The controversial conviviation in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic - a discursive semiotic view on the relationships between the self with the other

ABSTRACT

If conviviality and dialogue have been conflictual and the differences seemed to be exacerbated in the pandemic period due to Covid-19 that we have been through, in the midst of this conjuncture, what is the degree of admission in our existence, or in the various spheres of daily decision-making, towards those we call the Other? Is this Other, discursively (re)constructed at all times, forgotten and/or silenced? Presenting possible answers to these questions is the general objective of this work. Specifically, the aim is to point out, through the rhetorical strategies of convention involving the affection present in the observed utterances, a proposal for measuring the level of assimilation of the Other in the life of the Self. Based on the Tensive and Socio-semiotic approaches, meaning effects are pointed out in analyzes of utterances extracted from reports that deal with: ​​ food delivery to homeless people; producing a booklet on health care in the Guarani language; a complaint made to Justice about racist comments referring to indigenous people; and about a University extension project to welcome immigrants. As a result of the findings, it can be inferred that the Self-Other relationship is not harmonious, but of dissent, and that, based on the analysis of affection, after Zilberberg and Landowski, it can be graded.

Keywords:
Tensive Semiotics; Affect; Covid-19; Controversy; Pandemic