Showing papers on "Discourse analysis published in 1999"

An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method

Abstract: Discourse analysis considers how language, both spoken and written, enacts social and cultural perspectives and identities Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, An Introduction to Discourse Analysis examines the field and presents James Paul Gee’s unique integrated approach which incorporates both a theory of language-in-use and a method of research An Introduction to Discourse Analysis can be used as a stand-alone textbook or ideally used in conjunction with the practical companion title How to do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit Together they provide the complete resource for students studying discourse analysis Updated throughout, the fourth edition of this seminal textbook also includes two new chapters: ‘What is Discourse?’ to further understanding of the topic, as well as a new concluding section A new companion website wwwroutledgecom/cw/gee features a frequently asked questions section, additional tasks to support understanding, a glossary and free access to journal articles by James Paul Gee Clearly structured and written in a highly accessible style, An Introduction to Discourse Analysis includes perspectives from a variety of approaches and disciplines, including applied linguistics, education, psychology, anthropology and communication to help students and scholars from a range of backgrounds to formulate their own views on discourse and engage in their own discourse analysis This is an essential textbook for all advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of discourse analysis

Dialogic Inquiry: Towards a Socio-cultural Practice and Theory of Education

Abstract: For more than a quarter of a century, the polemics surrounding educational reform have centered on two points of view: those who favor a 'progressive' child-centered form of education, and those who would prefer a return to a more structured, teacher-directed curriculum, which emphasizes basic knowledge and skills. Vygotsky's social constructivist theory offers an alternative solution, placing stress on co-construction of knowledge by more and less mature participants engaging in joint activity together, with semiotic mediation as the primary means whereby the less mature participants can seek solutions to everyday problems, using the resources existing in society. In addition to using illustrative examples from classroom studies, a comparative analysis of the theories and complementary developments in works by Vygotsky, and the linguist M. A. K. Halliday, are provided. This unique volume will be of tremendous benefit to those in the field of education, as well as to sociolinguists, psychologists and researchers.

Doing Interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract: Book synopsis: `This book constitutes a valuable resource for postgraduate students and researchers. Most.... of the chapters succeed in providing a clear and comprehensive introduction to the various approaches and/or methods, thus enabling the reader to make an informed decision about whether or not they wish to pursue the topic further. The book as a whole is also very well referenced and this makes it a source of essential information for students and researchers with an interest in qualitative health psychology' - Health Psychology Update This book explains the role of qualitative research within health psychology. Theories and methods from a qualitative perspective are highly varied but, in general, differ from the positivist approach which is concerned with quantifying the individual risk factors presumed to cause health and illness behaviour. This book shows clearly how a qualitative approach offers a better understanding of the experience of illness while locating it in its broader social context. Providing a detailed examination of these issues, the book is organized into three sections - the first considers some of the main theoretical perspectives underlying qualitative research in health psychology including discourse analysis and narrative as well as the social context and embodiment of health and illness; the second examines some of the practical issues involved in conducting qualitative research with different populations, such as children and the terminally ill; and the final section considers a range of analytic issues and specific analytic approaches such as grounded theory and action research, and the evaluation of qualitative methods.

Discourse in late modernity : rethinking critical discourse analysis

Abstract: Discourse in Late Modernity sets out to show that critical discourse analysis is strongly positioned to address empirical research and theory-building across the social sciences, particularly research and theory on the semiotic/linguistic aspects of the social world It situates critical discourse analysis as a form of critical social research in relation to diverse theories from the philosophy of science to social theory and from political science to sociology and linguistics First, the authors clarify the ontological and epistemological assumptions of critical discourse analysis - its view of what the social world consists of and how to study it - and, in so doing, point to the connections between critical discourse analysis and critical social scientific research more generally Secondly, they relate critical discourse analysis to social theory, by creating a research agenda in contemporary social life on the basis of narratives of late modernity, particularly those of Giddens, Habermas, and Harvey as well as feminist and postmodernist approaches Thirdly, they show the relevance of sociological work in the analysis of discursive aspects of social life, drawing on the work of Bourdieu and Bernstein to theorise the dialectic of social reproduction and change, and on post-structuralist, post-colonial and feminist work to theorise the dialectic of complexity and homogenisation in contemporary societies Finally, they discuss the relationship between systemic-functional linguistics and critical discourse analysis, showing how the analytical strength of each can benefit from the other * Sets out a new and distinctive theoretical grounding and research agenda for critical discourse analysis * Interdisciplinary in scope * Draws on a broad range of theories and approaches

Beyond quality in early childhood education and care : postmodern perspectives

Abstract: 1. What this book is about 2. Theoretical perspectives: modernity and postmodernity, power and ethics 3. Constructing early childhood institution: what do we think it is? 4. Constructing the early childhood institution: what do we think they are for? 5. Beyond the discourse of quality to the discourse of meaning making 6. The Stockholm project: constructing a pedagogy that speaks in the voice of the child, the pedagogue and the parent 7. Pedagogical documentation: a practice for reflection and democracy 8. Minority directions in the majority world: threats and possibilities

The place of argumentation in the pedagogy of school science

Abstract: The research reported in this paper stemmed from our conviction that argument is a central dimension of both science and science education. Our specific intention was to determine whether secondary science teachers in England give pupils opportunities to develop and rehearse the skills of argumentation during their lessons. We found that classroom discourse was largely teacher dominated and tended not to foster the reflective discussion of scientific issues. Opportunities for the social construction of knowledge, that are afforded by the use of argument-based pedagogical techniques, were few and far between. After a discussion of teachers' responses to this finding, we highlighted two major explanations: firstly, limitations in teachers' pedagogical repertoires; secondly, external pressures imposed upon science teachers in England by the National Curriculum and its assessment system.

New theories of discourse : Laclau, Mouffe, and Z̆iz̆ek

Abstract: Acknowledgements. Preface. Introduction: Discourse theory in context. Part I: Intellectual development:. Introduction. 1. A Gramsci-inspired critique of structural Marxism. 2. The advancement of a neo-Gramscian theory of discourse. 3. Towards a new type of postmodern theorizing. Part II: Theoretical concepts:. Introduction. 4. Discourse. 5. Hegemony. 6. Social antagonism. Part III: Problems and possible solutions:. Introduction. 7. Structure and agency. 8. Power and authority. 9. The universal and the particular. Part IV: Discourse analysis at work:. Introduction. 10. The politics of nationalism and racism. 11. The politics of mass media. 12. The politics of the modern welfare state. Part V: Political perspectives:. Introduction. 13. Towards a radical plural democracy. 14. Beyond libertarianism and communitarianism. 15. The contours of a postmodern ethics?. Conclusion: The tasks ahead. Glossary. Further reading. References. Index.

Academic Attribution: Citation and the Construction of Disciplinary Knowledge.

Abstract: In this paper I explore the ways in which academic citation practices contribute to the construction of disciplinary knowledge. Based on the analysis of a computer corpus of 80 research articles and interviews with experienced writers, the study investigates the contextual variability of citations in eight disciplines and suggests how textual conventions point to distinctions in the ways knowledge is typically negotiated and confirmed within different academic communities. Clear disciplinary differences are identified in both the extent to which writers refer to the work of others and in how they depict the reported information. Writers in the humanities and social sciences employed substantially more citations than scientists and engineers, and were more likely to use integral structures, to employ discourse reporting verbs, and to represent cited authors as adopting a stance to their material. It is argued that these differences in citation practices are related to the fact that academics actively participate in knowledge construction as members of professional groups and that their discoursal decisions are influenced by, and deeply embedded in, the epistemological and social conventions of their disciplines.

Social Constructionist Psychology: A Critical Analysis of Theory and Practice

Abstract: Preface: what's wrong with social constructionism? Part 1 A critical analysis of theory: critical reflexive humanism and critical constructionist psychology beyond appearances - a critical realist approach to social constructionist work a paradigm shift? connections with other critiques of social constructionism. Part 2 Materiality and embodiment: between the dark and the light - power and the material contexts of social relations "discourse or materiality?" impure alternatives for recurrent debates discourse and the embodied person the extra-discursive in social constructionism realism, constructionism and phenomenology taking ourselves seriously. Part 3 A critical analysis of practice: whose construction? points from a feminist perspective social constructionism - implications for psychotherapeutic practice that's all very well, but what use is it? Conclusion: reconstructing social constructionism.

Talk, work, and institutional order : discourse in medical, mediation, and management settings

Abstract: An interdisciplinary approach to talk and its role in creating workplace practice and relationships. Analytic tools drawn from ethnography, conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics and discourse analysis illuminate a range of workplace discourses. Following an introduction, 16 articles discuss medical practices and health care delivery, methodological debates, and mediation, management and social care.

Political Claims Analysis: Integrating Protest Event and Political Discourse Approaches

Abstract: †Starting from a critique of protest event and political discourse analysis, we propose an extended methodological approach that has the quantitative rigor of event analysis but also retrieves the qualitative discursive elements of claims. Our political claims approach extends the sample of contentious actions beyond protest event analysis by coding institutional and civil society actors, and conventional and discursive action forms, in addition to protests by movement actors. This redefines the research object to acts of political claims making in a multi-organizational field. We use examples from a research project on mobilization about migration and ethnic relations in Britain and Germany to demonstrate the analytic gains that are possible with our approach. By situating protest and social movements, not just theoretically but also methodologically, in a wider context of political claims making, we are in a better position to follow the recent calls for more integrated approaches, which place protest within multi-organizational fields, link it to political opportunities and outcomes, and are sensitive to discursive messages. In the field of social movements, protest, and collective action, there has recently been convergence between the competing paradigms. The desirability of combining political opportunities (contextual factors), mobilizing structures (organizational resources), and framing processes (discursive resources) has become an accepted tenet (e.g., McAdam, McCarthy and Zald 1996). Given this emergent consensus, it is surprising that there have been relatively few attempts to re-address questions of method, and in particular, techniques of news analysis. Over the last two decades, newspaper reports have become a primary data source in social movement research. News reporting assigns meaning to issues by providing a continuous record of public events and visibility to the claims of actors. The public sphere is an important field where social problems are constructed and political alternatives defined. It is hardly surprising then that the news has become an important data source for researchers interested in studying political challenges in the public domain. In this article, our focus will be self-consciously directed to methods. Specifically, we will propose how recent methodological developments that often rely on collecting data from news sources might be profitably extended. Regarding the current “state of the art,” two different approaches may be identified. The first methodological school is protest event analysis, 1

Discourse Patterns and Collaborative Scientific Reasoning in Peer and Teacher-Guided Discussions

Abstract: In this study we examined the discourse components, interaction patterns, and reasoning complexity of 4 groups of 12 Grade 8 students in 2 science classrooms as they constructed mental models of the nature of matter, both on their own and with teacher guidance. Interactions within peer and teacher-guided small group discussions were videotaped and audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed in a variety of ways. The key act of participants in both peer and teacher-guided groups was working with weak or incomplete ideas until they improved. How this was accomplished differed somewhat depending on the presence or absence of a teacher in the discussion. Teachers acted as a catalyst in discussions, prompting students to expand and clarify their thinking without providing direct information. Teacher-guided discussions were a more efficient means of attaining higher levels of reasoning and higher quality explanations, but peer discussions tended to be more generative and exploratory. Students' discourse was more vari...

The Community of Practice: Theories and methodologies in language and gender research

Abstract: This article provides an introduction to this issue of Language in Societyby exploring the relationship of the concept of Community of Practice (CofP) to related terms and theoretical frameworks. The criterial characteristics and constitutive features of a CofP are examined; the article points out how a CofP framework is distinguished from other sociolinguistic and social psychological frameworks, including social identity theory, speech community, social network and social constructionist approaches. (Community of Practice, speech community, gender, sex, social practice, ethnographic sociolinguistics, discourse analysis) The term “Community of Practice” (CofP) has recently shouldered its way into the sociolinguistic lexicon. The purpose of this issue of Language in Societyis to provide analyses of language variation, discourse, and language use that illustrate the potential (and also the limits) of this concept as a theoretical and methodological basis for inquiry. It is not generally helpful to add a term to one’s field unless it is intended to serve some demonstrably useful purpose. The term “Community of Practice” bears a strong similarity to the existing term “speech community ” ‐ a concept that has proved to be a productive and useful tool for research into the orderly heterogeneity of language in its social setting; thus it must be shown how the CofP in some way takes us farther toward our goal of understanding the constraints on natural language variation. In addition, some sociolinguists may see in the CofP a tool for the description of language variation that bears a strong resemblance to fundamental principles Language in Society28, 173‐183. Printed in the United States of America

The Discourse of a Learner-Centered Classroom: Sociocultural Perspectives on Teacher-Learner Interaction in the Second-Language Classroom

Abstract: This study investigates learner-centered and teacher-centered discourse in interactive exchanges between teachers and learners in the second language (L2) classroom. The analysis of interaction shows that learner-centered discourse provides opportunities for negotiation (of form, content, and classroom rules of behavior), which creates an environment favorable to L2 learning. In contrast, teacher-centered discourse is shown to provide rare opportunities for negotiation. Placing the analysis within the context of the role of discourse in the mediation of cognitive development, a central point in sociocultural theory, this study demonstrates that when learners are engaged in negotiation, language is used to serve the functions of scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976) and to provide effective assistance as learners progress in the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978). The analysis presented here attempts to show how various communicative moves and linguistic forms are deployed to achieve these functions.

“Speaking ‘Europe’: The Politics of Integration Discourse”

Abstract: The role of language has as yet been largely neglected in studies of European integration. This article provides the theoretical groundwork to remedy this gap through discourse analysis. Its main argument is that attempts to capture the EU's nature both in the political and the academic debate themselves take part in the construction of the Euro-polity. The article proceeds in three moves: an 'Austinian' move introducing the notion of a performative language, a 'Foucauldian' move clarifying the political implications of such a language, and a 'Derridarean' move discussing the possibilities of change and opening up space for alternative constructions of European governance. Each move is illustrated by examples from the history of European integration and European integration studies. The conclusion presents research questions emanating from such a discursive perspective and discusses some caveats.

Local knowledge in the environment-development discourse: From dichotomies to situated knowledges

Abstract: This article takes a critical look at the various approaches representing local knowledge as a scapegoat for underdevelopment or as a panacea for sustainability, these two representations characterizing the conventional environ-ment–development discourse. The static oppositions of local versus universal knowledge are challenged by establishing more diversified models to analyse the relationships of heterogeneous knowledges. The study emphasizes the complex articulation of knowledge repertoires by drawing on an ethnographic case study among migrant peasants in southeastern Nicaragua. Knowledge production is seen as a process of social negotiation involving multiple actors and complex power relations. The article underlines the issue of situated knowledges as one of the major challenges in developing anthropology as an approach that subjects fixed dichotomies between subject and object, fact and value, and the rational and the practical, to critical reconstruction.

Language and the Law.

Abstract: Law is language. It is not solely language, since it is a social institution manifested also in non-linguistic ways, but it is a profoundly linguistic institution. Laws are coded in language, and the processes of the law are mediated through language. The legal system puts into action a society's beliefs and values, and it permeates many areas of life, from a teacher's responsibilities to a credit card agreement. The language of the law is therefore of genuine importance, particularly for people concerned with addressing language issues and problems in the real world—that is, Applied Linguists.

Qualitative methods in sociolinguistics

Abstract: 1. Introduction. 2. Methodology in the Historical Context (field methods in American dialect geography, field methods and "discovery procedure" in descriptive linguistics, analytical methods in historical/comparative linguistics, general themes). 3. Thinking About Methodology (What is research? What is Data? What does "empirical" mean? What makes a good research question? What is "qualitative " 4. Some Legal and Ethical Issues (researchers and the researched, researcher and resources, the uses of results). 5. Standards of Evidence (How do you know when you're right? Reliability and validity in qualitative research. Evaluating competing inerpretations.) 6. Thinking: Introspection and Intuition (What is intuition? What is introspection? Introspective research in sociolinguistics: an example. Roles for intutition in sociolinguistics? Intuitions about competence, intuituve leaps.) 7. Looking: Participant Observation (What is participant observation? What is ehtnography, Ethnography in sociolinguistics. Doing ethnography: some preliminary issues. Starting out: field methods for participant observation. Making sense: focusing on fieldwork and analytical methods.) 8. Reading and Listening: Discourse Analysis (selecting written texts, recording discourse, kinds of conversational data, transcribing, analytical approaches.) 9. Writing (The Article: introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, discussion. Other modes. The grammar of particularity).

Global Capitalism and Critical Awareness of Language

Abstract: As the shape of the new global social order becomes clearer, so too does the need for a critical awareness of language as part of language education. I discuss, with a focus on discourse, several key features of late modern society which help make the case for critical awareness of discourse: the relationship between discourse, knowledge and social change in our 'information' or 'knowledge-based' society; what Smith (1990) has called the 'textually-mediated' nature of contemporary social life; the relationship between discourse and social difference; the commodification of discourse; discourse and democracy. I then draw these together by tying the case for CLA to the nature of the new global capitalism, and conclude the paper with discussions of how CLA is anchored in 'critical discourse analysis' (and, through that, in critical social science generally), and of how the question of CLA is framed within the wider question of the nature and purposes of education.

The sound of music: Constructing science as sociocultural practices through oral and written discourse

Abstract: In this article, we examine the oral and written discourse processes in a high school physics class and how these discourse processes are related to sociocultural practices in scientific communities. Our theoretical framework is based on sociological and anthropological studies of scientific communities and ethnographies of classroom life. We review the use of discourse analysis as a methodological orien- tation in science education and provide a logic-of-inquiry framing how we used discourse analysis in our ethnographic research. Our ethnographic analysis showed that, through students' participation in creating scientific papers on the physics of sound, their appropriation of scientific discourse was related to the fram- ing activities of the teachers and the social practices established over time in the classroom. Our textual analysis of the student papers focused on how they used evidence to make claims. We explore the lessons learned from participating in the classroom of these students. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 883 - 915, 1999

Applied discourse analysis : social and psychological interventions

Abstract: Introduction - making a difference stress as regimen -critical readings of self-help literature "it's your opportunity to be truthful" - disbelief, mundane reasoning and the investigation of crime an analysis of the discursive positions of women smokers - implications for practical interventions deconstructing and reconstructing - producing a reading on "human reproductive technologies" discourse analysis and sex education tablet talk and depot discourse - discourse analysis and psychiatric medication conclusion - opportunities and limitations of applied discourse analysis.

Critical Classroom Discourse Analysis

Abstract: My primary purpose in this article is to conceptualize a framework for conducting critical classroom discourse analysis (CCDA). I begin with a critique of the scope and method of current models of classroom interaction analysis and classroom discourse analysis, arguing that they offer only a limited and limiting perspective on classroom discourse. I then contend that the concepts of discourse enunciated in Foucauldian poststructuralism and Saidian postcolonialism can be employed to develop a critical framework for understanding what actually transpires in the L2 classroom. Drawing insights from these two discourse traditions, I attempt to construct a conceptual framework for CCDA and present basic principles and procedures that might make CCDA possible. I conclude the article with suggestions for further exploration that CCDA might open up.

Approaching the Future.

Abstract: (1999). The Future of the Social Turn: Social Minds and the New Capitalism. Research on Language and Social Interaction: Vol. 32, No. 1-2, pp. 61-68.

Strategic Manoeuvring in Argumentative Discourse

Abstract: This article reacts against the undesirable ideological separation between dialectical and rhetorical approaches to argumentative discourse. It argues that a sound evaluation of argumentation requires an analysis that reveals all aspects of the discourse pertinent to critical testing. To explain the rationale of the various moves made in the discourse and the strategic patterns behind them, not only the interlocutors' dialectical goals must be taken into account, but also their rhetorical goals. After explaining how rhetorical insight can be instrumental in deepening and justifying a dialectical analysis, an integrated analysis is made of the rhetorical strategies that are brought to bear in an advertorial published by the oil company Shell.

Critical textwork : an introduction to varieties of discourse and analysis

Abstract: Introduction - varieties of discourse and analysis. Part 1 Spoken and written texts: interviews - meaning in groups letters - embracing letter writing within discourse analysis fiction -five run around together, clearing a discursive space for children's literature lessons - philosophy for children. Part 2 Visual texts: comics - strip semiotics advertising - critical analysis of images television - signs on the box film - a surface for writing social life. Part 3 Physical texts: cities -resident readers and others organizations - breaking the body of the text gardens - planning and presentation sign language -space, community and identity. Part 4 Subjectivity in research: bodies - reading the body ethnography - reading across culture silence - absence and context action - advocacy and change.

Introduction: Organizational Discourses and Practices:

Abstract: This article provides a brief introduction to the other articles in this Special Issue, and sets out some of the traditions in linguistics and discourse analysis which have engaged in organizational research. The article then addresses some of the issues that define organizationality, such as impersonalization, power, and (re)production. The latter of these three is focused on in greater detail and is linked to current concerns with what is now termed the `recontextualization' of professional and organizational phenomena (Bernstein, 1990; Iedema, 1997a; Linell and Sarangi, 1998). Here, recontextualization is proposed to be at the heart of organizationality itself; that is, organizationality is seen as constituted in (re)productive processes which apply discipline/scientific technologies to human/exosomatic resources, producing lasting effects. These effects include both specialized practices and alternative social and material realities. Relatedly, we argue that organizational meaning making practices are to be considered as `multimodal' chains of recontextualization, with alternative semiotics such as design and built construction forming equally important links as does language in the chains of organizational processes.

Anaphora, Discourse, and Understanding: Evidence from English and French

Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. Anaphora and discourse 3. Semantic-pragmatic determinants of anaphoric value: the role of the indexical segment 4. Exophora, saliency, and discourse memory 5. Reference within a discourse model: the mental representation of 'antecedents' and discourse referents 6. The user's perspective: the on-line processing of discourse anaphors 7. Conclusion