Discourse Analysis GEOG 5161: Research Design Lindsay Skog February 21, 2011

What is discourse?  Conventional definition: Related groupings of writing and speech (Waitt 2005)  Constructivist approach: Structures of language, shaping behavior and thought, not as expressions of an essential ‘real’, but as constitutive of it. (Waitt 2005)

What is discourse analysis?  Hermeneutical approach using content analysis, semiology, and iconography to explore texts and statements as expressions of reality (Lees 2004)  Analysis of textual content revealing the hegemonic arguments  Foucauldian Discourse Analysis  Discourse is constructive of objects rather than a reflection of them (Lees 2004)  Texts are not meaningful in and of themselves, they are situated in relation to other texts (Waitt 2005).  Textual analysis largely ignores the social setting of the text. (Shurmer- Smith 2002)  In practice, these two are combined (Lees 2004)

What is Foucauldian discourse analysis?  Moves beyond analysis of texts ands statements to understand their effects on actions, perceptions, and attitudes (Waitt 2005)  Uncovers the “regulatory frameworks within which groups of statements are produced, circulated, and communicated” (Waitt 2005,165)  Reveals the support maintaining those regulatory frameworks and presenting groups of statements as ‘truth’ (Waitt 2005)  Multiple structures working simultaneously (Shurmer-Smith 2002)

Foucauldian concepts  Episteme: the ways in which discourse operates to limit what may be studied and in what ways, as well as what counts as knowledge  Archaeology: the conditions allowing for certain practices to come into existence  Genealogy: subjects are not fixed, identity performance is influenced by many discursive constructs. Identity is always negotiated and influences our understanding of the world (Waitt 2005)  Power: circulating everywhere and in constant negotiation  Regime of truth: the power structure that allows for a hegemonic discourse  Power/knowledge (Foucault 1978)

Doing discourse analysis  Sources: Interviews, archival material, newspapers, visual materials, observation  Understand the positionality of the author, the intended audience, and the circumstances under which the text was produced (Waitt 2005)  Two objectives (Lees 2004)  Situate the discourse in its social setting  Analysis the rhetoric of the discourse

Doing discourse analysis (cont.)  With practice discourse analysis becomes intuitive. The process is left implicit, rather than being made explicit (Waitt 2005)  Seven steps—just a guide (Waitt 2005, citing Rose 2001)  Think outside pre-existing coding categories  Become thoroughly familiar with the text  Code with an eye toward the ways in which the author/producer is situated in a particular discursive framework  How is this text presenting ‘truth’?  Inconsistencies?  In what ways is the text silencing?  Pay attention to details

When is Foucauldian discourse analysis appropriate?  Best used to understand the effects of discourse and power/knowledge structures that shape ‘truths’ about human-environment relationships and inform social justice; investigating “moral and political questions about contemporary societies” (Waitt 2005, 188)  Discourse analysis should be the first step in action research, rather than an end point (Lees 2004)

Strengths and Weaknesses  Waitt (2005) identifies the strength in this analysis as its ability to reveal the power relationships informing thoughts and actions.  While Foucault gave us a strong theoretical framework for discourse analysis, he did not provide a methodological framework  Methodology is not explicit and therefore more difficult to follow

Examples  World Bank-style development (Goldman 2005)  Beijing’s Olympic Bid (Haugen 2005)  Beyul

References  Foucault, Michel The history of sexuality: Volume 1: An introduction. New York: Vintage Books.  Goldman, Michael Imperial nature. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.  Haugen, Heidi Ø Time and space in Beijing's Olympic bid. Norwegian journal of geography 59 (3):  Lees, Loretta Urban geography: discourse analysis and urban research. Progress in Human Geography 28 (1):  Shurmer-Smith, Pamela Doing cultural geography. London: Sage.  Waitt, Gordon Doing discourse analysis. In Qualitative research methods in human geography, ed. I. Hay, Oxford: Oxford University Press.