نشریه پژوهشهای زبانشناسی (Apr 2020)
Investigating the Discursive Encounter of Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education against the Outbreak of Coronavirus based on Fairclough’s Model of Critical Discourse Analysis
Abstract
Abstract The present article investigates the discursive encounter of the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education against the outbreak of Coronavirus and compares this ministry’s discursive strategies with those of other countries in dealing with the virus. To achieve this, all the news articles published in the "Coronavirus News" section in the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education website since the outbreak of the Virus in Iran from February 20, 2020, to November 20, 2020, which amounts to more than 1700 cases, have been analyzed to determine the ideologically-loaded news headlines. All the news headlines with the ideological concepts, which constitute a total number of 75 news articles, were coded based on Strauss and Corbin’s (1994) Grounded theory. The results implied that with the Coronavirus peak in the country in the four months leading up to November, the use of religious-revolutionary concepts by the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education had increased significantly. Based on Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis (1989), it is revealed that the usage of religious-revolutionary discourse by Iranian ministry and recalling the Iran-Iraq war bears the “experiential value” applied in the ideological use of slogans at the "text" level. Recalling the successful narratives of the war discourse can help to gain the support of a nation in defeating the epidemic. Keywords: Social Solidarity, Iranian Society Value, Discursive Practice, Grounded Theory, Process of Interpretation, Critical Discourse Analysis, Fairclough Introduction Saniejlal (2005) claimed that national values are a set of positive tendencies and attitudes towards factors, elements, and patterns of identity and discourse, which can help the society in critical situations and promise the victory of a nation over the leading difficulties. Relying on their civilizational and cultural reserves, different countries try to solve the social turmoil with solutions appropriate to their indigenous culture. Meanwhile, in today’s world, the role of national identity and social behavior is indispensable in dealing with unpredictable challenges. By highlighting the elements of cultural and national identities and social values as solid support, different countries worldwide encourage their nations to unite in the struggle against suffering. The elements of the national identity of each nation and the values that societies trust are reflected in the body of specific historical events. The frequent narration of these historical and cultural events and occasions by the dominant entities leads to the acceptance and internalization of the identity and values emanating from them. The critical historical events representing the most obvious and deepest values of a nation are not merely natural, but they are socially and ideologically motivated and play an undeniable role in shaping the nation's understanding of itself and its capabilities. Frequent references to these discursive and historical events and the attempt to link these events with the upcoming events of the present age are especially evident in Coronavirus. The present article seeks to analyze the discursive performance of the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education against the virus and show what identifying and unifying narratives this ministry uses to ask the nation to unite against the Coronavirus. Materials and Methods In order to determine the discursive patterns of the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical education against the virus, the "Coronavirus news" section in the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education website was studied. All the published news about the Coronavirus since the outbreak of the virus in the country from February 20, 2020, to November 20, 2020, which was over 1700 cases, were examined to find out ideologically-loaded news headlines. A total number of 75 ideologically-loaded news headlines were coded based on Strauss and Corbin’s (1994) Grounded theory. The key concepts in each news article were extracted several times through the three coding stages. Later, they were analyzed based on Fairclough's model of critical discourse analysis (1989). The basic concepts in all 75 news items published in the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education website included topics such as "Martyrdom and Sacrifice," "Jihad," "Recourse to Divine Relief," "Heavenly characters of Medical Staff," and "Empathy." Discussion of Results and Conclusions The results indicated that the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education used religious discourse and hinted at the historical event of the Iran-Iraq war to communicate with the nation and gain their support against the pandemic. Slogans stated by the spokeswoman for the Iran Ministry of Health Education, such as "We will defeat Corona with the help of God," implied the religious discourse intertwined with scientific discourse in Iran. The study also proved that the frequency of ideologically-loaded news headlines was significantly increased at certain times when there was an increase in the number of Coronavirus victims. The Ministry of Health and Medical Education aimed to resurrect and continue the fight against the Coronavirus by reviving the established national values while reviving the nation's historical memory by victorious historical events. The ideological concepts called the rules of discourse based on Fairclough's model of critical discourse analysis were well addressed in the news headlines of the Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education website.
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