This thesis carries out a discourse analysis on three popular newspapers in Mexico who reported on feminist protests in response to the feminicides of Ingrid Escamilla and Fátima Cecilia in...Show moreThis thesis carries out a discourse analysis on three popular newspapers in Mexico who reported on feminist protests in response to the feminicides of Ingrid Escamilla and Fátima Cecilia in February 2020. The research question aims to answer how newspaper writing reproduces structures of silence surrounding feminicide which prevents challenges to established structures of power. Using Fairclough’s method of discourse analysis, the thesis scrutinizes seven newspaper articles on the basis of two hypotheses. Hypothesis One postulates that news coverage focuses on vandalism rather than on feminicide, and hypothesis Two posits that the articles fail to link to the larger societal context and do not discuss the role of gendered violence in Mexico. The analysis concludes that the discursive practices of the newspapers represent a continuation of social practices of the past which support and reproduce structures of silence that prevent a resolution of the feminicide epidemic in Mexico.Show less
The UK's decision to leave the EU has been a salient event in Europe over the last three years, often dominating the headlines. Ireland has more to lose from the UK leaving the EU than other member...Show moreThe UK's decision to leave the EU has been a salient event in Europe over the last three years, often dominating the headlines. Ireland has more to lose from the UK leaving the EU than other member states. This thesis examines Ireland's vulnerabilities with the implications of a possible return of a hard border in Northern Ireland. In particular, it examines how Ireland has managed to get the issue of the Irish border as a top priority on the EU agenda in the context of the Brexit negotiations. This is achieved using agenda-setting theory and examining the Irish Government use of framing the border issue to EU counterparts. The thesis finds that the Irish Government was extremely proactive, organized and consistent with discourse which resonated with the values of the EU. This discourse was used at a high politics level by Irish politicians in their engagement with officials of EU intuitions and member states. This persistent engagement and discourse with the EU was instrumental in turning the Irish border into a priority for the EU in the Brexit negotiations.Show less
