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Reproducing Colonialism: Subject Formation and Talk Radio in English Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2011

Andreas Krebs*
Affiliation:
Samara
*
Andreas Krebs, Research and Communications, Samara, 33 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 1B2, andreas.krebs@samaracanada.com

Abstract

Abstract. This paper examines how two talk radio programs—CBC's Sounds Like Canada and Corus Radio Network's Adler Online—work to reproduce colonialism in Canada through formation of colonial subjectivity. It proceeds through analysis of listener experience informed by postcolonial theory, and the work of Deleuze and Guattari. The mobilization of affective states by these programs, specifically sympathy and outrage, has important implications for how colonialism continues to dictate many of the terms of Canadian political discourse. If colonialism continues to be reproduced in our daily interactions with the media, this poses serious threats to Canadian multiculturalism and to the potential for realizing Aboriginal political goals.

Résumé. Cet article explore la manière dont deux émissions-débats radiophoniques (Sounds Like Canada de CBC ainsi que Adler Online du réseau Corus Radio) participent à la reproduction du colonialisme au Canada en renforçant la formation d'une subjectivité coloniale. Cette recherche propose une analyse de l'expérience d'un auditeur développée conjointement avec les théories postcoloniales et les oeuvres de Deleuze et Guattari. La mobilisation d'états affectifs, plus précisément la sympathie ou l'indignation, qu'engendre l'écoute de ces émissions-débats a de nombreuses implications sur la façon dont le colonialisme continue de dicter plusieurs éléments clés du discours politique canadien. La perpétuation du colonialisme au cours de nos interactions quotidiennes avec les médias pose un risque non négligeable pour le multiculturalisme canadien et pour l'atteinte éventuelle des objectifs politiques des communautés autochtones.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2011

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