Academic literature on the topic 'Religious aspects of Critical discourse analysis'

This thesis discusses the prohibition of human cloning in contemporary Islamic legal discourse, which relies on two distinct doctrines: the first seeks support in the Qur'anic text, while the second depends on method of utilitarian legal hermeneutics (al-istiṣlaḥ ). These doctrines are examined by comparing them to the method that contemporary Islamic legal discourse adopts, namely, uṣul al-fiqh. When this is done, a discrepancy emerges in the first doctrine that traces this prohibition back to the text of revelation, which in turn requires further clarification of the foundations of hermeneutics in uṣul al-fiqh---identified here as textual and legislative consistency. For this, Shaṭibi's theory of maqaṣid al-sharī'ah offers one of the most reliable bases for the hermeneutics to evaluate the second doctrine. The methodological venture in this thesis aims at criticizing the current methodology while at the same time offering a justified approach to hermeneutics in contemporary Islamic legal discourse and in the case of human cloning.

This interdisciplinary cultural studies research uses critical discourse analysis to review the four political declarations on HIV & AIDS adopted by the United Nations in 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016. Religion is implicated in the tensions and conflicts around issues of HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights in the negotiations that hinders consensus, resulting in compromises and omissions in the texts. The research identifies four dominant discourses in the declarations and an additional two in the wider HIV response of relevance to these tensions; a public health, biomedical discourse; a human rights, gender equality and community engagement discourse; political discourses of leadership and national sovereignty; and a traditional religio-cultural discourse. In the wider HIV response a broader religious discourse and secularist discourse are evident but missing from the text of the declarations. This critical discourse analysis of the declarations investigates how the discourses interact in the text; how the traditional religio-cultural discourse influences the text; what is missing from the final text; and reasons for the gaps. Close textual analysis of the declarations identifies tension between the public health, human rights/gender equality discourses and the traditional religio-cultural and national sovereignty discourses. The traditional religio-cultural discourse operates to limit public health and rights-based approaches to HIV prevention and frames women and girls as passive victims, without agency to exercise their rights. When compared against UNAIDS strategies as a standard, the declarations are missing commitments to address the risks of key populations to HIV. Missing also is reference to any contributions the faith community brings to the epidemic. The broad religious discourse includes supportive approaches to public health, human rights and gender equality, with the potential to bridge gaps in the negotiations. The traditional religious discourse is implicated in gaps in the text on key populations and rights. The dominance of secularism at the UN is implicated in exclusion of the broad religious discourse. While obstacles around rights-based approaches to HIV prevention and key populations persist, common ground and synergies between the discourses exist. Recommendations include: to ask new questions at the UN about the role secularism plays that may increase space for conservative voices to operate; seeking new ways of working to bridge some of the gaps; and including different perspectives that have the potential to bridge the gaps and open up new ways to achieve consensus.

The thesis is a contribution to the analysis of media representation through the use of critical discourse analysis of twelve English written articles by Russian and international media sources. The articles were chosen in relation to the unauthorised Pussy Riot protest in the Cathedral in Moscow back in February 2012, and the societal changes that have taken place thereafter. The analysed articles have been written and published between February 2012 and January 2014. The aim with the study is to see how media sources from different geographical backgrounds described the same events and news.

Bibliography: leaves 47-53.<br>The "new" reproductive technologies (NRTs) have gathered substantial momentum in recent years. 'Psychological' discourse on these techniques has tended towards uncritical preoccupation with intra-individual, constitutional factors, and has ignored the sociocultural, political and economic contexts of these practices. Within an inter-disciplinary, social-constructionist framework, this study presents a feminist critique of the NRTs in which they are argued to be biopsychosocially noxious to women. Modern biomedicine's appropriation and ownership of infertility as "disease" is argued to be consistent with the agendas of capitalism and patriarchy. Results of fieldwork within a particular medical setting are presented to develop a hermeneutic of the discursive interface between medical gatekeepers and the applicant 'patients' with whom they negotiate treatment. In a concluding section a dominant theme in gatekeepers' talk, "the well-being of the child", is ideologically analyzed; women-centered strategies are briefly discussed; and implications for the interface between psychology and reproductive technology are drawn.

This thesis presents a critical analysis of the contemporary Islamic discourse of interfaith dialogue (IFD) founded on normative examinations of the Qur'an and hadith. Expanding from this baseline, theories of religious universalism and particularism are engaged as well as underlying themes of humanism, social stability, and acceptance of God's will. These are further placed along a Dove-Hawk framework to demonstrate the patterns underlying interpretations regarding the legitimacy of IFD in situations of conflict. It examines the writings and speeches of nine recent and contemporary Muslim intellectual-activists scholars. This analysis reveals a fragmented discourse, which is generally supportive of IFD, and indicates limits to the religious legitimization of IFD during Christian-Muslim hostilities.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: China‘s rise as an economic superpower has had important consequences for its relations with African countries over the past 10-15 years. Not only were these relations thoroughly reviewed and significantly increased, but China also adopted a new cooperation policy that its administration describes as being based on mutual benefits and win-win economic collaboration. However, there is a sceptical public opinion in Africa and also in some developed countries about China‘s current engagement with African countries, and in particular with countries from the sub-Saharan region. In fact, China is frequently accused of acting as a new colonizing power and of increasing its relations with African countries simply as a strategy to achieve higher power-politics status and to structure a new global economic order. The present study addresses the question of whether China‘s official discourse about its relations with sub-Saharan African countries from 2000 to 2010 contains any grounds for the sceptical public opinion mentioned above. In more concrete terms, the main objective of the study is to determine from a linguistic perspective, and more specifically from a critical discourse analysis point of view, whether there are any overt or covert messages of power and ideology in China‘s discourse to sub-Saharan African countries which could justify the sceptical public opinion about China‘s current engagement in this part of the continent . The texts representing China‘s discourse about its relations with sub-Saharan African countries that are examined for this study comprise official speeches, statements, and other related official documents delivered by Chinese officials in the period 2000-2010, and published in English on the websites of various institutions, including China‘s official websites. These texts are examined from within the framework of the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) as set out by, specifically, Wodak (2001a). The texts are analysed using the DHA three-dimensional procedure consisting of (i) identifying the Content(s) and Topic(s) of the specific discourse, (ii) investigating the discursive strategies used in the specific texts, and (iii) analysing the linguistic means and the specific context-dependent linguistic realizations. On the one hand, the analysis of the Discourse Topics indicates that the relations between China and sub-Saharan African countries are grounded in China‘s pluralist approach to international affairs. From this perspective, then, it could be argued that China‘s current engagement in sub-Saharan Africa does not warrant the sceptical public opinion mentioned earlier. On the other hand, however, the analysis of the discursive strategies used to represent China and sub-Saharan African countries, indicates that such sceptisism is likely warranted. The relations between China and African countries have predominantly been investigated from economic and political perspectives. However, the manner in which these relations are expressed, implied, negotiated, interpreted, distributed, etc. in discourse has not yet received any systematic attention. The present study was therefore undertaken to contribute, from a linguistic perspective, to the knowledge of and the debate about China‘s current engagement in Africa.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: China se opgang as ‘n ekonomiese supermoondheid het belangrike gevolge gehad vir sy betrekkinge met Afrikalande oor die afgelope 10-15 jaar. China het hierdie betrekkinge deeglik hersien en beduidend uitgebrei, en het daarby ook ‘n nuwe samewerkingsbeleid aanvaar wat volgens sy administrasie gegrond is op wedersydse voordele en wen-wen ekonomiese samewerking. Daar is nietemin ‘n skeptiese openbare mening in Afrika en ook in sommige ontwikkelde lande oor China se huidige verbintenis met Afrikalande, en in die besonder met lande van die sub-Sahara streek. Trouens, China word gereeld daarvan beskuldig dat hy optree soos ‘n nuwe koloniale moondheid, en dat sy verhoogde betrekkinge met Afrikalande bloot ‘n strategie is om groter magspolitieke status te bekom en om ‘n nuwe globale ekonomiese struktuur daar te stel. Die huidige studie fokus op die vraag of China se amptelike diskoers oor sy betrekkinge met sub-Sahara Afrikalande vanaf 2000 tot 2010 enige gronde bied vir die genoemde skeptiese openbare mening. In meer konkrete terme, is die hoofoogmerk van die studie om vanuit ‘n taalwetenskaplike perspektief, en meer spesifiek vanuit die oogpunt van kritiese diskoersanalise, vas te stel of China se diskoers met sub-Sahara Afrika enige overte of koverte boodskappe van mag en ideologie bevat wat kan dien as regverdiging vir die skeptiese openbare mening oor China se huidige betrokkenheid in hierdie deel van die kontinent. In die studie word ‘n verskeidenheid tekste ontleed wat verteenwoordigend is van China se diskoers oor sy betrekkinge met sub-Sahara Afrikalande. Dié tekste sluit amptelike toesprake, verklarings en verwante dokumente van Chinese amptenare in wat gelewer is in die tydperk 2000-2010, en wat in Engels gepubliseer is op die webwerwe van verskeie instellings, insluitend China se amptelike webwerwe. Die tekste word ondersoek binne die raamwerk van die Diskoers-Historiese Benadering (DHB) soos uiteengesit in, spesifiek, Wodak (2001a). Die analise van die tekste volg die DHB se drie-dimensionele prosedure, wat die volgende inhou: (i) identifisering van die Inhoud(e) en Onderwerp(e) van die spesifieke diskoers, (ii) analise van die diskursiewe strategieë wat gebruik word in die spesifieke tekste, en (iii) analise van die talige middele en die spesifieke konteks-afhanklike talige realiserings. Aan die een kant dui die analise van die Diskoers Onderwerpe daarop dat die betrekkinge tussen China en sub-Sahara Afrikalande gebaseer is op China se pluralistiese benadering tot internasionale sake. Vanuit hierdie perspektief kan daar dus geargumenteer word dat China se huidige betrokkenheid in sub-Sahara Afrika nie gronde bied vir die skeptiese openbare mening wat hierbo genoem is nie. Aan die ander kant, egter, dui die analise van die diskursiewe strategieë wat aangewend word in die voorstelling van China en sub-Sahara Afrikalande daarop dat daar waarskynlik wel gronde is vir sulke skeptisisme. Die betrekkinge tussen China en Afrikalande is tot dusver merendeels vanuit ekonomiese en politieke perspektiewe ondersoek. Die wyse waarop sulke betrekkinge uitgedruk, geïmpliseer, onderhandel, geïnterpreteer, versprei, ens. word in diskoers, is egter nog nie sistematies ondersoek nie. Die huidige studie is gevolglik onderneem om, vanuit ‘n taalwetenskaplike perspektief, ‘n bydrae te lewer tot die kennis van en die debat oor China se huidige betrokkenheid in Afrika.

This study is a contribution to the limited knowledge of how different types of media content (about Muslims and extremism) posted and shared on Facebook might influence corresponding user comments. Through analyzing the discourse of user comments this study aims to identify how comments might reflect certain characteristics of Islamophobia, and to which themes in Facebook posts commentators relate to the most. The linguistic analysis is guided by the use of critical discourse analysis. For the purpose of this study, three different types of articles/video and the corresponding comments are analyzed. Two of the articles/video that I will analyze are from unreliable media sources, and one of the articles is from a credible media source. The linguistic analysis showed that the majority of commentators expressed that they believe the claims made in the articles/video about Muslims and extremism are true. The discourse analysis further showed, the majority of articles/video and the majority of the analyzed corresponding comments reflected the [in the study] defined characteristics of Islamophobia. My findings confirmed similar studies done in the past.