Session 11, Kolar

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