Discourse is communication that goes back and forth (from the Latin, discursus, "running to and fro"), such as
debate or argument. The term is used in semantics and discourse analysis. In semantics, discourses are linguistic units
composed of several sentences — in other words, conversations, arguments or speeches.
Studies of discourse have roots in a number of theoretical traditions, such as modernism, structuralism and feminism, that
investigate the relations between language, structure and agency. The notion of ‘discourse’ is the subject of debate. Discourse
encompasses the use of spoken, written and signed language and multimodal/multimedia forms of communication, and is not restricted to ‘non-fictional’ nor verbal materials. Challenges to understanding
language and discourse are transparent, functional and progressive (Strega, 2005).
The Social Conception of Discourse
In the social sciences, a discourse is considered to be an institutionalized way of thinking, a social boundary defining what can be said about a specific topic, or,
as Judith Butler puts it, "the limits of acceptable speech"—or possible truth. Discourses are seen
to affect our views on all things; it is not possible to escape discourse. For example, two notably distinct discourses can be
used about various guerrilla movements describing them either as "freedom fighters" or "terrorists". In other words, the chosen
discourse delivers the vocabulary, expressions and perhaps also the style
needed to communicate. Discourse is closely linked to different theories of power and
state, at least as long as defining discourses is seen to mean defining reality itself.
Modernism
Modern theorists were focused on achieving progress and believed that in the existence of natural and social laws which could
be used universally to develop knowledge and thus a better understanding of society (Larrain, 1994). Modernist theorists were
preoccupied with obtaining the truth and reality and sought to develop theories which contained certainty and predictability
(Best & Kellner, 1991). Modernist theorists therefore viewed discourse as a being relative to talking or way of talking and
understood discourse to be functional (Strega, 2005). Discourse and language transformations are ascribed to progress or the need
to develop new or more “accurate” words to describe new discoveries, understandings or areas of interest (Strega, 2005). In
modern times, language and discourse are dissociated from power and ideology and instead conceptualized as “natural” products of
common sense usage or progress (Strega, 2005). Modernism further gave rise to the liberal
discourses of rights, equality, freedom and justice however this rhetoric masked the substantive inequality and failed to account
for differences (Strega, 2005).
Structuralism
Structuralist theorists, such as Ferdinand de
Saussure and Jacques Lacan, argue that all human actions and social formations are
related to language and can be understood as systems of related elements (Howarth, 2000). This
means that the “...individual elements of a system only have significance when considered in relation to the structure as a
whole, and that structures are to be understood as self-contained, self-regulated, and self-transforming entities” (Howarth,
2000, p. 17). In other words, it is the structure itself that determines the significance, meaning and function of the individual
elements of a system. Structuralism has made an important contribution to our understanding of language and social systems.
Saussure’s theory of language highlights the decisive role of meaning and
signification in structuring human life more generally (Howarth, 2000).
Postmodernism
Following the perceived limitations of the modern era, emerged postmodern theory
(Larrain, 1994). Postmodern theorists rejected modernist claims that there was one theoretical approach that explained all
aspects of society (Best & Kellner, 1991). Rather, postmodernist theorists were interested in examining the variety of
experience of individuals and groups and emphasized differences over similarities and common experiences (Strega, 2005).
In contrast to modern theory, postmodern theory is more fluid and allows for individual differences as it rejected the notion
of social laws. Postmodern theorists shifted away from truth seeking and instead sought answers for how truths are produced and
sustained. Postmodernists contended that truth and knowledge is plural, contextual, and historically produced through discourses.
Postmodern researchers therefore embarked on analyzing discourses such as texts, language, policies and practices (Strega,
2005).
Postmodern theorist Michel Foucault is best known for his work in the field of
discourse. In Discursive Struggles Within Social Welfare: Restaging Teen Motherhood, Lessa (2006) summarizes Foucault's
definition of discourse as “systems of thoughts composed of ideas, attitudes, courses of action, beliefs and practices that
systematically construct the subjects and the worlds of which they speak. He traces the role of discourses in wider social
processes of legitimating and power, emphasizing the construction of current truths, how they are maintained and what power
relations they carry with them.” Foucault theorized that discourse is a medium for power which produces speaking subjects
(Strega, 2005). Foucault (1972) argued that power and knowledge are inter-related and therefore every human relationship is a
struggle and negotiation of power. Foucault further stated that power is always present and can both produce and constrain the
truth (Strega, 2005). Discourse according to Foucault (1972) is related to power as it operates by rules of exclusion. Discourse
therefore is controlled by objects, what can be spoken of, ritual, where and how one may speak and the privileged, who may speak
(Foucault, 1972). Coining the phrases power-knowledge Foucault (1972) stated knowledge
was both the creator of power and creation of power. Foucault furthers his stance on power-knowledge by asserting that
power-knowledge is both organized and hierarchical within the context of clusters of relationships (Motion, 2007). Therefore from
Foucault’s perspective, individuals and organizations develop various discourses to conform with, circumvent, or contest existing
power-knowledge relations.
Feminism
Feminists have explored the complex relationships that exist among power, ideology, language and discourse (Strega, 2005).
Feminist theory talks about ‘doing gender’ and/or ‘performing gender’ (please see
gender performativity. (Cameron, 2001). It is suggested that gender is a property,
not of persons themselves but of the behaviours to which members of a society ascribe a gendering meaning. “Being a man/woman
involves appropriating gendered behaviours and making them part of the self that an individual presents to others. Repeated over
time, these behaviours may be internalized as ‘me’ – that is, gender does not feel like a performance or an accomplishment to the
actor, it just feels like her or his ‘natural’ way of behaving” (Cameron, 2001, p171). Feminist theorists have attempted to
recover the subject and 'subjectivity'. Chris Weedon, one of the best known scholars working in the feminist poststructuralist
tradition, has sought to integrate individual experience and social power in a theory of subjectivity (Weedon, 1987). Weedon
defines subjectivity as 'the conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions of the individual, her sense of herself, and her
ways of understanding her relation to the world (Weedon, 1987). Judith Butler, also
another well known post strucutralist feminist scholar, explains that the performativity of gender offers an important
contribution to the conceptual understanding of processes of subversion. She argues that subversion occurs through the enactment
of an identity that is repeated in directions that go back and forth which then results in the displacement of the original goals
of dominant forms of power (Lessa, 2006).
References
Best, S., & Kellner, D. (1997). The postmodern turn. The Guilford Press.
Discourse. (2007, October 9). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:17, October 9, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Discourse&oldid=164323472
Foucault, M. (1972). Archaeology of knowledge. New York: Pantheon Books.
Gender performativity. (2007, February 21). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:21, October 13, 2007, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gender_performativity&oldid=109803169
Howarth, D. (2000). Discourse. Philadelphia, Pa.: Open University Press.
Larrain, J. (1994). Ideology and cultural identity: Modernity and the third world presence. Cambridge, Polity Press.
Lessa, I. (2006). Discoursive struggles within social welfare: Restaging teen motherhood. British Journal of Social Work, 36,
283-298.
McHoul, A., & Grace, W. (1993). A Foucault primer: Discourse, power, and the subject. Melborne: Melborne University
Press.
Motion, J., & Leitch, S. (2007). A toolbox for public relations: The oeuvre of Michel Foucault. Public Relations Review,
33 (3), 263-268.
Mullaly, R. (1997). Structural social work: Ideology, theory, and practice (2nd ed. ed.). New York: Oxford University
Press.
Norton, B. (1997). Language, identity, and the ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3), 409-429.
Postmodernism. (2007, October 12). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:11, October 13, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Postmodernism&oldid=164034375
Research as resistance: Critical, indigenous and anti-oppressive approaches.(2005). In Brown L. A., Strega S. (Eds.), .
Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press.
Strega, S. (2005). The view from the poststructural margins: Epistemology and methodology reconsidered. In L. Brown, & S.
Strega (Eds.), Research as resistance (pp. 199-235). Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press.
Sunderland, J. (2004). Gendered discourses. New York: PalgraveMacmillan.
See also
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