Le préjugé du jour

Dans le cadre de la présente initiative, nous examinons la compréhension qu’ont les Canadiens et Canadiennes des enjeux nationaux en matière de citoyenneté, d’identité et d’appartenance culturelle, ainsi que les cyberdiscussions qu’ils tiennent à ce sujet. Plus précisément, nous analysons des conversations se déroulant sur le site Web Reddit et portant sur la proposition d’une « charte des valeurs québécoises ». Notre objectif : comprendre comment des phénomènes sociopolitiques comme la haine, la violence et l’oppression se manifestent et se résorbent en ligne.

Tieja Thomas traite de discours haineux, de liberté d’expression, de démocratie radicale et d’agonisme dans le cadre d’une stratégie curriculaire intégrale.

Vidéos

Atelier sur l’analyse critique de discours assistée par corpus

Dans la présente vidéo, Tieja Thomas et Vivek Venkatesh traitent de méthodes de recherche en environnement numérique. Tous deux titulaires d’un doctorat, ils effectuent un survol des approches courantes et exposent d’importantes considérations sur le plan de la méthodologie.

Afin de démontrer une technique émergente en recherche numérique, Tieja Thomas propose une analyse sélective de sa recherche doctorale. Dans le cadre de sa thèse, elle s’est appuyée sur l’analyse critique de discours assistée par corpus – ou ACDAC. Cette méthode permet aux chercheurs et chercheuses du numérique de procéder à une analyse inductive rigoureuse d’importants volumes de données codées électroniquement. En effet, l’ACDAC combine des techniques linguistiques classiques d’analyse quantitative du contenu et des méthodes qualitatives usuelles d’analyse critique du discours.

Dans cette partie de l’atelier, les animateurs guident les participants dans l’étude pratique de cyberdonnées au moyen de l’analyse critique de discours assistée par corpus. Ils examinent diverses solutions visant l’élaboration de méthodes innovantes pour explorer le cyberespace, les cybercommunautés et la culture numérique. Par exemple, ils considèrent l’apport possible de démarches analytiques reflétant les capacités de suggestion de sites Web.

À la fin de l’atelier, les participants disposent de stratégies concrètes pour mieux réfléchir à la recherche numérique, s’y engager et la présenter.

Créateur

Tieja Thomas PhD

À la fois chercheuse et éducatrice, Tieja Thomas consacre ses pensées, son enseignement et ses écrits aux questions entourant la formation civique et la technologie en éducation.

@TiejaThomas

Site web

Téléchargements

ACDAC_PowerPoint FR_PDF

CACDA_Workshop_Resources ENG pdf

Data Sets ENG zip

Dissertations

Analyzing online discourses of Canadian citizenship: O Canada! True North, Strong, and Free?

Thomas, T. (2015). (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Abstract
This dissertation reports on findings from a research study that sought to trace how discourses of Canadian citizenship and the resultant social relations that they produce evolved alongside online discussions of Quebec’s proposed Charter of Values. The presentation of The Charter spurred much debate amongst citizens living not only within Quebec, but across Canada, as well. In response, Canadian citizens took to the Internet, among many outlets, to exercise their personal and political agency in order to engage in at times, antagonistic conversations about
this controversial socio-political topic. As citizens debated the relative merits of The Charter and voiced their agreement or disagreement with the Quebec government’s proposition, they began to define for themselves what
it means to be a citizen. This inquiry used corpus-assisted (critical) discourse analysis to examine 34 online discussions concerning The Charter appearing within one online environment (reddit). It aimed at three interrelated objectives: 1) to trace how citizens’ conceptualizations of citizenship and the social relations that they produce evolved alongside online discussions of Quebec’s proposed Charter of Values, 2) to analyze these conceptualizations in order to determine where these articulations converge and/or diverge from existing discourses of citizenship, and 3) to assess the possibility for Canada to constitute a site of both radical and plural democracy. Findings from this research reveal that online discussion were framed primarily by discourses of liberal democracy, nationalism, and the current Western security environment, which are deeply in tension with respect to themselves and to one another. Despite these tensions, however, findings reveal that groups who are perceived as occupying majority positions within society often attempt to delegitimize overt counter-discourses that challenge dominant conceptions of Canadian citizenship. Regrettably, this forecloses the possibility of transforming conflicts arising from difference into sites of socio-political flourishing. This research highlights the need for citizenship educators to engage with pedagogical strategies that open up spaces for contestation and conflict surrounding issues of privilege, belonging, and cultural difference. Moreover, it forwards potential strategies to converge the on- and offline
worlds in favour of citizenship for and within radically democratic and plural societies.

Document

Presentation

« Check your beliefs at the door or get out”: The challenge for citizenship education in Canada

Thomas, T. (3 June, 2015). President’s Spotlight Session paper presentation at the meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, Ottawa, ON.

Abstract

This presentation reports on a study that used corpus-assisted (critical) discourse analysis in order to examine several online discussions surrounding the province of Québec’s proposed Charter of Values. Such an inquiry aimed to highlight the relationships and social configurations that were produced as a result of citizens’ interactions within one relatively unmediated and arguably heterogeneous virtual social space. Framed by radical democratic theory, this research supported an examination of which discursive configurations invited contestation and which did not, thereby revealing the role and consequences of power, authority, and control. Findings from this research reveal that online discussion were framed primarily by discourses of liberal democracy, tolerance, and the current security environment, which are deeply in tension with respect to themselves and to one another. Significantly, any overt counter-discourse that challenged dominant conceptions of what it means to live in a liberal democracy was quickly delegitimized. Findings from this research project highlight the need for citizenship educators to engage with pedagogical strategies that open up spaces for contestation and conflict surrounding issues of privilege, belonging, and cultural difference.

Webinaires

Youth & social media: Potential paths to radicalization.

Thomas, T. (1 December, 2015). Invited presentation for the Department of National Security and Public Safety; The Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa, ON.

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/e-library/abstract.aspx?did=7493