New Theories of Discourse
New Theories of Discourse

Author: Jacob Torfing

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Published: 1999-01-26

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9780631195580

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This book provides a comprehensive and accessible account of the new theories of discourse developed by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, while in particular drawing on central insights provided by Slavoj Zizek. The book accounts for intellectual development of the discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe from a Gramsci-inspired critique of structural Marxism over a neo-Gramscian theory of discourse to a new type of postmodern theorizing of great relevance for social, cultural and political theory. The central concepts of discourse, hegemony and social antagonism are carefully explained and discussed and the theoretical framework is applied both on a variety of theoretical problems and in a sample of empirical studies. The book concludes with a discussion of the implications of discourse theory for our political understanding of democracy, citizenship and ethics. New Theories of Discourse is written out of the basic conviction that postmodernity provides a great challenge to social, cultural and political theory and makes thinkable a whole range of new political projects of which the development of a radical plural democracy is one of the most promising and exciting.

Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method
Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method

Author: Marianne W Jørgensen

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2002-12-26

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 9780761971122

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A systematic introduction to discourse analysis as a body of theories and methods for social research. Introduces three approaches and explains the distinctive philosophical premises and theoretical perspectives of each approach.

Theories of Discourse
Theories of Discourse

Author: Diane Macdonell

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Published: 1991-01-08

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9780631148395

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This is the first critical introduction to the theories ofdiscourse advanced by Foucault, Althusser, PUcheux and Hindess andHirst. Discourse theory proposes that in our daily activities theway we speak and write is shaped by the structures of power in oursociety, and that because our society is defined by struggle andconflict our discourses reflect and create conflicts. The words,expressions and forms of knowledge in institutions (schools anduniversities, the church and the media) become political as theyare traversed and rearranged by the pressure of forces. DianeMacdonell reveals the various lines of thought in recent work ondiscourse, showing how the central conception of discourse as apolitical and social tool could diversify into several differentcritical theories and ideologies. This book is of particular interest as it calls for a reappraisalof Althusser whose work, Macdonell argues, has been wronglydebunked. This is the first overview and introduction to anotoriously complex area of critical theory, an area which is atthe heart of debates about form, meaning, ideology, literarycriticism and the humanities.

Discourse Theory in European Politics
Discourse Theory in European Politics

Author: D. Howarth

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2004-11-30

Total Pages: 379

ISBN-13: 0230523366

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This volume of essays employs discourse theory to analyze mainstream topics in contemporary European politics. Inspired by developments in post-structuralist, psychoanalytic and post-Marxist theory, each contributor problematizes a central issue in European governance, including European security, Third Way politics, constitutional and administrative reform, new forms of nationalism and populism, the shift from welfare to workfare, environmental politics and local government. Alongside these substantive issues, the book tackles questions raised by the difficulties of applying discourse theory to empirical cases.

Discourse Theory and Critical Media Politics
Discourse Theory and Critical Media Politics

Author: L. Dahlberg

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2011-10-12

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0230343511

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A systematic examination of the relationship between post-Marxist discourse theory and media studies. This volume interrogates discourse theory – as read via the work of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe – through an engagement with major approaches to critical media politics and a range of issues in contemporary media politics.

An Introduction to Discourse Analysis
An Introduction to Discourse Analysis

Author: James Paul Gee

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-03

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1317820576

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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 www.routledge.com/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.

Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory
Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory

Author: Patrick Williams

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 584

ISBN-13: 0231100205

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Provides an in-depth introduction to debates within post-colonial theory and criticism. The many contributors include Frantz Fanon, Amilcar Cabral, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, Edward Said, Anthony Giddens, Anne McClintock, Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, and bell hooks.

Linguistic Theory
Linguistic Theory

Author: Robert De Beaugrande

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-24

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 1317900642

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In Linguistic Theory, Robert de Beaugrande analyses linguistic theories not as abstract ideas or theses, but as the process and product of theoretical discourse. He argues that the best documentation of this discourse can be found in the 'fundamental' works of major linguists from Ferdinand de Saussure to Teun van Dijk and Walter Kintsch. He therefore employs the highly unusual strategy of a close reading of these works as discourse performances and strives to uncover their main points and characteristic moves in the linguist's own words. Through this approach, the reader is able to appreciate and understand the variety and controversy among linguistic theories as they have emerged and developed in interaction with each other. Special scrutiny is allocated to the issue of how far the active practice of the linguists followed their own theories and proposals, and why. The author concludes by assessing the prospects for linguistics to be drawn from the retrospect in the previous chapters.

The Texture of Discourse
The Texture of Discourse

Author: Jan Renkema

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2009-09-30

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 9027289085

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The aim of this monograph is to give impetus to research into one of the central questions in discourse studies: what makes a sequence of sentences or utterances a discourse? The theoretical framework for describing the possibilities of discourse continuation is delineated by two principles: the discursive and the dialogic principle. The ‘chord’ of discourse is unfolded in a tripartite ‘wire’: Conjunction, Adjunction and Interjunction, each containing three aspects, leading to a Connectivity Model. This new three-by-three taxonomy of discourse relations incorporates findings from several theories and approaches that have evolved over the last three decades, including Systemic Functional Linguistics and Rhetorical Structure Theory. In comparing this model to other models, this book presents a state-of-the-art of discourse relation analysis combined with detailed accounts of many examples. This monograph furthermore proposes a new way of presenting discourse structures—in ‘connectivity graphs’—followed by eleven commandments for the segmentation and labeling of discourse, and three procedures for disambiguation if more labels are applicable. This study can provide a base for corpus linguistic analysis on discourse structures, computational approaches to discourse generation and cognitive experimental research of discourse competence.

Discourse and Practice
Discourse and Practice

Author: Theo van Leeuwen

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2008-05-01

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 019988661X

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Adding a new introduction and two previously unpublished papers, Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis brings together van Leeuwen's methodological work on discourse analysis of the last 15 years. Discourse, van Leeuwen argues, is a resource for representation, a knowledge about some aspect of reality which can be drawn upon when that aspect of reality has to be represented, a framework for making sense of things. And they are plural. There can be different discourses, different ways of making sense of the same aspect of reality that serve different interests and will therefore be used in different social contexts. However abstract some discourses are, discourses ultimately always represent doings, van Leeuwen argues. Doing is the foundation of knowing, and social practices are the foundation of discourses. Studying children's books, newspaper reports, brochures and other texts, as well as photographs and children's toys, van Leeuwen investigates what can happen when practices are transformed into discourses and provides analytical tools for reconstructing discourses from texts. Throughout the book, van Leeuwen makes connections between sociological and linguistic or semiotic concepts and methods to ensure the social and critical relevance of his analytical categories. van Leeuwen's work has already been widely used by critical discourse analysts across the world. This volume will be a welcome guide for anyone looking for a form of discourse analysis that is both explicit and methodical, and critically incisive.