Discourse Analysis As Theory and Method

240 Pages·2008·0.86 MB·English

Discourse Analysis
as Theory and Method
Marianne Jorgensen
Louise J. Phillips
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Discourse
Analysis
as Theory and Method
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Discourse
Analysis
as Theory and Method
Marianne Jørgensen and Louise Phillips
SAGE Publications
London • Thousand Oaks • New Delhi
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© Marianne Jørgensen and Louise Phillips 2002
First published 2002
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
ISBN 0 7961 7111 4
(cid:44)(cid:54)(cid:37)(cid:49)(cid:29)(cid:3)(cid:19)(cid:26)(cid:25)(cid:20)(cid:28)(cid:26)(cid:20)(cid:20)(cid:20)(cid:23)
ISBN 0 7961 7112 2 (pbk)
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Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd., Chennai, India
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Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1. The field of discourse analysis 1
2. Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory 24
3. Critical discourse analysis 60
4. Discursive psychology 96
5. Across the approaches 138
6. Critical social constructionist research 175
References 213
Index 223
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Preface
A preface is used to place the text in a wider context. It informs the
reader about how the text has come into existence, and how it is to be
read. Or, using concepts we will apply later in the book, it suggests how
the text has been produced and how it is to be consumed. The preface
navigates the text between the individual and the collective. As authors,
we know that we are not the exclusive originators; rather, the text is
indebted to other texts and to discussions with other people. And as
authors let go of their texts in publishing them, they also let go of their
control of the text. Readers may find quite different messages in the text
from those expected by the author.
Attempting to domesticate the unruly readers, the preface often pro-
vides guidelines for the reading of the text. By stating the intentions of
the book, authors hope to reduce the readers’ possibilities for alternative
interpretations. The intention of this book is to provide an introduction
to the large, interdisciplinary field of social constructionist discourse
analysis. In the book, we demonstrate the scope of the field by present-
ing and discussing three different approaches to discourse analysis –
Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory, critical discourse analysis and
discursive psychology. We aim to delineate the distinctive theoretical and
methodological features of each of the approaches, and, by presenting a
range of empirical examples, we hope to provide inspiration for new dis-
course analytical studies. In addition, by outlining and discussing the
philosophical premises common to all forms of social constructionist
discourse analysis, we aim to facilitate the design of research frameworks
which draw on more than one of the approaches.
Of course, all of these issues cannot be covered fully by one single
book. Some discussions we only touch on briefly, we condense the theories,
and the methodological tools we present are only a small selection of the
possibilities each approach provides. In that sense, the book should be
read as an appetiser, encouraging the reader to engage in further explo-
ration of the field of discourse analysis.
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viii PREFACE
After having negotiated the meaning potentials of the text on its way
to the reader, the preface is also used to acknowledge debts. This book
has its origins in the Department of Communication at the University of
Roskilde in Denmark, and we would like to thank the department for
support in all phases of our project. Since the very first version of the text
appeared, many people have taken the time to read it, to discuss it with
us and to make comments and suggestions concerning both form and
content. We remain indebted to all of these people. Students in the dif-
ferent departments in which we have taught discourse analysis have con-
tributed immensely through specific comments to the text and through
more general discussions of discourse analytical issues. Likewise, col-
leagues, families and friends have both challenged and supported us, thus
making highly appreciated imprints on the text.
While vivid in our minds and hearts, all these people remain anony-
mous in this preface, as we restrict ourselves to mentioning only a few
of the helping hands that have seen us through the final phase of
the process. The Danish Social Science Research Council gave financial
support for the preparation of the English-language manuscript. Ebbe
Klitgård and Laura Trojaborg produced the first draft translation of the
Danish-language edition on which the book builds. Alfred Phillips spent
weeks working with the translation of the text. Erik Berggren, Lilie
Chouliaraki, Torben Dyrberg, Norman Fairclough, Henrik Larsen and
Chantal Mouffe all offered valuable comments to almost-final drafts of
individual chapters.
We have not been able to implement all of the good ideas given to us
along the road about how to change and expand the text. But we have
incorporated many suggestions, and the discussions we have had with
people have stimulated us to rewrite and elaborate on the text. Without
all our discussion partners, the book would never have become what it is.
In this preface the writing of the text has been attributed to collective
processes in which many people have made an imprint. It may sound as
if the authors have done nothing themselves. But with the traditional
concluding remark, that the author takes full responsibility for any
errors and mistakes in the text, some measure of authority as authors is
modestly reclaimed.
Through this preface, then, we have made an attempt to exert control
over the text. Now, the rest is in your hands.
Marianne W. Jørgensen and Louise J. Phillips
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Sheffield Hallam University and the University of
Newcastle upon Tyne for permission to reproduce advertisements which
appeared in the Times Higher Education Supplement on 22 May 1992.