Discourse and Crisis
Critical perspectives
Editors
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.
[Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 52] 2013. vii, 498 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgements | p. vii
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Introduction
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Discourse in crisis, crisis in discourseAntoon De Rycker and Zuraidah Mohd Don | pp. 3–65
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‘Crisis’ in Modernity: A sign of the times between decisive change and potential irreversibilityLin Chalozin-Dovrat | pp. 67–97
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Part I: Organizational discourse
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Serving a high-risk warrant: The role of context in police crisis negotiationsTerry D. Royce | pp. 101–129
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Misalignments in Finnish emergency call openings: Legitimacy, asymmetries and multi-tasking as interactional contestsTiia Vaajala, Ilkka Arminen and Antoon De Rycker | pp. 131–157
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Collaboration in crisis: Pursuing perception through multiple descriptions (how friendly vehicles became damn rocket launchers)Maurice Nevile | pp. 159–183
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Part II: Political discourse
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The political use of a national crisis: Bush’s legitimation of the USA Freedom Corps in the wake of September 11Shanti C. Sandaran and Antoon De Rycker | pp. 187–214
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Reflections in the eyes of a dying tiger: Looking back on Ireland’s 1987 economic crisisBrendan K. O'Rourke and John Hogan | pp. 215–238
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Local community leaders’ constructions of women’s interests and needs: Impeding resolution of Kenya’s development crisisJacinta Ndambuki | pp. 239–272
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The financial crisis hits hard: The impact of emerging crisis on discursive strategies and linguistic devices in EU Financial Stability Reviews (2004-2010)Olga Denti and Luisanna Fodde | pp. 273–297
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Part III: Media discourse
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Red or Yellow, Peace or War: Agonism and antagonism in online discussion during the 2010 political unrest in ThailandPattamawan Jimarkon and Richard Watson Todd | pp. 301–322
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The 2008 urban riots in Greece: Differential representations of a police shooting incidentE. Dimitris Kitis | pp. 323–362
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Benefit or burden? Press representation of immigrant workers during the Spanish economic recessionIsabel Alonso Belmonte, Daniel Chornet and Anne McCabe | pp. 363–393
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Mexico City and the H1N1 health crisis: The discursive interconnectedness of viruses, murders, policy fiascos and tumbling pesosMariadelaluz Matus-Mendoza and Antoon De Rycker | pp. 395–433
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Polarization in the media representation of terrorism crises: Transitivity and lexical choices in Malaysia’s leading English dailiesMei Li Lean, Zuraidah Mohd Don and Prasana Rosaline Fernandez | pp. 435–462
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Epilogue
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A paradoxical approach to crisisJamie Priestley | pp. 465–475
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Notes on contributors | pp. 477–481
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Name index | pp. 483–484
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Subject index | pp. 485–498
“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.”
W. Timothy Coombs, University of Central Florida
“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.”
Bob Jessop, Lancaster University
“
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.”
Robert R. Ulmer, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
“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.”
Jo Angouri, UWE, Bristol
“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.”
David Yepsen, Southern Illinois University
“
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.”
Zaharom Nain, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
“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.”
Huhua Ouyang and Liangping Lan, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies / Zhejiang Normal University, in Journal of Language and Politics, Vol. 15:6 (2016)
“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.”
Neslie Carol Tan, De La Salle University, Philippines, in Discourse and Society 28(2)
Cited by
Cited by 34 other publications
Aitaki, Georgia
2018. Chapter 5. “All good people have debts”. In Crisis and the Media [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 76], ► pp. 107 ff. 
Allen, Elizabeth, Gina Marie Hurley & Mary Kate Hurley
2022. Forum Editors’ Introduction: Spaces and Times of Crisis. Exemplaria 34:3 ► pp. 209 ff.
Bennett, Samuel
2019. ‘Crisis’ as a discursive strategy in Brexit referendum campaigns. Critical Discourse Studies 16:4 ► pp. 449 ff.
Berrocal, Martina, Michael Kranert, Paola Attolino, Júlio Antonio Bonatti Santos, Sara Garcia Santamaria, Nancy Henaku, Aimée Danielle Lezou Koffi, Camilla Marziani, Viktorija Mažeikienė, Dasniel Olivera Pérez, Kumaran Rajandran & Aleksandra Salamurović
2021. Constructing collective identities and solidarity in premiers’ early speeches on COVID-19: a global perspective. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 8:1
Castor, Theresa & Mariaelena Bartesaghi
2016. Metacommunication During Disaster Response. Management Communication Quarterly 30:4 ► pp. 472 ff.
Cope, Jennifer
2018. Chapter 3. Expressions of blame for the Global Financial Crisis in US, UK and Australian opinion texts. In Crisis and the Media [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 76], ► pp. 59 ff.
De Rycker, Antoon
2018. Chapter 2. Reconceptualizing crisis. In Crisis and the Media [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 76], ► pp. 33 ff.
Denti, Olga
2023. COVID-19 Crisis Management in Newspaper Articles: A Diachronic Analysis. Lingue Culture Mediazioni - Languages Cultures Mediation (LCM Journal) 10:2
Ewing, Blake & Félix Krawatzek
Georgalou, Mariza
2017. Chapter 7. Taking stances on the Greek crisis. In Greece in Crisis [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 70], ► pp. 223 ff.
Gilbert, Andrew Simon
2019. Conclusion. In The Crisis Paradigm, ► pp. 207 ff.
Hohaus, Pascal
2022. Chapter 1. Communicating science in crisis societies. In Science Communication in Times of Crisis [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 96], ► pp. 1 ff.
Horsbøl, Anders
2018. Chapter 10. United we diverge. In Doing Politics [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 80], ► pp. 235 ff.
Huang, Mimi
2020. Introduction. In The Language of Crisis [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 87], ► pp. 1 ff.
Jessop, Bob & Ngai-Ling Sum
2018. Language and critique: some anticipations of critical discourse studies in Marx. Critical Discourse Studies 15:4 ► pp. 325 ff.
Kotzur, Gerrit
2020. Chapter 6. Metaphors for protest. In The Language of Crisis [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 87], ► pp. 169 ff.
Koutsoulelou, Stamatia
2017. Chapter 8. “Crisis is written all over me”. In Greece in Crisis [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 70], ► pp. 263 ff.
Liu, Lihua
2020. Identity construction and negotiation in Chinese political discourse. Journal of Language and Politics 19:2 ► pp. 331 ff.
Lorenzo-Dus, Nuria & Philippa Smith
2018. Chapter 7. The visual construction of political crises. In Crisis and the Media [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 76], ► pp. 151 ff.
Marek, Dan & Monika Brusenbauch Meislová
2022. Constructing the Discourse on the Eurozone Crisis in the Czech Republic: Presidents Václav Klaus and Miloš Zeman Compared. Politics in Central Europe 18:1 ► pp. 53 ff.
Ozdora-Aksak, Emel, Colleen Connolly-Ahern & Daniela Dimitrova
2021. Victims or intruders? Refugee portrayals in the news in Turkey, Bulgaria and the UK. Media, War & Conflict 14:3 ► pp. 282 ff.
Patrona, Marianna
2018. Crisis or the media?. In Crisis and the Media [Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 76], ► pp. 1 ff.
Rachfał, Edyta
2016. Towards a linguistic model of crisis response (CRModel). Journal of Language and Politics 15:2 ► pp. 215 ff.
Stampnitzky, Lisa
2023. Rethinking the “crisis of expertise”: a relational approach. Theory and Society 52:6 ► pp. 1097 ff.
Vaara, Eero
2014. Struggles over legitimacy in the Eurozone crisis: Discursive legitimation strategies and their ideological underpinnings. Discourse & Society 25:4 ► pp. 500 ff.
VotoupalovÁ, Markéta
2019. The Wrong Critiques: Why Internal Border Controls Don't Mean the End of Schengen. New Perspectives 27:1 ► pp. 73 ff.
Wang, Hong & Yunfeng Ge
2022. The discursive (re)construction of social relations in a crisis situation: A genre analytical approach to press conferences on COVID-19 in China. Frontiers in Psychology 13
Wang, Huabin
2022. To Critique Crisis Communication as a Social Practice: An Integrated Framework. Frontiers in Communication 7
Wijeyewardene, Ingrid
2019. Examining Agency in Thai Argumentative Political Science Texts. In Discourses of Southeast Asia [The M.A.K. Halliday Library Functional Linguistics Series, ], ► pp. 45 ff.
Wodak, Ruth & Jo Angouri
2014. From Grexit to Grecovery: Euro/crisis discourses. Discourse & Society 25:4 ► pp. 417 ff.
Yu, Yating
2022. Resisting Foreign Hostility in China’s English-language News Media during the COVID-19 Crisis. Asian Studies Review 46:2 ► pp. 254 ff.
Zhu, Zheng
2019. Re-constructing “China” in a transnational context. Global Media and China 4:2 ► pp. 286 ff.
[no author supplied]
2014. Publications Received. Language in Society 43:4 ► pp. 485 ff.
[no author supplied]
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CFG: Semantics, Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General