TY - BOOK

T1 - A critical discourse analysis of social change in women-related posts on Saudi English-language blogs posted between 2009 and 2012

AU - Al Maghlouth, Shrouq

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - This thesis examines the discourse on social change in women-related posts on SaudiEnglish-Language blogs written between 2009 and 2012. These posts discuss a number ofreformative measures that took place during that period in order to allow for greaterwomen’s empowerment in Saudi Arabia. The thesis consists of nine chapters. ChapterOne introduces briefly the thesis while Chapter Two offers a relevant literature reviewrelating to critical discourse analysis, feminism, social change and online/digitaldiscourse. This is conducted with special focus on the socio-cognitive approach as themain framework adopted in the analysis and its emphasis on cognitive context modelsand their role in the change/ status quo struggle. Chapter Three lays the theoreticalfoundation upon which this thesis is based as well as the methodology it adopts in dataselection, collection and analysis. For data analysis, a sample of forty posts has beencollected on five different topics: women in politics, women and the driving ban, womenin non-traditional work environments, women and sports, and gender segregation. Using athree-levelled analysis, the posts at hand have been examined from textual, intertextualand socio-cognitive perspectives. The textual level consists of four linguistic parameters:social actor representation, process type analysis, evaluation and metaphor. Theintertextual levels target intertextuality and interdiscursivity while the socio-cognitivelevel ties in all these descriptive findings to offer interpretations and insight into relevantmental representations. In light of this, Chapters Four to Eight examine the poststhematically and based on the five topics identified earlier. Finally, Chapter Nine offersconclusive cumulative evidence and a discussion of the overall findings. The findingsshow a clash between the use of grammar and lexis, with social actor representation andprocess types often suggesting different mental representations from those conveyedthrough evaluation and metaphor. Women are, to a large extent, represented as lacking inagency and power despite the fact that their relatively restrictive status quo is evaluated asnegative and change is conceptualised as positively evaluated metaphorical movementand liberation. In fact, this detailed analysis reveals that representing the clash between supporters of change and their opponents appears to be the central focus, even at theexpense of women and their representation in discourse.

AB - This thesis examines the discourse on social change in women-related posts on SaudiEnglish-Language blogs written between 2009 and 2012. These posts discuss a number ofreformative measures that took place during that period in order to allow for greaterwomen’s empowerment in Saudi Arabia. The thesis consists of nine chapters. ChapterOne introduces briefly the thesis while Chapter Two offers a relevant literature reviewrelating to critical discourse analysis, feminism, social change and online/digitaldiscourse. This is conducted with special focus on the socio-cognitive approach as themain framework adopted in the analysis and its emphasis on cognitive context modelsand their role in the change/ status quo struggle. Chapter Three lays the theoreticalfoundation upon which this thesis is based as well as the methodology it adopts in dataselection, collection and analysis. For data analysis, a sample of forty posts has beencollected on five different topics: women in politics, women and the driving ban, womenin non-traditional work environments, women and sports, and gender segregation. Using athree-levelled analysis, the posts at hand have been examined from textual, intertextualand socio-cognitive perspectives. The textual level consists of four linguistic parameters:social actor representation, process type analysis, evaluation and metaphor. Theintertextual levels target intertextuality and interdiscursivity while the socio-cognitivelevel ties in all these descriptive findings to offer interpretations and insight into relevantmental representations. In light of this, Chapters Four to Eight examine the poststhematically and based on the five topics identified earlier. Finally, Chapter Nine offersconclusive cumulative evidence and a discussion of the overall findings. The findingsshow a clash between the use of grammar and lexis, with social actor representation andprocess types often suggesting different mental representations from those conveyedthrough evaluation and metaphor. Women are, to a large extent, represented as lacking inagency and power despite the fact that their relatively restrictive status quo is evaluated asnegative and change is conceptualised as positively evaluated metaphorical movementand liberation. In fact, this detailed analysis reveals that representing the clash between supporters of change and their opponents appears to be the central focus, even at theexpense of women and their representation in discourse.

U2 - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/145

DO - 10.17635/lancaster/thesis/145

M3 - Doctoral Thesis

PB - Lancaster University

ER -