Honours Review 17

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Introduction

Edition 17: At Intersections In our increasingly connected world, people are somehow more alone. And not just people, disciplines have become disconnected too.

Birthed from a common label of natural philosophy, we now find research done in separate faculties and separate journals. Students specialise and take diverging paths. Though some problems demand a holistic and interdisciplinary approach, this remains the road less travelled.

The word ‘trivia’ is now commonly used to refer to the knowledge of inconsequential facts.

Its etymology, however, should remind us of a rather different picture. It has its roots in the Latin ‘trivium’ which meant ‘the place where three roads meet’; Trivia then signified something public, a place where roads and people meet. In At Intersections, the authors write about such meetings and these are far from trivial. Some reflect on the tensions between different fields, or different narratives and values, and discuss some of the central questions of our time. Others weave together disconnected disciplines, or focus on the effects of intersectionality.

Behind the scenes, the Editorial Board and the many talented people in the Peer Review Panel and Design Team have poured their hearts into making this edition come to life. At the Honours Review, our goal is for students to feel recognized, and inspired. Whether you’re reading a poem, an academic paper or an opinion piece, we hope these pages ignite a sense of connection and curiosity. We’re grateful to have you as part of our community, and we hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as we loved creating it.

The Editorial Board 2024-2025

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3 | Table of Contents

Table of Contents

At Intersections Goda Bendoriute

Remembering the Russian Cavalry Maiden Noah Hagenbeek

Authentic Intersectionality in Media Texts

A Case Study on Extra-Diegetic Speeches in House of Cards Tom Kraeft

A Demiurge or a Steering Wheel?

The Influence of Language on Thought Marco Panza

The Unfair Fight

Are United States Secondary Schools Providing Students with Effective Mechanisms to Combat Disctimination Ludovica Daffini

Heartwired

Can Artificial Intelligence Acquire Emtional Intelligence?

Laura de Boer

Authentic Intersectionality in Media Texts

Dissecting the Tagesschau’s Media Representation of the War in Gaza Nina Thinnes and Anton Ruholl

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at

intersections

By Goda Bendoriute

At intersections Subtle fragments of our souls.

At intersections A chance to see myself in the mirror of your gaze, To find new edges, Reshape, rephrase.

A maze of perception, Bound still in silent, stubborn chains.

Locked in illusions, absurd and vast, Hemmed by borders we cannot pass.

At intersections A chance to look inside.

The soul was real, a thought is left, And mine is in your head.

Rebelling.

Categorical imperative seemed true, At intersections Attempts to find objective truth.

Exchange a magic fragment Of our souls.

Not me, Not you.

Only The paradox of truth.

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Noah Hagenbeek

Remembering the Russian Cavalry Maiden The Narrative Legacy of Nadezhda Durova / Aleksandr Aleksandrov, the Amazon & Bogatyr who fought in the Napoleonic wars

Introduction Nadezhda Durova, aso known as Aleksandr Aleksandrov, hereinafter referred to as Durova, was a cavalry officer and a novelist in imperial Russia (born 1783, died 1866). By disguising herself and adopting the identity of a man, she was able to join the Russian cavalry and fight in the Napoleonic wars. Durova is an example of an “Amazon,” a woman who participates in war and battle despite cultural stigmas and legal restrictions, so named after the all-female warrior culture of Greek mythology. “Amazons” were a rare, but not a totally strange phenomenon in history. In the Napoleonic wars especially there were multiple women from different States who took up arms (Pennington, 2003). Yet, Durova is unique among them, as she publicly revealed her own story and gained considerable prestige among Russia’s upper circles. She managed to personally meet Tsar Alexander I, who granted her his express permission to stay in the army. He allowed her to identify as Aleksandrov and gave her the highest military honour for her bravery (Durova, 1988, pp. 62-65). After the war, she wrote her autobiography The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Female Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars as well as some fiction (Andrew, 1996). Whilst

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she would slip into relative obscurity later in life, her legacy persisted in Russia, as she appeared in various forms of media. Thanks to the important research and translation work of Mary Fleming Zirin, the late scholar of Russian literature and Slavic women’s studies, Durova has gained some fame in the English-speaking world (Zirin, 1988, pp. ix-xxxviii). Her fame, notable body of work, and self-told story make her a unique historical figure, and as such, many people have taken an interest in the Cavalry Maiden. Her contemporaries, Soviet artists and western academics; all want to retell her story.

In their attempts to retell Durova’s story, the authors are creating narratives by making decisions on what parts they present, how they present them, and what conclusions their audience can or should draw from them. These decisions are informed by their own worldviews and the society of their time and place. A narrative can be fictional, non-fictional or somewhere in between.

A movie maker will interpret Durova’s story and reshape it into an entertaining movie. A scholar trying their best to accurately describe Durova’s life will still construct a narrative through which information is conveyed to the audience. It is thus

no wonder that the various portrayals and discussions vary greatly in essence. Depending on which narrative the audience absorbs, one may gain an entirely different view of Durova. Her story serves as an excellent case study on historical narratives. Everyone in the past and present has opinions on her ‘Amazonian’ exploits, not least Durova herself. By examining various narratives and their relation to the source material – Durova’s life and work – one can gain a better understanding on how history is interpreted and subsequently presented to an audience.

Interpretations of Durova are primarily based on her autobiography, The Cavalry Maiden.

This was a self-narrative, a way to present herself in a manner she found appropriate. The unusual story of a woman enjoying the masculine pursuit of martial life was odd, if not shocking, in her own time. As such, the choice of presentation and emphasis were important to her image (March-Flores, 2003, p. 614). The autobiographical self-narrative shows how and why narratives are created, and that they exist inside of a cultural context.

Almost two centuries after the fact, Durova’s story has been subject to academic interest and discussion. Interest in Durova has practically always been due to her gender. Starting with Mary Zirin, academics have traditionally been interested in what Durova represents as a woman with total freedom from norms normally ascribed to the female sex (Pennington, 2003; Renner-Fahey, 2009; Zirin, 1988). This is in spite of the fact that Durova identified as Aleksandr Aleksandrov later in his life. A new line of academics have discussed the “Cavalry Maiden” in the context of Trans history. They have criticised earlier academics for rejecting Aleksandrov’s self-identification and have studied his works to substantiate their arguments (Averbach, 2022; March-Flores, 2003; Vaysman, 1961, 2023). This discussion presents an interesting conflict of narratives, the result of which can change how people view the Cavalry Maiden. How historians decide to address the Cavalry Maiden, as Nadezhda or as Aleksandr, has great implications for the way identity is constituted by society.

Another aspect that has largely been overlooked is Russian militarism. The narrative potential for a “Russian Jeanne d’Arc” was recognised in Russia. As such, Durova has been presented as a “patriotic” icon in Soviet and contemporary Russian society (“Museum-Estate N.A. Durova,”

2024). This narrative presentation of Durova, how it both ignores and embraces aspects of her autobiography, is fascinating. The Russian case presents examples of near-propagandistic narratives that cater to ongoing political and societal pressures. It reveals how narratives of history can be incorporated into political agendas and how historical accuracy may be subverted.

“The sound of trumpets was my lullaby” As soon as Durova donned the Cossack uniform, the uniform of her father’s military career, she knew that she was taking a risk. Women of 18th-century Europe were strictly prohibited from joining the army by law and by custom.

Women who still wished to join the army had to disguise themselves as men and sneak into the army in secret (Pennington, 2003). If she were discovered, she could expect to be sent home to people who would denounce her for her decision.

Her saving grace was Tsar Alexander I. Upon being discovered by his agents, he requested to meet her personally. Upon hearing her story he did not punish her. Instead, he gave her his name, and she became known as Aleksandr Aleksandrov (Durova, 1988, pp. 62-63; Zirin, 1988, p. xvii). By the Tsar’s grace, she became an honorary male, a man in all but origin, with the security that being a man would bring. However, by publishing her story and revealing her origin, she would once again be under scrutiny. The way that she defended herself was through the creation of a literary narrative (Zirin, 1988, p. xix).

Most of Durova’s autobiography consists of fragments from her diaries, journals and notes, the one exception being the introductory chapter “My childhood years” (Durova, 1988, pp. 1-18).

Where other chapters are a chronological collection of separate thoughts, feelings and recollections, this chapter has a consistent and flowing narrative. It is Durova’s re-interpretation of her formative years and forms the groundwork of a reconstructed narrative that the reader is meant to absorb (Zirin, 1988, p. xix). In effect, the chapter is Durova’s justification for why she, a woman, would want to join the cavalry. The extent to which the introduction is accurate to history is not completely verifiable, meaning that certain aspects may have been dramatized (Zirin, 1988, pp. xiii-xiv).

Durova starts my “My Childhood years” (Durova, 1988, pp. 1-18) before her conception.

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Her mother wished for her eldest child to be a son. As such, little Nadezhda was unwanted by her mother from the very beginning. In a later harrowing scene, her mother, in a crazed episode, threw the infant Nadezhda out of a moving carriage. Her father took it upon himself to raise and protect his daughter. As a result, Durova was raised among hussars and gained a love for freedom and military life. She played with weapons, would perform military drills and snuck out at night to ride horses and frolic in the woods. She would continuously rebel against her mother and how she represented the worst of the “women’s lot.” By example of her mother, women were supposed to be “unhappy, worthless and unfree” (Durova, 1988, p. 8). Out of disgust for this miserable life, young Nadezhda swore to escape the women’s lot and join the military. She spent the rest of her childhood preparing. This plan was put on hold for a period. However, around age 14, Nadezhda visited an aunt who did not make her feel unhappy, worthless or unfree. Moreover, she developed a crush on a young man named Kiriak, who was ten years her senior, that could have resulted in marriage . The interactions with these two made Nadezhda reconcile with the woman’s lot; Durova writes that if she had indeed married him, her martial ambitions would have dissipated. Her resolve returned, however, when her mother was struck by a mood of ultimate despair; a renewed fear of the woman’s lot finally pushed her to run away from home. At the age of 16, after tearfully saying farewell to her unsuspecting parents, she cut off her hair, cast off her dress, donned a Cossack uniform and rode on her childhood stallion to join a travelling Cossack regiment. Near the end of the chapter, she describes the happiness that her newfound freedom and independence brought her:

“ And so I’m at liberty. Free! Independent! I have taken the

freedom that is rightfully mine - the freedom that is a precious gift from heaven, the inalienable prerogative of every human being! I have found a way to take it and guard it from all future claims against it; from now to my grave, it will be my portion and my reward!” (Durova, 1988, p. 18)

“

Durova’s childhood story is emotionally gripping, full of challenge, lamentation and euphoria. Whilst the emotions might be true, the narrative is a distorted retelling of reality. Durova was not a 16-year-old girl, she was 23 years old when she joined the army in 1806. By the time of her departure, she was married to a man named 9 | Remebering the Russian Cavalry Maiden

Vasily Stefanovich and had a son with him, yet they are unmentioned in the autobiography. The image of a virgin maiden whose childhood is dedicated to the pursuit of freedom becomes untenable in the face of this fact. To reinforce this untruth, the ages of her mother and even her horse are stated incorrectly. Zirin speculated that this censorship could have been done by either the government or by herself (Zirin, 1988, p. xx).

No matter the case, the result is that Durova has created a striking self-narrative. She states that her hateful and miserable mother made her despise femininity, and that her good father and his comrades made her love martial pursuits and embrace masculinity. Her whole life she is subversive, yet if she had married Kiriak, she would have become a “normal” woman (Durova, 1988, p. 11). By ignoring the real marriage, Durova’s narrative suggests that her departure was a quasi-religious result of destiny and an enlightened pursuit of freedom instead of other, possibly less agreeable, reasons. The idea that a wife abandoned her husband and son to go adventuring would not have been palatable to conservative audiences (Renner-Fahey, 2009). The Cavalry Maiden presented herself as being exceptional; a woman whose heroic exploits is to be empathised with but fundamentally an exception to the rule.

It practically detaches Durova from the expectation that would otherwise be placed upon her as a woman. This foundational self-narrative, no matter its origin, was created to provide a culturally acceptable reason for a one-woman rebellion in a misogynist environment.

“You will call yourself by my name – Aleksandrov” As Durova’s story lived on, she caught the attention of academia. Starting with Mary Zirin, scholarly works were interested in Durova as an icon for women’s history. Her story is considered “exceptional” in women’s history because of her near-total escape from the standards set upon her as a woman. As such, the traditional narrative in academic circles emphasises the idea of escape and empowerment (Pennington, 2003, pp. 128-130; Renner-Fahey, 2009; Zirin, 1988).

However, this narrative has been challenged in recent years. New academics have approached the Cavalry Maiden from a new angle. They have emphasised the fact that he identified as a man by the Tsar’s given name, Aleksandrov. Thus, they, sometimes cautiously, conclude that he should be considered a transgender man. This new narrative has criticised earlier portrayals, both academic and popular, for blatantly ignoring the ambiguous gendered position of Aleksandrov, and framing Alexandr’s masculine identity as merely “instrumental.” As though Aleksandrov’s masculinity was just a disguise and could not have been a genuine expression (Averbach, 2022; Vaysman, 1961, 2023). The traditional narrative thus clings to the idea of instrumentality whilst the new narrative rejects it; we may refer to them as the “feminist” narrative and the “trans-positive” narrative respectively. By their very existence these two narratives appear in conflict; The seeds of this debate were already planted by Mary Zirin. She and other feminist scholars already created arguments for why Durova should not be considered a “transsexual” or “transvestite”. The argument they made was that Durova did not rebel “against her own sex per se”, but against the repression placed upon women in Tsarist Russia. Durova’s “masquerade” as an “honorary male” was thus merely a woman’s tool to achieve greater freedom. The masquerade is presented as a personal sacrifice that would otherwise be undesirable, instead of being Aleksander’s actual identity (Zirin, 1988, pp. xvi-xvii). The trans-positive narrative, on the other hand, has pointed out that he indeed identified as masculine to a certain extent, by embracing the identity of Aleksandr Alexandrov whilst rejecting the name “Nadezhda Durova.” He did so from his period in the army to his death, a fact that simply cannot be ignored (Averbach, 2022, p. 979; Vaysman, 1961, p. 35; Zirin, 1988, p. xxv).

This discussion around Durova’s identity is an example of the so-called “border wars” in queer history. The term refers to “conflicts” arising when arguments for the self-defence of one queer group seem to discredit the arguments of another (Heyam, 2022, pp. 149-150). Durova’s case falls in line with a conflict observed by transgender academic Jack Halberstam (1998). In short, it was observed that the existence of transgender men seemed to discredit the defending arguments of “masculine” women who did not conform to gender norms. The question of essence is as follows: Is the desire of (those born as) women to embrace a masculine identity a sign that they are trans-men, or are they merely women with masculine traits? Must one necessarily exclude the other (Halberstam, 1998, pp. 141-154)? This question lies at the core of the Durova-Aleksandrov discussion. Was Durova a woman who embraced elements of masculinity to achieve greater freedom? Was Aleksandov a man whose masculinity has not been properly respected? Or can we better describe the identity of the Cavalry Maiden as being ambiguous?

The closest one can come to a conclusion is by studying Durova’s life and work. In Durova’s time, the conceptions of sex and gender were far different from today; new understandings of this topic have enabled the rise of the trans-positive narrative. Through this modern lens, the evidence for both sides becomes vague and subject to interpretation (Heyam, 2022, pp. 10-11). Commonly cited is an incident where Durova’s hand got kissed, something that had not happened to her in a long time and made her uncomfortable.

Depending on the interpretation, this has been described as an emasculating experience (Averbach, 2022, p. 983; Vaysman, 1961, p. 54). Furthermore, Durova stopped using her birth name, and completely embraced her Tsar-given name Aleksandr, demanding it always be used, and even experienced emotional distress when this request was ignored (Vaysman, 1961, pp. 983-984; Zirin, 1988, p. xi). Was “Aleksandr Aleksandrov” simply an honorific, just a title bestowed upon Durova?

Or should we view Aleksandr Aleksandrov as his real name? Even a “smoking gun” cannot be taken at face value. At one point in “My Childhood Years,” she stated:

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The Heart of Russia

“

I began searching actively for means to realise my previous intention: to become a warrior and a son to my father and to part company forever from the sex whose sad lot and eternal dependence had begun to terrify me.” (Durova, 1988, p. 15).

“

Here, manhood is directly connected to the warrior’s pursuit. This is part of her self-presentation. But if women had been socially accepted as warriors, would she have felt the same way?

WBut Durova herself noticed the inherent ambiguity and confusion of her gender. It is mentioned in her autobiography and became a topic that she played with in her fiction (Durova, 1988, pp. 80-81; March-Flores, 2003, pp. 615-630). Her later published works were signed using both the names “Aleksandrov” and “Cavalry Maiden,” showing a simultaneous embrace of a masculine and feminine identity (Averbach, 2022, pp.

983-984; Zirin, 1988, p. xi). She described herself as both a Bogatyr (a masculine hero from Russian folklore) and an Amazon (the race of warrior-women from Greek mythology) (Durova, 1988, pp. 2, 89). Later in life, she was observed having a somewhat masculine appearance, wearing masculine clothing and enjoying masculine mannerisms (Zirin, 1988, pp. xxiv-xxv).

This ambiguity has led to a cross-decade debate in academia. That the discussion is ongoing is clear, as during the process of making this essay, Durova’s Wikipedia page has been changed multiple times to either a masculine or feminine description. It is worth critiquing the dismissive attitude of Zirin and the “feminist” narrative, though the “trans-positive” narrative cannot find a completely confident footing.

What academia struggles with is a translation problem. As there is no way to travel back in time to ask Aleksandrov his true identity, his very personhood remains subject to interpretation.

If people were to take an interest in the Cavalry Maiden, and if people were to debate and come to a conclusion, they could choose how to interpret history. Perhaps, in a theoretical reprint, this thesis would primarily use the name Aleksandr Aleksandrov, and not Nadezhda Durova. Whether male, female or ambiguous, the “Cavalry Maiden” is worthy of discussion in queer history. It is important for people to realise that people, histo11 | Remebering the Russian Cavalry Maiden

The narratives of academia are almost completely separated from the narratives that circulate in Russia. Unlike in the Western realm, where Durova only became known after the translation of Zirin was published, in Russia, she has remained relatively well-known for over two centuries (“Museum-Estate N.A. Durova,” 2024; Zirin, 1988). However, some of the ways in which she has been remembered in her homeland are dubious.

After her death, Durova has appeared from time to time in Russian culture. Only a handful of publications and novellas were published in the Russian Empire, but she gained more fame in Soviet times. From the Second World War onward, she entered the realm of popular culture through plays, novels, and movies. Portrayals were, however, very often inaccurate, even with those attempting to “accurately” retell her story, often adding outlandish romance plots. Additionally, due to Durova’s love of the Tsar, her autobiography was partially censored until 1983 (Zirin, 1988, p. xxx).

These versions do give insight into the minds that created them. One version of particular note is the musical movie “Hussar Ballad”, created in 1962. The plot of this movie is a fictional story inspired by Durova, thus serving as an opt object of study. It is an idealised retelling catered to the Soviet public and conforms to Soviet-government values. In a way, it tells Durova’s story in the way that it should have gone according to the vision of the movie’s creators (Ryazanov, 1962) In this comedic musical, Durova has been replaced by Surochka Azarova, an energetic young woman who is betrothed to the lieutenant Dmitry Rzhevsky. Whilst cross-dressing as a soldier, Surochka accidentally meets Dmitry, who does not recognise her and mistakenly believes her to be a man. Surochka finds Dmitry to be a repulsive figure and continuously mocks him in the third person. Her opinion completely reverses when news arrives of Napoleon’s invasion (1812) and Dmitry patriotically declares his readiness to fight. Her newfound love for Dmitry and a sense of patriotic duty compel Surochka to embrace her disguise, run away from home, and join the army.

This movie is symptomatic of common ahistorical elements in Russian retellings. Her reasons for departure are reframed as a pursuit for love and patriotic duty, not a personal pursuit of freedom and adventure, as her autobiography

would suggest. Her story is thus twisted to conform to common ideas of female romance and agency, and reframed to fit into larger patriotic narratives. Aleksandrov’s given masculine name is also never addressed. The gendered aspect is especially interesting when compared to academic portrayals. In the movie, Durova’s military role is presented as a sort of sacrifice, an action that is good and noble but also to be lamented. The Soviet movie shows a woman’s heroism, but also feels the need to address the traditional woman’s lot. Surochka in the movie softly sings and cradles a doll, evoking images of childhood and motherhood simultaneously. In the end, Dimitry figures out her disguise when she faints upon seeing a mouse, an obviously stereotypical joke at Surochka’s expense.

The second reason for departure, patriotism, is thematically pervasive throughout all Russian portrayals. Surochka’s journey starts with the “patriotic war of 1812”, and not six years earlier like Durova’s. Every Russian man and woman in the movie is filled with patriotic resolve, willing to help in some way with the war effort. Surochka sees “no better reward than serving the motherland”. To be sure, Durova herself did exclaim feelings of patriotism by announcing the greatness of Russia. But framing her entire journey as a patriotic calling instead of a quest for personal freedom shows a propagandistically motivated break with the source material.

Unique and pervasive to the Soviet narrative is the absence of Tsar Alexander I, Durova’s personal hero. One scene in Hussar Ballad presents a clear example, one wherein Surochka experiences the same events as Durova. Upon having her disguise revealed and receiving the order to leave the army, she falls to her superior’s feet and tearfully begs him to let her stay. He fulfils her wish and eventually gives her St. George’s cross for her acts of bravery. However, Surochka does not meet the Tsar; she meets an unnamed field marshal. It shows that the Soviet narrative ignored the Tsar, but simultaneously attempted to form a patriotic-nationalistic connection between itself and the “patriotic war of 1812”.

Though the Soviet Union may be gone, much of its legacy persists in Russia. The city of Yelabuga, located in the republic of Tatarstan, proudly remembers Durova’s legacy. It is the town where she retired and ultimately became her final resting place; there is a gravesite memorial, an equestrian statue, and a museum dedicated

to her. A renovated memorial and a marble bust were placed in Soviet times, and construction of the museum began on orders of the Tatar Soviet Republic (started 1987, finished 1993) (“Museum-Estate N.A. Durova,” 2024). This city and its monuments paint a clear picture of the contemporary Russian narrative. The museum, the city, and the Russian armed forces are active participants in the construction of a militarist narrative.

They have sought to establish continuity between “the patriotic war of 1812” and the modern Russian military using Durova as an icon, even more directly than in Soviet times. They cooperate closely with the local military academy as the city annually holds military ceremonies to celebrate the anniversary of the Cavalry Maiden. Moreover, the museum proudly welcomes the underage cadets of the military academy every year, who learn about their “fellow soldier” and pose in front of her marble bust (“Museum-Estate N.A. Durova,” 2024). To be clear, the museum works to accurately retell and perform research on the history of their local hero. It simply considers her to be militaristic and patriotic in character.

The contemporary Russian narrative venerates Durova as a female warrior, “Russia’s Jeanne d’Arc,” as her grave states. Yet curiously, she is a hero that Russia’s women are not allowed to fully imitate. Whilst the Russian military does allow women to join active combat roles, many positions are restricted. Tanks are off-limits to women (Chesnut, 2020); how can women imitate the Cavalry Maiden if they cannot join the modern cavalry? In the Russian narratives, Durova is an exceptional icon of patriotism. A heroine that is to be praised, though preferably not imitated.

Conclusion Durova chose to retire from the cavalry in 1816 after having served for over a decade. In her fifty years of retirement, perhaps nostalgic for the martial life, she could count on a military pension to live in peace. When she died in 1866, she was buried in Yelabuga with military honours (Zirin, 1988, p. xxvi).

What can we learn from her legacy, one that has given rise to so many different narratives? As can be concluded, narratives are the thematic means by which information is conveyed to an audience. All of the Cavalry Maiden’s narratives stem from a historical truth. Yet, in the process of creation, narratives become subjective interpretations of truth. Academics, Russian social actors

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and even Durova herself made interpretations of her history and used it to create narratives.

Durova chose to interpret and represent herself as someone who was uniquely destined to take up the lance. This self-narrative, created in the context of Tsarist Russia, is one of freedom, self-fulfilment, and rebellion, if only a personal one. The academic narratives attempt to create a fulfilling understanding of their subject matter; but in doing so, they may come into conflict. This one is a conflict between Amazon and Bogatyr, one that people may decide; one that has been used and twisted by social actors, as has historically been the case in Russia. The narratives of the Cavalry Maiden reveal that not all representations of historical truth are in fact, truthful. The narratives in these representations can be moulded and reforged. They are subject to modification, intention and context.

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Oxford, New York: Clarendon Press ; Oxford University Press.

Averbach, R. (2022). The (Un)making of a Man: Aleksandr Aleksandrov/Nadezhda Durova. Slavic Review, 81(4), 976-993.

Chesnut, M. (2020). Women in the Russian Military. Understanding the Russian Military Today (blog). Retrieved from https://www.csis.org/blogs/post-soviet-post/women-russian-military Durova, N. A. (1988). The cavalry maiden : journals of a female Russian officer in the Napoleonic Wars. London: Angel.

Halberstam, J. (1998). Female masculinity. Durham: Duke University Press.

Retrieved from https://doi org/10.1215/9780822378112.

Heyam, K. (2022). Before we were trans : a new history of gender. London: Basic Books.

March-Flores, A. (2003). Coming out of His Closet: Female Friendships, Amazonki and the Masquerade in the Prose of Nadezhda Durova. The Slavic and East European Journal, 47(4), 609-630.

Museum-Estate N.A. Durova. (2024). Retrieved from http://elabuga.com/durova/ aboutDurovaMuseum.html Pennington, R. (2003). Amazons to fighter pilots : a biographical dictionary of military women. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

Renner-Fahey, O. (2009). DIARY OF A DEVOTED CHILD: NADEZHDA DUROVA’S SELF-PRESENTATION IN THE CAVALRY MAIDEN. The Slavic and East European Journal, 53(2), 189-202.

Ryazanov, E. (Writer). (1962). Hussar Ballad. Moscow: Mosfilms.

Vaysman, M. (1961). ‘I Became a Man in a Military Camp’: Negotiating a Transmasculine Identity in Aleksandr Aleksandrov (Nadezhda Durova)’s Personal Documents and Literary Fiction. Avtobiografija, 11, 33-61.

Vaysman, M. (2023). The Trouble with Queer Celebrity: Aleksandr Aleksandrov (Nadezhda Durova)’s A Year of Life in St Petersburg (1838). Modern Language Review, 118(1), 97-113.

Zirin, M. F. (1988). Translators Introduction: Nadezhda Durova, Russia’s ‘Cavalry Maiden’ The Cavalry Maiden: Journals of a Female Russian Officer in the Napoleonic Wars. London: Angel Books.3.

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v © Netflix

Authentic Intersectionality in Media Texts A Case Study on Extra-Diegetic Speeches in House of Cards

by Tom Kraeft Introduction In media studies, intersectionality is often referred to as a way of looking at the world that combines multiple dimensions or axes such as class, ethnicity, sex, and religion [9]. Together, they form a representation of social reality that, for example, in TV shows can be used to comment on the real world. In the Netflix show House of Cards [10], this perspective is significantly shaped by the protagonist Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), who frequently produces monologues that address the audience directly. Hereby, Frank references elements outside of the established world-building of House of Cards, such as the show audience. Thus, the speeches can be considered extra-diegetic [1]. Depending on the

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occasion, he lectures, makes predictions, evaluates developments, or explains his schemes. The latter method is employed in “Chapter 3” (season 1, episode 3) of the first season when Frank interrupts an emotional eulogy in church to clarify to us, the show audience, that he is blatantly lying, making a strategic move to achieve his personal goals. Notably, while being manipulative and deceiving within his political maneuvering, he speaks entirely transparently to us. In this essay, I explore the nature and implications of such extra-diegetic speeches under the scope of authenticity and their implications for the intersectional commentary of the show. Concretely, I attempt to answer the following research question:

flix

“

How do the protagonist’s extra-diegetic speeches in House of Cards utilize the concept of authenticity to construct the world as portayed in the show?”

The process of analysis has uncovered that Frank’s authentic commentary directed at the audience is utilized strategically to offer insights on the character development, world-building, and the show’s evaluation of the political landscape of the US and capitalist society as a whole. To come to this conclusion, I consider it necessary to define the scope and key concept of authenticity first. This will lead to a textual analysis of a purposively sampled scene grounding a three-part argumentation, which is structured by the findings’ interrelation with phenomena of social relevance. Gradually zooming out, the extra-diegetic speeches will be investigated as intersectional comments on a personal, political, and societal dimension.

Analysis The stylistic device of direct addressing or implementation of extra-diegetic speeches by Frank is a critical and highly debated one. On a simple level, it is considered to offer insights and structure to the narrative and support the audience in keeping track of Frank’s political maneuvering [8]. More complex, research has also found it to “offer degrees of reflexivity and metanarrative” that affect the audience’s engagement with the show. Hereby, the relationship between Frank and the audience is the subject of discussion.

Previous authors have noted that it resembles a friendly one, while also at times being didactic or manipulative [2]. This distinction is partly made based on the degree of truthfulness of Frank’s directly addressing speeches.

In this essay, I will take a different approach and analyze the extra-diegetic elements under the lens of authenticity. This concept has been defined by Peter Nichols and Theo van Leeuwen as a notion focusing on displaying an indexical relationship, potentially disconnected from objectivity or truth [4,7]. Accordingly, I presume that in this case of extra-diegetic speeches the display of Frank’s point of view and understanding of the world is of high importance – no matter whether they are factually correct or not. Through offering his viewpoint alone to the audience, the narrative

of House of Cards is framed through the myopic lens of the protagonist’s self-actualization. Frank might not always speak truthfully or with factuality as in an objectivist understanding, but he offers insights into how he constructs reality. Thus, in his extra-diegetic speeches, he uncovers the “true self” of persons and processes as he views them.

Therefore, the speeches are authentic. I argue that this realization is used to shape the protagonist’s relationship with the audience as well as to comment on social beliefs regarding the political landscape of the US and capitalist society, as the following textual analysis will demonstrate.

The analysis is contextualized and grounded on the church speech in “Chapter 3” (season 1, episode 3) of the show. At the time, majority whip Frank Underwood faces potential bad press after political opponents of his instrumentalize a fatal car crash of a young girl. The accident was arguably caused by a water tower preserved due to Frank’s initiative in the past, hence he is considered as being partly accountable. In response, Frank travels to his home district Gaffney to persuade the victim’s parents into not initiating legal proceedings. Here, he arranges to be allowed to read from the Bible in church, only to instead break out into an – allegedly – spontaneous speech about grief and its coexistence with God. In this process, Frank tells the story of how his father died of a heart attack at a young age, causing Frank to “hate” God in his sadness, before eventually realizing that such tragedies are part of a bigger plan and that it is mankind’s job not to understand but to love God unconditionally, nevertheless. This way, he attempts to place himself in a comparable, empathy-indulging position to the parents of the deceased girl, emphasizing similarities and rhetorically establishing a strong sense of ethos. However, Frank reveals to the show audience in an extra-diegetic monologue placed in the middle of his speech that he is not speaking truthfully. While his father actually died young, neither Frank nor his mother valued him or mourned his death. In fact, Frank considers his early death to be best. Despite that, he acts out the opposite in front of the church audience, as, to use Frank’s own words, the real story “does not make for a very powerful eulogy now, does it?”.

After stating that, Frank continues constructing the narrative for the church audience, as stated previously. As we later learn, his overall strategy, in which the speech was a key element to establish his trustworthiness, proves to be effective,

At Intersections | 16

leaving behind a visibly moved crowd that no longer blames Frank for the developments.

Visually, Frank’s speech is displayed through a series of stationary medium and long shots, alternating between showing the parish and him.

The latter is mostly displayed from a frontal low angle and placed symmetrically within the frame, often featuring graphical vectors formed by furniture or windows of the church that guide the audience’s gaze towards Frank. Meanwhile, the audience is looked down upon from a high angle.

Additionally, Frank is standing in an elevated position, speaking from the pulpit. This emphasizes the relationship between Frank and his audience.

He is speaking and in power, capable of rhetorically playing with their emotions. He is not an ordinary member of the parish but a person of authority. He is – from their point of view – offering them guidance and wisdom. Despite this position of power, he is presenting himself as vulnerable when talking about his own alleged grief, potentially even increasing the strength of his perceived ethos and maximizing persuasiveness.

Contrastingly, there is the visualization of his extra-diegetic monologue. It is filmed without movement and cuts from one perspective.

The camera is positioned slightly below eye level to Frank’s left, creating a close-up of his face and shoulders. Frank’s gaze is shifting back and forth from looking straight in the direction of the church audience and to the left towards the camera. This creates the atmosphere of him being engaged in an intimate conversation with us, the show audience. Due to the slight height difference, he still appears to be in power, even though the difference significantly decreased compared to the diegetic audience in church. Notably, we are much closer to him than the diegetic audience, literally and metaphorically. Frank is no longer putting on an act but is now speaking authentically. The difference is supported in sound design as well. While the speech addressing the parish is underlined by uplifting orchestral music, the monologue directed at the show audience features more thoughtful music. This potentially emphasizes the increased seriousness in tone.

Furthermore, Frank is in focus in front of a blurry background and it is clear that time within the narrative does not progress while this extra-diegetic element is presented.

Through the lens of Frank’s authenticity, this scene presents us with critical insights on his self-perception. On a surface level, the extra-di-

17 | Authentic Intersectionality in Media Texts

egetic monologue contextualizes the speech.

Frank makes clear that he is not giving a heartfelt eulogy but instead is making a calculated strategic move to avoid political backlash. Moreover, he positions himself regarding religious and ethical values. This is made evident when, during a service in the church, he does not mind lying and manipulating a couple who have just lost their child and who are devoted to their grief to achieve his goals.

To delve deeper, it is notable that Frank shares these insights willingly with the show’s audience. He is aware of us watching him and actively decides to let us in on his scheme. According to the work of previous authors, being engaging is a key feature of likable characters [6]. Through revealing his tactics and engaging directly with the audience, Frank wins us over [8]. Notably, within the first season of the show, he is the only character to ever do so. Hence, his perspective on the world is the only one clearly presented to the audience. The world is framed through Frank’s understanding of and relation to it. Despite his previously established social conventions and norms that have undoubtedly evil intentions, we continue to root for his success. The overall narrative, presentation of the world, and Frank’s character form an inseparable interrelation whose inherent logic we, as the audience, rarely question and which is made visible through the extra-diegetic speeches [8]. Thus, Frank’s application of authenticity here is crucial for shaping the presentation of his character and the general storytelling approach.

I argue that a similar stance can be taken towards the show’s commentary on the political landscape of the US. As former president Bill Clinton has stated, House of Cards in large parts describes political activities in Washington accurately [3]. Consequently, the show adopts an interpretation of realism that creates a representation of the real world. Its established set of rules is only broken through the extra-diegetic speeches.

Here, inconsistently with other characters, Frank appears to be able to recognize the camera and audience. In these scenes, which are in opposition to the diegetic plot and, as the church scene shows, pause the action, time is taken to demonstrate authenticity and offer insights into motivation and character.

However, moments like these do not exist in the real world. Observers of real politics are not offered intimate monologues of politicians,

revealing authentic information about their strategies and aims. Following this argumentation, if the church speech was displayed without any extra-diegetic elements, I presume that it would likely be perceived as an engaging and moving speech of Frank displaying vulnerability and empathy. Only through the explaining monologue does the calculated and strategic nature become perceivable. This clearly proves the critical point of the potential for manipulation and lack of transparency in political discourse. House of Cards thus comments on the role of authenticity in politics. Due to authenticity only being present in extra-diegetic elements rather than in diegetic ones, it is suggested that it might be missing entirely in actual politics. Yet, politicians do not uncover this themselves in the way Frank does.

Lastly, being presented with the underlying motivation of characters and explanations of processes through the lens of Frank’s interpretation in extra-diegetic speeches offers the entailment that they are inherently intertwined with and framed through Frank’s indexical relation to the world. Thus, they are not necessarily true or accurate, but an authentic representation of Frank’s perspective, shaped through his values. I consider this to have a significant impact on the displayed descriptions of how the world of House of Cards functions. Throughout the show, Frank demonstrates a worldview that is coined by ambitious pragmatism and the goal of maximizing personal success. These beliefs dictate his own actions and his evaluations of other characters’ behavior. This becomes observable when he assesses the eulogy in the church scene regarding effectiveness, not concerning emotional value. Similar stances are taken frequently by Frank throughout the entire show. This behavior uncovers an in-essence capitalist perspective on society. In Frank’s understanding, progress is defined by growth, and everyone’s life is above all guided by striving for professional success. As this is the only perspective offered to the audience, Frank authentically demonstrates a subtle commentary on the procedural rhetoric of capitalist society. Maximizing personal gain by disregarding others is presented as a social norm – even though it leads to the destruction of careers, personal downfalls, or death, ultimately also for Frank himself. Hence, I consider the show to make use of authenticity in extra-diegetic speeches to point out the consequences of exaggerated ambition and competitiveness and thus to criticize the immanent metaphor of Adam

Smith’s “Invisible hand” within capitalist societies [6]. Opposingly to its argumentative point of the free market offering incentives that cause people to unintentionally benefit the public when trying to pursue their own goals, within House of Cards, self-interested people such as Frank clearly do not accidentally act in the public’s interest.

Conclusion

In conclusion, extra-diegetic speeches feature Frank speaking authentically. They act as a transparent commentary that aids in constructing Frank’s character, the show’s overall narrative, and its commentary on phenomena of social relevance such as the political landscape of the US and capitalist society. Concretely, authenticity is used to consciously frame Frank’s indexical relationship with the world in an explicit manner.

This makes the audience notice and engage with Frank’s way of reasoning, potentially critically. In essence, I consider the following three key findings to summarize the results of the presented analysis.

Firstly, extra-diegetic speeches in House of Cards utilize authentic commentary to reflect and present Frank’s indexical relationship to the world. This shapes the narrative and the presentation of his character through the lens of his own

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self-actualization and understanding. Secondly, extra-diegetic speeches highlight the lack of authenticity in diegetic elements of the show. This way, commentary is offered on the lack of authenticity within the political landscape that House of Cards was designed to resemble. Thirdly, extra-diegetic speeches allow for subtle evaluations of capitalist societal norms regarding characters’ motivations and ambitions and the respectively connected consequences.

Hence, an additional layer of meaning is added to the narrative, offering insights into its commentary on the real world and contributing crucially to its overall critical tone. This message is framed through the combination and juxtaposition of sociopsychological, political, and societal evaluations that are pointed out simultaneously through the lens of authenticity, illustrating how media texts potentially comment on phenomena of social relevance.

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Galimberti, C., Bova, A., Spanò, C., & Vergine, I. (2021). Polydimensional Structure and Psychosocial Functions of the Direct Address in TV Series. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 662215. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.662215 Gray, J. S. (2016). ‘Being versus Seeming’. In J. E. Hackett (Ed.) House of Cards and Philosophy: Underwood’s Republic. Chichester: Blackwell, pp. 6–27.

LaCasse, A. (2015). How accurate is ‘House of Cards’? Very, says President Clinton. CSMonitor. https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Culture-Cafe/2015/0331/How-accurate-is-House-of-Cards-Very-says-President-Clinton Nichols, B. (2017). How Can We Differentiate Among Documentary Models and Modes? What are the Poetic, Expository, and Reflexive Modes? In Introduction to Documentary (3rd ed.) (pp. 104-115, 121-125). Indiana University Press. https:// rug.on.worldcat.org/oclc/966315012.

Smith, A. (2012). Wealth of Nations. Wordsworth Editions.

Smith, M. (1994). Altered States: Character and Emotional Response in the Cinema. Cinema Journal, 33(4), pp. 34–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1225898 van Leeuwen, T. (2001). What is authenticity? Discourse Studies, 3(4), 392–397. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24047523 van Raalte, C. & Helmers, M. (2022). Being Frank? Breaking the ’fourth wall’ in Netflix’s House of Cards. In S. Cardwell, J. Bignell & L.F. Donaldson (Eds.), Complexity / Simplicity: Moments in television (pp. 39-60). Manchester University Press. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526148766 Wekker, G. (2016). Introduction. In White Innocence: Paradoxes of Colonialism and Race (pp. 1-29). Duke University Press. https://doi. org/10.1215/9780822374565 Willimon, B. (Director). (2013). House of Cards. Netflix

19 | Authentic Intersectionality in Media Texts

A Demiurge or a Steering Wheel?

THE INFLUENCE OF LA NGUAGE

by Marco Panza

ON THOUGHT

Introduction The Timaeus, a work by the Greek philosopher Plato, contains the first recorded mention of the demiurge, a divine being who morphed physical reality into existence [1]. Inspired by this notion, thinkers and scholars over the course of centuries have been wondering about the connection between our inner and outer worlds. This query has taken on different forms: substance vs form with Plato [2], body vs soul with Descartes [3], senses vs ultimate reality with Kant [4]. The ripples of this debate have extended into numerous fields of science, generating countless variations

of the same basic question. One of these concerns language and its power to influence our experience.

Linguists have tried to shed a light on the ability of language to filter and shape our interpretation of reality. How far does this influence go? Is language similar to the platonic demiurge, or is its role analogous to that of a steering wheel?

In other words, does language’s influence on reality depend on its ability to create thought, or is this ability far more limited in shaping our cognitive processes?

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This opinion piece will delve into the issue through three arguments. The philosophical argument will be introduced first, taking into account a single but crucial perspective, i.e. Heidegger’s concept of language as the “House of Being” [5]. Likewise, the following anthropological argument rests on the insights of only one author, historian and anthropologist Harari, as presented in his work Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind [6]. In his work, Harari highlights the important role of communication and storytelling for the functioning of human societies. Lastly, these perspectives will be juxtaposed with the notion of linguistic relativism, i.e. the idea that language structures our cognitive abilities and influences our perception. The aim of this opinion piece is to delineate the varying stances held by scholars in different fields of science regarding the connection between language and cognition, giving neurolinguistics the last word.

The philosophical argument Martin Heidegger, a prominent philosopher of the 20th century, advanced fascinating ideas concerning language. In essence, Heidegger posited that language is not just a tool for communication; it fundamentally shapes our understanding of the world and how we exist within it. He viewed language not just as a collection of words or symbols, but as deeply intertwined with our essence. Language, therefore, is not merely descriptive but revelatory of a deeper reality. When we employ language, we are not simply attaching labels to phenomena - we are also disclosing their significance and meaning [7]. Poetic language, he suggests, has the power to reveal hidden truths about human existence and our connection to the world [8]. For instance, a poem about a river might not just describe it as a geographical feature, but also as a source of nourishment, a microcosm of life and movement, a living organism integrated with a larger ecosystem. Everyday language also shapes the way we see the world [9]. To give a contemporary example, referring to a group of immigrants as “foreign resources” frames the concept in a utilitarian and extractive perspective, while using the term “expats” recasts the same group in a light of entrepreneurship, professionalism, and higher social status.

However, Heidegger rejected linguistic constitutionalism – the notion that language in itself constitutes reality – opting instead for the idea of

21 | The Influence of Language on Thought

language as disclosure, a medium through which Being, the ultimate reality lying beyond our senses and comprehension, reveals itself. Language, therefore, assumes an aesthetic role, connecting Being to our sensory experience [10].

This perspective implies that language extends beyond interpersonal communication.

Noam Chomsky, known for being the founder of modern linguistics and one of the finest intellectuals of the 20th and 21st century, made a similar assertion, stating that language’s primary purpose extends beyond mere communication [11].

For Heidegger, language plays an essential role in shaping our self-awareness and our perception and it deeply influences our interpretation of reality. However, since Heidegger rejected linguistic constitutionalism, the question still lingers: to what extent does language affect our thought and understanding of the world?

The anthropological argument In Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind [6], anthropologist and historian Harari places much emphasis on the role of language in constructing reality. Through an exploration of storytelling and discourse as fundamental components of human culture and cognition, Harari argues that humans possess a unique ability to formulate and communicate complex narratives. This ability serves as the basis for organizing societies and constructing belief systems. Collective myths, ideologies and narratives have been shaping human behavior and institutions throughout history [6].

Harari illustrates how a large part of our interactions as a species depends on the ability to communicate and establish a “code” that allows us to attribute meanings to objects and ideas.

Many aspects of reality, therefore, only exist because we all believe that they do. For example, “money” does not have an intrinsic value. Paper bills or digital flows of credit can be used to buy things because we, as a collective, have decided to turn them into a universal means of exchange.

The entire world economy hinges on the “fiction” that we tell ourselves about money [6].

Similarly, as Harari points out, corporations and brands are neither a physical place nor an assemblage of people. They are not the facilities where employees and bosses gather, nor are they their current employees or bosses. Headquarters can be changed, personnel can be replaced: it

happens all the time. And yet, if someone mentions, say, Peugeot, we immediately think of a specific carmaker, even though we cannot pinpoint exactly what or where Peugeot is [6].

Given that fiction and discourse are largely conveyed through language, it is safe to conclude that language exerts an influence over them. As the scaffold on which ideas and narratives are molded, language delineates and interferes with the reality we experience. Assumptions and conventions on which society is built exist within a communicative network, in a House of Being, to echo Heidegger’s words.

Philosophy and anthropology certainly provide intriguing takes on the relation between language and perception. However, what do linguists think in this regard?

The linguistic argument In the field of linguistics, the examination of the relationship between language and reality centers on the connection between language and thought, or language and mind. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as linguistic relativism [12], suggests that the structure and usage of language can shape our perceptions and thoughts.

This leads to the conclusion that our understanding of the world indeed depends, to a certain extent, on the linguistic framework we employ.

Prominent examples of linguistic relativism come from the work of neuroscientist and linguist Lera Boroditsky. In her research on language and cognition, Boroditsky sets out to show how language can shape various aspects of thought and perception. For instance, Boroditsky presents evidence from studies comparing Mandarin Chinese speakers and English speakers. Mandarin Chinese employs a system of temporal reference that is largely based on spatial metaphors, while English relies more heavily on morphological tense markers [13]. Boroditsky argues that these linguistic differences lead to differences in how speakers of these languages conceptualize and perceive time. The experimental evidence which compared how native English and native Mandarin speakers think about time seems to be consistent with this hypothesis. As she explains, time flows vertically for Mandarin speakers, whereas English speakers think of time as flowing horizontally [13]. In English, time is predominantly conceptualized through front/back metaphors.

For example, a meeting can be moved forward, a deadline can be pushed backwards, hardships can be behind us and good times lie ahead of us [13]. On the other hand, Mandarin makes large use of vertical time metaphors to order events: for example, through the spatial morphemes shàng (up) and xià (down) earlier events are indicated as shàng, while later events as xià [13].

Both English and Mandarin speakers in the experiment were shown a series of horizontal and vertical primes, i.e., simple sequences of images ordered horizontally or vertically. English speakers were able to answer spatiotemporal before/ after questions faster than up/down questions, after being exposed to the horizontal prime, while the opposite happened with Mandarin speakers.

This is indicative of English speakers’ preference for thinking about time horizontally, likely influenced by English’s use of horizontal time metaphors. Crucially, it also suggests that language habits influence thought habits. As such, the languages we speak and, in particular, our first language, not only reflect habitual cognitive processes but also play an active role in shaping them [13].

However, while these experiments show that language does have an impact on cognition and perception, it still remains to be determined how far such an influence extends. Does language merely have an influence on thought, or does it determine thought itself? In the first instance, the role of one’s native language would be limited to providing structure and directionality to abstract domains such as time [13]. In the second instance, one’s native language would entirely and specifically determine the way abstract domains are conceived, making it impossible to conceptualize them differently.

To answer this question, it is useful to look at what has been called linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism. Linguistic determinism, similarly to linguistic constitutionalism, posits that language determines the way people think and perceive the world [12]. In other words, speakers of different languages perceive reality differently, because their language imposes specific cognitive structures. According to this view, language not only influences, but entirely determines an individual’s thoughts and worldview.

Neurolinguists Wolff and Holmes, who have conducted influential research on the relationship between language and cognitive processes, reject this view [12], opting instead for

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a more nuanced approach. They contend that language does not determine basic categories of thought, but shapes and enhances cognitive processes [12] and, while it exerts a powerful influence on thought processes, it does not equate or create thought.

Practically, the difference between linguistic relativism and linguistic determinism can be illustrated by referring to the previously mentioned experiment. While English and Mandarin speakers, respectively, show a preference for thinking about time on a horizontal or vertical axis, it is not impossible for either of them to conceptualize the flow of time the other way around.

As a matter of fact, both groups were able to comprehend and answer the questions featuring the spatiotemporal indicators that they were not familiar with. The only difference is that they did so more slowly compared to the case in which their temporal framework matched the one characteristic of their native language [13].

Conclusion In sum, Heidegger and Harari offer compelling narratives about the creative power of language. Their positions align more closely to linguistic determinism, or the “strong” version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Heidegger sees language as a medium through which the true essence of things can be revealed and placed in our sensory experience. Harari, on the other hand, talks specifically about the power of storytelling, exemplifying how many of the fundamental beliefs we share about the world, such as the value of money or the concept of brands and corporations, only exist in the stories that humans tell each other.

The idea that language possesses a sort of creative power is not directly mentioned by the author, but it can be inferred logically from his argument.

These notions paint a fascinating picture which suggests that language can influence our cognitive abilities. However, such a hypothesis necessitates stepping into the field of neurolinguistics: it is only by taking into account this third perspective that we come to a holistic understanding of the relationship between language and cognition. While the extent to which language influences thought remains a subject of ongoing debate, the consensus in the field points to a more limited role than what linguistic determinism assumes. Renowned linguists such as Wolff and Holmes [12] or Boroditsky [13] reject linguistic

23 | The Influence of Language on Thought

determinism in favor of its “weaker” [12] counterpart, linguistic relativism. In short, what this view entails is that language can shape thought and cognition, as evidenced by Boroditsky’s experiment on spatiotemporal perception. However, language alone does not construe thought; it does not control cognitive processes and it does not create them from scratch. Linguistic relativism acknowledges the power and influence of language on the experience of reality but, unlike linguistic determinism, it does not place thought within the boundaries of language itself.

To return to the initial metaphor: seen through the framework of linguistic relativism, the role of language resembles more closely that of a steering wheel than that of a demiurge. It can guide the vehicle of cognition in a certain direction and even set it on a preferential course.

However, it is not the vehicle itself, nor does the existence of the vehicle depend on it.

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Descartes, R. (1649). Les passions de l’âme. Amsterdam: Lodewijk Elsevier.

Reprinted in Oeuvres de Descartes (Vol. XI, C. Adam & P. Tannery, Eds.). Paris: Henry le Gras, 1964–1974.

Kant, I. (1914). Critique of judgement (J. H. Bernard, Trans.; 2nd ed., rev.).

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Heidegger, M. (1993). Letter on humanism. In D. F. Krell (Ed.), Basic writings (pp. 204–265). New York: Harper & Row. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=a6e72de468f174da4026c614445d1f5dfa39e684 Harari, Y. N. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind. New York: Harper.

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Continental Philosophy Review, 40, 195–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11007007-9050-9 Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976. (2001). Poetry, language, thought. New York: Perennical Classics.

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Dahlstrom, D. (2012). Heidegger, truth, and logic. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 20(5), 1033–1051. https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2012.717911 Reboul, A. (2021). Chomsky on the evolution of the language faculty: Presentation and perspectives for further research. In N. Allott, C. Knight, & N. Smith (Eds.), A companion to Chomsky (pp. 476–502). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. https:// doi.org/10.1002/9781119598732.ch30 Wolff, P., & Holmes, K. J. (2010). Linguistic relativity. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 2(3), 253–265. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.104 Boroditsky, L. (2001). Does language shape thought? Mandarin and English speakers’ conceptions of time. Cognitive Psychology, 43(1), 1–22. https://doi. org/10.1006/cogp.2001.0748

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The Unfair Fight ARE UNITED STATES SECONDARY SCHOOLS PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH EFFECTIVE MECHANISMS TO COMBAT DISCRIMINATION? Ludovica Daffini

Introduction Achievement and disciplinary gaps based on race, ethnicity and national provenance are a long-lasting problem in the United States of America (hereinafter referred to as the US) public secondary education system. This is demonstrated by some alarming statistics. For example, Black students are one of the top groups receiving disciplinary infractions, and they are two times more likely to be expelled from school than their white classmates [1]. At the same time, these students are greatly underrepresented in Advanced Placement courses, a set of university-level classes offered to highschoolers across the US, and in gifted and talented programs.

In the following, I analyze the ongoing issues of discrimination in US secondary schools, and reflect on whether schools are providing stu-

25

dents with enough effective tools to fight against this form of oppression. More specifically, I will rely on the application of the philosophical concept of the ‘abyssal line’ formulated by De Sousa Santos to the education field [2]. With the expression ‘abyssal line’, De Sousa Santos describes the divide that is currently in place between ‘metropolitan societies’ and ‘colonial societies’. The scholar asserts that the distinction between Western and non-Western communities means that those individuals that are on the colonial side of the abyssal line are not being acknowledged as fully human, and that civilization is only possible in the metropolitan world. This means that, when discrimination arises in the metropolitan world, citizens can still appeal to their rights, whilst in colonial contexts excluded individuals

are prevented even from voicing their claims for human dignity. De Sousa Santos provides several examples of how the abyssal line divides societies based on differences such as gender, race and ethnicity. Among these examples, discrimination in the educational system is discussed (p. 22):

“

In a predominantly white society, a young Black man in secondary school is living in a world of metropolitan sociability. He may well consider himself excluded, whether because he is often avoided by his schoolmates or because the syllabus deals with materials that are insulting to the culture or history of peoples of African descent. Nonetheless, such exclusions are not abyssal; he is part of the same student community and, at least in theory, has access to mechanisms that will enable him to argue against discrimination”.

In the quoted passage, De Sousa Santos states that schools provide a set of institutional tools to students, including regulations and reporting mechanisms, which allow them - at least theoretically - to fight against discrimination. Specifically, this term refers to the unfair treatments some students receive from their teachers, classmates, and the school community due to their racial and ethnic background. After providing an overview and examples of discrimination in US secondary schools, I will distill two instances that show why De Sousa Santos’ claim is not accurate in relation to the US secondary school system, and the impacts that this phenomenon can have on increasing inequalities within and beyond the classroom. The brightest hope behind my pages is precisely this: to engender awareness that education systems are not merely a piece within broader social fabrics - deaf and disconnected from any other global event or process. Education is growing individually; it is nourishing the world with new ideas; it is building unity within the human community, and its ethos will only be achieved through equal, inclusive, and accessible learning.

Examples of Discrimination in the US Secondary Education System The School to Prison Pipeline (STPP) One of the salient features of the US secondary education system is its strong connection with the criminal justice system, which is often de-

scribed with the School to Prison Pipeline (STPP) metaphor [3]. The STPP happens at the local, state, and federal level, and can operate through direct or indirect methods. In the first case, schools directly contribute to feeding the Pipeline by imposing zero tolerance policies and calling for the intervention of the police when minor conflicts among students arise [3]. This can lead to students being questioned by officials and eventually arrested. The STPP also operates indirectly, by creating a hostile learning environment for students and by isolating them from their peers through suspension and expulsion decisions. These measures pave the way for students to drop out without having gained enough skills and the possibility to find a meaningful place in society.

Studies investigating the STPP have demonstrated that Black students are disproportionately affected by this system [4]. More specifically, Whittenberg & Fernandez [5] denounce that ‘although Black students represented only 15% of the national student population during the 20152016 school year, they were 31% of the students arrested or referred to law enforcement’ (p. 2) and that ‘Black students are three times more likely to attend a school with more security staff than mental health personnel’ (p. 2). To further contextualize these phenomena, it is important to notice that research has demonstrated that Black students do not present a tendency to misbehave at higher rates than their white classmates, illuminating the discriminatory nature behind these data [5].

Ultimately, the STPP metaphor uncovers a different reality from the one that De Sousa Santos describes in his book [2]. After having discussed how ‘a young Black man’ in a ‘predominantly white society’ can still access some mechanisms to counteract discrimination while in school, the author illustrates an opposite situation, one where discrimination becomes abyssal (p. 22):

“

On the other hand, when the same young man on his way back home is stopped by the police, evidently due to ethnic profiling, and is violently beaten, at such a moment the young man crosses the abyssal line and moves from the world of metropolitan sociability to the world of colonial sociability. From then on, exclusion becomes abyssal and any appeal to rights is no more than a cruel façade”.

Overall, while several of the policies in the At Intersections | 26

US secondary education system and the criminal justice system have different scopes and objectives, the STPP example showcases how the educational and justice dimensions can converge in a common mechanism of oppression.

ary schools need to deal with is a complex phenomenon, and that there are undeniable nuances that can significantly affect the life of the ‘young Black man’ described by De Sousa Santos.

Lack of financial resources in Native Colorism among Black and Latino/a Sec- American reservations schools ondary School Students Colorism is the discrimination of people based on their skin color, with lighter-skinned individuals facing less prejudice and unfair treatment than darker-skinned individuals [6]. This phenomenon originated in the Americas under European colonialism, where slaves who had darker skin were located at the very bottom of the racial hierarchy [6]. Today, colorism still influences the professional and educational possibilities of individuals in the US as well as around the world [6].

Within the US secondary education system, Black and Latino/a students who have lighter skin complete more years of schooling and are less exposed to dropping out than their darker-skinned peers [6]. As Hunter (2015) explains, these data are the consequence of a system where darker-skinned students are more often called out by teachers and negatively judged and isolated among their peer group [6]. The color of Black and Latino/a students’ skin influences their interactions with classmates and teachers, the grades they receive, and the disciplinary procedures to which they are subjected to. Moreover, skin color is also an important factor in co-curricular activities, such as the participation in a sports team, being appointed as a student representative, or elected as homecoming queen [6].

Lastly, colorism has been proved to exacerbate the phenomenon of the School to Prison Pipeline, with darker-skinned students being more subject to disciplinary measures, police interactions and arrest [6]. While some may argue that these data alone cannot be taken as direct proof of discrimination, a 2014 joint letter by the Department of Education and Department of Justice reiterated that there is no evidence of more frequent or serious misbehavior among students of different skin colours and that discrimination based on race and colour in school discipline is a real issue [7]. This mechanism showcases how skin color gives rise to discrimination among those who are already discriminated against. Ultimately, it testifies that the racism that US second27 | The Unfair Fight

Native American students have the highest dropout rate when compared to any other ethnic or racial group [8]. While 90 percent of them are enrolled in public schools, the remaining group attends American Indian reservation schools [9].

These institutions are operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), part of the US Department of the Interior, and they are disproportionately underachieving in comparison to other schools.

Native American reservation schools exhibit substandard building conditions, lack access to technology, and have difficulties in attracting teachers and staff members. The seriousness of these issues can be better understood when looking at some pictures taken inside these schools on the digital newspaper POLITICO, where bathrooms are crowded with old furniture, there is lack of good sanitation, and asbestos signs are found in several rooms [10].

The reasons why reservation schools cannot guarantee a safe and meaningful learning environment to their students are related to the scarce financial resources these institutions receive [8].

Unlike public schools, which can rely on local, state, and federal funding, reservation schools are entitled to a higher level of self-determination, and therefore receive federal support only [8]. However, the state of reservation schools begs the question of whether self-determination is still feasible among poverty and degradation: can Native American students embrace a journey of growth and self-development when they are deprived of basic facilities and well-being in school?

Institutional Tools and Internalizing Oppression After highlighting some examples of discrimination in the US secondary education system, I will now provide an overview of what mechanisms are in place to combat oppression, as well as explain the limits that discriminated students may encounter in accessing these tools [14]. By focusing on the concept of ‘internalizing oppression’ [11], I argue that students who are dis-

criminated against may internalize the prejudice and negative comments that they receive while in school, to the point of believing that they really are ‘not smart enough’ or ‘undisciplined’. When students internalize oppression, they identify themselves as permanently unworthy. Therefore, their possibilities of seeking help become inaccessible even from a theoretical standpoint, as these individuals have internalised oppression to the point where it shapes their understanding of reality.

The great majority of US secondary schools promote anti-racist policies, often referred to as ‘equity policies’ [12]. These are documents written by a school’s governing body and shared with teachers, staff, students, and parents [12]. Parallel to stating that the school condemns any sort of discrimination and is committed to racial equity, the policies also provide practical steps through which these objectives will be achieved [12]. These include promoting an equity-focused environment through initiatives such as the ‘Friendship Week’ and the ‘Multicultural Week’, hiring culturally diverse staff and teachers, and establishing a system of reporting in case racism arises [12].

Reporting mechanisms typically consist of filling out specific documents and notifying the family, and they provide a step-by-step timeline towards a resolution [12].

While anti-racist policies are commonly in place in US secondary schools, discriminated students may have internalized their oppressor’s abuses and offending remarks as truths, and therefore they face some limitations in asking for help. The concept of ‘internalizing oppression’ can be traced back to the writings of Frantz Fanon [13]. According to the scholar, colonialism is not just the appropriation of other people’s land, but it also implies the establishment of a system of psychological oppression. More specifically, Fanon explains that this process can be described through a four-phase framework. Firstly, the colonizers occupy a territory, with the aim of exploiting its natural resources and people. During the second phase, the colonizers impose a cultural hierarchy, where their cultures are seen as superior to native cultures. Thirdly, based on the supposed superiority of the colonizers, native individuals need to be civilized by learning the colonizers’ cultural practices. Once these steps are completed, the fourth phase entails the establishment of institutions that reinforce the colonizers’ cultural domination, such as churches and boarding

schools. Reflecting on this framework, David and Derthick [11] highlight that ‘the sustained denigration and injustice that the colonized are subjected to often lead to self-doubt, identity confusion, and feelings of inferiority among the colonized’ (p. 8) and that ‘the colonized may eventually believe the inferiority of one’s indigenous identity’ (p. 8).

These insights lead to the formation of internalized oppression: the idea among historically discriminated groups that the negative attributes that are stereotypically ascribed to them are true [14]. Internalized oppression influences the way US secondary school students perceive their level of intelligence and determination in studying, as explained by the words of a high-school teacher during a college field trip with her students (14, para. 1-3):

“

«See? Studying is an important part of college life» I tell them. Without hesitation, one of my ninth-graders responds, «Yeah, but they’re white» [...]. My ninth-grade student on that college field trip, who is black, had come to believe the racist notion that black people are “naturally” lazy and unintelligent and do not value education; he also believed the racist notion that white students are naturally studious and smart and care about school.”

With these reflections in mind, it is not illogical to think that internalizing oppression may limit US secondary school students in engaging with institutional tools (e.g., reporting systems in schools) and fight against discrimination. For example, Tran & Guzey analyzed internalized oppression in STEM classes, noticing that, while reaching out can simply mean talking with teachers, prejudice-based classrooms discourage some students from seeking help from educators [15].

Contrary to the example presented by De Sousa Santos [2], internalized oppression demonstrates that there may be cases in which these tools are not available even on a theoretical level. By penetrating the very skin of individuals, racial prejudices can become a part of students’ identity and silence their need for help.

Possible objections to this concept may argue that, at such a young age, students lack maturity [16], and for this reason they may not be fully aware of the racial discrimination they may be confronted with. Instead, they may simply give very little importance to these episodes. While

At Intersections | 28

this explanation seems valid at first, there is more that needs to be uncovered behind it. Indeed, I argue that secondary school students may be especially prone to internalizing oppression due to their young age and developing maturity. In a life phase of intense emotions and formation of analytic skills, students may not be ready yet to engage with discrimination critically, and feel that the offensive words and abuses they are subjected to are the only treatment they deserve. Therefore, while internalized oppression can certainly occur at any stage of life, it can be particularly damaging for teenagers and young adults.

Inadequate Impact of Institutional Tools While some students may lack access to institutional tools due to internalized oppression [14], there can be another barrier that prevents them from seeking support, even in theory. More specifically, some institutional mechanisms may be flawed and inadequate in countering discriminations in the US secondary education system [20]. I will provide concrete examples related to the applications of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act [17], showcasing how the inadequacy of these tools negatively impacts students who are discriminated against.

As explained by the US Department of Education [18], Title VI was created as part of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. This piece of legislation prohibits any type of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in educational programs and schools receiving federal funding. In particular, the Title [17] established that:

“

No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

(42 U.S.C. § 2000d) Title VI is enforced through the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education, which monitors a wide range of educational institutions, including secondary schools [18]. For example, the responsibilities of the OCR include checking that admissions and recruitment procedures are carried out fairly, ensuring that counseling and guidance is offered to all stu-

29 | The Unfair Fight

dents, and guaranteeing a balanced application of disciplinary measures and fair grading.

The establishment of Title VI is an undeniable step forward in the fight against discrimination in schools, but more needs to be done regarding its implementation, especially concerning faster administrative procedures and stronger involvement of teachers in supporting the students and their families [19]. In 1991, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published the report Within-School Discrimination: Inadequate Title VI Enforcement by the Education’s Office for Civil Rights [20]. The first finding of this document is that schools had an unbalanced number of minority students being enrolled in lower-ability classes, with 10 percent of US middle schools having a tendency to discriminate against these groups by assigning them to these classes. A second issue is that the OCR did not conduct enough compliance review to check whether schools are observing Title VI. Regarding unfair ability grouping, the OCR performed only one compliance review in the period between 1985 and 1991. Moreover, the reports signal that there was a decline in compliance review regarding within-school discrimination in the period between 1983 and 1990.

During the 1990s the OCR announced some reforms to improve its functioning mechanisms [20]. Were these reforms successful? Did they lead to significant changes in the way Title VI is implemented? Today, the enforcement procedures of Title VI continue to be criticized as inappropriate and ineffective [19]. The main issue is that only a small number of cases that are presented to the OCR are processed and resolved [19]. For example, in 2016 only 57 out of 2,439 of those cases have been investigated. As of 2019, there were over 1,500 pending Title VI complaints, with students and families fearing that they may not find justice due to long and complicated administrative procedures [19].

The causes of these issues are related to the lack of funding allocated to the OCR [20, 21], a problem that was present in the 1990s and still remains today. Moreover, employees at the OCR explain that there has been a visible priority shift within the Department of Education: ‘The clearest indicators to date in this administration are that the administration has turned its back on meaningful civil rights enforcement’ [19, para 3].

Overall, the challenges that still prevent Title VI from leaving tangible impacts in the life of struggling students uncover a deeper question. Ti-

tle VI represents the foundation of a fair and nondiscriminatory education policy in the US, and it is the strongest step taken to ensure that secondary schools are a place of growth and self-development for all students [19]. The fact that this key legislation is not implemented in its fullest raises doubts about the real possibilities that US secondary school students have access to in order to fight against their oppression. Based on the evidence presented, I conclude that marginalized groups are confronted with a low-functioning reporting system, as well as with institutions that are increasingly less concerned about their civil rights within the school environment. Ultimately, these barriers showcase that the US secondary education system is far from the example provided by De Sousa Santos [2], where students are able to access enough high-quality mechanisms to resist and eventually combat discrimination.

While Title VI’s implementation strategies certainly need significant improvements, some may argue that these challenges do not represent a theoretical limitation to promoting equality in the secondary education system. Rather, they may be seen as practical obstacles. On the one hand, I recognize that the lack of effective anti-discrimination policies by the institutions causes practical issues for students (e.g., slow assessment and resolution process for cases of racial harassment).

On the other hand, these flaws contradict the very premises at the base of the institutions that are producing them. In other words, even if someone would want to hypothetically reach out, their possibility to do so would be challenged, because the system is already flawed in practical terms. Overall, the Office for Civil Rights’s mission is to ‘ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence through vigorous enforcement of civil rights in [...] the nation’s schools’ [22]. By showing that this objective is not fully met even at a pre-existing hypothetical level, I have demonstrated that students are not only prevented from combating discrimination in practical terms, but that their demands for equality are also theoretically denied by institutions.

crimination within the US secondary education system. These examples also illustrate two mechanisms that prevent students from challenging these forms of oppression, even on a theoretical level: the concept of ‘internalized oppression’ and the flaws in the enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts. In conclusion, this essay represents a step forward in challenging oppression in the US secondary education system. However, more questions still need to be answered. Further studies could deepen our understanding of internalized oppression and weak anti-discriminatory policies, and explore how these phenomena affect specific population groups in the US. For example, how does internalized oppression affect the black secondary school student community? Additionally, future research could broaden its focus to investigate internalized oppression and lack of effective anti-discriminatory policies among other age groups as well as countries. Ultimately, gaining more knowledge in these areas will be crucial for rewriting current struggles in education towards a future where everyone can learn and develop their potential equally.

Conclusion In this essay, I have reflected on De Sousa Santos’ proposition that secondary school students are equipped with a set of tools allowing them (theoretically) to fight against discrimination. I have first discussed three types of dis-

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Anderson, M. (2018). A Seat at the Table: African American Youth’s Perceptions of K-12 Education, Washington, DC: UNCF. https://uncf.org/wp-content/uploads/reports/Advocacy_ASATTBro_4-18F_Digital.pdf

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De Sousa Santos, B. (2018). The end of the cognitive empire: The Coming of Age of Epistemologies of the South. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478002000

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New York Civil Liberties Union. (2024, April 11). A look at school discipline. NYCLU. https://www.nyclu.org/ report/look-school-discipline#:~:text=The%20School%20to%20Prison%2 0Pipeline%20(STPP)%20is%20 a%20nationwide%20system,color%20and%20youth%20with%2.0 disabilities

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Sevon, M. A. (2022). Schooling While Black: Analyzing the Racial School Discipline Crisis for Behavior Analyst.

Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15(4), 1247–1253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-022-00695-8

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Whittenberg, T., & Fernandez, M. (2020, May 7). Ending student criminalization and the School-to-Prison pipeline. NYU Steinhardt. https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/ejroc/ending-student-criminalization-and-school-prison-pipeline

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Hunter, M. (2015). Colorism in the Classroom: How Skin Tone Stratifies African American and Latina/o Students. Theory Into Practice, Digital/Theory Into Practice, 55(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/004058 41.2016.1119019

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Gordon, N. (2018, January 18). Disproportionality in student discipline: Connecting policy to research.

Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/disproportionality-in-student-discipline-connecting-policy-to-research/

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Jackson, B. T., & Smith, R. A. (2016). Educational Discrimination of Native American Students. Columbia University Libraries. https://doi.org/10.7916/d8bg2pg8

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Faircloth, S. C. (2023, July 12). The education of American Indian students. American Federation of Teachers. https://www.aft.org/ae/winter2020-2021/faircloth_sb1

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Severns, M. (2015). How Washington created some of the worst schools in America. POLITICO. https://www. politico.com/story/2015/11/how-washington-created-the-worst-schools-in-america-2 15774

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David, E. J. R., & Derthick, A. O. (2013). What is internalized oppression, and so what? Springer. https://doi. org/10.1891/9780826199263.0001

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Jones, B. L. (2020). Reducing racism in schools: The promise of anti-racist policies. https://education.uconn. edu/2020/09/22/reducing-racism-in-schools-the-promise-of-anti-racist-po licies/

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Fanon, F. (1961). The wretched of the Earth. https://groveatlantic.com/book/the-wretched-of-the-earth/

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Tran, K. Q., & Guzey, S. S. (2024). Good intentions are not enough: A case study uncovering perpetuation of internalized and interpersonal oppression in middle school STEM classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 61(3), 706–735. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21924

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Best, O., & Ban, S. (2021). Adolescence: physical changes and neurological development. British Journal of Nursing, 30(5), 272–275. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2021.30.5.272

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US Department of Education. (2024a). Education and Title VI. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/ docs/hq43e4.html#:~:text=Title%20VI%20and%20Race%2C%20Color%20or%20National%20Origin%20 Discrimination&text=No%20person%20in%20the%20United,activity%20 receiving%20 federal%20financial%20 assistance

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Collins, C. (2019). Saving Title VI. Learning for Justice. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/ spring-2019/saving-title-vi

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Thompson, L. (1991). Within-School Discrimination: Inadequate Title VI Enforcement by Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Statement of Lawrence H. Thompson, Assistant Comptroller General, Human Resources Division, Before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate. In U.S. Government Accountability Of ice (T-HRD-91-17). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED336441.pdf

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Quilantan, B. (2023). ‘We need a strong OCR’: Advocates press for civil rights funding. POLITICO. https:// www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-education/2023/06/20/we-need-a-strong-ocr-advoca tes-press-forcivil-rights-funding-00102618

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Webb, S. (2017, January 23). “Yeah, but they’re white.” Learning for Justice. https://www.learningforjustice. org/magazine/yeah-but-theyre-white

At Intersections | 30

31

Laura de Boer

HEARTWIRED Can Artificial Intelligence Acquire Emotional Intelligence?

When thinking about emotional intelligence, what words come to mind? Empathy is likely one of the first, closely followed by a concept relating to being human. Emotional Intelligence (EI) has always been seen as the defining characteristic of humanity, something exclusive to the domain of flesh and blood. Yet, with the recent boom of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the line between human and AI is becoming increasingly blurry, prompting the question: Is EI an innate trait shaped by nature, or is it something that can be nurtured, replicated, and potentially even surpassed by machines? This leads to a wider series of questions targeting the ethical responsibility of emotionally intelligent AI. What would the world look like if machines possessed EI? Would it advance fields such as healthcare, providing emotional support when there are no human possibilities? Or could it be exploited for malicious purposes?

By investigating the nature versus nurture debate on EI in humans, this essay will explore its potential for AI, addressing the implications of machines developing EI.

What is EI? In order to evaluate the innateness of EI, it is first necessary to define it. It is widely interpreted as “the ability to name, define, express, and understand emotions and related needs, both their own and those of others; form and method

of self-attitude and attitude to others, which are associated with the management of emotions, self-knowledge and self-control, socialisation in the process of adaptation to the requirements of the environment” [1]. More specifically, the psychologists Zeidner et al. (2002) [2] defined EI to consist of the following four constituents: the recognition of emotions in self, in others, and the regulation of emotions in self, and others.

EI IN HUMAN

What Role Does Nature Play?

Understanding the genetic foundation of EI has been an area of great interest within neuroscience. For instance, neuroscientist Iumatov (1995), whose aim was to investigate how negative emotions turn into emotional stress, discovered a link between neurotransmitter systems and indicators of emotional reactions. Since this area is too vast to summarise here, I will bring forward three studies mentioned in the review by neuroscientists Kosonogov et al. (2019) [3] about existing literature on neurophysiological and genetic factors related to EI. A genetic aspect of EI is our perception of emotion ([3]). One study aimed to investigate this, focusing on the genetic variations in two genes, COMT and 5-HTTLPR. COMT, short for Catechol-O-Methyltransferase, is an enzyme responsible for breaking down neurotransmitters,

At Intersections | 32

such as dopamine, in the brain. Certain individuals have been found with a specific COMT variant that causes lower enzyme activity, which can, for example, affect dopamine levels in the brain, influencing mood regulation (Gohier et al., 2014) [4]. Variation in the serotonin-transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR) affects the expression and function of the serotonin transporter protein, which regulates the reuptake of serotonin in the brain. One variant is associated with reduced serotonin transporter expression, leading to higher levels of serotonin in the brain. Both genes influence facial emotion recognition in healthy individuals. Based on the data of 275 participants who had to identify different emotions in faces, they found that people with a certain variation of COMT were more likely to perceive neutral faces as angry, while people with certain variants within 5-HTTLPR were less likely to perceive neutral faces as happy [4]. Additionally, Lau et al. (2010) [5] investigated the association between the genotype of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – a protein in the brain responsible for cognitive processes and the accuracy of emotional recognition – by comparing adolescents with anxiety and depression disorders with a control group of healthy adolescents. For this experiment, they used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore how variations in the BDNF genotype influenced the activation of brain regions involved in emotional processing. They found that individuals with a specific variant of the BDNF gene showed stronger activity in certain parts of their brain when they were exposed to emotional faces compared to those who had a different variant. As such, these studies suggest a genetic basis for people’s emotional sensitivity and responses. Consequently, these findings support the argument that EI is genetic and accordingly, that AI, lacking such biological influences, cannot fully develop EI in the same way.

Another crucial aspect of EI is emotional regulation. Researchers investigated the link between genes and emotional dysregulation in 110 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, looking at the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) and the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) [6]. They discovered that children with a particular genetic variation in these genes showed differing degrees of emotional dysregulation and ADHD symptoms. Specifically, variations in the DAT1 gene were associated with more severe emotion dysregulation symptoms, such as

33 | Heartwired

anxiety, depression, anger, and irritability. Similarly, variations in the DRD2 gene were linked to increased severity of emotion dysregulation symptoms, particularly depression. Therefore, not only do we have a genetic disposition to how we perceive emotions, but also how we handle our own emotions.

EI IN HUMAN

What Role Does Nurture Play?

As has been made apparent, everyone has a certain predisposition for recognizing and regulating emotions. However, does this necessarily imply that EI is innate in humans? To highlight the importance of nurture alongside nature, I will discuss three key factors: our environment, cultural contexts, and the role of training.

Zeidner et al. (2002) [2] claim that parental socialisation practices have a major influence on the development of EI in children. Such development can be dependent, for example, on how parents regulate their children’s emotions. Augustine et al. (2019) [7] found that the recently popularised ‘gentle parenting’ technique – an approach that focuses on validating children’s feelings and guiding them through emotional experiences – assisted energetic children in self-regulating their emotions more effectively than children parented differently. This was especially evident in situations where regulation was necessary, such as cleaning up a spill [7]. Another way in which parents foster their child’s EI is through their own emotional responses, as a child will observe and mirror them [2]. Thus, if a parent themselves uses practices to regulate and cope with their emotions in a healthy manner, their child is likely to implement these practices into their own behaviour as well. Therefore, the way individuals’ parents manage their own emotions and interact with their children serves as a crucial foundation for the further development of the child’s EI. Not only are a child’s emotional responses influenced by their immediate familial environment, but also by the broader cultural context they are surrounded with. When examining people growing up in two different types of cultures - individualistic or collectivist - psychologists Sharma et al. [8] found a difference in their EI. They examined India as the collectivist culture and Germany as the individualistic one. While the perception of emotions tended to be the same, the

expression of emotions seemed to be culture-specific. Notably, they found that Indian participants, as a collectivist culture, showed that they valued interpersonal relationships and avoided negative reflection upon their group; as such, they were less likely to display negative emotions publicly.

Additionally, members of a collectivist culture were more likely to express their individual problems in a group. Conversely, members of an individualistic culture were more likely to publicly express negative emotions but were more cautious about sharing their personal feelings. Thus, this highlights that emotional regulation and expression are not simply innate traits – the culture you grow up in can also greatly determine how you regulate and express your own emotions and the prevalence they have.

Lastly, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of EI training, particularly in educational settings. Zeidner (2002) [2] reviews some EI intervention programs which have been developed to enhance EI amongst children and adolescents, spanning across different grade levels from kindergarten to high school. These interventions focus on nurturing emotional skills. For instance, PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) emphasises improving emotional fluency and vocabulary, while RCCP (Resolving Conflicts Creatively) aims to enhance anger control and conflict resolution. These interventions have demonstrated improvement in prosocial behaviour, reduced aggression, and increased self-awareness among participants, showing that EI can indeed be trained.

EI IN AI

humans could be adapted for AI, AI lacks the biological and social experiences that shape human EI. Consequently, regardless of how advanced AI will become at imitating human behaviour, in its essence, AI merely detects and predicts patterns, such as detecting which words usually appear together or which emotion is usually triggered by which circumstances.

To investigate how well AI can imitate human EI, computer scientists such as Wang et al.

(2023) [8] examined the extent to which Large Language Models (LLMs) could exhibit EI. For that, they tested emotional understanding in others, giving different LLMs, with OpenAI’s GPT series among those, 40 scenarios set in school, family, or social contexts. Each scenario was meant to elicit a mix of positive and negative emotions, with emotions variably directed towards oneself, others, or both. Participants then had to rate the intensity of the four most plausible emotions for each scenario, totalling the numbers to 10.

First, they performed this test on university students, and then on LLMs. The results showcased that LLM performed satisfactorily on these tests, achieving even above-average scores, although this varied based on the LLM’s training and architecture. For instance, GPT-4 reached an Emotional Quotient (EQ) of 117, performing better than 89% of the human participants.

Now, does this mean that AI is coming closer to ‘being human’? Not at all. Being able to predict human behaviour does not equal exhibiting human behaviour, or even becoming more humane. However, does it mean that AI could assist humans in understanding and regulating their emotions better? In my opinion, certainly.

Where Do We Stand?

As we have seen, nature provides us with a predisposition for certain behaviours, such as emotional dysregulation, but it certainly does not determine our EI as there are different ways in which EI can be nurtured, such as upbringing and training. Thus, if EI is acquired, developed, and can even be trained at different stages of life, who is to say that it can only be acquired, developed, and trained by humans? Well, that would be me – at least to some extent. The earlier mentioned classification by Zeidner (2002) [2] includes four constituents, two of which, emotional recognition and regulation in self, are impossible for AI to exhibit. Additionally, while tools used to train EI in

34

EI IN AI

What Does This Mean for the Future?

While AI can exhibit some degree of EI, it is essential to avoid oversimplifying the topic. Declaring AI as either incapable or fully capable of EI trivialises the topic entirely. In my view, AI can never authentically possess EI because it fundamentally lacks human qualities like introspection and consciousness. Despite its ability to mimic human behaviour, AI remains a computational system devoid of subjective experiences and genuine emotions. Nonetheless, this does not take away from the threats and possibilities seemingly emotionally intelligent AI poses.

To illustrate this point, I aim to address certain aspects. For one, developers have had to ensure the quality of the data being fed to AI, as biased data results in inaccurate and compromised predictions and systems. For instance, if an AI program designed to assist educators in identifying students’ emotional needs is primarily trained on data from a specific group of students, such as those who are extroverted and communicate their feelings openly, it may fail to recognize the emotional struggles of introverted students who express their feelings more subtly. Consequently, the AI might overlook signs of anxiety or distress in quieter students, leading to a lack of support when it is needed.

Nonetheless, emotionally intelligent AI can prove to be greatly useful in fields such as therapy, long-term care, or even for personal use. For example, computer scientists Abdollahi et al. (2023) [9] examined the effect of seemingly emotionally intelligent robots on elderly patients in care, using a Socially Assistive Robot (SAR) to address loneliness among elderly patients with depression and dementia through conversation. In this study, they used an empathetic and a non-empathetic version of this SAR to investigate the effects of EI in AI. The empathetic version was programmed to detect users’ emotional states through facial expressions and speech sentiment, and based on that, respond according to the users’ emotions. In contrast, the non-empathetic version of the SAR did not have this feature and instead used scripted dialogues. Although patients reported that both versions improved their mood, the empathetic version was received as more engaging and likeable. This serves as one example of the positive role emotionally intelligent AI could serve. At the

35 | Heartwired

same time, this gives rise to many important ethical and privacy concerns, such as data collection and ethical boundaries, that must be addressed appropriately. Systems like the SAR need to make considerations, such as voice sentiment and facial expressions. However, due to the sensitive nature of recording such private information, systems protecting users must be put in place.

This change in AI can seem scary to many.

So far, we were convinced that the main reason why AI could never take over vital jobs such as counselling was due to its lack of empathy. While this is not completely wrong since AI will never be able to feel empathy, a change towards emotionally intelligent AI brings forth numerous possibilities. For example, AI could assist in providing mental health support, enhance customer service by recognizing and responding to emotional cues, aid conflict resolution in workplaces, or even help in education by adapting teaching methods based on students’ emotional states. By using both our own EI, together with controlled AI, I believe that AI has the potential to complement our capabilities, and as such, pave the way for a better future for us all.

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Chystovska, Y., Babiak, O., Honcharovska, Н., Borets, Y., Dorofey, S., & Savytska, O. (2022). Neuropsychological means of developing emotional intelligence in children. BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 13(2), 152–165. https://doi.org/10.18662/brain/13.2/337 Zeidner, M., Roberts, R. D., & Matthews, G. (2002). Can emotional intelligence be schooled? A critical review. Educational Psychologist, 37(4), 215–231.https://doi. org/10.1207/s15326985ep3704_2 Kosonogov, V., Vorobyeva, E., Kovsh, E., & Ermakov, P. (2019). A review of neurophysiological and genetic correlates of emotional intelligence. International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science Engineering and Education, 7(1), 137–142. https://doi.org/10.5937/ijcrsee1901137k Gohier, B., Senior, C., Radua, J., El-Hage, W., Reichenberg, A., Proitsi, P., Phillips, M. L., & Surguladze, S. A. (2014). Genetic modulation of the response bias towards facial displays of anger and happiness. European Psychiatry, 29(4), 197–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2013.03.003 Lau, J. Y. F., Goldman, D., Buzas, B., Hodgkinson, C., Leibenluft, E., Nelson, E., Sankin, L., Pine, D. S., & Ernst, M. (2010). BDNF gene polymorphism (val66met) predicts amygdala and anterior hippocampus responses to emotional faces in anxious and depressed adolescents. NeuroImage, 53(3), 952–961. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.11.026 Gadow, K. D., Pinsonneault, J. K., Perlman, G., & Sadee, W. (2014). Association of dopamine gene variants, emotion dysregulation and ADHD in autism spectrum disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 35(7), 1658–1665. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ridd.2014.04.007 Augustine, M. E., & Stifter, C. A. (2019). Children’s behavioral self-regulation and conscience: Roles of child temperament, parenting, and parenting context. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 63, 54–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. appdev.2019.05.008 Sharma, S., Deller, J., Biswal, R., & Mandal, M. K. (2009). Emotional Intelligence: Factorial Structure and Construct Validity across Cultures. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 9(2), 217–236. https://doi. org/10.1177/1470595809335725 Wang, X., Li, X., Yin, Z., Wu, Y., & Liu, J. (2023). Emotional intelligence of large language models. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 17. https://doi. org/10.1177/18344909231213958 Abdollahi, H., Mahoor, M. H., Zandie, R., Siewierski, J., & Qualls, S. H. (2023).

Artificial Emotional Intelligence in socially assistive robots for older adults: A pilot study. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 14(3), 2020–2032. https://doi. org/10.1109/taffc.2022.3143803

At Intersections | 36

Nina Thinnes & Anton Ruholl

MEDIA NARRATIVES AND PUBLIC OPINION FORMATION

Dissecting the Tagesschau’s Media Representation of the War in Gaza Introduction Media narratives profoundly shape our perception of international events and conflicts by determining their understanding “on the basis of which transcultural messages about the nature of shared reality can be transmitted” [1].

The growing influence of traditional and social media has strengthened their role in helping us to understand reality, also regarding the war in Gaza [2]. How do certain types of media representation shape public perceptions towards the war? Israel’s military reaction to Hamas’ October 7th attack has resulted in devastating humanitarian consequences. To date, an estimated 92% of Gazan infrastructure has been destroyed and resulted in a total of 45,335 casualties through Israeli military action. But most importantly, Gaza’s devastatingly unsafe environment leaves the Palestinian population with nowhere safe to go. The war’s dynamics have divided Germany’s and many other international communities, with many calling for ceasefire and others supporting the continuation of Israeli military actions. This article analyzes a German news outlet’s media coverage of the war and finds relations to changes in German public opinion over time. The burden of guilt for the holocaust and the security of Israel as a “reason of state” have left their marks on the country’s foreign policy towards Israel. At the same time, demonstrations in German cities in solidarity with both Israel and Palestine highlight the division of the public regarding the war in Gaza. These dynamics make Germany an in37

teresting and important country of study. Based on the review of literature and media content, we investigate the following research question: How does the Tagesschau’s media representation influence public perceptions towards the war in Gaza?

Two relevant sub-questions are also addressed, namely (1) What are the agenda-setting mechanisms employed by the Tagesschau’s representation of the war in Gaza?, and (2) How does this representation affect and what does that imply about its role in shaping public opinion? The Tagesschau was selected due to its central role in the German media landscape. It is not only viewed as the most reliable national news source, but also committed to “principles of objectivity and impartiality [5]”.

We argue that the Tagesschau’s representation creates a skewed understanding of the war, with a position in favour of Israeli action. While there is a diversified balance of both perspectives, its coverage lacks substantial nuance on the Palestinian side of the war.

Literature Review & Methodology The growing importance of media consumption and its influence on public opinion in Germany has led to a growing literature, but contradictory results, over the years. The Institut für Empirische Medienforschung (IFEM) (2002) found that from an agenda-setting perspective, Israelis had a higher quantitative presence in the news than Palestinians in the years of 2000 to 2002. In another study about news biases against Israel in the Tagesschau, Beyer (2007) concluded that the Tagesschau tends to report to Israel’s disadvantage due to “the one-sided emphasis on the aggressor role” [6]. Contrastingly, Maurer and Kempf (2011) concluded that German quality newspapers tend to report with a bias in favor of Israel as its side is more often considered and justified [7]. In conclusion, there is no academic consensus on whether the German media can be classified as pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian. This further complicates the question about the precise relation of media coverage on the conflict and public opinion in Germany.

This article contributes to a more complete picture of the influence of German media representation of the war in Gaza and public opinion.

The theoretical model’s methods are two-sided using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. This is based on data of all articles focused on the war in Gaza (n=169) published on the Tagesschau’s website following the start of Israel’s ground-offensive on October 23rd, 2023 until May 15th, 2024. To illustrate the relationship between media consumption and public opinion, this article investigates ‘agenda-setting’ mechanisms, a term connotated by Maxwell McCombs. It describes how the media influences what the public considers to be relevant issues by the choice of what the media deems newsworthy and portrays frequently. This is relevant as such “transfer of salience from the news media to the public” [8] has serious implications for what the public believes to be important, and influences people’s attitudes towards certain events [9]. First-level agenda setting focuses on “the idea that the issues emphasized by the media become the issues that the public thinks are important [10]” by looking at overall quantitative use. Second-level agenda setting, on the other hand, “examines the influence of attribute salience [11]” through an interpretive analysis. Both levels were investigated independently to look at the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of all

respective articles. The interconnection between public opinion and media coverage was then established through a statistical summary made up of data of all representative polls published online. While they stem from different sources, the questions asked resemble each other as participants were asked to express their opinion regarding either justifiability (ZDF Politbarometer, NTV) [12] or appropriateness (ARD Deutschlandtrend, Welt) [13] of Israeli military action.

Discussion This content analysis creates space for a differentiated understanding of the Tageschau’s representation of the war in Gaza and its effects on public opinion. The discussion is divided into three parts. First, a quantitative content analysis displays the first-level agenda-setting of the Tagesschau’s representation. Then, an interpretive content analysis of second-level agenda-setting uncovers the dynamics of meaning-making. Its changes over time are illustrated to show the media’s ability in influencing public opinion.

Quantitative content analysis Table 1 displays the data of the Tageschau’s systematic content review addressing the war in Gaza. In total, the research included 169 articles, whereof 68% (n=120) focused primarily on war action, and 32% (n=56) on the humanitarian situation. Looking at the used keywords, there are significant differences among the four terms considered.

Table 1: Characteristics of the Tagesschau’s article content included in the research (n=169) Article focus/content War action Humanitarian situation Terms Israel/Israeli Palestine/Palestinian Hamas Civil

Number

%

120 56

68 32

3512 616 1645 315

57 10 27 6

Note: Numbers in category “Article focus/content” add up to more than 169 as both subcategories were included in 7 articles and therefore classified as hybrid.

At Intersections | 38

The term “Israel/Israeli” was used most frequently in the articles, namely 3512 times. This is 5.7 times more common than “Palestine/Palestinian”, which was used only 616 times in total. The keyword “Hamas” appeared 1645 times, making it the second most used keyword. As opposed to the term “Hamas”, the words including the term “Civil” appeared only 315 times, or around 0.19 times as frequently as “Hamas”. The difference in frequency points towards a news coverage that heavily revolves around Israel and Israeli actions. It also points towards a coverage that concentrates on Hamas, rather than the situation of civilians in Gaza when reporting on events in the region.

As displayed in Figure 1, articles focusing on war action dominated Tageschau’s coverage during the first months of the war. However, from December 2023 a more balanced output can be seen. According to the theory of first-level agenda-setting [13], this trend over time implies that public opinion went through a change due to this change in quantitative media balance. The dominance of articles on war action created abstract pictures that do not question justifiability and legality of the Israeli military actions. However, the increasing balance with the humanitarian destruction in Gaza suggests that its role in shaping public opinion grew in favor of civilian protection. Looking at the keywords frequency over time, Figure 2 shows an increased quantity of all keywords in the initial phase, followed by a general stagnation. Surprisingly, “Israel/Israeli” remain the most frequently used words in all weeks. The keyword “Hamas” changed more intensively over time. While it remains the uncontested second in 2023, “Hamas” fell to a similar quantitative use as “Palestine/Palestinian” and “Civil” in 2024. These

Figure 2: Frequency of keywords used per week

numbers show that the media’s attention heavily revolves around Israeli action and the Hamas.

This suggests that public opinion is heavily shaped by Israel war action portrayed in the media. Consequently, the Palestinian civilians perspective is given less attention and hence is in a marginalized position throughout the German public. This is also confirmed by the general statistical output (Table 1) as articles on abstract war action outweigh the total articles addressing the humanitarian situation by 36%.

The quantitative analysis has revealed an unbalanced focus on Israeli action throughout the Tagesschau’s coverage. It, however, does not display the way in which the war’s actors were framed throughout the war. As the frequency of incorporation does not automatically equal the impact of the perspectives, relying solely on a quantitative analysis is too shallow and needs to be empowered by an interpretive investigation of second-level agenda-setting [14].

Quantitative content analysis The inclusion of an interpretive approach unravels possible meaning-making processes by investigating narratology, namely rhetorical structure and choice of words. More importantly, it highlights the legitimizing and delegitimizing notions employed by the Tagesschau. It reveals fundamental contrasts in the structural representation and rhetorical framing of the Israeli and Palestinian perspective.

A. Source credibility Figure 1: Articles per category per week

39 | Media Narratives and Public Opinion Formation

A prevalent pattern in the Tagesschau’s ar-

ticles is the employed credibility framing of the primary conflicting parties’ media sources. This is important due to its influence on perceived legitimacy by the public as opinions are “significantly affected by … his evaluations of the trustworthiness of the source” [15] and there persists a “superiority of high-credibility sources over low-credibility ones” [16]. Especially throughout statistical inquiries of civilian casualties, the articles take on a more critical position when discussing numbers stemming from Gaza, oftentimes pointing out that the Ministry of Health in Gaza is “controlled by Hamas” [17] or that “these figures cannot be verified independently” [18]. This unequal treatment of sources becomes specifically visible in articles that directly compare Israeli and Palestinian casualties. While Israeli numbers are simply stated as “government information” [19], the number of casualties in Gaza is accompanied by “unverifiable Hamas claims” [20]. More importantly, this value-loaded source framing is contradictory as the Tagesschau published an article that stated that “the United Nations and other international institutions and experts consider the data provided by the Ministry of Health to be largely correct” [21]. Despite knowing and reporting about international consensus on the rightfulness of numbers released by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the Tagesschau frames the numbers as less reliable and credible. Thereby it creates an imbalance in the readers perceptions of trustworthiness between the two conflict parties in favor of the Israeli side.

B. Terminological frames Considering the countless lives lost since the October 7th attacks, there is also a prevalent contrast in the rhetorical representation of civilian death, destruction, and hostages. In “Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence”, the scholar Judith Butler displays the imperative role of rhetoric frames in shaping the assigned public value to certain lives [22]. This determines whose lives are worthy of grief as „lives are quickly tidied up and summarized, humanized, usually married, or on the way to be, heterosexual, happy, monogamous“ [23]. Here, the abstraction of lives framed as non-worthy establishes a hierarchical order of grief, value, and visibility diffused to the public through „permissible and celebrated grieving“ [24]. This not only creates an abstract understanding of certain forms of death, but also

legitimizes violence and justifications of war. The Tagesschau‘s representation of respective deaths frames Israeli deaths through increasingly humanized and emotional language while, at the same time, keeping Palestinian deaths at dominantly statistical and abstract levels. The implications are vast. Not only are the realities of civilian death and horrors obsc ured, but the German public’s perception of both parties actions and human value is also decisively shaped. a. Hierarchy of grief

In an article published during the ceasefire in the last weeks of November 2023, the construction of such “hierarchy of grief” becomes especially visible [25]. The article reports on resumed Israeli attacks on Hamas positions, which caused “more than 50 deaths and numerous injuries” [26]. When discussing the remaining hostages in the same article, the Tagesschau employs a more humanizing description. As opposed to a purely statistical output of the civilian death, the article mentions that “among the hostages were 20 women, two children under the age of 18 as well as 10 people over the age of 75” [27]. This asymmetry in humanizing representations is further stressed as Israeli hostages are often individually described through elaboration of their fate, tragedies, or personal life. While this creates feelings of empathy and personal resonance, it also shows vast differences to the abstract description of Palestinian deaths.

Kfir Bibas, a ten month old baby and hostage, represents a prominent example. Throughout various articles Kfir is not only personally referred to, but also described as a “symbol of Hamas’ brutality” [28]. Similarly, Abigail Edan’s personal tragedy, a four year old hostage, is elaborated on by explaining how “both parents were brutally killed by terrorists. … It was the child’s birthday on Friday” [29]. This emotional framing allows the readers an individualized perspective of the attacks that accurately display the victims fates. However, it fosters an imbalance in the reader’s grief towards casualties of the Palestinian population as no such framing exists in favor of Palestinian civilians. Over time, this “hierarchy of grief” partially diminished as the Tagesschau’s coverage increasingly balanced the divergence in framing. Nevertheless, Palestinian fates are never described and framed in the same humanizing way as Israeli fates, oftentimes simply remaining

At Intersections | 40

nameless civilians. Through this rhetorical differentiation, Israeli and Palestinian death is valued differently as it lacks emotional resonance to Palestinian civilian deaths. This, on the one hand, creates feelings of grieving empathy for Israeli hostages and, on the other, exacerbates emotional distance to Palestinian casualties. b.Framing of actors destruction

A divergence in the representation of the military actors’ destruction is also created. Firstly, the Tagesschau dominantly reports on civilian deaths following Israeli attacks. For example, an Israeli attack on the refugee camp Jabalia “killed at least 50 people” [30]. An imbalanced portrayal of death is emphasized as Palestinians are dominantly referred to as “killed” and Israelis “murdered” when giving contextual information at the end of the articles. The use of different terminology, while both describing death, creates divergent assumptions about its brutality. The term “killed” does not necessarily imply the actor’s intentionality. At the same time, the value-loaded term “murdered” not only creates assumptions about intentionality but evokes pictures of brutality and evilness. A prevalent distinction can also be displayed by contrasting articles on the humanitarian implications of the October 7th attacks and Israeli military offensive. The Hamas’ attack is often referred to, in order to either grant context to the ongoing war’s outbreak or illustrate new findings.

Here, their attack is exclusively framed through value-loaded terminology, thereby incentivizing feelings of disgust and condemnation. The Hamas “has barbarically abducted and abused small children” [31], “committed massacres among civilians” [32], and “conducted a mass extermination of anyone who crossed their path” [33]. While this allows a more nuanced picture of the attacks’ brutality, the Tagesschau does use such an elaborate approach in articles that discuss increasing critique of Israeli actions, its vast violations of international law, and genocidal components. Here, even if value-loaded terminology is employed, it is usually put into quotations, or de-legitimized through the article’s argumentative structure. For example, the same article that discusses the Israeli attack on Jabalia uses the term “massacre” in the context of criticizing both Israel and Hamas.

However, only in the context of criticizing the Israeli attack is the word put into quotation marks, citing the Qatari government.

41 | Media Narratives and Public Opinion Formation

In contrast to Hamas brutality, Israeli soldiers’ brutality is dominantly kept at an abstract level. One article, however, addresses the spread of Israeli soldiers dehumanizing videos showing the destruction in Gaza while stating “Oh, Gaza is burning. May you burn alive, you sons of b****” [34]. However, while this perpetrates a more balanced approach to the illustration of increasing Israeli military brutality, the article nevertheless highlights that it concerns “isolated cases who deviated from orders and values of the Israeli army” [35]. In reality, growing proof on social media has illustrated the devastating brutality used by Israeli soldiers. Here, thousands of videos depict their even more brutal approaches than the Hamas’ on October 7th, showing various methods of intentionally dehumanizing treatment, killings of civilians, and torture.

To illustrate the innumerable quantity, Motaz Azaiza’s Instagram account serves as a prime example. The Palestinian photographer and journalist has accumulated 17,4 million followers posting a total of 2,460 photos and videos illustrating vast Israeli brutality. Many videos showcase, for example, intentional bombing of civilians by the IDF, men being dragged at the front of Israeli tanks, or blindfolded Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention camps [36]. However, we want to stress that this is only one of many Palestinians publishing such proof online. Not only journalists, but also civilians, post hundreds of updates, pictures, and videos of the war’s asymmetrical dynamics daily, allowing us to see the reality of the war in Gaza. Hence, the condemning rhetoric when discussing Hamas’ brutality, and the Tagesschau’s failure to address Israeli brutality in the same way, leads to a more justifiable and humane framing of Israeli military action.

Effects on Public Opinion The Tagesschau’s content analysis revealed various mechanisms that show biases in favor of the Israeli perspective, resulting in a skewed portrayal of the war’s destruction and dynamics. The continuous use of contrasting perspectives legitimizes Israeli action by painting a picture that abstracts their military’s brutality. However, the critique of Israeli action and the humanitarian focus has been increasingly incorporated. Hence, the Tagesschau has adhered to the standards of diversified coverage through their balance of both perspective’s representation over time. Si-

multaneously, it framed them differently which creates a lack of differentiated representation.

These insights point to a two-sided effect. On the one hand, a skewed understanding of the war’s reality which incentivizes Israeli legitimization. On the other, the increasing incorporation of humanitarian perspectives and critique of Israeli action has resulted in a shift of attention in favor of the war’s destruction and humanitarian implications.

A. The media’s power and role in shaping public opinion The media is the predominant agent to understand international developments for the public and thereby obtains decisive power in shaping public opinion [37]. This cannot only be done through rhetoric, but also structural strategies.

To illustrate such a relationship, the previously investigated agenda-setting mechanisms play an essential theoretical and practical role. This line of thought displays the way the media governs public perception of saliency by their choice of newsworthiness and frequency [38]. Thereby, it induces a “transfer of salience from the news media to the public” [39]. Given the constraints on what we can experience first-hand, we are forced to rely on “a second-hand reality created by journalists and media organizations” [40]. This ‘second-hand reality’ helps us to understand the world around us, but is also influenced by agenda-setting processes, putting into question the value-neutrality of mass media [41]. Contextualizing this “transfer of salience”, the role of traditional media is one of dynamic but substantial power in Germany. Population polls conducted by the ‘Reuters Institute Digital News Report’ of January 2023 have displayed a continuous decline in the interest in consumption of national and global news. However, 89% still watch or read traditional news sources at least once a week (2022: 92%) [42]. Being the most reliable and diversified national news outlet, the Tagesschau’s hybrid coverage displays a dominating role in Germany’s traditional media landscape [43]. This prevalence hence allows for intersectional links to public opinion following the rationale of agenda-setting theory.

lic opinion and belief patterns about the war over time. To evaluate this interconnection, a trend of public support for Israeli military action in the Gaza strip was created. Figure 4 displays this effect. It shows the percentage of the German public in favor of Israeli military action significantly decreased from the start of the ground offensive when the last poll was published. After reaching a record number of 62% in early November [44], the percentage of the support trembled down to only 18% in late March [45]. While a causal link between changes in public opinion and the Tagesschau’s media representation cannot be established at this point, there nonetheless is a correlation.

Comparison of Figure 4 and 5 displays that growing incorporation of articles with a humanitarian focus goes hand-in-hand with decreasing public support. Based on the first-level agenda-setting, the changing media focus through incorporation of civilian death and suffering shaped public attitudes towards a more critical stance on Israeli military action. At this point in the research, however, the question about whether media coverage influences public opinion in the case of the war in Gaza, or if public opinion rather shapes the media coverage cannot be answered.

Figure 3: German Public opinion, change over time

B. Relational impacts The research’s findings highlight increasing diversification of the Tagesschau’s coverage.

These findings can be related to changes in pub-

Figure 4: Articles per category per week

At Intersections | 42

Additionally, the influence of second-level agenda-setting remains unclear as the Tagesschau’s framing bias would, in theory, affect public opinion in a way that is rather favorable to Israeli action. However, large-scale research into public perceptions on the justifiability of Israeli action, and the specific perceptions and attitudes is lacking. Therefore, the more accurate implications of the Tagesschau’s framing remain to be researched in the future.

C. The growing prevalence of social media journalism The most relevant intervening variable, possibly substantially shaping public opinion, is changing media diversity. Social media has been continuously gaining relevance in news consumption as an increasing amount of Germany’s population relies on social media communication. While traditional media sources still heavily dominate general news consumption, the use of social media as a news source has risen to 34% weekly [46]. In 2024, 15% of overall internet users classified social media as their main channel for news consumption, in the segment of 18 to 24 year olds, the numbers haven even grown to 35% [47]. Especially throughout the war in Gaza, social media has played a vital function in displaying the realities of the war’s destruction, humanitarian atrocities, and lives lost since October 7th, 2023.

While the Tagesschau have kept media representation at a dominantly abstract level, videos and photos shared by the Palestinian journalists have shown the devastating situation on ground. Their devotion to show the world the truth, however, does not only mean reporting from the high risk war ground “without protection, equipment, international presence, communications, or food” [48]. Most importantly, it resulted in paying with their life for many. Although protected by international law, the war has resulted in an unprecedented death toll of 137 journalists, making the war in Gaza the deadliest period for journalists since the beginning of digital count [49]. However, their reporting remains imperative to safeguard human rights and access to information. At the same time, Israeli authorities have barred access for international press in the Gaza strip and continuously repress digital reporting by cutting off electricity and systematically targeting journalists on ground [50]. We can hence find a possible intervening influence due to the continuously grow-

43 | Media Narratives and Public Opinion Formation

ing role of social media and, more importantly, the imperative work done by Palestinian journalists on social media. As the exclusive window to the present realities in Gaza, such on-the-ground social media journalism has further shifted societal attention towards the humanitarian atrocities and amplified international support for the Palestinian cause [51]. Potentially, this has had vast influence on the changing public opinion regarding the justifiability of Israeli military action within the German public. However, as large-scale research remains missing, this paper urges scholarly attention towards the role of social media journalism in shaping international conflict and public opinion.

D. Challenges of media literacy While social media can undoubtedly help in creating a window of reality, its rise simultaneously poses new challenges of media literacy.

Social media is a chance to get access to first-hand information without an intermediary that might alter information. While first-hand information by journalists in Gaza is vital in providing an unfiltered perspective, a lot of information on social media is prone to similar risks as information provided by traditional media. Agenda-setting and framing play just as big of a role, and consequently, the dangers of biases and one-sidedness in reporting about the conflict in Gaza remain.

So does the danger of a skewed understanding shifting public perception about the war. A lack of social media literacy amplifies the dangers of getting caught in a bubble in which one’s opinion is constantly being reinforced by tailored social media consumption and algorithms. As such tailored consumption is just as much subject to framing as traditional media, the role of social media in shaping public opinion becomes immense. Given that people tend to believe false information if it supports their viewpoint [52], mis- and disinformation paired with a lacking social media literacy runs the risk of creating an increasingly polarized society. Public opinion might shift towards the two extremes, with self-reinforcing tendencies and devastating effects for democratic processes and societal discourse.

Research appeal & Conclusion The studies findings reveal a profound influence of first-level agenda setting in shaping per-

ceptions towards the in-justifiability of Israeli action due to the incorporation of the war’s humanitarian lens. This diversification clearly displays the media sources ability to shape public opinion by the article’s overall quantitative emphasis. At the same time, however, the balanced coverage is nevertheless dominated by disproportionate referral to the Israeli perspective. Further, a framing bias that tends to legitimize Israeli military action is revealed.

The bias not only involves quantitative dominance of Israel in the news coverage, but more importantly framing mechanisms that obscure Israeli military brutality and the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Even though a shift over time occurred in favor of the civilian perspective, Israelis were continuously framed in a more emotional way, and Israeli brutality was described more abstractly. This biased representation of the war’s dynamics and its humanitarian implications potentially influences the public’s meaning-making processes. Subsequently, it affects the overall perception of the war, individual sentiments, and policy preferences. This, in turn, severely dysfunctions the public’s ability for differentiated opinion processes as the overall coverage does not, in fact, adhere to the “principles of objectivity and impartiality” [53]. Its precise effects, however, could not be associated with opinion polls on the war in Gaza as extensive polls and surveys on more accurate perceptions towards the war have not yet been conducted. This constitutes the study’s research appeal, urging the need for large-scale research into the precise implications of this framing mechanism.

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Frank Mangold, Jens Vogelgesang, and Michael Scharkow, “Nachrichtennutzung in Deutschland. Eine Nutzerzentrierte Repertoire Analyse,” Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft 65, no. 4 (2017): 704–23, https://doi.org/10.5771/1615634x-2017-4-704, 705.

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Markus Maurer and Wilhelm Kempf, “Israelkritik Und Antisemitismus? Eine Vergleichende Analyse Der Deutschen Presseberichterstattung Über 2. Intifada Und Gaza-Krieg,” Conflict & Communication Online 10, no. 2 (2011): 1–21, 19.

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Maxwell McCombs and Sebastián Valenzuela, “The Agenda-Setting Theory,” Cuadernos.Info, no. 20 (2007): 44–51, https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.20.111., 48.

Renita Coleman et al., “Agenda Setting,” essay, in The Handbook of Journalism Studies, ed. Thomas Hanitzsch and Karin Wahl-Jorgensen (New York, New York: Routledge, 2009), 147-60. 149.

H. Denis Wu and Renita Coleman, “Advancing Agenda-Setting Theory: The Comparative Strength and New Contingent Conditions of the Two Levels of Agenda-Setting Effects,” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 86, no. 4 (December 2009): 775–89, https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900908600404., 776.

ZDF Politbarometer, “ZDF-Politbarometer Januar 2024,” ZDF Presseportal, January 2024, https://presseportal.zdf.de/pressemitteilung/zdf-politbarometer-januar-2024.; n-tv NACHRICHTEN, “Mehrheit Der Deutschen Versteht Israels Vorgehen

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.

46.

Im Gazastreifen,” n-tv.de, November 8, 2023. https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Mehrheit-der-Deutschen-versteht-Israels-Vorgehen-im-Gazastreifen-article24514873.html.

ARD-Deutschlandtrend, “März,” infratest dimap, March 2024, https://www. infratest-dimap.de/umfragen-analysen/bundesweit/ard-deutschlandtrend/2024/ maerz/.;Miriam Hollstein, “In Tim Daldrup, “Forsa-Umfrage: Mehrheit Der Deutschen Ist Israel „fremd” - Welt,” DIE WELT, December 22, 2023, https://www.welt.de/politik/ deutschland/article249151420/Forsa-Umfrage-Mehrheit-der-Deutschen-ist-Israel-fremd.html.

McCombs and Valenzuela, “The Agenda-Setting Theory”.

Hilde van den Bulck, “Tools for Studying the Media,” essay, in The Media Book, ed.

Hilde van den Bulck, Oliver Boyd-Barrett, and Chris Newbold (London: Arnold, 2002), 55–100, 80.

Carl I. Hovland and Walter Weiss, “The Influence of Source Credibility on Communication Effectiveness,” Public Opinion Quarterly 15, no. 4 (1951): 635–50, https://doi. org/10.1086/266350, 649.

Chanthika Pornpitakpan, “The Persuasiveness of Source Credibility: A Critical Review of Five Decades’ Evidence,” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 34, no. 2 (February 2004): 243–81, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02547.x, 243.

“Israels Armee: Zahl Ziviler Opfer in Dschabaliya Noch Unbekannt,” tagesschau.de, November 1, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/nahost-dschabalia-100.html. (translated by author) “Deutschland Stockt Hilfen Für Palästinenser Auf,” tagesschau.de, November 11, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/baerbock-gaza-paaestinenser-humanitaere-hilfe-nahost-israel-100.html. (translated by author) “Sicherheitsrat: Israel-Kritik Des UN-Chefs Löst Eklat Aus,” tagesschau.de, November 20, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/amerika/guterres-nahost-streit-100. html. (translated by author) “Sicherheitsrat: Israel-Kritik Des UN-Chefs Löst Eklat Aus”.

Wulf Rohwedder, “Krieg Im Nahen Osten: Wie Verlässlich Sind Die Todeszahlen Aus Gaza?,” tagesschau.de, November 2, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/ gaza-zahlen-tote-100.html. (translated by author) Judith Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (London, United Kingdom: Verso, 2004), 37.

Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence, 32.

Ibid, 37.

“Krieg in Nahost: Israel Greift Wieder Hamas-Stellungen An,” tagesschau.de, December 1, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/gaza-feuerpause-kaempfe-102.html.

“Krieg in Nahost: Israel Greift Wieder Hamas-Stellungen An”. (translated by author) Ibid. (translated by author) Julio Segador, “Zehn Monate Alter Junge in Hamas-Hand: Ein Baby Als Druckmittel,” tagesschau.de, December 7, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/israel-hamas-entfuehrtes-baby-geiseln-100.html. (translated by author) “Freigelassenes Mädchen: ‘Was Sie Ertragen Musste, Ist Unvorstellbar,’” tagesschau. de, November 28, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/geisel-hamas-israel-100.html. (translated by author) “Dutzende Tote Bei Angriff Auf Flüchtlingslager in Gaza,” tagesschau.de, November 1, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/nahost-gaza-fluechtlingslager-100. html. (translated by author) Kitzler, Jan-Christoph. “Lage Im Gazastreifen: Ringen Um Hilfen Gegen Den Hunger”. (translated by the author) “New York Times: Israel Wusste Vom Hamas-Angriffsplan,” tagesschau.de, December 2, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/new-york-times-israel-100.html. (translated by the author) Bettina Meier, “Wie Die Hamas Sexualisierte Gewalt Als Kriegswaffe Benutzte,” tagesschau.de, December 8, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/hamas-sexualisierte-gewalt-100.html. (translated by the author) Benjamin Hammer, “Wie Soldaten-Videos Zum Problem Für Israel Werden,” tagesschau.de, March 11, 2024, https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/israel-soldaten-videos-100.html. (translated by author) Hammer, “Wie Soldaten-Videos Zum Problem Für Israel Werden,” https://www. tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/israel-soldaten-videos-100.html.

Motaz Azaiza, “@motaz_azaiza,” web log, Instagram (blog), 2014, https://www. instagram.com/motaz_azaiza/.

Mike Berry et al., rep., Press Coverage of the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in the EU: A Content Analysis of Five European Countries, 2016, https://www.unhcr.org/media/ press-coverage-refugee-and-migrant-crisis-eu-content- analysis-five-european-countries, 5.

Maxwell McCombs and Sebastián Valenzuela, “The Agenda-Setting Theory,” Cuadernos.Info, no. 20 (2007): 44–51, https://doi.org/10.7764/cdi.20.111., 45.

Maxwell McCombs, “A Look at Agenda-Setting: Past, Present and Future,” Journalism Studies 6, no. 4 (November 2005): 543–57, https://doi. org/10.1080/14616700500250438., 544.

McCombs and Valenzuela, “The Agenda-Setting Theory,” 45.

Ibid, 46.

Julia Behre, Sascha Höllig, and Judith Möller, rep., REUTERS INSTITUTE DIGITAL NEWS REPORT 2023 Ergebnisse Für Deutschland (Hans-Bredow-Institut, 2023).

Linards Udris et al., “Vielfalt in Den Nachrichten. Ein Vergleich Digitaler Und Analoger Angebote von Öffentlich-Rechtlichen Medien Und Tageszeitungen in Deutschland, Österreich Und Der Schweiz,” Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft 71, no. 1–2 (2023): 61–84, https://doi.org/10.5771/1615-634x-2023-1-2-61, 78. n-tv NACHRICHTEN, “Mehrheit Der Deutschen Versteht Israels Vorgehen Im Gazastreifen.”

ARD-Deutschlandtrend, “März.”

Julia Behre, Sascha Höllig, and Judith Möller, rep., REUTERS INSTITUTE DIGITAL NEWS REPORT 2023 Ergebnisse Für Deutschland (Hans-Bredow-Institut, 2024), 5.

47.

Behre, Höllig, and Möller, rep., REUTERS INSTITUTE DIGITAL NEWS REPORT 2023 Ergebnisse Für Deutschland, 5.

48.

Committee to Protect Journalists, “Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war,” cpj. org, December 20, 2024. https://cpj.org/2024/12/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/

49.

Committee to Protect Journalists, “Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war.”

50.

“One year in Gaza: how Israel orchestrated a media blackout on a region at war,.” rsf. org, March 10, 2024. https://rsf.org/en/one-year-gaza-how-israel-orchestrated-media-blackout-region-war

51.

I. Sualman, Y. Darwis, & N.A. Sahuddin, “Unveiling Counter-Narratives: The impact of citizen journalism via social media on the Israel-Palestine conflict,” Information Management and Business Review, no.3 (2024): 661, https://doi.org/10.22610/imbr. v16i3(i).4019.

52.

B.E. Weeks and R.K. Garrett, “Electoral Consequences of Political Rumors: Motivated Reasoning, Candidate Rumors, and Vote Choice during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election,” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 26, no. 4 (2014): 403, https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edu005

53.

“Medienstaatsvertrag (MStV)” (2024), 31.

At Intersections | 44

Colophon

Editorial board

Editor-in-Chief: Twan Tromp Organisational Officer: Maria Katsanevaki Internal Officer: Nicole S. Puchel PR Officer: Katie McClellan

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Alex Radulescu, Chizhong Chen

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Nicole Lammerts (p. 9, 18, 20, 25, 34, 37) Eva Brank (Cover, p. 3, 4, 24, 46) Flavia Meduri (p. 1, 2, 5) AI (p. 8, 15, 32, 37, 38)

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At Intersections | 46