General Prerequisites
This course is an immersion of the Specialisation elective with the same title and code and can only be declared in conjunction with it.
The course is an introduction to critical approaches to discourse analysis, with the aim of raising awareness of the ideological dimensions knitted to texts and practices of public discourse (e.g. media, politics, education). In particular, it focuses on the study of representations of otherness, highlighting the way in which social categories and divisions between individuals and social groups are constructed in discourse, often with ideological and power implications.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
Analyze the concepts of discourse, text, ideology, and power.
Identify and decode ideological meanings in public discourse.
Study representations of otherness in different texts and contexts.
Apply linguistic and visual tools for critical discourse analysis.
Develop critical thinking and critical literacy
Course Content (Syllabus)
Basic concepts and theoretical framework: The concepts of discourse, text, context, ideology and power are examined, as well as the delineation of approaches to Discourse Analysis.
Otherness in public discourse: Analysis of representations of groups belonging to the "other" such as immigrant/refugee populations, women, children and older people, LGBTQI, people with disabilities, etc.
Critical discourse analysis: Investigating implicit ideological meanings, such as racist use of language in the media.
Linguistic and visual tools: Applications of analysis focusing on linguistic and visual elements that contribute to the formation of representations
Keywords
Critical Discourse Analysis, ideology, power, otherness
Additional bibliography for study
Fairclough, N. 1992. Discourse and Social Change. Λονδίνο: Polity.
Fairclough, N. 2003. Analyzing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. Λονδίνο: Routledge.
Reisigl, M. & Wodak, R. 2001. Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Antisemitism. Λονδίνο: Routledge.
Van Dijk, T.A. 1998. Opinions and ideologies in the press. Στο A. Bell & P. Garrett (επιμ.), Approaches to Media Discourse. Οξφόρδη: Blackwell, 21–63.
Van Leeuwen, T. 1996. The representation of social actors. Στο C.R. Caldas Coulthard & M. Coulthard (επιμ.), Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis. Λονδίνο: Routledge, 32–70.