School of Languages and Linguistics - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 2 of 2
-
ItemThe discursive construction of risk in Vietnamese communities( 2021)The concept of risk has become more central to contemporary societies, as we struggle to manage a range of perceived threats based on our understandings and associated practices under the discourses of risk. Studies of risk discourses, however, are often based on Western assumptions of rationality and individuality, which have not been deeply examined outside of Western cultures. Situated in the literature of risk and discourse, the study aims to investigate the discursive construction of risk in the contexts of non-Western societies. To fulfil this aim, the study examines how the discourse of risk is constructed in the media and in everyday life of Vietnamese communities via three case studies set in Vietnam. The case studies focus on the construction of risk discourses in the media and in the lived experiences of members of Vietnamese communities, with a particular focus on the experience of women vis-a-vis gender expectations in daily lives. In the case studies, I use the methodologies of multimodal discourse analysis based on Systemic Functional Theory, while drawing from ethnography and autoethnography to understand the situated meanings of risk as embedded in the lived experiences of Vietnamese women. Findings of the study highlight sociocultural values and practices in the construction of risk in Vietnamese communities, which extend beyond Western-centric epistemologies which currently dominate the field. The study informs new theories in risk discourse, forges new approaches to discourse research and holds significance for further work in risk communication.
-
ItemThe construction of risk in government advertising: a case study of Operation Sovereign Borders video advertisements( 2017)The notion of risk has become an integral part of the contemporary societies, which come to understand potential harms and threats in and through the discourses of risk. Aligning itself with the literature of risk and discourse, the current study aims to gain an insight into the construction of risk in and through semiotic resources within multimodal texts in their social contexts, with a focus on the discourses of irregular migration in Australian government advertising. Through a case study of two video advertisements as part of the Operation Sovereign Border campaigns to deter maritime arrivals, the study examines how risk is constructed through a multimodal analysis of each video. Findings of the study are consistent with the social theories of risk, which point to the use of both technico-scientific discourse to highlight expertise, as well as the discourse of governmentality that stresses the role of self-regulation of the individuals in controlling risk. With its findings, the study has added to the growing bodies of research on risk and multimodal discourse analysis, and enhanced understanding of migration issues in Australian political contexts, which contribute to the future research on similar topics.