UNPACKING STANBIC BANK’S PAN AFRICAN BRAND CAMPAIGN USING CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
-
Authors:
• Violet Bridget Lunga, email: unknown, Afiliation: University of Botswana -
Keywords: unknown
-
Abstract:
In this paper, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is used to identify features of a Stanbic Bank advertisement in Botswana in order to uncover its representation of Africanness and gender, particularly, black African femininity. The main interest is to illustrate how CDA as an analytical tool can be used to unpack underlying assumptions in texts. In a society that is image saturated, the ability to read the word [image] critically becomes crucial for survival in contexts marked by unequal power relations and prejudice. A critical approach to reading and writing will draw attention to the relationship between language, ideology and power. CDA examines, not only forms of oppression, but is also interested in forms of empowerment through discourse. Drawing on Norman Fairclough’s (1989, 1995) three-dimensional conception of discourse, the paper problematizes the advertisement’s construction of the African woman, including its representation of Pan Africanism. Although there are questions about CDA’s theoretical validity and soundness by theorists such as Widdowson, 2004, CDA still remains useful for promoting critical awareness of discourse and public uses of language and in particular, how public discourse positions readers or viewers..