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Towards Reconciliation: The White Saviour Trope in Canadian Newspaper coverage of Grassy Narrows First Nation between 1977 and 2019

Title:

Towards Reconciliation: The White Saviour Trope in Canadian Newspaper coverage of Grassy Narrows First Nation between 1977 and 2019

Stevens, Samantha ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3148-2386 (2020) Towards Reconciliation: The White Saviour Trope in Canadian Newspaper coverage of Grassy Narrows First Nation between 1977 and 2019. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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Abstract

The white saviour trope that has been identified in films has yet to extend beyond the scope of cinematic inquiry. However, this trope does exist in Canadian news media as a vestige of colonial ideology passed down from the British empire. Since, reconciliation with First Nations people in Canada was one of the promises made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he was elected in 2015, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada finished its investigation into the impact of the residential school system the same year, addressing the white saviour in the news today is important. This thesis reveals the white saviour trope within news discourse through four major registers, privilege, guilt, savagery, and inferiority, in order to help journalists facilitate social change. By using Fairclough’s three dimensional analytical framework, this thesis examines coverage of Grassy Narrows and the mercury contamination there in a case study spanning 1977 to 2019 in three of Canada’s largest newspapers: the Toronto Star, National Post, and Globe and Mail.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Journalism
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:Stevens, Samantha
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M.A.
Program:Digital Innovation in Journalism Studies
Date:2 January 2020
Thesis Supervisor(s):McLean, James
Keywords:journalism studies, media studies, colonialism, postcolonial studies, white saviour trope
ID Code:986345
Deposited By: Samantha Stevens
Deposited On:26 Jun 2020 13:39
Last Modified:26 Jun 2020 13:39

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