CONSTRUCTING AUTHORITY THROUGH LANGUAGE: AN ANALYSIS OF TURKISH ASTROLOGY DISCOURSE ON X

Date

2026-9-11

Author

Sanar Karakuş, İrem

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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This study examines how epistemic authority in Turkish astrology discourse on X is constructed discursively, made recognizable, and contested through follower replies. Instead of investigating the accuracy of astrological predictions or the reasons why individuals believe in astrology, this study focuses on how astrologers present their knowledge claims and how followers position themselves toward those claims. The dataset consists of 926 records of 343 posts from eight Turkish astrologer accounts, and 583 follower replies collected within a four-week period. The main framework employed is Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis. Additionally, Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis and Du Bois’ approach of stance are used as supporting analytical approaches. The analysis is conducted in three phases: identifying recurring discursive patterns, examining how these patterns are realized through linguistic resources, emoji use, and platform-specific resources, and interpreting these findings through dimensions of text, discursive practice, and social practice. The findings show that astrologers construct their authority through technical and oracular grounding, backgrounding of agency, nominalization, directives, moral-cosmic interpretation, and platform engagement. Moreover, it was seen that the discourse has a shared repertoire that is layered but unevenly distributed. On the other hand, follower replies show that the authority is recognized at different levels, tested, or limited through the patterns of alignment, qualified acceptance, and resistance.

Subject Keywords

epistemic authority, critical discourse analysis, digital astrology, shared repertoire, stance

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/120683

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis