The construction of the ‘immigrant’ in Canada’s immigration discourse : a Foucauldian critical discourse analysis through postcolonial lenses

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dc.contributor.advisor Mills, Albert J., 1945-
dc.coverage.spatial Canada
dc.creator Krysa, Isabella
dc.date.accessioned 2016-05-02T14:14:56Z
dc.date.available 2016-05-02T14:14:56Z
dc.date.issued 2015
dc.identifier.other JV7220 K79 2015
dc.identifier.uri http://library2.smu.ca/handle/01/26477
dc.description viii, 225 leaves : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
dc.description Includes abstract and appendices.
dc.description Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-213).
dc.description.abstract In this dissertation, I investigate how ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ relate to non-white immigrants’ socio-economic marginalization, such as job ghettoization, underemployment and unemployment. Over the last three decades, the gap between immigrant and non-immigrant population with regards to socio-economic outcomes has been steadily growing (Block & Galabuzi, 2011; Reitz, 2011a; Thobani, 2007). At the same time, the proportions of non-white immigrants to Canada have been increasing. Currently, over 80% of immigrants to Canada come from regions with non-white majority populations (Statistics Canada, 2009; 2014a). I analyze the present immigration discourse based on Foucauldian poststructuralism (Foucault, 1971; 1972; 1981) and postcolonialism (Said, 1978), to problematize contemporary societal and political engagements with ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’. Through a discursive review of Canada’s past, I show how concepts such as ‘visible minority’, ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘Canadian work experience’ contribute to the marginalization of non-white immigrants, ultimately racializing them. I also conduct a Foucauldian critical discourse analysis (CDA - following S. Jäger, 2004; S. Jäger & Maier, 2009) on selected ‘texts’. I show the colonial and binary dynamics at play in the image construction of non-white immigrants in the texts from politics, society and media. This dissertation contributes to Management and Organizational Studies (MOS) by shedding light on the taken-for-granted nature of discursive practices in organizations and contributing new insights into the current challenges that immigrant populations face. Finally, I show how theorizing about rather abstract concepts such as power, knowledge and discourse can serve as a framework to very ‘practical’ and ‘real world’ issues, thus making a strong case for how in-depth theoretical elaborations can serve very ‘pragmatic’ research inquiries. en_CA
dc.description.provenance Submitted by Greg Hilliard (greg.hilliard@smu.ca) on 2016-05-02T14:14:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Krysa_Isabella_PHD_2015.pdf: 5154287 bytes, checksum: 726ff59d645b41fba97e75fd540bd565 (MD5) en
dc.description.provenance Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-02T14:14:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Krysa_Isabella_PHD_2015.pdf: 5154287 bytes, checksum: 726ff59d645b41fba97e75fd540bd565 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-14 en
dc.language.iso en en_CA
dc.publisher Halifax, N.S. : Saint Mary's University
dc.subject.lcc JV7220
dc.subject.lcsh Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984
dc.subject.lcsh Immigrants -- Canada -- Social conditions
dc.subject.lcsh Immigrants -- Canada -- Economic conditions
dc.subject.lcsh Critical discourse analysis
dc.subject.lcsh Poststructuralism -- Canada
dc.subject.lcsh Postcolonialism -- Canada
dc.subject.lcsh Canada -- Emigration and immigration -- Social aspects
dc.subject.lcsh Canada -- Race relations
dc.title The construction of the ‘immigrant’ in Canada’s immigration discourse : a Foucauldian critical discourse analysis through postcolonial lenses en_CA
dc.type Text en_CA
thesis.degree.name Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Management)
thesis.degree.level Doctoral
thesis.degree.discipline Management
thesis.degree.grantor Saint Mary's University (Halifax, N.S.)
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