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Stance and food activism on Arabic Twitter (X): a multimodal analysis

  • Najma Al Zidjaly EMAIL logo
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 16. April 2024

Abstract

Expanding on classic theories of stancetaking and theorizing digital activism as nexus analysis, I examine how Omani Arab citizens used discourse and images to canalize a failed food boycott campaign on Twitter (X) into a united negative stance against alleged corruption. I highlight the role of multimodality, impoliteness, indirectness, intertextual references, participation framework and Arabic cultural practices in creating a multi-layered, accreted stance with manifold implicit functions (e.g., defining Omani identity, lamenting and signalling dissent). I argue for the need to widen the scope and level of analysis of stance acts to include interplays between texts, emoji, actions and images. I also highlight the role that stance can perform in expressing dissent and managing cultural face in the understudied Arabic context. I, therefore, demonstrate the multidimensionality of stance acts made visible by social media affordances and user creativity.


Corresponding author: Najma Al Zidjaly, Department of English, College of Arts & Social Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box. 42, Al-Khod, 123, Oman, E-mail:

Funding source: Sultan Qaboos University

Award Identifier / Grant number: SR/ART/ENGL/15/01

Acknowledgements

The study was funded by Sultan Qaboos University in Oman as part of the social media and Omani youth multimodal project (SR/ART/ENGL/15/01). I additionally would like to express my immense gratitude to two anonymous reviewers for their positive feedback and generous comments on an earlier draft, which have enriched the analysis provided in this article.

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Received: 2023-08-17
Accepted: 2024-01-15
Published Online: 2024-04-16

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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