Post on 31-Dec-2015
Terrorism to me...it’s a sneaky way... it’s not like war.
A discourse-dynamic metaphor analysis of concepts of group identity and empathy in a discussion about terrorism.
Lynne Cameron and Robert Maslen
The Open University
Developing methods across funded research projects
Project 1: Perception and Communication of the Risk of Terrorism (ESRC)
Project 2: Living with Uncertainty (ESRC/AHRC)
Outline
Project 1 data and methods Using project 1 as a starting point for
project 2 Project 2 methods Findings Further work
Project 1
24 month project with researchers from several disciplines, blended methods and several stages.
Funded by UK Economic and Social Research Council “New Security Challenges Programme” How do people conceptualise, interpret and assess background terrorist risk?
Research Question: How do people conceptualise, interpret and assess
background terrorist risk?• Is there variation between groups, differentiated by
socio-economic status, gender, place of residence, religious affiliation? What do they have in common?
Project 1 data
12 focus groups with members of the public
Total participants: 96
Socio-economic status: AB = professional, skilled jobs C1/C2 = manual, semi- or unskilled jobs
AB
MenAB
WomenC1/C2
Men
C1/C2
WomenMuslim
MenMuslim Women
Total
Leeds 8 8 8 8 8 8 48
London 8 8 8 8 8 8 48
Metaphor Analysis
Transcription of audio recording to intonation units (Chafe, 1994; du Bois et al, 1993).
Identification of linguistic metaphor vehicles (Cameron, 2003) .. if they were living in some sort of stability, I would say it’s a flaw in the system
12,905 linguistic metaphors. Finding systematicity: constructing groups
of connected metaphors
Identifying systematic metaphors
BALANCE IS THE NORM FOR SOCIETYTERRORISM DISTURBS THE BALANCE
.. if they were living in some sort of stability, (Leeds CD Men)
because normal Muslims aren't like this (Leeds CD Women)
the world is out of balance (London AB Women)
it settles down (London Muslim Women)
they try to disrupt the government (London Muslim Women)
upsets the fragile peace (Leeds Muslim Men)
Identifying systematic metaphors
THE RISK OF TERRORISM IS A GAME OF CHANCEPEOPLE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER OUTCOMES
we get caught up in a poker game (London AB Men)
they will play the bluff (London AB Men)
the odds are very high (Leeds Muslim Women)
if your number’s up (London AB Men)
pawns in a game (Leeds CD Men)
Metaphor analysis: methodological challenges
Working with large amounts of data Trustworthiness
TrainingReliability checkingTension between interpretation and
rigour The nature of metaphor
boundaries
Men make more use than Women of gaming metaphors to talk about the risks of terrorism. ***
Muslim Men make much less use than non-Muslim Men. ***
Muslim Women make little or no use of these. **
THE RISK OF TERRORISM IS A GAME OF CHANCE
PEOPLE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER OUTCOMES
BALANCE IS THE NORM FOR INDIVIDUAL / SOCIETY
Women make more use of BALANCE metaphors, speaking of norms for individuals and social groups as a balance, norm or equilibrium. ***
Project 2 Living with Uncertainty: Metaphor and the dynamics of empathy in discourse Opening up possibilities for alternative
responses to uncertainty Research Fellowship with linked
project activities Phase 1: Perceptions of other people
in times of threat: Empathy and metaphor in focus group discussions
Research Question
How do focus groups use metaphor and other language strategies to construct, negotiate and resist empathy in respect of other social groups?
Terry if they were that brave, .. surely they'd say <Q right, .. this is our team, .. that's your team, … crack on Q> []xx XXTerry but they don't,
.. because they hide in the woodwork.
xx mm.xx mm.Finn well who's to --
who's --who's <X to draw up
X> the teams?.. who's to say,which is the --which is on --who's on which team?
Building on the metaphor analysis
Adding deictic metaphors (here/there, this/that)
it’s not that these groups were not there,
they were there all the time,
they were there here in --
in England also.
Building on the metaphor analysis
SOCIAL LANDSCAPE metaphorsAcross previous vehicle groupingsLandscape related Topics: social life, social groups
terrorism to me it’s a sneaky way
(the government is) moving away from the situation,
SOCIAL LANDSCAPE
SOCIO-CULTURAL DIFFERENCE IS PHYSICAL SEPARATION…divide the society,I mean it'll divide -- invisible walls now]],
..being ..built.
Other language strategies related to empathy across social groups
Explicit expression of empathy Perspective taking Narratives Scenarios Labelling Reference shifting
SCENARIO
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened.
that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster.
..but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence,
has suddenly.. disappeared.
CODA
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened.
that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster.
..but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence,
has suddenly.. disappeared.
LABELLING
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened.
that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster...but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence,
has suddenly.. disappeared.
METAPHORS
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened.
that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster.
..but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence, has suddenly.. disappeared.
METAPHORS-SOCIAL LANDSCAPE
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened. s-lthat suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster.
..but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence, has suddenly.. disappeared. s-l
PERSPECTIVE TAKING
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened.
that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster.
..but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence,
has suddenly.. disappeared.
EMPATHY
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened.
that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster.
..but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence,
has suddenly.. disappeared.
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened.
that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster.
..but now they particularly feel it.
..so that,
..age of innocence,
has suddenly.. disappeared.
my children suddenly have realised,
that,
..not only they are British,
..they are British Muslims.
.. that is ..what has happened. s-l that suddenly they have realised,
<Q oh I am a Muslim Q>.
..until now,
they were living,
… (2.0) as if they were any other British youngster...but now they particularly feel it...so that,
..age of innocence,
has suddenly.. disappeared. s-l
Closing remarks
Methods promising route to answering research question
Further workApply to remaining 11 groupsCompare findingsConnect empirical findings to
theoretical model of empathy
Thank you http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/livingwithuncertainty
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