A critical discourse analysis on the representation of Muslim women in Time Magazine

Abstract

This study examines the representation of Muslim women in TIME magazine articles from a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) perspective. The analysis in this study employed Discourse Historical Approach (DHA) which was based on Argumentation Theory. The specific aspect of Argumentation Theory applied in this study was topoi analysis. The used of topoi revealed how discrimination and biasness were projected towards a particular group of people. In addition to CDA, this study was complemented by Corpus Linguistics (CL) which used corpus tools such as wordlist, collocates and concordances. A total of 89 articles pertaining to Muslim women published from January 2000 until December 2010 were collected and examined for discursive practices of TIME magazine on the representation of Muslim women. The time span was significant as it covered various Muslim-related events such as the September 11 terror attack, the London July bombing as well as the Oklahoma bombing. This study aimed to investigate the discursive practices of TIME magazine in search for any implicit ideologies that were used to influence the readers towards the stance of the magazine. These discursive practices were then categorised based on the different types of topoi as laid out by DHA. Corpus linguistic was employed in this study to support the findings revealed by the topoi analysis. The findings indicated that there were a number of commonly used topoi in TIME magazine articles in particular the topos of culture. This study revealed how the perception of Muslim women was crafted by the magazine mostly through the use of culture. Differences in cultures between the Muslims and the Westerners were constructed and reconstructed by implying that Western cultures and beliefs were much superior and synonymous with modernity. The media, in particular TIME magazine, used language as a form of control or a means to influence its readers to believe and accept its ideologies. The study recommended that the language used by the magazine be analysed as it can reflect the ideologies of the media owners in influencing public opinion.