understanding the tropes that are mobilized in support of specific policy formulations in economic, political, cultural, and social spheres. Connecting meanings within networks of power and structure help make sense of the symbolic articulations of India within material relationships.

Originally published as The Continuum Companion to Discourse Analysis, this book is designed to be the essential one-volume resource for advanced students and academics. This companion offers a comprehensive and accessible reference resource to research in contemporary discourse studies. In 21 chapters written by leading figures in the field, the volume provides readers with an authoritative overview of key terms, methods and current research topics and directions. It offers both a survey of current research and gives more practical guidance for advanced study in the area. The volume covers all the most important issues, concepts, movements and approaches in the field and features a glossary of key terms in the area of discourse analysis. It is the complete resource for postgraduate students and researchers working within discourse studies, applied linguistics, TESOL and the social sciences.

Antiracist Discourse in Brazil: From Abolition to Affirmative Action follows Teun A. van Dijk’s earlier studies on racist discourse in Europe, the USA, and Latin America. This book focuses on antiracist discourse, focusing on the history of the discourse against slavery and racism and in favor of abolition and affirmative action in Brazil. After a theoretical chapter on antiracism and antiracist discourse, the author studies Jesuit texts of the 17th and 18th century criticizing the abuses against slaves and the texts of black and white writers in the 19th century advocating abolition. The author analyzes discourses of 20th century scholars, journalists, and activists who explicitly combat prevalent international eugenicist and racist ideologies as well as post-abolition discrimination of black people all while challenging the dominant myth of Brazil as a ‘racial democracy.’ After the historical study of these antiracist discourses, this book offers a detailed case study of contemporary debates on affirmative action in Brazilian parliament.

LC Number: 2005048399

Drawing on a large corpus of narratives recorded at a church shelter for abused domestic helpers in Hong Kong, this monograph explores how the women discursively construct themselves in sharing sessions with other helpers. They see themselves as ‘helpers’ who have come to Hong Kong to help their families, to help the people in the city, and to serve God. A wide variety of competing identities are constructed in the narratives: submissive helper, sacrificial mother, daughter and wife, and powerless traumatised victim, but also resourceful indignant migrant women who, through sharing and peer support, become empowered to fight against abusive employers. This book provides a detailed discourse analysis of the women’s narratives, but it also explores larger issues such as global migration, exploitation, language and power, abuse and the psychology of evil, intergroup communication, and peer support and empowerment.