Representations of individuals in discourses of<i>laïcité</i>from<i>Le Monde</i>: confirming or challenging the republican framework of identity?

Journal of Multicultural Discourses

2018

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Building on research highlighting the complex webs of relations between secularism, culture, and religion, this study investigates how the concept of culture was utilized in discourses of laïcité from the newspaper le Monde. Articles (N = 76) published between 2011 and 2014 were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results revealed the agency associated with the use of culture as it was strategicallyrather than systematicallyused in opposition to religion. Overall, cultureand the practices it definedtended to be represented as normal and invisible. On the other hand, religion tended to be constructed as a disruption to secularism and the corresponding cultural reality. The findings therefore suggested culture could be strategically used to validate and regulate specific practices as well as representations of the imagined community. This study complements previous research on discourses of secularism by drawing attention to the strategic divisions between culture and religion, and their implications. The findings draw attention to the construction of a secular imagined community because of the punctual and strategic use of culture and religion as proxies for 'us' and 'them'. Thus, the findings have practical implications as regards religious minorities' identification with and belonging to the nation.

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Culture’ as a discursive resource in newspaper articles from Le Monde about secularism: constructing ‘us’ through strategic oppositions with religion

Journal of Multicultural Discourses

2018

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“…Jugé and Perez (2006) argue that uniformity, like universality, often mirrors the status quo and lifestyle of the majority, which hints at a larger problematic associated with color-blind ideology. Previous studies have pointed out the paradoxical fear of communitarianism in France that blames minorities for identifying as communities while dominant discourses tend to construct them as such (Geisser and Zemouri 2007; Sommier, 2017). This is particularly problematic for religious minorities who stand out in contrast to the invisible secular majority (Sommier, 2017).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the construction of cultural realities: Foreign newspaper discourses about the burkini ban in France

2017

Ethnicities

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The burkini ban introduced by several French coastal cities in August 2016 caused a great stir in France and abroad. Discussions were mostly articulated around the topics of secularism, religion, and national identity and values. This study examines foreign perspectives on the burkini ban in France to gain insights into the construction of cultural realities. Informed by Cultural Studies and Critical intercultural communication, this study approaches the construction of cultural realities by investigating the articulation of similarities and differences. A thematic analysis of newspaper articles (N ¼ 167) from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland was conducted to identify the categories evoked to construct similarities and differences. Findings indicated subtle shifts between old and refined commonalities. Throughout the data, France was cast away and represented as ''the deviant other'' while Muslims and Islam were associated with representations of ''us.'' However, underlying tensions indicated ambivalence in the redefinition of symbolic differences and similarities. Specifically, the figure of the Western Muslim and the construction of the burkini as ''appropriate difference'' suggested the persistence of hierarchical relations between ''us'' and ''them.'' Cultural realities therefore appeared to be both liquid and solid. In addition, findings underlined the dialogic construction of cultural realities as differences and similarities were constructed at different levels (national and transnational) that became meaningful through their interactions.

“…Laïcité refers to the separation of Churches and State as a means of ensuring equality and freedom of religion (Baubérot and Milot, 2011). The variety of meanings attached to laïcité and the controversies it stirred in relation to culture, religion, difference, and identity indicate the array of tensions that permeate the concept of secularism in France (Sommier, 2017).…”

Section: The National Resonance Of Laïcitémentioning

confidence: 99%

Memories as a discursive strategy: Exploring representations of laïcité and Frenchness in Le Monde

2017

Cultural Dynamics

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Laïcité (i.e. secularism) has been increasingly and widely represented as a French exception. This study investigates such association by examining the cultural reality in which laïcité is embedded through the use of collective memories. Drawing on critical intercultural communication and aspects of a Foucauldian approach to discourse, this study explores collective memories that are associated with the concept of laïcité and how they contribute to the discursive association of laïcité with France. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine newspaper texts (N = 60) published in the French daily Le Monde between 2011 and 2014. Results reveal the salience of historical memories and indicate ways in which they can be used to normalize meanings, produce instances of disciplinary power, and present reified representations of collective identities and practices.