‘Political correctness’ and ‘saying it as it is’. An analysis of discourses on the multicultural society in Flanders.

Since the 1990’s the term ‘political correctness’ often occurs in political debates and media. ‘Political correctness’ is a very charged term, with a rather unclear origin and a variable meaning depending on the context in which it is used. From a tradition of critical discourse studies, this research will, firstly, give a historical and theoretical account of ‘political correctness and the approach to language on which it rests (historical – theoretical). Secondly, it wants to shed light on the different discourses on ‘political correctness’ and the evolutions in those discourses through a quantitative mapping of ‘political correctness’ in the Flemish press (empirical – descriptive). This quantitative research will inform the selection of cases that will be analyzed qualitatively. Thirdly, through a (qualitative) discours analysis, this research wants to study the workings of ‘political correctness’ in discourses on the multicultural society and Flemish identity. Through an analysis of media texts and other material it wants to analyze ‘political correctness’ as part of discursive strategies (empirical – analytical). The research will also contribute to methodological questions surrounding discourse studies, in part by combining quantitative and qualitative methods of text analysis.