The construction of a Civic Neighbourhood as/through cultural production: a discourse analytical approach to participatory art and temporary architecture

This essay investigates the construction of a neighborhood in East London, both in its discursive and its socio-cultural and material dimensions. The analysis combines methodologies from the fields of critical discourse analysis, participatory art, temporary architecture and urban commons to offer a “thick description” of professional, political and discursive practices involved in the definition and creation of a civic neighbourhood. The analysis focuses on civic neighbourhood project in East London called InterAct while the pivotal point of the project was the building of a piece of temporary architecture, the planning and ongoing construction of a civic neighbourhood involved a much more far-reaching production of material and symbolic artifacts which jointly represent a form of position taking within a site of social, cultural and symbolic struggle (Bourdieu 1993, 30). The study provides a critical description of the InterAct project, illustrating its purpose, goals and rationale and critically examines some of the publicly available discursive artifacts which revolve around it. The research approach programmatically seeks to combine insights from multiple methodological research traditions in order to investigate a complex socio-cultural phenomenon with considerable possible political ramifications

University of Montana faces more students, faculty: different costs this fall

This article introduces the theme of the Special Issue on “Debating evolutions in science, technology and society: Ethical and ideological perspectives.” Its starts from the idea that new advances in science and in technology, new evolutions in society, politics and culture bring with them the need to update linguistic resources at different levels in order to be able to talk about them and accommodate new concepts. Thus they inevitably result in an impact on language and discourse that goes well beyond vocabulary and terminology. They change patterns of thinking, reasoning and conceptualizing, leading to new representations and new discourses. In particular, representation of evolutions in texts addressed to the general public involves the transfer of domain-specific knowledge to various non-specialist audiences and its recontextualization and transformation to be made accessible to the non-specialist. That is why it can never be neutral, even when the writer has the best intentions in terms of accuracy and honesty. The focus of this introductory article is in particular on the notion of discursive frame, frames being cognitive perceptual structures that either subconsciously or strategically influence participants on how to “hear or how to say” something. It shows that framing, selecting and perspectivising are inevitable in knowledge dissemination and transmission, and argues that since they are so effective, discourse frames are a powerful ideological instrument, capable of influencing the public perception of the most crucial issues in society

Debating evolutions in science, technology and society: Ethical and ideological perspectives. An introduction

This article introduces the theme of the Special Issue on “Debating evolutions in science, technology and society: Ethical and ideological perspectives.” Its starts from the idea that new advances in science and in technology, new evolutions in society, politics and culture bring with them the need to update linguistic resources at different levels in order to be able to talk about them and accommodate new concepts. Thus they inevitably result in an impact on language and discourse that goes well beyond vocabulary and terminology. They change patterns of thinking, reasoning and conceptualizing, leading to new representations and new discourses. In particular, representation of evolutions in texts addressed to the general public involves the transfer of domain-specific knowledge to various non-specialist audiences and its recontextualization and transformation to be made accessible to the non-specialist. That is why it can never be neutral, even when the writer has the best intentions in terms of accuracy and honesty. The focus of this introductory article is in particular on the notion of discursive frame, frames being cognitive perceptual structures that either subconsciously or strategically influence participants on how to “hear or how to say” something. It shows that framing, selecting and perspectivising are inevitable in knowledge dissemination and transmission, and argues that since they are so effective, discourse frames are a powerful ideological instrument, capable of influencing the public perception of the most crucial issues in society

Because Crisis Happens

À la fin de 2003, le géant agroalimentaire italien Parmalt, se trouve entraîné dans un scandale financier qui, en quelques semaines, conduit à sa mise sous administration judiciaire et l’engagement des procédures de faillite.Assailli par la presse internationale (impatient, dans le sillage des scandales qui ont frappé le marche américain quelques années auparavant, de débusquer les instigateurs des délits financiers), ainsi que par les investisseurs et d’autres parties prenantes, Parmalat publie une série de communiqués de presse qui documente le déroulement de la crise et illustre l’approche adoptée par la société en matière de communication en situation de crise.Cet article analyse les communiqués de presse en anglais (destiné donc, à un public international) publiés par Parmlat entre novembre 2003 et août 2004. Ils font l’objet d’une analyse à la fois qualitative relevant de l’analyse du discours, et quantitative, à l’aide du concordancier Wordsmiths Tools 4.0, dans le but d’identifier les principales caractéristiques de la stratégie de communication de crise adoptée par Parmalat.L’analyse indique que l’entreprise n’a pas adopté une stratégie de communication claire et les choix textuels (en rapport avec le genre), lexicaux et syntaxiques véhiculent, de manière implicite, l’image d’une entreprise incapable de maîtriser le cours des événements et peu disposée à engager le dialogue avec les parties prenantes.At the end of 2003, the Italian dairy giant Parmalat became embroiled in a financial scandal which, in a matter of weeks, led to temporary receivership and the initiation of bankruptcy procedures. Pressured by the international media (eager, in the wake of the scandals that had hit the American market a few years earlier, to point the finger at the perpetrators of financial crimes), as well as by investors and other stakeholders, Parmalat issued a series of press releases which document the unfolding of the crisis and illustrate the approach to crisis communication chosen by the company. This paper analyses the press releases in English (aimed, therefore, at the international public) issued by Parmalat between November 2003 and August 2004. The press releases are analysed both qualitatively, in a discourse-analytical perspective, and quantitatively, with the help of computerised routines (Wordsmiths Tools 4.0), with a view to identifying the main features of Parmalat’s crisis communication strategy. The findings suggest that Parmalat did not have a clear communication strategy, and that textual (genre-related), lexical and syntactic choices conveyed implicitly the image of a company unwilling to engage dialogically with its stakeholders and unable to control the course of the events

The Place of Language. Essays in Honor of Giuliana Garzone

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