Un elixir de la palabra : Heterogeneidad interlingüe en la narrativa de Sandra Cisneros

Esta tesis doctoral explora la construcción de algunos aspectos enunciativos relacionados con la heterogeneidad lingüístico-cultural presentes en la narrativa de la escritora chicana Sandra Cisneros [n. 1954]. Más específicamente, esta investigación tiene como objetivo principal explicar el fenómeno de la desterritorialización de la lengua a partir del examen de la conformación de espacios lingüístico-culturales intersticiales a lo largo del desarrollo de la obra de Cisneros [1984, 1991, 2002], que conforma el corpus de nuestro trabajo. Nuestra hipótesis rectora indica que en la escritura de Cisneros. La constitución de la heterogeneidad y la gesta del sentido son ineludiblemente interlingües. Así, proponemos que la heterogeneidad interlingüe es la categoría que permite explicar la complejidad discursivo-enunciativa característica de nuestro corpus. A partir del concepto de heterogeneidad[es] enunciativa[s] elaborado por Authier-Revuz [1984]. Definimos la heterogeneidad interlingüe como un fenómeno enunciativo que se inscribe en el ámbito del dialogismo interdiscursivo [Bajtin [1952-3] 1982] y que se manifiesta a través de las marcas y formas que surgen en el discurso a través de los procesos de negociación y traducción Iingüistico-culturales actualizados en el encuentro constante y constitutivo de distintas lenguas. Según entendemos, la heterogeneidad interlingüe se articula a partir de tres dimensiones que se encuentran en permanente interacción: la conformación de una imagen discursiva o ethos [Ducrot, [1984] 1986; Amossy, 1999] asociado al responsable de la enunciación de la totalidad de los textos narrativos [Iocutor-Autor], la institución de sitios -formas y marcas- que se presentan como heterogéneos desde un punto de vista lingüístico-cultural y la configuración de una practica de lectura particular que exige una competencia discursivo-cultural de parte del lector que debe completar el sentido del texto y también del discurso. En atención alas dimensiones aludidas, esta tesis otorga atención específica a los siguientes aspectos: la constitución interlingüe de la paratextualidad, la alternancia de lenguas, los distintos modos de presencia de la traducción, los enunciados paremiológicos y la dimensión reflexiva de la enunciación. Entre los objetivos centrales de nuestra investigación, se cuentan: 1. la elaboración de un andamiaje teórico-metodológico pluridisciplinario que permita dar cuenta de las particularidades discursivas de nuestro corpus y ser referencia para el análisis de otras escrituras de minorías y narrativas de frontera; 2. la contribución al desarrollo de los estudios del discurso [Authier-Revuz, 1984, 1995; Ducrot. [1984] 1986, 2004] a través de la incorporación de la noción de interlingüismo a la discusión de la constitución de la heterogeneidad y de la gesta del sentido discursivo; 3. la articulación del concepto de desterritorializacion [Deleuze y Guattari, [1975] 1998] con algunas nociones originadas en los modelos provenientes de la teoría de la Frontera [Hicks, 1991; Arteaga, 1997] y de la teoría discursiva de Authier-Revuz [1984, 1995]. En cuanto a los objetivos particulares, este trabajo de tesis se propone examinar las distintas formas y marcas de la heterogeneidad interlingüe presentes en la narrativa de Cisneros y ofrecer un panorama analítico que pondere la evolución de la obra de la escritora chicana en relación con la construcción del responsable de la enunciación, los sitios de la heterogeneidad y la practica de lectura singular que impone esta escritura

Discursive constructions of social and environmental accounting in Brazil: the case of Petrobras.

In the 29 years following \"Our Common Future\" by the United Nations, there is considerable debate among governments, civil society, interest groups and business organisations about what constitutes sustainable development, which constitutes evidence for a contested discourse concerning sustainability. The purpose of this study is to understand this debate in the developing economic context of Brazil, and in particular, to understand and critique the social and environmental accounting [SEA] discursive constructions relating to the State-owned, Petrobras as well as to understand the Brazilian literature on SEA. The discourse theory [DT]-based analysis employs rhetorical redescription to analyse twenty-two reports from Petrobras from 2004-2013. I investigate the political notions by employing the methodological framework of the Logics of Critical Explanation [LCE]. LCE engenders five methodological steps: problematisation, retroduction, logics (social, political and fantasmatic), articulation and critique. The empirical discussion suggests that the hegemony of economic development operates to obfuscate, rhetorically, the development of sustainability, so as to maintain the core business of Petrobras conceived as capital accumulation. Equally, these articulations also illustrate how the constructions of SEA operate to serve the company\'s purpose with few (none) profound changes in integration of sustainability. The Brazilian literature on SEA sustains the status quo of neo-liberal market policies that operate to protect the dominant business case approach to maintain an agenda of wealth-creation in relation to social and environmental needs. The articulations of the case manifested in policies regarding, for example, corruption, which involved over-payments for contracts and unsustainable practices relating to the use of fossil fuels and demonstrated that there was antagonism between action and disclosure. The corruption scandal that emerged after SEA disclosures highlighted the rhetorical nature of disclosure when financial resources were subtracted from the company for political parties and engineering contractors hid facts through incomplete disclosures. The articulations of SEA misrepresent a broader context of the meanings associated with sustainability, which restricted the constructions of SEA to principally serve and represent the intention of the most powerful groups. The significance of SEA, then is narrowed to represent particular interests. The study argues for more critical studies as limited Brazilian literature concerning SEA kept a \'safe distance\' from substantively critiquing the constructions of SEA and its articulations in the Brazilian context. The literature review and the Petrobras\' case illustrate a variety of naming, instituting and articulatory practices that endeavour to maintain the current hegemony of development in an emerging economy, which allows Petrobras to continue to exercise significant profit at the expense of the social and environmental. The constructed idea of development in Petrobras\' discourses emphasises a rhetoric of wider development, but, in reality, these discourses were the antithesis of political, social and ethical developmental issues. These constructions aim to hide struggles between social inequalities and exploitation of natural resources and constitute excuses about a fanciful notion of rhetorical and hegemonic neo-liberal development. In summary, this thesis contributes to the prior literature in five ways: (i) the addition of DT to the analysis of SEA enhances the discussion of political elements such as hegemony, antagonism, logic of equivalence/difference, ideology and articulation; (ii) the analysis of an emerging economy such as Brazil incorporates a new perspective of the discussion of the discourses of SEA and development; (iii) this thesis includes a focus on rhetoric to discuss the maintenance of the status quo; (iv) the holistic structure of the LCE approach enlarges the understanding of the social, political and fantasmatic logics of SEA studies and; (v) this thesis combines an analysis of the literature and the case of Petrobras to characterise and critique the state of the Brazilian academy and its impacts and reflections on the significance of SEA. This thesis, therefore, argues for more critical studies in the Brazilian academy due to the persistence of idea of SEA and development that takes-for-granted deep exclusions and contradictions and provide little space for critiques.

Astros no rock: uma perspectiva sociocultural no uso da canção na educação em ciências

A incorporação de elementos da cultura primeira do estudante no processo de ensino-aprendizagem foi defendida pelo pedagogo francês Georges Snyders (1988) em sua obra \"A Alegria na Escola\". Esta pesquisa contribuiu com essa interface, identificando, no discurso de canções do rock n\' roll, elementos textuais que possibilitem reflexões no âmbito conceitual, epistemológico e sociopolítico sobre a exploração do espaço. O objeto de estudo neste trabalho são canções do período entre as décadas de 1960 e 1970 que possuem representações sobre a astronomia e as missões espaciais. O uso do rock justificou-se pelo fato de temas sobre exploração espacial aparecerem no trabalho de diversos artistas desse gênero musical, permitindo reflexões em nível conceitual, epistemológico e sociopolítico sobre a ciência, a tecnologia e suas relações com a sociedade e o ambiente. Além disso, identificamos que tanto o rock quanto as missões espaciais foram fenômenos culturais que dependeram em sua gênese dos avanços da tecnologia e da ciência e tiveram sua repercussão na sociedade através de processos midiáticos. Essas canções foram selecionadas entre os diversos gêneros de rock, e analisadas a partir de referenciais semiodiscursivos. As atividades foram aplicadas em situações formais de ensino - ensino médio e ensino superior -, em formação continuada de professores e projetos de ensino não formal na escola. No processo de ensinoaprendizagem, foram desenvolvidas atividades que envolviam leitura-comentada da canção, identificando na letra, melodia e harmonia, aspectos que evidenciavam um discurso crítico sobre a ciência e sua relação com a sociedade e o ambiente. Essas atividades envolveram três instâncias: Elaboração, Aplicação e Análise. Como referencial norteador dessas etapas, nos valemos das teorias socioculturais de Vigotski (2001), Snyders (1988) e Freire (2013).

A Discursive Perspective on China's Global Politics of Climate Change, 1992-2013

This dissertation investigates China’s recent shift in its climate change policy with a refined discourse approach. Methodologically, by adopting a neo-Gramscian notion of hegemony, a generative definition of discourse and an ontological pluralist position, the study constructs a theoretical framework named “discursive hegemony” that identifies the “social forces” for enabling social change and focuses on the role of discursive mechanisms via which the forces operate and produce effects. The key empirical finding of this study was that it was a co-evolution of conditions that shaped the outcome as China’s climate policy shift. In examining the case, a before-after within-case comparison was designed to analyze the variations in the material, institutional, and ideational conditions, with methods including interviews, conventional narrative/text analysis and descriptive statistics. Specifically, changes in energy use, the structure of decision-making body, and the narratives about sustainable development reflected how the above three types of social force processed in China in the first few years of the 21st century, causing the economic development agenda to absorb the climate issue, and turning the policy frame for the latter from mainly a diplomatic matter to a potential opportunity for better-quality growth. With the discursive operation of the “Science-based development”, China’s energy policy has been a good example of the Chinese understanding of sustainability characterized by economic primacy, ecological viability and social green-engineering. This way of discursive evolution, however, is a double-edged sword that has pushed forward some fast, top-down mitigation measures on the one hand, but has also created and will likely continue creating social and ecological havoc on the other hand. The study makes two major contributions. First and on the empirical level, because China is an international actor that was not expected to cooperate on the climate issue according to major IR theories, this study would add one critical case to the studies on global (environmental) governance and the ideational approach in the IR discipline. Second and on the theory-building level, the model of discursive hegemony can be a causally deeper mode of explanation because it traces the process of co-evolution of social forces.

The Discursive double game of EMU reform: the clash of titans between French White Knight and German Iron Lady. Paper presented at the 9th Biennial Conference European Community Studies Association–Canada (ECSA-C), Ottawa, Ontario, April 27-28, 2012

From the Introduction. In the aftermath of the EU’s enlargement towards Central and Eastern Europe, many scholars and observers of European integration were proclaiming that the French-German “engine” of Europe had come to an end. The political legitimacy of French-German initiatives was contested by coalitions of smaller member states and the ‘new Europe’ was calling for new leadership dynamics. However, the experience of the Eurozone debt crisis provided dramatic evidence that no alternative to the Franco-German partnership has yet to emerge in the enlarged EU. In a time of existential crisis, Franco-German initiatives appear to have remained the basic dynamic of integration. However, unlike in the past, agreements on steps forward have proven to be particularly difficult. This is largely due to these countries’ contrasting political economic policy ideas, cultures, and practices....the paper analyses the ideational ‘frames’ of the two leaders while tracing their discursive interactions against changing background conditions since the European debt crisis was triggered by Greece in October 2009 until the last measures taken in 2012 before the French Presidential elections. The empirical analysis is based on a systematic corpus of press conferences and media interviews by Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel after European summits. It is complemented by a number of press interviews including some given by their respective Finance Ministers) and important speeches in that same period of time.

Identity Construction in Europe: A Discursive Approach. IES WORKING PAPER 2/2010

Proposing a discursive approach to studying identity, this paper presents Positioning Theory as a theoretical framework for conceptualizing the construction of identity in discourse. The Positioning Diamond is employed to analyse the discourse surrounding the Danish Euro referendum. The analysis reveals how identities are constructed in discourse that promotes a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote in the referendum, highlighting the generally implicit allocation of rights and duties to actors within a specific narrative context. The penultimate section discusses appropriate criteria for evaluating discursive accounts, distinguishing between cases in which truth, normative and ethical criteria are applicable. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of policy considerations and recommendations.

Army society : life in a garrison town : a discursive story /

Mode of access: Internet.

Expression of faith : a discursive letter /

Reply to a letter from Elder Frederick W. Evans.

The Chatter of the Visible : Montage and Narrative in Weimar Germany /

'The Chatter of the Visible' examines the paradoxical narrative features of the photo montage aesthetics of artists associated with Dada, Constructivism, and the New Objectivity.

Hobson-Jobson; a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive,

"List of fuller titles of books quoted in the glossary": p. xxvii-xlvii.

Agency as discursive practice: From nobody to somebody as an international student in Australia

As more and more students pursue an international education, there is a need to investigate how these students deal with the demands of their study programs in the new academic context. This paper introduces one such student, a Thai English teacher named Woody,2 and looks at the ways that he engaged with a Master of Education program in Australia. I analyse the transcripts of two interviews that I conducted with Woody in his first semester using Fairclough's model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The analysis is interested in the social and institutional demands that Woody identified as impacting on the course, and the strategic action that he took in response to them. I argue that by undertaking this action, Woody was “working” as an agent of his own change. The analysis highlights a proactive and strategic engagement on Woody's part, a point that has been missed in much of the literature on the international student experience in Australia.

Technologizing inhumanity: A discursive practice

A political interview intended to justify refugee detention in Australia is analysed using an interdisciplinary critical discourse method. Barthesian semiotic theory in which the 'Other' is the foundation of national myth provides a context for a close textual analysis using Hallidayan linguistics. The lexico-grammatical analysis identifies features associated with processes (verbs), grammatical metaphors, and nominals. Essentially, the effect is to blunt agency and distance the speaker, but, more importantly, create a classificatory system that allows humans to be treated in certain ways according to bureaucratic procedures. The discursive strategy is labelled technologizing the inhumane because it objectifies the subjective, turning profound human issues into technical issues. Analysed discursively, the interview reveals how discursive control is established and how democracy is represented as impeding the orderly procedure of 'objective' procedures.