The Discourse of Powerlessness and Repression: Life stories of domestic migrant workers in Hong Kong (Routledge Studies in Sociolinguistics) - Softcover

Ladegaard, Hans J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 036737594X ISBN 13: 9780367375942

Publisher: Routledge, 2019

Synopsis

Drawing on a large corpus of narratives recorded at a church shelter for abused domestic helpers in Hong Kong, this monograph explores how the women discursively construct themselves in sharing sessions with other helpers. They see themselves as ‘helpers’ who have come to Hong Kong to help their families, to help the people in the city, and to serve God. A wide variety of competing identities are constructed in the narratives: submissive helper, sacrificial mother, daughter and wife, and powerless traumatised victim, but also resourceful indignant migrant women who, through sharing and peer support, become empowered to fight against abusive employers. This book provides a detailed discourse analysis of the women’s narratives, but it also explores larger issues such as global migration, exploitation, language and power, abuse and the psychology of evil, intergroup communication, and peer support and empowerment.

About this title

About the Author

Hans J. Ladegaard is Professor and Head of the Department of English, at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 036737594X
• ISBN 13: 9780367375942
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 230