Coronavirus-inspired solidarity and the future: The case of Wall Street Journal discourse about workers

Transformative images of possible futures are to a great extent rooted in the frames of thinking of the present. However, the solidarity frames that unfold at times of crisis – frames which define situations as situations of collective commitment, mutual support, and compassion – tend to be temporary and do not sustain such images. Examining how the Wall Street Journal referred to workers at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, this paper identifies such a solidarity frame. It analyzes the discursive formations that limited solidarity’s temporal scope and reveals a complex politics of time in the discursive constitution of images of possible economic futures. Its findings further our understanding of the discursive mechanisms that limit the effects of crises on transformative cultural images in the world of work.

Zoom link: https://eur-nl.zoom.us/j/91071541105 

Meeting ID: 910 7154 1105