Discourse Analysis

Discourse analysis (DA) is a broad field of research which incorporates theory and method from linguistics, anthropology, and sociology, among other disciplines. The common thread across these areas of scholarship is a commitment to studying language in action; to understanding what people do and mean with language, how people interact with language, and what people come to expect with language. Close analysis of language in context can illuminate the processes through which social constructs such as identity, power, and social selves are built. This course will cover the theoretical foundations of DA, in tandem with the methodological implications of each theory. Topics will include Speech Act theory, sequence organization and Conversation Analysis, Narrative Analysis, Classroom Discourse and Critical Discourse Analysis. The course will place an especial focus on the contributions of discourse analytic approaches to understanding educational contexts. Students will be asked to collect, transcribe, analyze, and present their own data over the course of the semester.