Too many texts or not enough? Adapting the ‘discourse-historical’ approach

1. Too many texts or not enough?Adapting the ‘discourse-historical’ approach Philippa K. Smith Presentation to the ICDC Discourse Research Group 13 May 2009

2. Critical discourse analysis Critique Ideology Power

3. The ‘discourse-historical’ approach Interdisciplinary Multi-methodological Process of triangulation

4. 10 important principles of DHA Interdisciplinary Problem oriented Combines theory and method Ethnographical (study from the inside) Movement between theory and empirical data

5. The second five… Study numerous genres and public spaces Historical context Flexible analytical tool box Grand theories (foundation) Middle theories (theoretical basis) 10. Application of results

6. Intertextuality Explicit reference to a topic Reference to the same events Allusions or evocations Transfer of main arguments

7. Recontextualization • Decontextualization • Interdiscursivity

8. Example of interdiscursivity: Napier ‘gunman’ News reports Interviews Official reports Talkback radio Statements Discourses Gun control Police protection – tazers Drug culture – Legalisation debate Community support Media responsibility

10. Event Political statement NZFIrst Event Census data released Event NZer dies in Iraq Media report Online NZ Herald article “New Zealand passport holder shot dead in Iraq” Media report NZ Herald article on “racist” remarks” Media report NZ Herald article on census that Asians are the fastest growing minority group in NZ CMC NZ Herald online feedback Are Peter Brown’s comments on Asian immigrants racist? CMC Yellow Peril blog CMC Aotearoa Ethnic Network listserv Discussion on whether “New Zealand Passport Holder” is an acceptable description. Discourse Topic 3 Discourse Topic 4 Discourse Topic 5 Discourse Topic 2 Discourse Topic 6 Discourse Topic 1 Official texts Political statements, reports, website pages, documents, pamphlets, posters, etc

11. Case study 1: Yellow Peril blog Field of action: NZ Census 2006 – identifying Census Document to complete on census night classification of ethnicity: StatisticsNZ report Report MainstreamMedia ____ NZ Herald Report CMC Yellow Peril Blog Blogger, moderators, posters Referenced texts eg a NZ tv series, book on NZ national id. Hypertext Links Eg other blogs, video links, Official/quasi official • discourses of national identity Discourses of • Human Rights Day leaflets, posters, national identity • “10 Steps to Diversity” • Document, political speeches, Human Rights • etc Topic 1 Topic 2 Topic 3 Topic 4 Topic 5 Topic 6

12. Question 11

15. XXX From: WellingtonSince: Nov 2006Posts: 14 Reply Posted at 9:44AM on 7 Dec 06. Permalink. Thank you. After National Radio’s thirty-ish stories yesterday and today on the Asian ethnicity overtaking Maori at some unspecified time in the future I was desperate for someone to point out that, well, Asia is not an ethnicity as such but a rather large continent. As for the New Zealanders – what I’m most amused about the graph in you story is that the ‘New Zealanders’ have been placed right at the far end of the graph in amongst all the minorities. Was this actually their political goal? Anyway, they have now turned this particular set of statistics into a farce. Shame they won’t see it that way. XXX From: WellingtonSince: Dec 2006\Posts: 4 Reply Posted at 9:51AM on 7 Dec 06. Permalink. As a 'European' foreigner, I can't help but smile at these ethnic games NZ plays. I was in South Africa when Nelson Mandela was elected. The buzzword of the day was 'reconciliation', which was probably best played out in the six o' clock news.

18. 1. Descriptionof the CMC 2. Quantitative analysiswould be conducted providing information on the number of CMC posters, their gender and location if available, how often each poster communicated a message and any other relevant information. Measures will be taken to ensure the anonymity of the posters is maintained. 3. qualitative analysisof the CMC would involve a close reading of the text to:list the salient discourse topics of discussion in the order they occur. 4. Genre analysis

19. Wodak and Reisigl list five discursive strategies: (a) referential/nomination to establish how “persons, objects, phenomena/events, processes and actions are named and referred to linguistically; (b) predication to identify characteristics, qualities and features attributed to social actors, objects, phenomena/events and processes;(c) argumentation to look at the justification and questioning of claims of truth and normative rightness(d) perspectivizations, framing or discourse representation to see from what perspective these nominations, attributions and arguments are expressed ie speaker or writer’s point of view, involvement or distance;(e) intensification/mitigation of respective utterances or are they overt?Examine the Linguistic means and the specific, context-dependent linguistic realizations This may involve categorization of self and other, self-reflection, language of inclusion/exclusion, of membership, attachment or belonging, analysis of verb categories and narrative and any reoccurring metaphors.

20. Too many texts or not enough?

21. Thank you.