Es-Tu Charlie? Doing Politics on Wikipedia

Beschreibung

This work deals with the recent “JeSuisCharlie” slogan and the political upheaval connected to it. It examines the evolution of the English Wikipedia article on “JeSuisCharlie”. The “JeSuisCharlie” logo was disseminated rapidly on various social media in response to the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 and was then used on various organisations’/individuals’ websites. Besides massive public support, the slogan has also elicited counter-reactions. Wikipedia, as an almost real-time online encyclopaedia, allowed for the creation of an entry about the “JeSuisCharlie” phenomenon shortly after the logo went public. As a collaboratively-created website Wikipedia affords the unique opportunity of observing how this entry has evolved and how the (Wikipedia-) community is negotiating the representation of the controversial “JeSuisCharlie”. Comparing versions of the article from different points in time, with focus on processes of re-contextualisation, restructuring and re-wording concerning the slogan, sheds light on Wikipedia contributors' evolving perspective of the “political slogan” (Wikipedia, 2015). Taking a critical discourse approach, ideological changes are exposed through the above mentioned examination. This analysis of Wikipedia texts found that, while the intense usage of the logo online and offline seems to imply public consensus with regard to its meaning, actually, the signified of “JeSuisCharlie” appears to still be in flux. The existing conceptual imprecision allows room for the slogan to be manipulated and adapted to match various interests, social contexts and purposes. This means that each use of the logo is situated and cannot be read as identical in intention of expression with other instances of usage.

Zeitraum	26 Juni 2015 → 27 Juni 2015
Ereignistitel	Political Discourse: Multidisciplinary Approaches
Veranstaltungstyp	Keine Angaben
Bekanntheitsgrad	International