Land of woke and glory? The conceptualisation and framing of "wokeness" in UK media and public discourses. [Presentation]

Smith, David; Butler-Warke, Alice; Boag, Lee

Abstract

Though the term originated in the 1960s, it is only relatively recently that the concept of 'woke' became a staple of public discourse in Britain. Often it is alluded to as exemplifying or opposing British values and identity. Particularly where there appears to be a conflict between modernity and aspects of the nation's colonial past, such as was evident in narratives around the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston. It also features during commentaries and exchanges relating to institutional power, censorship, and minority rights/representation, including LGBT issues and the existence of cultural appropriation and structural racism - i.e. 'culture wars' discourses. Curiously, polling shows inconsistency in understanding and relating to the notion of being 'woke' and its implications. The current project aims to combine a critical discourse analysis of posts on a social media platform and coverage in mainstream UK press. We supplement these with a thematic analysis of a questionnaire issued to the public, asking them to personally define and exemplify what is it to be ‘woke'. Across these three data sets, we explore how ‘wokeness' is conceptualised by the press and public to understand better the term's shared meaning and utility.

Citation

SMITH, D., BUTLER-WARKE, A. and BOAG, L. 2022. Land of woke and glory? The conceptualisation and framing of "wokeness" in UK media and public discourses. Presented at the 2022 Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association annual conference (MeCCSA 2022): silenced voices, 7-9 September 2022, Aberdeen, UK.

• Presentation Conference Type: Lecture
• Conference Name: 2022 Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association annual conference (MeCCSA 2022): silenced voices
• Conference Location: Aberdeen, UK
• Start Date: Sep 7, 2022
• End Date: Sep 9, 2022
• Deposit Date: Oct 5, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 26, 2023
• Keywords: Wokeness; Culture wars; Social media; Public discourse; Society and the press
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1769030