International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Like qualitative content analysis and →  Grounded Theory , discourse analysis can be conceived as a qualitative empirical method of analyzing mostly recorded human communication (→  Content Analysis, Qualitative ). The term itself was first introduced to the public by Zellig Harris in the early 1950s, but used rather unsystematically. In general terms, discourse analysis serves for analyzing written or spoken language use within a society or in public – like public discourse about abortion in Germany and the United States or like the anti-Semitism discourse in postwar Austria. As one can tell from issues like abortion or racism, discourse analysis quite often implies a normative element. For instance, the critical discourse approach (e.g., Ruth Wodak, Teun A. van Dijk) asks about social hierarchies by studying language as a form of social practice. This approach is thus convinced that social and political domination is reproduced by speech, talk, and discourse. There are different approaches of discourse analysis in several scientific disciplines. In this respect discourse approach is truly interdisciplinary. Some forms of discourse analysis refer to poststructuralism (e.g., Michel Foucault), some are based on socio- or psycholinguistics (e.g., Wodak, van Dijk) and some more or less belong to communication research (e.g., William A. Gamson). The historical or critical discourse ... log in or subscribe to read full text