session 11, kolar
DESCRIPTION
Values, Identity & CSRTRANSCRIPT
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS AN EMPTY SIGNIFIER IN MEDIA DISCOURSES
Urška Kolar, PhD student in Cultural Studies, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciencesdoc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Assistant Professor in Marketing Communication, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences
DEFINITION CRISIS
Idea for treating SR as empty signifier Numerous definitions Attempts to define SR in numerous
fields(business ethics, marketing, political
economy)- Definition crisis seen as problematic
because it diminishes operative potential of SR, search for the rational core
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Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
EMPTY SIGNIFIER
Part of Laclau’s discourse theory Emerges in populist discourse Signifies the “irrepresentable” (empty place
in the signifying chain) Gathers unrelated demands under a unifying
name – enables action “in the name of” Creates personal investment and emotional
tie to the “cause”
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Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
MEDIA ANALYSIS
Laclau’s theoretical framework lacks methodological instructions
Fairclough’s three dimensional model: - Textual level (linguistic analysis)- Discursive level (genres,
intertextuality)- Sociocultural practice analysis (context
analysis) 5 daily newspapers, search word: SR,
104 articles found 4
Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
RESULTS- TEXTUAL LEVEL
How is SR described? - SR as unified idea: concept,
programme, principle- Managerial discourse: business model,
opportunity, recipe, trend and task- Personal investment: awareness, care,
moral value, moral stand.
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Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
RESULTS - TEXTUAL LEVEL
- Most frequent: “a sense of” – nominalization
- Expressive verbs: to entice, inspire, encourage and most commonly, to feel.
- Expressive verbs combined also with SR description in managerial discourse
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Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
RESULTS - DISCURSIVE LEVEL
- Mostly news reports reproducing PR messages
- Other genres: readers letters, diary, petition
- Specialized journalists- Exaggeration and emotional appeals of
experts (references to children and apocalypse)
- Types of discourses used: managerial and moral controversy 7
Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
RESULTS - DISCURSIVE LEVEL
Managerial discourse: - growth opportunity for the company- On the level of individual’s identity
represented as an opportunity for personal growth
Moral controversy- calls for change- “return” to moral values
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Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
RESULTS- SOCIOCULTURAL PRACTICE
- Using Laclau’s discursive theory to interpret the sociocultural context
- Demand as a central part of analysis- Explicit vs.implicit demands- Diversity of oppositions:(economy-state, artist-society, managers-
employed, owners-syndicate, individual-society, church-socitey)
- In Slovene media: most demands directed toward state 9
Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
RESULTS- SOCIOCULTURAL PRACTICE
- Representation of conflicting values: - Individualism (each individual’s responsibility for
his/her own actions, one must start with himself, the only thing we can change is ourselves)
- Communitarianism( greater good of the community must
always come before the individual)10
Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
CONCLUSIONS
- Presence of an empty signifier- The solution is offered symply by
giving problems a common name- Similarities with populistic discourses
in politics- Problematic: the resurrection of pre-
modern values
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Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana
Thank you for your attention!
E-mail: [email protected]
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Urška Kolar PhD Student, doc.dr. Tanja Kamin, Faculty of Social Sciences, U of Ljubljana