Psycho-discursive practices of bystanding and democratic citizenship in ‘bullying’ and ‘violence’ discourse: combining the micro- and the macro-level of analysis in lay talk

Abstract

The goal of the present article was twofold: to analyze the contributions of qualitative methodologies and discursive psychology in the field of bullying studies, as well as to develop an argument to analyze rhetorical practices on bullying/cyberbullying, following the approach of Critical Discursive Social Psychology. In the Greek context there is a body of institutional interventions, as well as non-official institutional interventions endorsed by the civil society. The latter are guided by the framework of inclusion, democratic citizenship and Community Psychology, shedding particular emphasis on integrating social groups. By analyzing these interventions, dilemmas related to humanism or recognizing the engaged members as political subjects could be evident. In the present article, it is analyzed how educators talk about bullying and school violence, by invoking repertoires that may disempower the ‘victim’/child, through humanistic discourse, but on the other hand, may criticize the use of disempowering practices of bystanding. In the main analysis of the present article, it seems that the constructions reflecting the non-potentiality of critical agency of the victim intersect with repertoires reflecting democracy and autonomy, reflecting dilemmas of liberalism. As it is discussed, the contribution of Critical Discursive Social Psychology concerns the potential to trace flexible ways in which social agents create or disempower the spaces of critical agency in the school community, without ignoring the ideological limitations in lay talk.