台灣聯合大學博碩士論文系統

The main argument of this thesis is that Belgian identity is constructed as exclusively white and Christian. Whiteness within the Belgian context remains largely understudied. Whiteness is deeply rooted in power structures which normalize whiteness which leads to the exclusion and othering of people who do not conform to the white norm. Through content analysis and CDA, this normalization of whiteness and its excluding character will be investigated. This thesis is divided into three parts, the first part investigates the role of Christianity in Belgian society and its evolution from mere religion to an inherent tool of Europeanness and whiteness. Also, the role of religion in Belgian’s colonial past through the creation of stereotypical images of black people and its continuous influence on nowadays racism and discrimination faced by people of colour will be investigated. The second part focuses on how whiteness excludes black people from Belgian’s society by examining the current debate on Belgian’s colonial past and the widespread reproduction of stereotypical images of black people – such as Black Pete – and their framing in the media. Data Analysis will make clear that black people are continuously framed as untrustworthy, aggressive, or ‘real’ racist ‘Other’ whose accusations of racism and discrimination, therefore, become invalid. The last part will investigate how Muslims are excluded as ‘Other’ from Belgian society through whiteness. The debate on the headscarf ban and the discussion on returning ‘foreign’ fighters will make clear how Muslims are systematically being framed as threatening ‘Other’ in Belgian mass media. The overall conclusion is that the dominantly white Belgian mass media structurally normalize whiteness and the exclusion of all ‘Other’ through the discourse they use.

The main argument of this thesis is that Belgian identity is constructed as exclusively white and Christian. Whiteness within the Belgian context remains largely understudied. Whiteness is deeply rooted in power structures which normalize whiteness which leads to the exclusion and othering of people who do not conform to the white norm. Through content analysis and CDA, this normalization of whiteness and its excluding character will be investigated. This thesis is divided into three parts, the first part investigates the role of Christianity in Belgian society and its evolution from mere religion to an inherent tool of Europeanness and whiteness. Also, the role of religion in Belgian’s colonial past through the creation of stereotypical images of black people and its continuous influence on nowadays racism and discrimination faced by people of colour will be investigated. The second part focuses on how whiteness excludes black people from Belgian’s society by examining the current debate on Belgian’s colonial past and the widespread reproduction of stereotypical images of black people – such as Black Pete – and their framing in the media. Data Analysis will make clear that black people are continuously framed as untrustworthy, aggressive, or ‘real’ racist ‘Other’ whose accusations of racism and discrimination, therefore, become invalid. The last part will investigate how Muslims are excluded as ‘Other’ from Belgian society through whiteness. The debate on the headscarf ban and the discussion on returning ‘foreign’ fighters will make clear how Muslims are systematically being framed as threatening ‘Other’ in Belgian mass media. The overall conclusion is that the dominantly white Belgian mass media structurally normalize whiteness and the exclusion of all ‘Other’ through the discourse they use.

PART I: THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF BELGIAN IDENTITY AS CHRISTIAN AND WHITE 1
CHAPTER 1: WHITENESS AND THE POWER OF LANGUAGE 7
CHAPTER 2: THE ROLE OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHITENESS: BELGIUM 20
PART II: DISCOURSE ON BLACK PEOPLE AS THE ‘OTHER’ 43
CHAPTER 3: THE PERVASIVENESS OF COLONIALISM IN BELGIUM 44
CHAPTER 4: STEREOTYPICAL IMAGE OF BLACK PEOPLE 68
PART III: DISCOURSE ON MUSLIMS AS THE ‘OTHER’ 110
CHAPTER 5: HEADSCARF BAN IN BELGIUM 113
CHAPTER 6: RETURNING ‘FOREIGN’ FIGHTERS 131
CONCLUSION 154
BIBLIOGRAPHY 160

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