Showing papers on "Discourse analysis published in 2013"

Discourse Dynamics : Critical Analysis for Social and Individual Psychology

Abstract: In this new textbook Ian Parker provides a systematic introduction to discourse research and the essential theoretical debates of the area. It defends a realist position, discusses accounts of postmodernity and sets out criteria for the identification of discourses. "Discourse Dynamics" is addressed to both undergraduate students in psychology, and postgraduates and researchers new to discourse theory. It should offer useful reading for anyone interested in project research and those seeking an understanding of the issues involved in discourse analysis. It addresses the concerns of all those looking at qualitative textual research in the human sciences.

Critical discourse analysis and critical policy studies

Abstract: This article presents the contribution that critical discourse analysis (CDA) can make to critical policy studies through comparison with two other approaches which also advocate a ‘discursive turn’ in policy studies and that have been discussed in the journal: cultural political economy (CPE), and poststructuralist discourse analysis (PDA). I suggest that there are significant differences between CDA, CPE and PDA in their view of the discursive turn, and that a version of CDA which integrates argumentation theory and analysis with CDA can add significantly to the contributions that CPE and PDA might make to policy analysis. In the Conclusion, I address a suspicion that using argumentation analysis entails a commitment to Habermasian/Rawlsian ‘deliberative democracy,’ suggesting that argumentation analysis is also not only consistent with but also necessary for Gramscian approaches to political and policy analysis, including CPE and PDA.

Affect and discourse – What’s the problem? From affect as excess to affective/discursive practice

Abstract: The recent ‘turn to affect’ in social and cultural research has been built on the notion of affect as a kind of excess. Affect is contrasted with the discursive and the cognitive, and distinguished from ‘domesticated’ emotion. The focus is on the presumed direct hit of events on bodies and on what is sensed rather than known. This formulation in combination with the need for new methods has disconnected discourse studies from research on affect. In common with other recent critics, I argue that the formulation of affect as an excess is unsustainable. I focus here, however, on the methodological consequences. The objective of affect research is to produce textured, lively analyses of multiple modes of engagement and to understand the working of power through patterns of assemblage. Intriguingly, fine-grain studies of discursive practice might realize these aims more effectively than some new, ‘non-representational’ methodological approaches. I contrast one example of non-representational empirical investigation with an example of discursive research on normative episodic sequences. My general aim is to build a more productive dialogue between rich traditions in discourse studies and new lines of research on affect and emotion.

What is multimodal critical discourse studies

Abstract: Discourses are communicated not only through political speeches and news items but through entertainment media such as computer games and movies, in the social and material culture of everyday life...

Advances in Spoken Discourse Analysis

Abstract: This collection reviews 20 years of research into Spoken Discourse by the Birmingham group, allowing, for the first time, a developmental perspective. It combines previously published but unavailable work with new research. Bringing together recent theories of discourse structure, with a new and detailed analytic framework, the book emphasises both historical context and new developments. The articles are comprehensive, ranging from the theoretical to the highly applied. Practical applications include language teaching, literary stylistics and forensic linguistics with examples taken from literature and language classrooms, telephone conversations, disputed witness statements and corpuses of spoken English.

Interactional Features of Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication in the Intermediate L2 Class: A Sociocultural Case Study

Abstract: This study explores social interactive features of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC)--commonly known as "chat"--as such features unfolded in real time and developed over a nine-week period in two fourth-semester college Spanish classes. The study invoked the Vygotskian sociocultural theoretical framework and employed discourse analysis as a research tool to describe and explain outstanding features of chat room communication. Specific interactional features examined are intersubjectivity, off-task discussion, greetings and leave-takings, identity exploration and role play, humor and sarcasm, and use of the L1 (English). Through these communicative behaviors, learners appropriated the chat room environment, transforming it into a learner-centered discourse community governed by communicative autonomy and the use of language and discourse functions that go beyond those encountered in the typical L2 classroom.

Patterns and meanings in discourse : theory and practice in corpus-assisted discourse studies (CADS)

Abstract: This work is designed, firstly, to both provoke theoretical discussion and serve as a practical guide for researchers and students in the field of corpus linguistics and, secondly, to offer a wide-ranging introduction to corpus techniques for practitioners of discourse studies. It delves into a wide variety of language topics and areas including metaphor, irony, evaluation, (im)politeness, stylistics, language change and sociopolitical issues. Each chapter begins with an outline of an area, followed by case studies which attempt both to shed light on particular themes in this area and to demonstrate the methodologies which might be fruitfully employed to investigate them. The chapters conclude with suggestions on activities which the readers may wish to undertake themselves. An Appendix contains a list of currently available resources for corpus research which were used or mentioned in the book.

Developing Norms of Argumentation: Metacognitive, Epistemological, and Social Dimensions of Developing Argumentive Competence

Abstract: We examine how extended engagement in argumentation with peers leads to enhanced metalevel understanding of argumentive discourse. Following such engagement, young adolescents demonstrated enhanced understanding of counterargument and use of evidence as objectives of skilled argumentation, relative to a nonparticipating comparison group. Among the participating group, analysis of metatalk (talk about the discourse, distinguished from talk about the topic) during electronic peer dialogs proved revealing regarding participants’ evolving awareness of and adherence to discourse norms. Metatalk became more reciprocal and sustained with time and revealed an increasing focus on the argumentation process and engagement in talk that seeks to direct it. Implications are considered for understanding and studying argumentation as a social practice that encompasses not only individual skills but also the less visible norms that govern it and that members of a social group come to share.

Doing Discourse Research: An Introduction for Social Scientists

Abstract: The Current Relevance of Discourse Research Preamble Collective Orders of Knowledge and Discourses Approaches in Discourse Research The History of the Term 'Discourse' Discourse Analysis Discourse Linguistics and (Corpus-based) Critical Discourse Analysis and Kritische Diskursanalyse Culturalist Discourse Research Discourse Theories Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Further Disciplinary Developments Summary The Research Process Concepts Questions General Foundations Doing Discourse Research Getting Started The Exploration of the Field of Investigation Selection of Data Other Data Formats and Methods The Detailed Analysis of Data The Situational and Material Nature of a Statement Formal and Linguistic-Rhetorical Structure The Interpretative Analytics of Contents From Detailed Analysis to Overall Results From Utterances via Statements to Discourse and Beyond Interpretation and Presentation of Results Concluding Remarks

Circuits of Knowledge and Techniques: The Transnational Flow of Planning Ideas and Practices

Abstract: This article considers the conceptual and methodological tools which may help to focus the critical analysis of transnational flows of planning ideas and practices in the present period. The discussion starts from the rejection of the 'modernization myth' with its linear concept of a single development trajectory and reviews the philosophical background to the array of alternative conceptions which have displaced it. It then examines three, often overlapping, fields of intellectual development which offer promising concepts for exploring contemporary transnational flows of planning ideas and practices: actor-network theory (especially with respect to the way ideas and technologies get to 'travel' and get 'translated'), institutionalist versions of policy 'discourse analysis' (discourse structuration and institutionalization, in particular), and discussions about circuits of knowledge and hegemonic projects in the globalization and international development literatures. Drawing on these, I suggest that critical analysis of such flows should give special attention to the 'origin stories' of such ideas, their 'travelling histories' and the 'translation experiences' through which exogenous planning ideas and practices become 'localized'. I conclude by commenting on what may be distinctive about transnational flows in the present period, why undertaking critical analysis of such flows is valuable, and key methodological attitudes to keep in mind in conducting such analyses.

Discourse Analysis and Media Attitudes: The Representation of Islam in the British Press

Abstract: Is the British press prejudiced against Muslims? In what ways can prejudice be explicit or subtle? This book uses a detailed analysis of over 140 million words of newspaper articles on Muslims and Islam, combining corpus linguistics and discourse analysis methods to produce an objective picture of media attitudes. The authors analyse representations around frequently cited topics such as Muslim women who wear the veil and 'hate preachers'. The analysis is self-reflexive and multidisciplinary, incorporating research on journalistic practices, readership patterns and attitude surveys to answer questions which include: what do journalists mean when they use phrases like 'devout Muslim' and how did the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks affect press reporting? This is a stimulating and unique book for those working in fields of discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, while clear explanations of linguistic terminology make it valuable to those in the fields of politics, media studies, journalism and Islamic studies.

Public Communication of Science in Blogs Recontextualizing Scientific Discourse for a Diversified Audience

Abstract: New media are having a significant impact on science communication, both on the way scientists communicate with peers and on the dissemination of science to the lay public. Science blogs, in particular, provide an open space for science communication, where a diverse audience (with different degrees of expertise) may have access to science information intended both for nonspecialist readers and for experts. The purpose of this article is to analyze the strategies used by bloggers to communicate and recontextualize scientific discourse in the realm of science blogs. These strategies involve adjusting information to the readers’ knowledge and information needs, deploying linguistic features typical of personal, informal, and dialogic interaction to create intimacy and proximity, engaging in critical analysis of the recontextualized research and focusing on its relevance, and using explicit and personal expressions of evaluation. The article shows that, given the diverse audience of science posts, bloggers d...

Constructing luxury brands: exploring the role of consumer discourse

Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this paper is to offer a discursive perspective on luxury brand consumptionDesign/methodology/approach – Discourse analysis is used to examine how consumers construct their luxury brand consumption amidst countervailing cultural discourses in the market (Thompson and Haytko) Consumer discourse is generated through in‐depth, semi‐structured interviewsFindings – In the context of countervailing discourses that challenge the notion of luxury (eg “masstige”, “chav” and “bling”), respondents construct an ostensibly distinct and stable version of luxury expressing its subjective, experiential, moral and artistic constructs Analysis demonstrates how these four themes operate at a linguistic‐textual level to delineate important cultural categories and boundaries around luxury Luxury brand discourse operates strategic juxtapositions between normatively positive (ideal) and normatively negative (problematic) categories, which are paradoxically interdependentResearch limitations/implicat

Researching Interpersonal Relationships: Qualitative Methods, Studies, and Analysis

Abstract: Preface Introduction: Embracing a Full Spectrum of Interpersonal Communication Research 1 Understanding Personal Relationships through an Interpretivist-Oriented Lens 2 Method and Analysis in Qualitative Relationships Research 3 Interviews, Emotion Coding, and a Family Communication Study 4 Focus Groups, Values Coding, and a Romantic Relationships Study 5 Open-Ended Surveys, Taxonomic Coding, and a Friendship Study 6 Ethnography, Dramaturgical Coding, and a Sexuality Study 7 Discourse Analysis, Thematic Analysis, and a Study of Computer-Mediated Communication 8 Narrative Inquiry, Crystallization, and a Study of Workplace Relationships 9 Writing and Presenting Qualitative Interpersonal Communication Studies References Index

Studying Agency in Literacy Teacher Education: A Layered Approach to Positive Discourse Analysis.

Abstract: Critically oriented forms of discourse analysis have focused largely on oppression and injustice. Signaling a new turn in the field, scholars have called for an analytic focus on moments of liberation and agency, referring to this orientation as “positive discourse analysis” (PDA). In this research, we turn our attention to a case study of agency and leadership in teacher education. We analyze the discursive contours of a workshop designed and presented at an Educating for Change Curriculum Fair by a preservice teacher, whom we refer to as Leslie, about culturally relevant teaching. Arguing that PDA is not a new approach but a shift in analytic focus, we draw on the tools of narrative analysis, critical discourse analysis, and multimodal analysis. This turn toward the “positive” provided us with insight into the discourses processes associated with agency: how Leslie accepts and extends invitations for agency, uses problems to extend learning, uses narratives and counter-narratives and creates multiple st...

Climate change and ‘climategate’ in online reader comments: a mixed methods study

Abstract: Climate change has rarely been out of the public spotlight in the first decade of this century. The high-profile international meetings and controversies such as ‘climategate’ have highlighted the fact that it is as much a political issue as it is a scientific one, while also drawing our attention to the role of social media in reflecting, promoting or resisting such politicisation. In this article, we propose a framework for analysing one type of social media venue that so far has received little attention from social scientists – online reader comments. Like media reporting on climate change, reader comments on this reporting contribute to the diverse, complex and contested discourses on climate change, and can reveal the meanings and discursive resources brought to the ongoing debate by laypeople rather than political elites. The proposed framework draws on research in computer- mediated communication, corpus linguistics and discourse analysis and takes into account both the content of such ‘lay talk’ and its linguistic characteristics within the specific parameters of the web-based context. Using word frequencies, qualitative study of co-text and user ratings, we analyse a large volume of comments published on the UK tabloid newspaper website at two different points in time – before and after the East Anglia controversy. The results reveal how stereotypes of science and politics are appropriated in this type of discourse, how readers’ constructions of climate science have changed after ‘climategate’, and how climate-sceptic arguments are adopted and contested in computer-mediated peer-to-peer interaction.

Proximization: The Pragmatics of Symbolic Distance Crossing

Abstract: This book proposes a new theory (“proximization theory”) in the area of political/public legitimization discourse. Located at the intersection of Pragmatics, Cognitive Linguistics and critical approaches, the theory holds that legitimization of broadly consequential political/public policies, such as pre-emptive interventionist campaigns, is best accomplished by forced construals of virtual external threats encroaching upon the speaker and her audience’s home territory. The construals, which proceed along spatial, temporal and axiological lines, are forced by strategic deployment of lexico-grammatical choices drawn from the three domains. This proposal is illustrated primarily in the in-depth analysis of the 2001-2010 US discourse of the War-on-Terror, and secondarily in a number of pilot studies pointing to a wide range of further applications (environmental discourse, health communication, cyber-threat discourse, political party-representation). The theory and the empirical focus of the book will appeal to researchers working on interdisciplinary projects in Pragmatics, Semantics, Cognitive Linguistics, Critical Discourse Studies, as well as Journalism and Media Studies.

Defining the language assessment literacy gap: evidence from a parliamentary inquiry

Abstract: This study identifies a unique context for exploring lay understandings of language testing, and by extension for characterising the nature of language assessment literacy among non-practitioners, stemming from data in an inquiry into the registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing. The data come from Hansard transcripts of public hearings of the inquiry. Sections of the data related to language and language testing (as part of the current registration process for doctors seeking employment in Australia) were identified and coded using a thematic analysis. Findings reveal misconceptions about who is responsible for tests and for decisions based on scores in this context, as well as misconceptions about language testing procedures. Issues also emerge concerning the location of expertise in language and language testing. Discussion of these findings contributes to current debate within the language testing community (e.g., Taylor, 2009) about where responsibility lies for increasing language assessment literacy among non-practitioner stakeholders, and how this might best be achieved.

Participatory approach in practice: an analysis of student discussions about climate change

Abstract: Many authors have claimed that participatory perspectives should be a significant feature of environmental and sustainability education (ESE). This change in ESE practice implies a relocation of the process of environmental knowledge constitution from ‘before’ to ‘in’ the educational event. The aim of this paper is to clarify both the processes of knowledge constitution and the content of the constituted knowledge within participatory ESE practices. Two methods based on John Dewey’s transactional perspective are used in the study: epistemological move analysis and pragmatic discourse analysis. The empirical material consists of video-recorded student discussions about climate change in the setting of a Swedish upper secondary school with a pronounced sustainability approach. In the analyses, six different epistemological moves used by the students are identified. The analyses show how students cooperatively constitute a specific view of climate change by using these moves. A main conclusion of this study ...

Coaching Discourse: Supporting Teachers' Professional Learning.

Abstract: Although coaching is used in many schools to facilitate teachers' professional learning, few studies look closely at coaching discourse. Exploring how coaching facilitates teachers' professional development, this study used tape-recorded coaching sessions and individual postinterviews to examine the one-on-one coaching interactions of 4 elementary coach/teacher dyads. An interpretive analysis was conducted on all data followed by a structural discourse analysis of coaching episodes. Coaching roles, relationships, and mandated testing emerged as influential contextual factors. These coaches affirmed teachers, but tended to dominate the talk. Two coaches were aware of different coaching models and varied their coaching to fit each situation. Three teachers ascribed changes in their instruction to their literacy coaches, suggesting that coaching can lead to teacher learning. However, coaches need to become more knowledgeable about and skillful in their use of verbal moves and coaching stances.

Discourses of widening participation in the prospectus documents and websites of six English higher education institutions

Abstract: This article provides a comparative analysis of the discourses of widening participation used in the prospectus documents and websites of six English higher education institutions (HEIs). Taking 2007 and 2011 as snapshots, the article considers the nature of the messages being communicated to prospective students by the different HEIs in the context of the changing policy landscape. Critical discourse analysis is used to interpret the ways in which the case-study HEIs discursively positioned themselves and their prospective students – and the potential implications of this for widening participation practice. In 2007, the findings suggested sharp demarcations between the discourses chosen by the elite pre-1992 and the more accessible post-1992 institutions. By 2011, however, statements of commitment to widening participation were less overt in the post-1992 institutions, whilst there was some evidence of a shift towards a more inclusive tone by the elite universities.

Queer Linguistic approaches to discourse

Abstract: This introductory essay to the Discourse & Society special issue on Queer Linguistic Approaches to Discourse discusses the theoretical underpinnings of the connection between discourse studies and ...

The Discourse of Parent Involvement in Special Education: A Critical Analysis Linking Policy Documents to the Experiences of Mothers

Abstract: Parent involvement is acknowledged as a crucial aspect of the education of students with special needs. However, the discourse of parent involvement represents parent involvement in limited ways, t...

Discourse Analysis: Dimensions of Critique in Psychology

Abstract: Discourse analysis in psychology provides a range of conceptual and methodological resources for thinking critically about the discipline of psychology. These conceptual and methodological resources also reorient researchers in the discipline away from a search for causes of behaviour inside the head of individuals to social contexts in which human beings construct and challenge what have been presented to them as “facts” about their nature or possibilities for change. It is for this reason that discourse analysis has sometimes even been treated as synonymous with critical psychology or has operated as a code word for politically progressive alternative approaches to subjectivity. This article organises the many different ways of doing discourse analysis into eight approaches at four different levels in which we move from the micro level of analysis to more social macro levels of work. This enables us also to review connections with critical psychological approaches and, more broadly, with dimensions of c...

A Comparison of Students Participation Levels by Group Size and Language Stages during Chatroom and Face-to-Face Discussions in German.

Abstract: This article seeks to contribute to the ongoing exploration of computer-assisted language learning (CALL), in particular synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) used in a university environment, and attempts to find answers to the following two research questions: (a) How is the level of participation in communicative interactions distributed among participants? and (b) What kind of language is the language learner engaged in during small chatroom sessions in comparison to small-group face-to-face sessions? This study compared the level of participation among 27 students and contrasted their written German chatroom discourse with their oral discourse produced in small face-to-face discussion groups. 1 First, the level of participation was measured by coding the data with communication units, or c-units. Second, the overall level of participation among groups with five students was compared to groups with only four students. Finally, the study investigated the language levels produced in both discussion modes by applying a scale of language stages as described by Tschirner (1996).

Western perceptions of Hong Kong ten years on: A corpus-driven critical discourse study

Abstract: This article studies the Western perceptions of and relations with Hong Kong a decade after the reversion of the sovereignty from Britain to China in 1997. Previous studies have demonstrated that the West had a significantly negative view on the future of Hong Kong with respect to the handover. According to recent observations, however, the perceptions of the West have undergone a noticeable change. This article aims at investigating the West's understanding, opinions and positions regarding Hong Kong today compared with those in 1997. The possible reasons for any changes are also investigated. Through the integration of the theories and methods of corpus linguistics and critical discourse analysis and the use of two corpus linguistic software, ConcGram and Wmatrix, the present article examines a range of Western public discourse of Hong Kong concerning the handover. The purpose of the article is to yield insights into the New Hong Kong in the eyes of the West, which in turn contributes to a re-examination of the relations and power balance between the West and China.

Figurative Language, Genre and Register

Abstract: This book brings together discourse analysis and corpus linguistics in a cutting-edge study of figurative language in spoken and written discourse. The authors explore a diverse range of communities from chronic pain sufferers to nursery staff to present a detailed framework for the analysis of figurative language. The reader is shown how figurative language is used between members of these communities to construct their own 'world view', and how this can change with a shift in perspective - for example, when nursery staff are talking to each other about children in their care, and when they are communicating with the children's parents. Figurative language is shown to be pervasive and inescapable, but it is also suggested that it varies significantly across genres. Hence, the use of figurative language can both help and hinder communication, especially when boundaries between genres and discourse communities are crossed.