discourse analysis

discourse analysis

  1. forms of textual analysis (inspired by POSTSTRUCTURALISM) in which the aim is to exhibit the structure of DISCOURSE AND DISCOURSE FORMATIONS. The assumption is that a discourse has identifiable ‘formation rules’ which distinguish it from other discourses. Discourse analysis may focus on whole texts or the parts of texts. See also FOUCAULT, ARCHAEOLOGY 2, BARTHES.
  2. (rather than an emphasis on the reader or viewer as just ‘absorbing’ TEXTs – as in 1) analysis of the role of the reader or viewer in reading and creating meaning. See also TELEVISION.
Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000
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