M.Phil / MS

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.cuilahore.edu.pk/handle/123456789/45

This collection archives the complete set of theses produced by students of the COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus.

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A Comparative Study of Chatbot-Based Feedback and Traditional Teacher Feedback in Correcting Focused Grammatical Errors of ESL University Students
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Sabahat Abrar; FA23-REL-021; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 9746
This research examines the comparative efficacy of chatbot-generated feedback through Replika and conventional teacher feedback in the correction of targeted grammatical errors among Pakistani ESL university students. Taking a mixed-method, quasi-experimental approach, the study was carried out for five weeks on 60 volunteers who were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Grammatical mistakes in students' writing were analyzed and classified with Ferris's (2006) taxonomy, including both treatable and untreatable error categories. Although error categories were all reviewed, verb tense/form and prepositions were the most common in the pretest and were chosen for specific feedback. SPSS (version 26) was used to analyze the quantitative data, and semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis. The research was conceptualized on the basis of Activity Theory (Engeström, 1987), which positioned the application of tools; AI-driven feedback through Replika and conventional written corrective feedback as teachers of the learning process in the classroom context. Findings indicated that the control group receiving teacher feedback performed significantly better than the experimental group in reducing grammatical errors. Nonetheless, students in the experiment group indicated positive attitudes towards AI feedback, enumerating its immediacy, clarity, and convenience despite some technical constraints. The study indicates that although teacher feedback is still better in enhancing grammatical correctness, a combination of AI-based tools with conventional approaches could yield a wider and more effective feedback experience for ESL learners.
A Comparative Study of DeepSeek R1 (Reasoning) and GPT-4.0 (Non-Reasoning) Agentic AI Models for Irony and Sarcasm Detection in Urdu and English
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Samra Hameed; CIIT/SP24-MEL-009/LHR; Dr. Saima Akhtar; LHR TP 10053
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems often face difficulties in accurately identifying irony and sarcasm because these forms of figurative language convey meanings that differ from their literal expressions. Successful detection of such linguistic phenomena requires AI models to possess contextual understanding, cultural awareness, and the ability to interpret subtle linguistic cues. English is considered a high-resource language with extensive training data available for AI systems, whereas Urdu is a comparatively low-resource language with limited datasets. As a result, AI models generally perform better in English than in Urdu. Detecting sarcasm and irony across both languages remains challenging due to the linguistic and cultural complexities associated with Urdu. Furthermore, limited research has been conducted on comparing the performance of reasoning and non-reasoning AI models in this domain. This study presents a comparative analysis of ChatGPT-4.0, a non-reasoning agentic AI model, and DeepSeek R1, a reasoning-based AI model, to evaluate their effectiveness in detecting irony and sarcasm in English and Urdu texts. A mixed-methods research design was adopted, combining quantitative performance evaluation with qualitative error analysis. The study utilized a total of 10,000 text samples, comprising 5,000 English and 5,000 Urdu instances. The English dataset included sarcastic and non-sarcastic content collected from Twitter and Reddit, while the Urdu dataset was based on the Urdu Sarcastic Tweets (UST) corpus and additional Urdu-language data. By comparing the performance of the two AI models across both languages, the study aims to provide insights into the strengths and limitations of reasoning and non-reasoning approaches in multilingual sarcasm and irony detection. The findings contribute to the growing field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and highlight the challenges and opportunities associated with developing AI systems for low-resource languages such as Urdu.
A Journey to Self- Realization in Forty Rules of Love
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2020) Hafiza Aroosa Sahibzadi; FA18-REL-009; Dr. Muhammad Ayub; LHR TP 6004
This research is conducted on the spiritual journey of two leading characters Ella and Rumi from the novel Forty Rules of Love written by Elif Shafak. It presents a comparative study of both journeys that in which way they are similar or different. Their journeys to self-realization are described in the light of Rumi‟s seven stages on the path to truth. Textual analysis has been used as a research method to interpret and analyze the text with the help of extra textual knowledge. Freud‟s psychoanalysis theory of id, ego and superego is used to show the transformation of Ella and Rumi. The study revealed that love and true companionship has the power of transformation. On the way to truth, one has to face a lot of criticism but we need to be steadfast to achieve our goal. Ella and Rumi chose to lead a life for others to make them happy.
A Psychological Study of Morality in Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller Novel in Light of Just War Theory
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Muhammad Fahad; FA22-REL-005; Dr. Memoona Idris; LHR TP 9730
This thesis explores themes related to morality, including moral and legal responsibility and justice, in Jodi Picoult’s novel, The Storyteller (2013). The novel presents moral conundrums through detailed accounts narrated by Josef, a former Nazi and perpetrator; Minka, a Holocaust survivor; and Sage, the granddaughter of Minka, each offering a distinct narrative viewpoint. The presence of detailed accounts, especially that of a perpetrator, gives rise to a tangle of conflicting moral responses and leaves readers with a sense of moral ambivalence. The objective of the thesis is to examine whether and to what extent the ordinary individuals, as depicted in the novel, who perpetrated Holocaust atrocities under the influence of Nazi ideologies were culpable within the framework of Revisionist Just War theory by Alejandro Chehtman (2017). Furthermore, this study draws on James Waller’s model, which is grounded in Evolutionary Psychology, to examine the portrayal of evil in the novel and to explore the psychological conditions that the characters of Josef and Franz were subjected to while growing up in Nazi Germany. This thesis suggests that the conditions under which individuals can come to commit acts of cruelty, when examined through the lens of Revisionist Just War theory as a part of the broader Just War tradition, do not absolve the perpetrator of moral and legal culpability. This thesis explores the factors that contribute to the transformation of ordinary individuals into perpetrators of violence, suggesting that such understanding may serve as a safeguard against the influence of propaganda.
An Ecofeministic analysis of Alice Walker‘s ―The Color Purple
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2020) Kanwal Majeed; FA18-REL-005; Dr. Muhammad Ayub; LHR TP 6001
The present research study aims to explore an English novel The Color Purple by Alice Walker from an ecofeminist perspective. Ecofeminism provides a new and broader vision for understanding the situation of human and nature by placing women‘s sufferings and environmental deterioration in systems of oppression. Alice Walker has a profound ecofeminist sense, which is displayed in her preoccupation with the plight of the black people, their relationship with the white people in a patriarchal and dualized society, and the bonds between human beings and nonhuman nature. Although, Walker uses the word ―Womanism‖ to show her unremitting concern with the lives and rights of black women; her efforts in revealing the oppression of the black and her love for nonhuman nature leads her further into disclosing the link between the destruction of nonhuman nature and oppression of women. The popularity of The Color Purple lies to a large extent in the ecofeminist sense that Walker demonstrates in her writing. An ecofeminist reading of this novel means a better understanding of the relationship between men and women as well as people of different races and backgrounds, and the relationship between humans and nonhuman nature. The present study explores the theme of woman domination and subjugation by the males of that society and the premise is being evaluated through textual examples from the novel derived through close reading technique.
An Investigative Study of ESL Teachers’ and Students’ Attitudes towards Corrective Feedback
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2017) Gulshan Shahzadi; SP16- REL-014; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 4844
The study aims to analyze the students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards teachers’ corrective feedback on the language errors of ESL students. The present study also analyzed the students’ attitudes on the basis of their gender and educational background. Teachers’ attitudes with respect to their teaching experienced explored. The population of this study is 200 students (121 males and 79 females) and 12 ESL teachers (2 males and 10 females). The participants are the undergraduate students and the ESL teachers of the COMSATS Institute of Information and Technology Lahore. In the study four instruments are used to achieve the objectives of the study: 1) Teachers’ questionnaire; 2) Students’ questionnaire; 3) Teachers’ interviews and 4) Students’ interview. The analysis of the data shows that teachers and students have positive attitudes towards the corrective feedback of teachers on the students’ language errors. The results reveal that students and teachers considered the feedback necessary for the effective learning. The teachers’ corrective feedback is a very significant technique to improve the students’ second language speaking and writing. A t-test analysis indicates no significant difference between the attitudes of students and teachers towards the corrective feedback on the basis of their gender and educational background. To investigate the impact of teachers’ language teaching experience on their attitude to corrective feedback, t-test analysis is used. The findings reveal no significance difference between the teachers’ attitudes with respect to their language teaching experience.
Apartheid in the Holy Land: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Israel's Treatment of Palestinians
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Aasma Younas; FA23-REL-001; Dr. Umara Shaheen; LHR TP 9732
The Israel-Palestine war is one of the bloodiest or longest-running conflicts in modern history. Scholars and political commentators had often critiqued the language used in the media to portray this conflict (Ackerman, 2001; Mearsheimer & Walt, 2006). The research objective was to examine recurrent linguistic patterns of representation and bias in the online news media coverage of Muslim-majority and non-Muslim-majority media outlets concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict. Existing studies in applied linguistics had thoroughly investigated the recurrent linguistic patterns used to depict conflict in the media through critical discourse analysis (CDA) and comparative corpus-assisted discourse studies. This research bridged the gap by applying Van Dijk’s Ideological Square model (2017) as a systematic and theoretical framework in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict in selected media outlets from Muslim-majority and non-Muslim-majority countries. The study focused on Dawn, Al-Jazeera, CNN, and BBC news media outlets from 2023 to 2025. CDA emphasizes how ideology and power are expressed and contested through dialect in political and social contexts. This research signified lay in its promise to expand the reader’s interpretations of how media narratives influenced public perceptions of Israel as an out-group and Palestine as an in-group. These tactics included polarization, concretization, compassion moves, lexicalization, victimization, and metaphor. Depicting Israel as a victim strengthened positive sense of ‘self’ and constructed a negative image of the Palestinian’s. The media’s relentless portrayal Israeli victimized, which focuses on the mental states of Israel, created a common perception and shared understanding of the state as harass. Media portrayal played a significant role in de-legitimating and legitimating social movements and their adherents. Advocates suggested that "appropriate techniques from CL could help strengthen the rigor of the analysis and then use computational approaches for both qualitative and quantitative analyses of natural text patterns" (Stubbs, 1997, p. 12). Two corpora, totaling 1 million words, were analyzed using the Sketch Engine tool. The Sketch Engine identified corpus-based keyword techniques and corpus tools, such as frequency, concordance, and collocation. This study focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict by compiling two corpora from online news media and interpreting them through Van Dijk’s (1998b) lens.
Association Between Perfectionism, BurnoutAnd SleepDisturbance in Pakistani Computer Programmers
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2023) Dawood Aslam; CIIT/FA19-BPY-025/LHR; Dr. Shameem Fatima; LHR TP 8380
Computer programming has emerged as one of the most in-demand vocations worldwide in the contemporary technological era. Experts who write, test, and maintain the code that enables computers and other electronic devices to perform certain functions are known as computer programmers. To create software and apps and create algorithms for challenging computational problems, they use specialized programming languages. They perform vital services that fuel innovation in the contemporary world in a variety of settings, from government organizations to big multinational enterprises and technological start-ups. According to Pakistan IT Industry Report (2021), software houses and business process outsourcing centers registered with Pakistan Software Export Board reached 2,860 by December 31, 2020, and more than ten thousand Tech companies are actively operating all over Pakistan. They are registered which means there is a large population of programmers in Pakistan which can be estimated to be approximately more than 0.2 million programmers in Pakistan (Graziotin, 2014).
Awais Khan’s No Honour as a Dramatic Noir: A Study of Female Heterotopias and Their Role in Inflicting Terror for Abida
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Rabia Amjad; FA23-REL-020; Dr. Meemona Idris; LHR TP 9745
The literary works of South Asian fiction demonstrate how women encounter challenging social conditions that society imposes on them. The story of Abida in No Honour by Awais Khan follows her challenging battle against cultural traditions and familial pressure. The study examines how specific spaces, including homes, streets and shelters in the novel, represent both control and fear, along with Abida's resistance to her circumstances. Michel Foucault's concept of “heterotopias” serves as a tool to analyze these special places that diverge from typical spaces and expose deeper truths of the society.
Beyond the Aesthetics: Exploring The Representation of Books as Tools of Manipulation and Crime In Netflix's series “You"
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Ayesha Atta; Fa23-REL-004; Dr., Javaria Farooqi; LHR TP 9735
Books serve as a source of wisdom and creativity. They offer perspectives into more diverse cultures, Philosophies, and histories, allowing readers to explore different perspectives. Books help us cope with our problems as they consist of human experiences, which provide us the better solutions for our problems. Books have portrayed the meaning of wisdom for thousands of years, acted as guidance, and consequently shaped intellectual and cultural developments (Huriyah, 2019). Many historical researches and examples highlights the role of books shaping the human mind. Many cultures have held sacred books, but they represent moral and spiritual values. Historical evidences show Books have significant impact on the intellect in Russian culture (Sokolov & Turgaev, 2022). Another example would be the thousand-year development of book culture in Europe to show its significant influence on societal norms and intellectual thought (Raabe, 2024).
Bride’s Quest for Identity in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child and Closeted Identities in Pakistan
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Abu Bakar Ahmed; FA16-REL-003; Dr. Jaleel Akhtar; LHR TP 5165
This research has been conducted on Bride’s character from Toni Morrison’s novel God Help the Child (2015) and closeted identities in Pakistan. Moreover, a comparison is established between Bride and closeted identities in Pakistan to show how it is impossible for the closeted person to come out of the closet and face the society. In this regard, Bride’s quest for identity being affected by the racism, motherhood and patriarchy is studied through textual analysis of the novel with the help of extra-textual knowledge of the theories related to closetedness, subjectivity, motherhood, racism, social mobility. In the first instant, God Help the Child gives an expression that it merely describes the racism and the child abuse in the society but this research reveals that it also advocates the problems which a child can face in the racist and the sexist society to be socially accepted and how closeted affects the society economically and psychologically. Moreover, this research also reveals that Pakistani homosexuals are suppressed by the religion, constitution and family in the country where a large number of Homosexual minority exist.
Challenging Phallogocentrism; A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis of Rafia Zakaria’s and Bina Shah’s Newspaper Articles
(Library Information Servicers COMSATS University, Lahore Campus, 2021-11-25) Muhammad Waqas; CIIT/FA19-REL-011/LHR; Dr. Ali Ahmad; LHR TP 7458
This study is done to explore the two dimensional feminist discourse (Lazar 2005, 2007) in newspaper articles by Rafia Zakaria and Bina Shah. The purpose of research paper is to destroy the stereotypes in a patriarchal society. How language can create gender strata in a society is one of the major themes of this thesis. Considering the following two dimensions “gender power relationships and gender as ideological structure and practice”, the research methodology applies linguistic and thematic analysis and utilizes Lazar’s (2005, 2007) FCDA model as data analyzing tool. This is a qualitative based research approach and it has descriptive research design. The selected articles are analyzed under Textual, Discursive and societal level of discourse given by Fairclough CDA model with feministic point of view suggested by Lazar. In other words these levels are descriptive, interpretative and explanatory stages of the Fairclough’s model. For purpose of ‘discourse’ different units of language from utterances to paragraphs are selected to highlight hidden ideologies and power structure embedded in the language. All of these units comprehensively tell us of women portrayal in our society. Women have no safe space in this society. They have to be more bound to the norms and values of the culture than those of men. The findings deduct that gender power relations are ideological and societal based. Gender and social practices are linguistic discursive. It tells that how misogyny is negative connotative term and how it justifies men are superior to women. Misogyny is an ideology and enhances right wing ideas which are unhealthy for any society. The research would enable readers to understand how misogyny works and how the women are marginalized through the discourse of the society. In this paper readers will find different phrases and terms which are building the ideological andgender power strata in the society.
Comparing Grammarly Feedback and Teacher Feedback in ESLWriting: AQuantitative Study of Students’ Perceptions
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Fatima Afzaal; CIIT/SP24-MEL-004/LHR; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 10049
This study investigated ESL university students’ perceptions of teacher-written feedback and automated feedback provided by Grammarly in academic writing, with the aim of exploring the benefits, challenges, and overall effectiveness of each feedback modality. Grounded in Sociocultural Theory, the study examined how human and technological mediators support learners’ writing development, skill improvement, and autonomy. A quantitative research design was employed, involving 40 non-English major undergraduate students from two intact classes at a Pakistani university, purposively sampled based on prior English proficiency. One group of 20 students received teacher-written feedback, while the other 20 students received automated feedback via Grammarly across a four-week guided writing intervention. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire designed to measure perceived benefits, skill improvement, perceived challenges, and overall effectiveness of feedback. Reliability analyses indicated high internal consistency across the scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.70–0.82). Descriptive statistics revealed that students recognized multiple benefits from both feedback types, including enhanced accuracy, motivation, and awareness of recurring errors. Independent samples t-tests indicated no statistically significant differences between groups in perceived benefits, skill improvement, or perceived challenges, while teacher feedback was perceived as significantly more effective overall (t = 2.496, p = .017). The findings highlight the complementary nature of teacher and automated feedback: teacher feedback supports higher-order skills such as coherence, organization, and argumentation, while Grammarly facilitates surface-level linguistic accuracy, autonomous revision, and self-monitoring. The study underscores the importance of an integrated feedback approach in ESL writing instruction, combining human interpretive guidance with automated support to maximize learning outcomes. Pedagogical implications include the need for targeted instruction in interpreting automated feedback and prioritizing teacher feedback for conceptual and discourse-level guidance. Limitations related to sample size, self-reported measures, and study duration are discussed, alongside recommendations for longitudinal and performance-based research. The study contributes to the understanding of feedback-mediated learning in ESL contexts and provides evidence-based strategies for optimizing both teacher and technology- enhanced writing instruction.
Construction of Pariah Figure: A Feminist Study of Toni Morrison’s Sula and Qandeel Baloch
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Zuha Khawar; FA16-REL-008; Dr. Jaleel Akhtar; LHR TP 5169
Afro-American novels constitute social, cultural and economic aspects, which deal with the individuality and the social milieu. The novels deal with the exploitation of the black society, their self and identity with psychological and socio-economic dimensions. This critical study analyses Toni Morrison’s Sula and the figure of Qandeel Baloch and her sensational life as presented by Sanam Maher’s The Sensational Life and Death of Qandeel Baloch, from the perspective of Rene Girard’s theory of Violence and Scapegoat and Sigmund Freud’s concept of Trauma. This research aims to analyse the timeliness and continuing psychological trauma, abusive relationships, rejection, dependence, physical assault, discrimination, brutality, being the victim of a society and the threat of violence from the society. This research deals with the two different perspectives of societies: one is Afro-American and the other is Pakistani. According to Girard’s thought, mimesis is the main characteristic of humans but when it becomes rivalrous it creates conflict and violence between society and individuals. Girard thinks that antiquated religion was founded on the substituting victim and their main goal is to salvage the society from ever-spreading conflict and dissension by conducting violence into a scapegoat. Communal violence, in the form of scapegoating, destroys the subjectivity of the scapegoat or the victim. According to Sigmund Freud, a traumatic event or situation creates psychological trauma when it overwhelms the individual's ability to cope with traumatic events like war and scandals. The traumatic events leave the subject fearing death, annihilation, rejection, mutilation, or psychosis. Toni Morrison’s novel focuses on the psychological aspects of trauma in her work. The traumatic aspect meant to be an innovative experiment in which literature can exceed its precincts by merging into the psychological phenomena. The contradictions and tensions exhibited by Toni Morrison’s characters are the inevitable which is transforming the individuals into the ideal subjects for psychic profiles.
Conversation Analysis of British and American Entertainment TV Talk-Shows: A Comparative Study
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Shazia Sarwar; FA16-REL-007; Dr. Aasia Nusrat; LHR TP 5168
This study endeavors to present the contrastive analysis of the conversational process of TV entertainment talk shows between two native English countries. The analysis focuses on the way of using conversational aspects such as turn-taking, response tokens and topic organization by native English speakers and the purposes to be achieved through these conversational aspects during the interaction on the TV talk shows. The data are taken from two talk shows one from UK and one from USA; one full episode of The Graham Norton Show (UK) and one full episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (USA). Mixed-methods approach is applied to find the difference regarding the use and purpose of using these conversational aspects by native English speakers including the host and guest(s) of both of the shows. Turn-taking and response tokens are analyzed quantitatively to differentiate between the conversational processes in terms of frequency in the use of these aspects in the shows understudy by dividing the episode into its beginning, middle and ending sections. In the qualitative analysis section topic organization, turn-taking and response token are analyzed to find out various purposes behind the use of these conversational aspects in both of the shows understudy. The findings reveal that in both of the shows the same conversational aspects were used to achieve same purposes but in a different manner in order to make the conversation a successful one. The study concludes that the findings can provide the learners and teachers of English as target language with a guideline to enhance their communicative skills as well as to maintain the flow of their conversation in English language.
Corpus Linguistic Analysis of AI Representation in Speculative Narratives: A Comparative Study of Autonomy, Ethics, and Human- Machine Interaction in Neuromancer by William Gibson and I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Ahsana Idris; FA23-REL-002; Dr. Samia Akhtar; LHR TP 9733
Benchmarking rhetorical simulacrum of AI in speculative cyberpunk and hypothetical classic science fiction. The corpus linguistic study will concentrate on autonomy, ethics, and human-machine interaction. Autonomy specifies AI's flexibility and objectivity in terms of resistance and decision making in scientific literature. The responsibility and moral dilemmas as the essence of freedom of artificial intelligence and its interrogations in hypothetical storylines will be prioritized. AI's impartiality raises questions about rights and wrongs, which ethics will address. Human-machine interaction will examine the relationship between people and machines as trust and mistrust and dependency and co-functioning. The research will show their relationship. The basis of the analysis will be laid over and done with Erving Goffman's Framing Theory (1974). Language and social practices will assist Goffman in examining autonomy, ethics, and human-machine interaction in William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) and Isaac Asimov's I, Robot (1950). Language shapes social viewpoints, and it is employed contextually and with implications in mind. The mixed-method research will use framing theory to obtain qualitative data. The results spawned will be subjective. Corpus linguistic analysis will compute empirical findings. AI will develop a corpus and produce AntConc corpus linguistic analysis (Anthony, 2023). AntConc helps with linguistic corpora textual analysis.
Critical Discourse Analysis of Iran-Israel Conflict Rhetoric: Media Narratives and Political Motives
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Zubaria Usman; FA23-REL-026; Dr. Saima Akhtar; LHR TP 9876
This research thesis examines the political rhetoric and media narratives pertaining to the Iran-Israel conflict, using Fairclough’s 3D approach of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). This research examines how political leaders from Iran and Israel use language to rationalize their actions, influence public perception, and solidify their stances, alongside the role of regional and worldwide media in framing the war. Analyzing the political language used by leaders in Iran and Israel will reveal linguistic strategies such as metaphor, tone, and framing that substantiate their policies and actions. The second objective examines the manner in which media narratives construct the conflict and how various outlets-regional (e.g., Press TV, Al Jazeera) and international (e.g., BBC, CNN) influence both global and local perceptions. Fairclough's approach categorizes these discourses into three levels: the textual analysis of language, the examination of discursive practices (the production and reception of these texts), and the elucidation of how these discourses mirror wider social, political, and ideological contexts. The research indicates that both parties utilize rhetoric reflecting entrenched ideological stances, resulting in a cycle of justification and counter-justification that exacerbates the conflict. Media narratives often amplify these discourses, shaping public opinion and impacting foreign diplomatic responses. This study examines the potential for discourse changes that can help in conflict de-escalation, emphasizing the influence of rhetoric and media in either upholding or contesting the status quo
Critical Discourse Analysis of Tahir-ul-Qadri and Imran Khan’s Dharna 2014 Speeches: A Comparative Analysis
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2018) Shaista Shahzadi; FA16-REL-001; Dr. AasiaNusrat; LHR TP 5318
This study is done to explore the two-dimensional power play (Fairclough, 1989) in Dharna 2014 speeches of Imran khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri. Considering the two dimensions, power within discourse and power behind discourse, the research method applies thematic analysis and utilizes Fairclough’s three dimensional model (1989) as data analysing tool. All the speeches of Dharna 2014 which are available on the internet are analyzed by considering Textual, Discursive and Societal levels of discourse provided by Fairclough 3D Model. The findings established that discourses have the capacity to form and being formed by social practices.. The research would enable common public of Pakistan to understand their politicians in terms of the concept of power by comprehending the meaning that language conveys.
Cultural Hegemony in Daniyal Mueenuddin’s “In Other Rooms, Other Wonders”: Marxist Study
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2020) Maryam Mohsin; CIIT/ SP19-REL-008/LHR; Dr. Sardar Muhammad; LHR TP 6531
This research focused on the study of Cultural hegemony in Daniyal Mueenuddin’s In Other Rooms, Other Wonders. This study investigate deep into the dominant class portrayed in Mueenuddin’s stories; the psychic complexities of individuals who struggle against habitual abjection, subordination, and disempowerment. It also probe the psyche of capitalist that how they want to rule the working class by inserting their perspective in them. This study looks at the two main factors of cultural hegemony i.e. coercion and consensus, by analyzing different characters from elite class and working class. Antonio Gramsci declares that the only means of keeping cultural hegemony by super leaders is not the handling of power and coercion; instead, consent, language, use of intellectual men are the ways regarding the implementation of cultural hegemony. This study also try to find out the intellectuals working in a society where a group of people in minority rules over the working class present in majority. Furthermore, this study highlights the feudal system of Pakistan which is although slowly receding in Pakistan but still has a strong hold in the rural areas. This study also bring to light the war of struggling class against this upper class to get a better position in society. As regards method of current research, textual analysis is opted and applied to the text of In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
Demonization of Pakistan: Critical Discourse Analysis of Bollywood Anti-Pakistan Movies
(Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2017) Marya Khalid; FA15-REL-001; Dr. Mudassar Mahmood Ahmad; LHR TP 4848
The current study aims at finding out how India uses cinema to demonize Pakistan. The study exposes the Bollywood’s propaganda against Pakistan and explores that in what ways Bollywood movies portray Pakistan as the land of evils and terrorists. By the use of Critical Discourse Analysis as a research tool, a corpus of 3 Bollywood movies is analyzed which are produced after 26/11 Mumbai attack, 2008, namely, Agent Vinod (2012), Phantom (2015), and Baby (2015). All of the movies belong to ‘spy’ genre in which the heroic actions of RAW agents against Pakistan are represented. Fairclough’s three dimensional model has been used to explore the linguistic features, and discourse structures. Furthermore, it is researched what kind of discourses are embedded in the texts and what are the ideological, and power structures behind the discourses which are represented in the selected movies. On the level of textual analysis, we observe that ‘mental processes’, ‘statements (both declarative and interrogative)’, and ‘epistemic modality’ are highest in frequency i.e. 35%, 69%, and 94%. On the level of discursive and social practices, it is found that different vocabulary items are used to demonize Pakistan. We find different discourses i.e. discourse of terrorism, discourse of conflicts, and discourse of religion etc. which have been used to demonize Pakistan. It is suggested that film industry should discourage the production of such movies which ignite the hatred between the people of both the countries as it would be helpful in stabilizing Pak-India relations.