Papers by Roxanne Barbara Doerr
This book deals with discursive aspects of specialised communication, looking in particular at th... more This book deals with discursive aspects of specialised communication, looking in particular at the role and scope of language and discourse in professional practice across a variety of fields and modes. Its chapters are diverse in their outlooks, analytical procedures, and object of enquiry, and span across different specialised domains, settings, genres, and media (from face-to-face communication to television, from traditional websites to social networking sites). In broad terms, they are all set in a discourse-analytical framework and share the ultimate purpose of providing new insights into the evolution of discourse practices used by professionals in a variety of specialised genres at a time characterised by rapid scientific and dramatic technological advances accompanied by important societal, sociotechnical and cultural transformations. Professional and workplace routines and procedures are embedded in a dense network of discursive practices, which both determine and reflect ...
Art has always held an ambiguous position in human society: on the one hand it has been exploited... more Art has always held an ambiguous position in human society: on the one hand it has been exploited for promotional use and revered as a stand-in for the entity it represents; on the other hand, its ability to question dogmatic authorities by appealing to an individual's innermost instincts and thoughts has made it a threatening and seditious force to be reckoned with. As a result, numerous studies on the impact of art and visions on society, authority, and our perception of reality have emerged and taken many forms of interdisciplinary inquiry (such as "literature and the visual arts", "culture studies", "cross-cultural image studies" or "law and imagery", to mention a few). As a confirmation of this, the subversive power of art, in the form of suppressed colours and controversial portraits, is at the heart of Tracy Chevalier's novel The Virgin Blue (1997). In fact, in Chevalier's novels art is perceived as "a powerful source both of instability and stability, for it can and often does subvert or otherwise alter our commitments, and thereby our deeply entrenched ways of seeing and organizing the world. And while this can produce conflicts, it can also resolve them" (Novitz 13). The protagonists' lives are dominated by a strong patriarchal society that suppresses the voices of those who do not pertain to politically privileged categories. Art therefore is the force that leads such characters to leave the paths that had been assigned to them by custom and seek out their own future. The plot of The Virgin Blue is divided into two alternating parallel storylines set in the 16th century and contemporary France. In the former storyline, Isabelle Du Moulin is continuously denigrated by the Calvinist society she lives in because of her resemblance to the Virgin and compelled to hide her religious devotion and her desire for a better life. In the novel's modern chapters, Ella Turner (later Tournier) experiences the difficulties of adjusting to her new life and searching for work as a midwife in a small town in France, so she decides to do some research on her family's origins. Such wishes are represented and enforced by the peculiar hue of blue that comforts Isabelle and returns Art and Subversion No. 1-Year 3 12/2012-LC.1
Linguistic and Communicative Practices in the US Military’s Response to the COVID-19 Emergency
Lingue culture mediazioni, Jan 26, 2023
Linguistic and Communicative Practices in the US Military’s Response to the COVID-19 Emergency
Lingue culture mediazioni, Jan 26, 2023
Lingue culture mediazioni, Nov 12, 2019
Since 1980, when the term was officially associated with soldiers' traumas during combat, PTSD (P... more Since 1980, when the term was officially associated with soldiers' traumas during combat, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) has reemerged due to a significant increase in patients and its revision in DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The media have contributed in disseminating information, promoting awareness and opening debates on the patients, the cure (Brent and Penk 2011) and the implementation of experimental PTSD treatments (Donovan 2010). The most contested consists in "memory dampening" or "memory enhancing" medication that helps patients cope but has raised questions on the ethical, legal (Kolber 2006; Snead 2011) and moral (Gross 2006) importance of memories, as well as its effect on soldiers' formation and perception (Moreno 2008). The present study observes how articles in favor of memory-modifying medication and of alternative treatments are framed and sustained in USA news published over the past 20 years. Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis (Baker 2004; Garzone and Santulli 2004; Degano 2006; Freake 2012) is applied to identify relevant linguistic and discursive strategies in terms of text organization, lexical choices, expert advice, popularization, and common cultural references.
Lingue culture mediazioni, Oct 17, 2017
Work psychology focuses on how people think and behave at work by applying psychological concepts... more Work psychology focuses on how people think and behave at work by applying psychological concepts and methods to reflect on work, the workplace and the workforce. Its relevance has increased and changed in the light of globalization, as well as the dematerialization and mobilization of the workplace and the development of new sectors, services and media. Moreover, the use of social and new media for the dissemination of knowledge regarding recent changes in employment trends and procedures have led to an open and democratizing shift in power of and over workplace discourse, allowing hitherto marginalized professional figures to voice their needs and experience to objective peers and advisors. This opening and sharing of discourse within a perpetually connected worldwide community has raised questions about where a workplace's boundaries lie and the contexts in which a worker may be considered an employee or an individual communicating online in and out of the office. The present preliminary study therefore analyzes a significant and adaptable online genre, i.e. work psychology blogs, to observe and consider how experts on workplace mentality apply rhetorical devices and discursive and linguistic strategies to inform, encourage and influence the perception of employees within online discourse communities.
The Justice of the Peace and the Puppet: Representations of Order and Chaos in Ben Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair
For centuries, Bartholomew Fair was an occasion for trade, entertainment and the mingling of Lond... more For centuries, Bartholomew Fair was an occasion for trade, entertainment and the mingling of London society. Similarly, Jonson’s comedy depicts life at the fair and its fluctuation between the Pie-powder law and that of the streets. Its stalls and shows provided the opportunity for fates to change and chances to be seized by representing a liminal space where authority is questioned and intricate misunderstandings are entwined and unknotted. In the “Induction on the stage”, where the Stage-keeper’s well intending yet naïve judgement is discredited by the Book-holder’s contract, the spirit of subversion has already taken hold. From then on, the play shows members of the gentry being drawn into the fair’s “profane” yet fascinating atmosphere and Justice Overdo disguising himself in order to penetrate its hidden plots and publicly address its “enormities”. The Fair however possesses a subverting quality by which social classes are equalized: the powerful are ridiculed, the unlawful are...
Since the Nuremberg Military Tribunals and the Belmont Report, the military environment has been ... more Since the Nuremberg Military Tribunals and the Belmont Report, the military environment has been a testing ground for scientific research and for increasingly urgent ethical debates regarding the multifaceted legal status of various military and non-military physicians and patients. In particular, military medical physicians, who work in complicated situations and environments-ranging from combat to humanitarian zones-could be called upon to make life-changing and potentially controversial decisions with significant bioethical implications. Because this category of health professionals pertains to military institutions, it is positioned along the blurred line between the Hippocratic aspirations and safeguarding of medical practice and the requirements of military culture. From a linguistic perspective, these professionals adhere to military communication and its specific language, genres and means of knowledge dissemination, thus calling discourses of power into play. Therefore, to investigate how the military community defines and disseminates information on the activity of its medical professionals, as well as face possible bioethical conflicts and challenges, the Defense Health Board's 2015 Ethical Guidelines and Practices for US Military Medical Professionals will be analyzed based on a Critical Discourse Analysis approach sustained by qualitative data, thus underlining the clear contrast between civilian and military communicative patterns, medical practices and founding principles, which reflect military and non-military cultural differences.
Popularised Discourse and/on Bioethics: An Introduction
Şebnem Toplu, Fiction Unbound: Bernardine Evaristo (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Cambridge, 2011)
In the last few decades a variety of bioethically-relevant issues have been at the centre of publ... more In the last few decades a variety of bioethically-relevant issues have been at the centre of public debate, attracting ample coverage from the media in a context where unprecedentedly fast and pervasive scientific and technological progress has led to new questions on the actual application of advances to real life cases, e.g. in biotechnologies, genetics, medicine, with an impact on human identities, relations and practices, and therefore effect on human rights and fundamental freedoms. This special issue of Anglistica AION on Representing, Disseminating, and Debating Controversial Bioethical Issues in Popularised Discourse focuses on the discursive representation of such issues in popularising texts. It owes its core idea to the main theme of investigation of the Milan research unitthe representation of bioethical issues-coordinated by Giuliana Garzone as part of a National Research Programme on knowledge dissemination. In particular, attention is centred on the linguistic 1 and discursive strategies that are employed in 'translating' and framing specialised bioethical notions, terms and debates within journalistic, online, promotional, corporate and legal texts, and media coverage. While the literature on the strategies enacted in knowledge dissemination and popularisation in general has grown exponentially over the past few years, the texts and discourses that are deployed in the popularisation of bioethical themes have received much less scholarly attention in linguistic and literary studies, in spite of the prominence and discursive complexity of communication on bioethical themes. This special issue therefore aims at filling this research gap by specifically focusing on the reframing of bioethically sensitive issues by popularising writers and by public and private institutions through determined language, genres and channels on a large scale, and providing an overview on potential manners to influence public opinion and socio-cultural debates. In fact, it is all the more essential for linguistic, literary and cultural studies dealing with bioethical issues to detect all possible linguistic, discursive and rhetorical alterations and imbalances that might lead to inaccuracies, especially when they involve ideological manipulation or slant, and identify the linguistic and discursive transformations that bioethically relevant and sensitive knowledge may be consciously or unconsciously subjected to in the course of the dissemination process by individual writers, institutions, professions, organisations or corporations. 2 1 Research programme "Knowledge dissemination across media in English: continuity and change in discourse strategies, ideologies and epistemologies" financed by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (PRIN 2015TJ8ZAS). 2 Among the innumerable studies on popularisation in general, see Greg Myers, "Discourse Studies of Scientific Popularization:
Language, Mind and Culture in the Online Global Context: An Inquiry of Psycholinguistic Blogs
The Debate Between the Concepts of Justice and Equity in the XX Century Anglo-Saxon Legal Thriller
Con la presente analisi si intende focalizzare l’attenzione critica sullo sviluppo dell’interrela... more Con la presente analisi si intende focalizzare l’attenzione critica sullo sviluppo dell’interrelazione tra i concetti di equità e giustizia in un preciso genere letterario contemporaneo, il legal thriller, esaminando sia il contesto culturale che quello giuridico. Tale approccio interdisciplinare implica perciò un attento esame di differenti ambiti di ricerca per permettere un fertile confronto tra sviluppi paralleli e intersezioni di dottrine ed idee fondanti. La prima parte della presente analisi offre un excursus dettagliato del movimento “diritto e letteratura”, che codificò e conferì valore paradigmatico all’interesse delle discipline umanistiche per il diritto e le sue rappresentazioni culturali. Tale movimento percorse una parabola evolutiva che comportò un graduale ampliamento della propria prospettiva da “diritto e letteratura” a “diritto e cultura”: da un iniziale interesse alle pure corrispondenze letterarie e retoriche tra i due ambiti si focalizzò, infatti, in seguito sull’aspetto “umanistico” e sugli effetti del diritto sulla società. Naturale conseguenza di questo sviluppo è stata la proliferazione delle rappresentazioni del diritto nella cultura popolare in un’ottica di postmodernismo autoconsapevole. E’ importante focalizzare l’attenzione critica anche sulla “percezione della giustizia”, che induce l’uomo comune da un lato a rivolgersi al diritto e dall’altro a rifiutare lo stesso nel momento in cui crede di aver subito un torto. La ragione dell’inadeguatezza del diritto e della generale insoddisfazione e disillusione nei confronti dell’autorità e delle istituzioni legali può essere ricondotta ad un profondo divario ripetutamente posto in luce nella presente analisi: quello tra legalità e moralità. In tale ambito l’equità diviene lo strumento correttivo supplementare per sancire una soluzione “più giusta” nel caso in cui le regole sovra menzionate siano troppo rigide o limitate per assicurarla. Tali considerazioni iniziali sono seguite da un esame storico volto a porre in luce come il legal thriller, sin dalle sue origini, abbia sperimentato alterne fortune determinate dalla percezione comune, sentita nel preciso momento temporale, della professione giuridica. Gli autori inglesi scelti (P. D. James, Tim Parks, Frances Fyfield e Sarah Caudwell) differiscono molto l’uno dall’altro; permettendo cosí di osservare come la giustizia e l’equità possano essere rappresentate differentemente e di far risaltare le diverse soluzioni adottate dai protagonisti per raggiungere i propri risultati. I romanzi sono stati tutti scritti in un periodo che spazia dagli anni ottanta fino ai giorni nostri: questo periodo è, infatti, caratterizzato da un “postmodernismo affermativo”, che implica una consapevolezza da parte dell’uomo comune dell’imperfezione del diritto e della incapacità dello stesso di assicurare la giustizia, ma allo stesso tempo la volontà di riconoscere che un sistema fallace è sempre meglio di nessun sistema. Inoltre, il legal thriller sostiene che la situazione potrebbe essere migliorata grazie all’intervento di professionisti disposti a lottare in prima persona per assicurare giustizia a coloro che ne hanno necessità. La giustizia perfetta non appartiene a questo mondo; le dottrine legali e di equità possono, tuttavia, avvicinarsi molto al raggiungimento di tale perfezione ideale. Queste idee sono elementi costitutive del legal thriller contemporaneo, caratterizzato, in questo periodo storico, da un intenso e autorevole revival. Gli eroi e le eroine del legal thriller percepiscono la difficoltà che si origina dalla coesistenza dei concetti di “diritto” ed “equità”: coloro che riescono a conciliarli, contravvenendo al diritto solo quando questo impedisce loro di fare “la giusta cosa”, sono dipinti come professionisti equi ed imparziali che garantirebbero una maggior sicurezza del sistema legale rispetto a quella derivante dall’esercizio dei loro più materialisti colleghi. Nella analisi ampio spazio viene anche donato alla descrizione dettagliata delle caratteristiche peculiari di avvocati, di pubblici ministeri, di avvocati difensori, delle donne avvocato e dei giudici. Le dottrine conformi alle regole di equità, esplicate nella presente analisi, sono fondamentalmente analizzate da un punto di vista umanistico e letterario; viene, tuttavia, preso in considerazione anche il contesto storico e legale al fine di non perdere traccia delle specificità tecniche dell’attuale valore morale di tali dottrine. In tal modo, si accresce la presenza dell’equità nella ricerca della giustizia – ricondotta, nel caso specifico, agli scenari ipotetici offerti dalla letteratura. La coscienza è la prima dottrina legale a dover essere presa in considerazione: l’equità, infatti, era originalmente percepita come la “coscienza del Re”: in seguito, tuttavia, si trasformò da elemento collettivo in percezione individuale e tale cambiamento comportò un graduale allontanamento della stessa dalle leggi umane in favore di…
: Since the Nuremberg Military Tribunals and the Belmont Report, the military environment has b... more : Since the Nuremberg Military Tribunals and the Belmont Report, the military environment has been a testing ground for scientific research and for increasingly urgent ethical debates regarding the multifaceted legal status of various military and non-military physicians and patients. In particular, military medical physicians, who work in complicated situations and environments ranging from combat to humanitarian zones could be called upon to make life-changing and potentially controversial decisions with significant bioethical implications. Because this category of health professionals pertains to military institutions, it is positioned along the blurred line between the Hippocratic aspirations and safeguarding of medical practice and the requirements of military culture. From a linguistic perspective, these professionals adhere to military communication and its specific language, genres and means of knowledge dissemination, thus calling discourses of power into play. Therefore,...
La messa in scena del potere in Antonio e Cleopatra di William Shakespeare
L’affermazione di Shakespeare che “il mondo intero è un palcoscenico, e gli uomini e le donne, tu... more L’affermazione di Shakespeare che “il mondo intero è un palcoscenico, e gli uomini e le donne, tutti, non sono che attori” trova la sua realizzazione più compiuta nell’opera Antonio e Cleopatra. In particolare, nel testo si staglia la figura immortale di Cleopatra, una delle regine più famose, seppur ambigue, della storia, nei suoi molteplici ruoli di regnante, amante e, soprattutto, attrice. Le sue parole e i suoi gesti sono tesi a comunicare un’immagine specifica di sé ai suoi interlocutori del mondo antico così come agli spettatori contemporanei. La funzione propagandistica del concetto di legittimità espresso dal teatro del tempo era ben caro ai sovrani rinascimentali; di conseguenza i diversi programmi politici espressi dai regnanti in Antonio e Cleopatra sono ancor più emblematici alla luce della situazione politica in cui il dramma venne scritto. Tale ottica di lettura dona un ulteriore livello interpretativo alla tragedia evidenziandone sia l’intento storico e di intrattenimento, sia, e soprattutto, il suo valore di vera e propria “storia” della monarchia nel periodo di transizione tra i regni elisabettiano e giacobiano. In questa sede si dimostrerà come la forza militare e la vittoria sul campo di battaglia non siano sufficienti a sancire la fama perenne del condottiero stesso se non affiancate da una efficace “propaganda” strategica. Shakespeare dona vita e voce alla “enchanting queen” del suo periodo storico grazie alla vita, alle gesta e alla voce di una regina, vissuta in un tempo storico ben più remoto, capace di mettere abilmente in scena il suo potere personale e, di conseguenza, il potere del Paese da lei governato
‘Blood Will Have Blood’: Revenge and Injustice in Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown
Exploring the Facets of Revenge, 2012
Lingue Culture Mediazioni - Languages Cultures Mediation (LCM Journal), Oct 17, 2017
Work psychology focuses on how people think and behave at work by applying psychological concepts... more Work psychology focuses on how people think and behave at work by applying psychological concepts and methods to reflect on work, the workplace and the workforce. Its relevance has increased and changed in the light of globalization, as well as the dematerialization and mobilization of the workplace and the development of new sectors, services and media. Moreover, the use of social and new media for the dissemination of knowledge regarding recent changes in employment trends and procedures have led to an open and democratizing shift in power of and over workplace discourse, allowing hitherto marginalized professional figures to voice their needs and experience to objective peers and advisors. This opening and sharing of discourse within a perpetually connected worldwide community has raised questions about where a workplace's boundaries lie and the contexts in which a worker may be considered an employee or an individual communicating online in and out of the office. The present preliminary study therefore analyzes a significant and adaptable online genre, i.e. work psychology blogs, to observe and consider how experts on workplace mentality apply rhetorical devices and discursive and linguistic strategies to inform, encourage and influence the perception of employees within online discourse communities.
Lingue Culture Mediazioni - Languages Cultures Mediation (LCM Journal), 2019
Since 1980, when the term was officially associated with soldiers' traumas during combat, PTSD (P... more Since 1980, when the term was officially associated with soldiers' traumas during combat, PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) has reemerged due to a significant increase in patients and its revision in DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The media have contributed in disseminating information, promoting awareness and opening debates on the patients, the cure (Brent and Penk 2011) and the implementation of experimental PTSD treatments (Donovan 2010). The most contested consists in "memory dampening" or "memory enhancing" medication that helps patients cope but has raised questions on the ethical, legal (Kolber 2006; Snead 2011) and moral (Gross 2006) importance of memories, as well as its effect on soldiers' formation and perception (Moreno 2008). The present study observes how articles in favor of memory-modifying medication and of alternative treatments are framed and sustained in USA news published over the past 20 years. Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis (Baker 2004; Garzone and Santulli 2004; Degano 2006; Freake 2012) is applied to identify relevant linguistic and discursive strategies in terms of text organization, lexical choices, expert advice, popularization, and common cultural references.
LCM - La Collana / The Series, 2016
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Papers by Roxanne Barbara Doerr