[Commlist] Applying Discourse Theory - Politics, Ideology, Populism (Training)

Training

Wivenhoe Park
CO4 3SQ Colchester, United Kingdom

Date: 23/07/2023 - 3/08/2023

Jason Glynos, University of Essex & Yannis Stavrakakis, Aristotle University

24 July - 4 August (two week course)

Please note this course is offered in hybrid mode

A central claim of discourse theory is that meaning, subjectivity, and 
agency
are constructed within relational structures that are shaped and re-shaped
through political struggle. This course introduces the basic concepts of
poststructuralist discourse theory, understood as a distinctive, qualitative
approach to critical empirical research. The course situates this 
approach in
relation to competing approaches to social and political analysis that take
discourse and meaning seriously, and contextualises it also in relation to
key debates in the philosophy of natural and social science.

The main aim of the course, however, is to address the challenging question
of ‘applying’ discourse theory to empirical phenomena in the name of
understanding, explanation, and critique. Drawing inspiration from
poststructuralism and psychoanalysis, it serves as a forum to discuss
research strategies that are consonant with the field of discourse theory,
and outlines conceptual frameworks that can be employed in the analysis of
concrete discourses and practices.

A range of concepts and themes are examined with particular referenceto the
work of thinkers such as Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe, Antonio Gramsci,
Michel Foucault, and Slavoj Žižek. Such concepts and themes areconsidered
from the point of view of methodology and research strategy, and include
discourse and practice, hegemony and antagonism, politics and dislocation,
performativity and subjectivity, fantasy and ideology, democracy and
populism. It uses empirical cases to illustrate broad methodological and
theoretical points, from general considerations regarding qualitative 
methods
appropriate to poststructuralist discourse theory, to more focused
considerations of rhetorical, ethnographic, participatory, and psycho-social
dimensions of research, including the place and role of the analyst in the
process of research. The illustrations draw on organizational and media
practices, policy discourses, populist movements, and more besides. Aspart
of this course participants are invited to present and thematise their own
research topics and proposals.

Further course
details: https://essexsummerschool.com/summer-school-facts/courses/ess-2023-course-list/2i-applying-discourse-theory/ 


Application deadline: 7 July 2023

Details regarding application
process: https://essexsummerschool.com/application/



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