About the Book
Discourse and Crisis: Critical perspectives brings together an exciting collection of studies into crisis as text and context, as unfolding process and unresolved problem. Crisis is viewed as a complex phenomenon that – in its prevalence, disruptiveness and (appearance of) inevitability – is both socially produced and discursively constituted. The book offers multiple critical perspectives: in-depth linguistically informed analyses of the discourses of power and collaboration implicated in crisis construal and recovery; detailed examination of the critical role that language plays during the crisis life-cycle; and further problematization of the semiotic-material complexity of crisis and its usefulness as an analytical concept. The research focus is on the discursive and interactive mediation of crisis in organizational, political and media texts. The volume contains contributions from across the world, offering a polyphonic overview of ‘discourse and crisis’ research. This impressive volume will be useful to researchers and academics working on the intersection of crisis, language and communication. It is also of interest to practitioners in organizational management, politics and policy, and media.
Table of Contents:
1. Acknowledgements; 2. Introduction; 3. Discourse in crisis, crisis in discourse (by De Rycker, Antoon); 4. 'Crisis' in Modernity: A sign of the times between decisive change and potential irreversibility (by Chalozin-Dovrat, Lin); 5. Part I: Organizational discourse; 6. Serving a high-risk warrant: The role of context in police crisis negotiations (by Royce, Terry D.); 7. Misalignments in Finnish emergency call openings: Legitimacy, asymmetries and multi-tasking as interactional contests (by Vaajala, Tiia); 8. Collaboration in crisis: Pursuing perception through multiple descriptions (how friendly vehicles became damn rocket launchers) (by Nevile, Maurice); 9. Part II: Political discourse; 10. The political use of a national crisis: Bush's legitimation of the USA Freedom Corps in the wake of September 11 (by Sandaran, Shanti C.); 11. Reflections in the eyes of a dying tiger: Looking back on Ireland's 1987 economic crisis (by O'Rourke, Brendan K.); 12. Local community leaders' constructions of women's interests and needs: Impeding resolution of Kenya's development crisis (by Ndambuki, Jacinta); 13. The financial crisis hits hard: The impact of emerging crisis on discursive strategies and linguistic devices in EU Financial Stability Reviews (2004-2010) (by Denti, Olga); 14. Part III: Media discourse; 15. Red or Yellow, Peace or War: Agonism and antagonism in online discussion during the 2010 political unrest in Thailand (by Jimarkon, Pattamawan); 16. The 2008 urban riots in Greece: Differential representations of a police shooting incident (by Dimitris Kitis, E.); 17. Benefit or burden?: Press representation of immigrant workers during the Spanish economic recession (by Alonso Belmonte, Isabel); 18. Mexico City and the H1N1 health crisis: The discursive interconnectedness of viruses, murders, policy fiascos and tumbling pesos (by Matus-Mendoza, Mariadelaluz); 19. Polarization in the media representation of terrorism crises: Transitivity and lexical choices in Malaysia's leading English dailies (by Lean, Mei Li); 20. Epilogue; 21. A paradoxical approach to crisis (by Priestley, Jamie); 22. Notes on contributors; 23. Name index; 24. Subject index
Review :
Discourse and Crisis provides a unique examination of the importance of discourse and conversation analysis in crisis communication research. This edited volume provides many unique examples of how these methods can be meaningfully used to better understand the role of discourse in managing a wide variety of crisis. It is a must read for anyone interested in discourse and crisis communication.
This book contributes significantly to the growing literature on discourses on crises by striving to comprehend their semiotic aspects. Unlike other edited volumes on the topic [...] De Rycker and Mohd Don adopt a broad scope and cover a diversity of crises culled from different parts of the globe (both central and peripheral), even accommodating analyses of languages other than English (e.g. Greek and Spanish). Moreover, the inclusive, multi-level and qualitative and quantitative across-method triangulation provide a comprehensive and flexible methodological approach to CDA and crisis scholars. It also meaningfully aligns ‘non-critical’ perspectives (conversation analysis, argumentation analysis, corpus-assisted discourse analysis) with CDA interests.
Though there is a wide assortment of crisis communication books, it is rare to see the terms power, ideology, and critical discourse analysis. Moreover, Discourse and Crisis takes a societal-level view on crisis rather than a strict organizational or disaster orientation. This unique focus offers a fresh perspective on crisis communication. When we consider the societal-level of crisis we should be addressing power and ideology. These factors shape the subjective nature of crises that the many contributors so richly explore. The analysis of discourse and interaction, and particularly critical discourse analysis, are the perfect choice for unpacking the role of power in crises. If you are interested in exploring a wide range of crises from a critical and societal perspective, this is the book you will want to read.
This volume is ground-breaking in the study of crisis. [...] The book should well serve multiple audiences, including academic researchers, graduate students, and professional practitioners. [...] This volume has made a fresh contribution to and enriches the critical study of language and crisis.
A useful work for anyone who has to manage a crisis – business, political, health, security – or cover it in the media. These scholarly, crisis-research essays illustrate how routine communication practices in an organization can have the potential to spark a crisis or exacerbate one. For crisis managers, it’s best to consider this work now – before your next crisis.
An impressive collection that brings together a wide range of scholars from around the world and which makes an excellent contribution to our understanding of the complexities of the notion of crisis. Arrays of perceptions and interpretations of local and global, social, economic and political crises have become prevalent in recent years. The volume unpacks the conceptual relationship between crisis and discourse and convincingly shows how crises are socially produced and socially embedded, constructed in different socio-political, cultural and historical contexts. The chapters in the volume cover a range of topics, methodologies and debates within the field providing the reader with captivating cases and a comprehensive analysis. An essential reading for both students and experienced researchers which the field will embrace.
This excellent, wide-ranging, and often path-breaking collection shows the heuristic strength of crises as an entry point for discourse analysis. Crises are moments of profound disorientation that destabilize the taken-for-granted and open space for discursive struggles. Yet contributors also recognize the need to supplement discourse analysis by integrating other contextual and explanatory factors in order to provide a rounded explanation of crisis events, processes, construals, and outcomes. Covering many sites and scales of these phenomena, this volume is an indispensable addition to the critical literature on critical discourse analysis.
Discourse and Crisis provides unique, indeed intriguing, insights into the notion of crisis. This volume, the culmination of a three-year international project, provides a veritable buffet of case studies which are stitched together quite elegantly by the editors who link – successfully – these studies with wider theoretical explorations. With 21 authors contributing 15 chapters, covering at least 10 countries (Malaysia, Kenya, Mexico, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Thailand, the USA, Australia) and the EU, Discourse and Crisis is a nuanced volume that deserves whatever accolades it receives. It is excellent in parts and good in others, and, overall, is a valuable addition to the existing literature. It will certainly appeal to numerous audiences, principally students, teachers and researchers of crisis and conflict studies, cultural studies and, of course, media and communication studies.
