Open AccessReducing prejudice through biased group contact?
Author(s) -
Karolis Dambrauskas
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
stepp: socialinė teorija, empirija, politika ir praktika
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2345-0266
pISSN - 1648-2425
DOI - 10.15388/stepp.2019.7
Subject(s) - prejudice (legal term) , status quo , lithuanian , argument (complex analysis) , social psychology , political science , contact hypothesis , minority group , sociology , public relations , psychology , law , ethnic group , linguistics , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry
[full article and abstract in English]
Using the methods of critical discourse analysis, this article analyzes the TV program Mission: Vilnija as an example designed to fight stereotypes about Lithuanian national minorities. The article shows how instead of improving inter-group relations, the program helps to ensure the status quo of unequal intergroup relations between the Lithuanian majority and the country’s national minorities. The case analysis supports the argument that if the idea of parasocial contact and prejudice reduction is built upon non-reflected, biased premises, it will not eliminate these forms of prejudice but will only preserve and/or reinforce them.