DISCOURSE

(WITH A CAPITAL
D)
LE212 Discourse Analysis
Aj. Harald Kraus
QUESTION
If you listen to someone speaking, how do you know which person is
the more powerful one?

For example how do you know, just from the way they speak, that
someone is the boss of someone else?
A CAR
ACCIDENT
What kinds of text are
involved?
Who is/might be
involved?
Different
experiences and
perspectives.
Drivers
Police
Journalists
Insurance representative
Witnesses
Family
Employer
TODA
Y
1. What is Discourse (with a capital D)?
2. What does representation mean?
3. An preview to Critical Discourse Analysis
WHAT IS DISCOURSE?
the totality of language in an area of intellectual
enquiry or social practice;
the way thinking is expressed in language
The range of statements and texts concerning
a field of communication or area of knowledge
discourse Discourse
a conversation
to talk
a text
everything that is said and
written about a topic or
social experience
EXAMPLES OF DISCOURSE
The discourse of -
medicine
law
education
religion
business

Can you think of others?

HOW THE WORLD IS REPRESENTED THROUGH TEXT
AND SPEECH
Discourse
constructs
society and
culture
texts (and speech) are used to
represent (re-present) aspects of
the material, mental and social
world.
This is an ugly
house
This is a house built on
the backs of slaves
This is a beautiful
house
This is a big house
THE SOCIAL
WORLD
The dear leader
The selfish
bast**d
The boss
The man upstairs
The tyrant
THE MENTAL
WORLD
happy
angry
in love
afraid
Of course, not all
representations are
about the outside
world
I am
REPRESENTA
TION
We can examine texts in terms of how they represent
as well as construct the way we understand our
world.
The world is made up of discourses
because there are different perspectives and viewpoints
and stakeholders in the various areas of social and cultural
life
REPRESENTING EVENTS
AND EXPERIENCES
Any part of life that we choose to identify as a topic or
as an event has a variety of perspectives and
stakeholders (people who are affected by, affect, talk
about, have an interest in) each of which textualize
their perspective
EDUCATION
ACTIVITY
Do two stakeholder mind maps for the following
events:
Obesity in Thailand
Global warming
ACTIVITY
Select a branch from one of your mind maps and create a new mind
map about the range of texts that that area of discourse uses
A RANGE OF STATEMENTS
Each discourse is comprised of a variety of text types
- Based on the variety of perspectives, but also
- Based on the variety of
- contexts
- purposes
- motivations
- producers/consumers
also: the representation of the world, through discourse, involves
CHOICE as well as FORMAT
e.g. a trip to Paris
IDENTIFYING
DISCOURSES
1. What are the themes of the text?
1. What part of the world does a text represent?
2. Who is/are the producer(s) of the text?
3. What is the point of view or perspective of the text?
4. What language is used? (next topic)
CRITICAL DISCOURSE
ANALYSIS
CRITICAL DISCOURSE
ANALYSIS PREVIEW
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a method for analyzing discourses to
identify how they establish and maintain relations of power between
people.
WHAT DO CRITICAL
DISCOURSE ANALYSTS DO?
Critical discourse analysts look at how people/groups use language to do
these things texts influence us, have power over us.
WHY?
To enable and empower those who are oppressed and
suppressed.
CDA PRINCIPLES
Practitioners of CDA have the following theories
1. power relations are discursive
2. discourse constitutes society and culture and is constituted by it
3. discourse is ideological
4. discourse is historical
5. the link between text and society is mediated
6. discourse is a form of social practice

Critical discourse analysts also think that
7. CDA addresses social problems (such as inequality)
8. discourse analysis is interpretative and explanatory
Fairclough, N., & Wodak, R. (1997). Critical Discourse Analysis. In T. V. Dijk (Ed.), Discourse as Social Interaction
(pp. 258-285). London: Sage.
THE BIG WORDS
Because discourse analysts examine power and how it is
manipulated, common vocabulary that is used includes:
power, dominance, ideology, class, gender, race,
discrimination, interests, reproduction, institutions, social
structure, social order

RECAP
What have we looked at today?
DISCOURSE
REPRESENTATIO
N AND REALITY
CDA
Discourse is the
range of statements
of an area of human
enquiry or practice
Reality is
represented in
various ways from
different
perspectives
Different
perspectives have
the power to
influence the way we
see and experience
the world