New Media Travel Writing and the Renegotiation of Postcolonial Discourses - A Critical Discourse Analysis of Representations of the ‘Middle East’ on Travel Blogs

Abstract: The aim of this thesis is to investigate the potential of travel blogs, as a form of popular new media travel writing, to renegotiate conventional discourses about the ‘Middle East’. By conducting a critical discourse analysis on six travel blogs authored by female writers from both the US and the ‘Middle East’, this thesis examines representational practices found in travel narratives, discloses their discursive tendencies, and interprets those in a sociocultural context. Thereby, the analysis draws on a twofold theoretical approach. Postcolonial theory, on the one hand, allows to relate the findings of the analysis critically to the colonial heritage that is inseparable from the genre of travel writing and that informs the discourse about the Oriental ‘other’. Affordance theory, on the other hand, makes it possible to examine how blogging can be seen as a tool that allows disrupting common practices of ‘othering’ in travel writing. The analysis shows that travel blogging has transformative potential and can, mainly through the affordances of self- representation and innovative expression, challenge long-established discourses about the ‘Middle East’. Limiting factors of this potential are mostly arising from neo-imperialistic structures that carry traces of the colonial past. Essentially, the results of this thesis imply that the genre of travel writing is evolving in new media and that it expands the discursive framework of media representations, making it a promising site for future research seeking to explore transcultural encounters and the societal implications of such.