ABSTRACT: Critical social studies have highlighted the varied methods by which climate activism is reproduced in discourse. This paper examines an incident in which an African youth climate activist, Vanessa Nakate, had her image cropped out of a media photograph taken at the World Economic Forum. The analysis utilizes discursive psychology and conversation analysis to highlight three discursive methods by which Vanessa's activism is challenged: a challenge to her ability to represent 'African' climate activists; an undermining of her claim that her exclusion was racially motivated; and a discourse of emotionality as foregrounding irrationality and incompetence.
African climate activism, media and the denial of racism
2020
ABSTRACT: Critical social studies have highlighted the varied methods by which climate activism is reproduced in discourse. This paper examines an incident in which an African youth climate activist, Vanessa Nakate, had her image cropped out of a media photograph taken at the World Economic Forum. The analysis utilizes discursive psychology and conversation analysis to highlight three discursive methods by which Vanessa's activism is challenged: a challenge to her ability to represent 'African' climate activists; an undermining of her claim that her exclusion was racially motivated; and a discourse of emotionality as foregrounding irrationality and incompetence.
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