Discursive Strategies and “Humanity Differentials”. A Critical Analysis of the Representation of Victims in the War on Gaza

Andrea Caroselli; Pasquale Schiano

doi:10.60923/issn.1971-8853/22068

Authors

Andrea Caroselli Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Cagliari https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3517-8008

Andrea Caroselli graduated in ethno-anthropological disciplines from La Sapienza in Rome and obtained a PhD in social sciences from the University of Padua. He works on youth conflict and the processes of segregation and racialization, particularly in schools. He’s currently working as a research fellow at the Political and Social Sciences Department of the University of Cagliari (Italy).
Pasquale Schiano Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2982-9704
Pasquale Schiano earned his PhD in sociology and social research from the University of Bologna. He’s currently working as a research fellow at the Social and Political Sciences Department of the University of Milan (Italy). His interests concern media discourse, identity, and youth cultures.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.1971-8853/22068

Keywords:

Palestine, Discourse, Color-blind racism, Victims, Representations

Abstract

Our contribution explores the media narrative of the war on Gaza, focusing on the role this has played in the representation of the victims on both sides of the conflict. To this end, using a critical discourse analysis approach, we’ll analyze Il Corriere della Sera’s media coverage of the first 15 days of the conflict, focusing on articles published in the national edition of the newspaper. In this way, we’ll show how the Corriere’s narrative has shaped an asymmetric representation of the victims, promoting identification and empathy with Israeli civilians and relegating the subjective and individual dimension of the Gazawi to the background, transforming their everyday experience into mere “bare life”.

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Discursive Strategies and “Humanity Differentials”. A Critical Analysis of the Representation of Victims in the War on Gaza

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