Verified Document

Difficult To Provide A Definition To Discourse Research Paper

¶ … difficult to provide a definition to discourse analysis in reference to its use as a research tool. Instead of being a formalized methodology, it is more of a mind-set or epistemological approach. In this sense, Discourse Analysis is neither a qualitative nor a quantitative research method, but a manner of questioning the basic assumptions of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Discourse Analysis does not provide a tangible answer to problems based on scientific research, but it enables access to the ontological and epistemological assumptions behind a project, a statement, a method of research, or - to provide an example from the field of Library and Information Science - a system of classification[footnoteRef:1]. Furthermore, it challenges the assumptions that the scientific method places upon research. Generally this method questions the entire essence of the research problem itself and the inherent assumptions that it makes. [1: (Palmquis)] History and Development

Looking at history through the lens of language is a relatively new phenomenon. Linguistic theories have penetrated the humanities and social sciences in recent decades and offer an interdisciplinary alternative to historical inquiry[footnoteRef:2]. The attractiveness of this approach is fairly clear though there is a wide array of possible applications....

No matter what you say to tell us about your experience or how we respond to your report, our statements are inexorably bound up in discourses[footnoteRef:3]. There is some debate about the level of control that an individual has over the discourse, yet the discourse provides many insights into the social practices of any given time period. What is included, or not included, in the discourse can reveal many aspects of society as well as individual perceptions[footnoteRef:4]. [2: (Boettcher)] [3: (Boettcher)] [4: (Clark)]
From this perspective, the argument is made that these conflicts should be "sensed and not confronted" as it is easy to be anachronistic when looking for incoherencies in the language. Thus the conceptual strategies associated with opposition and inversion that try to explain the demonology and its development are grounded in discourse and represent the incoherence and the transcendent in which later discourse emerges[footnoteRef:5]. Although it is natural to look at the discourse through a skeptical lens that is inherent in the modern perspective, it is important to realize that many intellectuals in history viewed the current events as truth based on their experience. As a result of their historical perspectives, it is interesting to study subjects such as the spread of witchcraft through this perspective because it is now…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Boettcher, S. "The Linguistic Turn." Writing Early Modern History. n.d.

Clark, S. Thinking with Demons. London: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Lingual Links. "What is conversation analysis?" N.d. Lingual Links. Online. 29 December 2013.

Palmquis, U. "Discourse Analysis." N.d. University of Texas. Online. 29 December 2013.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Definition of Democracy
Words: 1323 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

conditions in Somaliland fit Schmitter and Karl's (S&K) definition of a democracy? Which ones do not? Democracies are not of the same type or quality. Some democracies tend to score better on democratic scales, Freedom House for example, as compared to others. This essay looks at the case study of Somaliland in reference to procedural minimum requirements of a democracy identified in the S&K thesis. These are as follows. a) Values

Piaf, Pam Gems Provides a View into
Words: 46193 Length: 125 Document Type: Dissertation

In "Piaf," Pam Gems provides a view into the life of the great French singer and arguably the greatest singer of her generation -- Edith Piaf. (Fildier and Primack, 1981), the slices that the playwright provides, more than adequately trace her life. Edith was born a waif on the streets of Paris (literally under a lamp-post). Abandoned by her parents -- a drunken street singer for a mother and a

Conversation Along the Past Recent
Words: 5588 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Proposal

In this instance then, the face and politeness phenomena become of crucial importance. Since the conversations in phone call centers are not conducted face-to-face, the most important aspect becomes the politeness (Stembrouck, 2006). This is vital for complete customer satisfaction and can be identified and corrected through discourse analyses. All in all, the employees at the call center have the ultimate purpose of transferring data to the customers in a

Pierre Schaeffer's Musique Concrete Pierre
Words: 8641 Length: 25 Document Type: Term Paper

The basic materials might include tin cans, fragments of speech, a cough, canal boats chugging or natural snatches of Tibetan chant (all these are in a work called Etude Pathetique). Musical instruments are not taboo: one piece used a flute that was both played and struck. Differences in balance or performance can also be used to extend the range of materials. All of this is very similar to the way

Henry Thomas Buckle's Original 1858
Words: 12518 Length: 50 Document Type: Dissertation

As activists in women's liberation, discussing and analyzing the oppression and inequalities they experienced as women, they felt it imperative to find out about the lives of their foremothers -- and found very little scholarship in print" (Women's history, 2012, para. 3). This dearth of scholarly is due in large part to the events and themes that are the focus of the historical record. In this regard, "History was

Africa and the Anthropologist
Words: 1260 Length: 5 Document Type: Article Review

Africa There are many ambiguities in the concept of being Western. Many individual use this description without fully understanding what it means or how the term developed. Generally when people are using the term 'the West" or Western, they are simply referring to a lifestyle that includes a certain standard of living that includes a certain material well-being. Yet this broad and all-encompassing term is used without any clear meaning or

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now