The visual-discursive representation of domestic online media publications on the Alash movement: media construction of historical memory

Abstract

The article examines the multimodal representation of the Alash movement in
Kazakhstani online media and its role in constructing historical memory. The study is based on
the method of multimodal discourse analysis and systematically identifies the interrelationship
between text, visual, and media compositions. As an empirical basis, 120 journalistic materials
published between 2015 and 2025 on the websites Egemen.kz, Abai.kz, Ult.kz, Zanmedia.kz,
Anatili.kazgazeta.kz, and Qazaqadebieti.kz. The analysis showed that the Alash movement in
online journalism is constructed through four main modes of representation: state, tragic,
intellectual, and ritual-symbolic. These modes allow Alash to be presented simultaneously as
the beginning of national identity, a symbol of historical tragedy, a project of the intellectual
elite, and a spiritual and cultural heritage. The proposed multimodal map demonstrates how
journalism reconstructs the historical past through various symbolic frameworks. The analysis
of multimodal discourse will serve as the basis for a deeper study of the interrelationship of
modern media consciousness, the code of national identity, and the history of Kazakhstan.