Infesting our country: discursive illusions in anti-immigration border talk

Christopher J. Jenks, Aditi Bhatia

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper investigates how, despite the need to flee dangerous regions, online and print newspapers rely on negative portrayals of migrants and immigrants to forward nationalist positions, including the belief that so-called foreigners are a threat to the security and economic well-being of a nation. Specifically, using the Discourse of Illusion as our main analytic framework, the analysis demonstrates the ways in which dehumanization is central to forwarding ideological positions against migration. Our findings are then used to discuss larger issues of how media is transforming the ways in which political ideologies are constructed and circulated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)81-94
Number of pages14
JournalLanguage and Intercultural Communication
Volume20
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Mar 2020

Keywords

  • borders
  • critical discourse analysis
  • Immigration
  • media
  • migrants

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication
  • Linguistics and Language

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Infesting our country: discursive illusions in anti-immigration border talk'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this