The Language of Conspiracy, Power and Indifference in Covid-19 Health Discourses
Hameed Tunde Asiru & Daniel Ochieng Orwenjo (eds.)
Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Technical University, Kenya
The media have greatly played a critical role as avenue of ‘massive infodemic’ of false and accurate information about the novel coronavirus. The popular beliefs are the existence of some secret plots which the powerful elites hide from the public, purposely for political manipulation, population control and social control. These beliefs find expressions in conspiracy theories. They emerge when tragic event such as the pandemic is explained by rejecting the accepted narrative. They are, therefore, driven by a strong desire to unveil social forces that are self-relevant, important, and threatening (Reid, 2010).
To further strengthen the conspiracy theories, many people across the globe have become indifferent to the pandemic. The strategies by the World Health Organization and governments of different nations to curtail the spread of the pandemic also indicate some levels of power usage. Against this backdrop, this book explores the affordances in linguistic and literary studies in unveiling the overt and covert ideological beliefs which reflect conspiracy, power and indifference in the pandemic discourse. Essentially, it interrogates various issues such as biopolitical approach to the discourse of conspiracy, lockdown and reopening, media (mis)representation of the pandemic, language of appraisal and power, coping strategies, vaccination hesitancy and many more.
Contents:
Tobias Marevesa & Esther Mavengano
‘A Tag of War’ in the Conspiracy Theories during COVID-19 Pandemic
A Biopolitical Approach’
Benson Oduor Ojwang
Lockdown, Reopening and Related Metaphorical Frames of Power in Covid-19 Discourse in Kenya
Hakeem Ogunmuyiwa and Umar Bello
Language of Appraisal and Power in a Pandemic
Isah Adamu Latiko
Discursive Construction of Power in Media Representation of the Covid-19 Pandemic
A Critical Discourse Analysis
Norah Bonareri Atambo, Emily Atieno Ogutu and Gervasio Itiri Miriti
Making Sense of, and Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kenya
A Linguistic Perspective
Gift Masengwe
Legitimating Power Construction by Covid-19 Lock Downs and Curfews in Zimbabwe
Esther Mavengano & Tobias Marevesa
De-constructing the Coloniality of Power and Politics of (Mis)Representation during COVID-19 Pandemic Era
A Decolonial Critical Perspective
Bibian Ugoala
Who is the Powerful?
Deconstructing the NCDC Directives to Nigerians on the re-opening of Religious Places of Worship
Deborah N. Ella
Neologisms In Covid-19 Discourses
An Appraisal in (De)Constructing Corona
The Language of Conspiracy, Power and Indifference in Covid-19 Health Discourses
Silibaziso Mulea & Steyn Khesani Madlome
Covid-19 induced Terminology Creation and Coinage in Tshivenda and Xitsonga Languages of Zimbabwe
Chioma Deborah Onwubiko
Language of Persuasion in Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories
Mika Nyoni
Socially Mediated Humour as a Covid 19 Pandemic Coping Mechanism
Clara Unoalegie Bola Agbara
Pragma-Stylistic Analysis of the Language of Power in Health Discourse of Covid-19.
ISBN 9783969391341. LINCOM Studies in Communication 19. 261 pp. 2022.
