RSS01.B6 Critical discourse Analysis: Texts, contexts and power​

Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) is a burgeoning approach to the analysis of text and talk in different socio-political spaces. At its very basest form, CDS understands language as a form of social practice and that language use cannot be understood without looking at wider contexts of inequality (including historical dimensions, power inequalities, gender relations, class, etc.). Though CDS has a basis in sociolinguistics, it offers set of a theories and methodologies that can be learned about and applied by researchers working in many different fields (e.g., Political Science, International Relations, Media & Communication Studies, and Sociology).

This course offers a comprehensive introduction to qualitative CDS and invites you to consider how you might want to integrate the approach into your own research. As such, one of the key practical outcomes of the course is an understanding of how to build a research project that focuses on your chosen topic of study and which integrates CDS as the key analytical approach.

The course will be both theoretical and ‘hands on’: Whilst you will be learning about the theoretical underpinnings of CDS (from within linguistics and beyond), you will also be analysing real texts and genres in order to put your new-found skills into practice and gain confidence in your own abilities. ​

The course starts with an introduction of key terms and concepts in CDS – we will investigate what a text is, how texts make up discourses, how these can be (re)contextualised and what, in fact, the ‘critical’ in CDS actually even means. We follow this by learning how different socio-political theories - concerning, e.g., populism, race, gender, the public sphere and colonialism - can be used alongside more linguistic-based text analyses in interdisciplinary projects.

After, this, we start to look at and use different qualitative methodological approaches to discourse analysis and you will also be analyzing real texts and genres in order to put your new-found skills into practice, gain confidence in your own analytical abilities and learn how to interpret (but not over interpret!) your findings. Throughout the course, participants are expected to actively and (critically) engage with the presentations, discussions and readings, as well as offer their own thoughts and feedback on the work of their peers.

Dates

19 June 2023 - 23 June 2023
Course Fee

Regular: €995
Students & PhD's: €645

Early Bird Regular: €895 (application deadline* April 1st) 
Early Bird Students & PhD's: €580,50 (application deadline* April 1st)

Scholarships and discounts Find more information here
Application deadline

May 1st

*Your application is only completed when the course fee has been paid

Course leader Samuel Bennett
Level of participant
  • Master
  • PhD
  • PostDoc
  • Professional
Admission requirements

Critical Discourse Studies is an interdisciplinary approach and participants are expected to come from different fields (political science, sociology, media studies, linguistics, etc).

Some prior knowledge and study experience of one or more of the following is expected: qualitative text analysis, public sphere communication, or different forms of socio-political inequalities (e.g., race, gender, xenophobia).

A basic understanding of sociolinguistics and/or critical theories would be beneficial, but is not expected.

Admission documents
  • ​To get the student/PhD discount you need to upload a copy of your Student card or other proof of registration
  • If you are not a student/PhD, you can upload an empty document under 'Student Card'.
Mode of Study On Campus
ECTS 2 or 4 Find more information here
Location Radboud University