Discourse analysis
(16 hrs)
Lecture 1. What is
discourse;
Lecture links
The lecture is
recorded but
the problem is
with
link
processing)
Lecture 2. What is
discourse studies;
http://vimeo.com/
18090826
Lecture 3. Topical
issues of discourse
research.
http://vimeo.com/
18118641
Lecture 4. What is
cognitive dissonance
and why it happens.
(Function-,
representation- and
activity-revealed
complexity
of
discourse content).
Lecture 5. Culture
and language, the
theory of linguistic
relativity
Lecture 6. Discourse
portraying
Lecture7.
Intertextual analysis and
the analysis based
on
discourse
categories ‘space’,
‘time’
‘self
identification’.
Topic 1 for independent
and group work:
Semiotic analysis
(Symbol analysis),
narrative analysis,
conceptual analysis
(reconstructing
metaphoric content) .
http://vimeo.com/
17976341
Texts for reading (In Polish
and English)
For lectures 1,2,3 see:
www.dart.uni.wroc.pl
Part 1.
Assignments
1.Listen to lectures
and look through
supportive texts .
2.Sum up in written
form (in a very short
way) each of
3 lectures plus fulfill
tasks formulated in
them_
(For lecture 4 see Synopsis
below. Read it before you
start listening to lecture 4)
(password:
oukhvanova)
The lecture is
recorded but
the link is still
being
processed)
Deadlines,
Comments
For lectures
available
just as for
Topic 1 the
deadline is
the 10th of
January. All
task
fulfillments
should be
presented
in the form
of
a
Portfolio
and
presented
at
the
classes in
January.
The 6th and 7th
lectures are for
January studies.
1.A.A.Berger. ‘Making Sense
of Media’. Blackwell Publ.
(Lakoff’s, Bakhtin’s,
Lotman’s approaches).
2. ‘An Introduction to
Cognitive linguistics’
By F.Ungerer and H.Schmid.
Part 3.
3. Understanding texts:
point of view. by M.Short.
In: ‘Lanfuage and
Unfderstanding’ Pp. 170176.
For lecture 5: “Language
and Linguistics” ( see part
on linguistic relativity or
Sapir&Worf theory)
3. Look through the
approaches, choose
one and study it
closer, use it to
reconstruct (in small
groups) the content
of the pictures
presented in the
attachments (The
pictures are taken
from the album of
the exhibition
devoted to 10 year
anniversary of
Solidarnost
movement in
Poland).
Present the
result
of
your
picture
analysis in
the format
of
a
scientific
article. (See
suggestions
presented
below after
Synopsis)
I.
Supportive reading: From Synopsis (Lecture 4 is
based on this introduction):
INTRODUCTION
Our basic approach to the definition of the notion of discourse and so text (in its social context)
is based on the causation genetic content modeling (a trend of the Belarusian linguistic school),
as it presents a highly synthetical approach which helps to cover the majority of research
models. The causation-genetic approach to text content can be characterized as one in three,
covering: «category (function) - phenomenon (representation) - activity (process)».
Dynamic (functional) qualities of text content are manifested through the following:
1) text is a category of communication and information (its core is a process of permanent
transformations of propositions and illocutions, an exchange of object-bias and subject-bias
information within their interdependence). It means the text informs and makes people
interact;
2) text is a category of reflection and assessment (its core is knowledge-attitude dichotomy). It
means the text involves both our vision and assessment of reality;
3) text is a psycho-social category (its core is sense- and essence -related content). It means the
text serves for individuals and groups/ society.
Static (representative) qualities of text content are expressed through the following:
1) text is an assimilated (rationally and emotionally) reality — in other words it reflects an
element of the picture of the world. It means the text helps us to see the world (the worlds);
2) text is an assimilated sign reality — it reflects a language-bias world picture element. It
means the text helps us to see the world but through ‘language glasses’, and so this
reality can be bias;
3) text is an assimilated behavioural reality — it reflects the picture of communicants’ behavior;
(inter-subject reality). It means the text helps us to see social world/ interactive reality;
4) text is an assimilated sign behavioral reality — it reflects the picture of communicants’
language behavior (inter-textual reality). It means the text helps us to see social world/
interactive reality but through the glasses of people’s behavior, and so this reality can be
bias;
Activity qualities of text content (social and individual sign qualities) express themselves
through the following:
1) text is a sign of social practice, a pragmatic sign, which means that with it the subject
reproduces social activity (pragmatics of reflection) and individual acts (pragmatics of
behavior); TEXT IS A SOCIAL ACTIVITY AND INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOUR (It means that your style is
your choice but whatever text you produce it is influencing the society);
2) text is a sign of cognition (epistemological sign), which means that with it the subject infers
his/her personal meaning to the picture of the universe (epistemology of individual) but does it
through generalized communicative patterns (social epistemology); TEXT IS AN INDIVIDUAL
ACTIVITY AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR (It means that whatever text you produce is your choice but
style of your production influences the society);
3) text is a paradigmatically bound sign, i.e. its content plan depends on inter-textual
systematic ties or, otherwise, text fields, which are both subject-bias (genre fields) and objectbias (text systematization according to their topics). Fields setting is a result of social text
organization, that is the choice of individuals (whatever it is) is made of something already
predetermined; TEXT IS A SOCIAL TEXTUAL ACTIVITY DEFINED BY ITS SYSTEM AND THUS IT IS
CLOSED (It means that language dictates understanding).
4) text is a syntagmatically bound sign, which means that its content plan depends on intertextual continuity, which is individual textual practice which is socially (historically) selected;
TEXT IS AN INDIVIDUAL TEXTUAL ACTIVITY DEFINED BY ITS HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND THUS
IT IS OPENED (It means that text opens search for different interpretations).
!!! So, as we see, our approach to text definition covers all historically meaningful text research
paradigms.
The notion of discourse can be classified in a similar way, through function-activityphenomenon approach.
1) discourse is an activity, an activity limited by its socially-oriented speech manifestations
(attitudinal, assessing and behavioral); an activity that can be specified and differentiated
only within a socially marked setting; an activity that is always actual and manifested;
2) discourse represents reality, but only as a social representation (representing discourse
communities, socially differentiated (marked) attitudes; it is a reflection of a subject-object
and inter-subject activities;
3) discourse is a functional set of signs (categories and codes), and hence it realizes all sign
functions with a special focus on organization, orientation, actualization.
II.
The format of pictures description and
reconstruction (this is the format of a scientific
article)
((Names of the authors))
((Title)) Discourse analysis of Solidarność movement messages
in the works of Polish artists of the 1980s
((Annotation))
((Key words))
Introduction
The Polish painting movement entitled New Expression was an answer to the reality of the
1980s in Poland. As Marek Sobczak , a Polish artist and a member of New Expression stated,
“New Expression was created as a result of our rebel, our fury against a depressing reality, our
rebel against queues in shops for everything, our rebel against our isolation as if we were
trapped in cages, our abundance at the moment where somewhere else behind a horizon a
normal life exists” ¹.
Below we would like to reconstruct and describe the content of several paintings
created by Polish painters in the 1980s. Our aim here is to view at the paintings as texts and to
look at each painting from different perspectives so that to understand the ideas and messages
they are sending to the utmost depth and width. To do this we would like to use a number of
discourse analytical practices such as semiotic and symbol analysis, narrative and genre
analysis, metaphor and myth analysis, thematic (theme-rheme and topic focus analysis) and
social role analysis (interaction analysis), intertextual and self-identification analysis, space and
time dimension analysis, knowledge and attitude-bias analysis.
Simultaneously we consider it interesting to propose Polish people (those who lived at
that time and were just watchers or political activists, just as those who were too small to
remember the events by themselves but also those who were born after the declaration of
Martial Law in Poland; however, their knowledge about the state of war in Poland was gained
from their parents, classes of history at school or their own interests of Polish history ) to
present their interpretations of the same paintings. Otherwise we turned to the audience’s
analysis (point of view analysis).
The topicality and significance of our study we see in ….(please, continue).
The description of our corpus of texts
(Give the pictures here and some words about their authors, their titles and characterize
the titles: nominative, informative or advertising/persuasive, open (the audience is free to
interpret in its own way) or closed (direct meaning, no interpretations), inter-textual (one may
find associations with other texts that are functioning in the society), etc. (think of other
possible attributions)
How Polish people understand the messages of the paintings
The title of the picture. Then write down the first name of a person (it may be invented)
and age (real): the way this person interprets this particular picture. (Write down your own
impression first, then that of people of the age of your parents and grandparents). Each
student is to collect three narratives (3 age groups should be represented) of the content of
these three pictures.
After impressions are presented then try to analyze it (reconstruct all possible
meanings) in groups of students using different methods you know.
If there are questions, please write to ioukhvanova@gmail.com
Best
Prof. Irina Oukhvanova