Natalie Koch Geography 5161 March 2, 2009

 Discourse “a specific constellation of knowledge and practice through which a way of life is given material expression” (Doel 2003, 49)  Discourse analysis “discloses how this constellation of knowledge and power is structured, and situates it within its appropriate social, cultural and geo-historical context” (Doel 2003, 49)

 “incredulity toward metanarratives”  reality and identities as chaotic, messy, multiple, plural  emphasizes multiple interpretations of a text, its silences, incoherencies, limits, unintended effects

 Lyotard  Derrida  Foucault  Latour

Maps Guidebooks Films Television (Urban) landscapes Gov’t publications Acad. publications Museums Newspapers Photographs Textbooks Comic books Political cartoons Monuments Speeches ??

 Semiotics  Textual deconstruction  Content analysis  Reading landscapes  Iconology  Hermeneutics

 Broad application  Challenging dominant discourses  Useful starting point for mixed-methods studies  Entry point for words/world debate  One-sided, selective, subjective  Quantification difficulties (content analysis)  Time-consuming (especially without software)

 Original theory vs. contemporary application  Discourses as inseparable from the context in which they are produced  Multiplicity of interpretations of texts – limitations of the researcher’s analysis  Analyst as the detached observer Sharpe 2000 – critique of Ó Tuathail’s Critical Geopolitics – where does he stand?

 Dowler 2001  Dittmer 2005  Falah 2005  McDowell 2008  Megoran 2005  O’Loughlin, Ó Tuathail, Kolossov 2004

The “clash of civilizations” imagination in Captain America: Terrorists seize control of the church in Centerville

“ The Visual Representation of Muslim/Arab Women in Daily Newspapers in the United States” 2 media portrayals of Muslim women  passive victims  active political agents

“Russian geopolitical storylines and public opinion in the wake of 9-11” Storylines 1. Putin’s “common enemy” storyline 2. “Skeptical” storyline 3. “American imperialism” storyline Attitudes of ordinary Russians - surveys