The study of discourse is the study of how people use language to make sense of the world, to share ideas and feelings, to influence others, to define and maintain communities, and to seek and maintain power. In this course, we will explore the way discourse varies across communities defined by disciplines such as anthropology, biology, physics, history, economics, and psychology, as well as corresponding classroom discourses.
Readings include analyses of popular genres of such as maps (Monmonier) and National Geographic (Lutz & Collins), studies of classroom discourse (Edwards & Mercer; Duckworth; Easley; Lemke; O'Connor); and feminist analyses of discourse (Lather, Pratt, Fox-Keller; Harding). We will also draw from works by Wittgenstein, Bakhtin, and Foucault that address relations among discourse, community, and institution.
Goals of the Course
The initial goal of the course is to provide an introduction to an emerging, interdisciplinary field of inquiry, in which scholars are rethinking fundamental categories of knowledge, language, politics, and ideology. Much of this work has focused on science and technology. Scholars ask questions such as "To what extent is our understanding of the world socially constructed?" or "How do scientific conjectures evolve into `facts'?"A second goal is that students develop a critical understanding of discourse within a specific discipline, and thus be better able to evaluate research in that discipline, as well as research on the teaching and learning of that discipline. A third goal is to explore what these new studies mean for teaching and learning practices. Discourse studies have significant implications for curriculum, assessment, instruction, teacher education, and classroom practices.
Discourse analysis entails the study of utterances situated in social, cultural, historical, and linguistic contexts. The broad definition of discourse soon leads the discourse analyst beyond any narrow conception of linguistics, into the study of discourse communities, and into the way language is used in various fields of inquiry. Such studies consider the process in which social meaning, practices, groups, and power are constituted and negotiated.
We will read and discuss works that address the relations among rhetoric, epistemology, community, and ideology. Many of the readings focus on the discourse practices of specific disciplines. Others bring in perspectives of feminist theory, cultural criticism, or institutional analysis as applied to discourse and science practices. Class discussions will emphasize similarities and contrasts across discourses. We will also discuss methodologies for the study of discourse. Electronic mail will be used to extend discussions beyond the scheduled seminar meeting times.
Course Requirements
Readings and discussion. You will be expected to participate in discussions of readings throughout the semester. In addition, you will work with a partner to co-lead two discussion sessions. This is an opportunity for you to suggest alternative readings or to bring in samples of writing from your class or your own work. You and your partner will share your responses to the readings and initiate the class discussion. I plan to work with you in preparing that discussion. [25% of grade]Writings. We will also write, both to learn more about the writing process and to develop the ability to write and to respond to the writing of others. This will include comments on readings and responses to others' writing (see below). [25% of grade]
Research Project. The major assignment for the course is to produce a critique of discourse within a discipline you know well, examining the rhetorical structure of individual texts, and where appropriate, think-aloud protocols, interviews, or observations of practices within the discipline. The project may be a collaborative one, done with other students in the class or with people outside the class.
You will present your ongoing project work to the class, once in the early stages to involve other members of the class in thinking about the issues, and later, to report on progress or interesting problems you encountered. You will also be expected to contribute to the research efforts of other students through discussions and written responses to work in progress. Projects will be presented orally in lieu of a written final exam. [50% of grade]
Schedule [dates given are approximate]. I plan to work with students to revise the schedule, to add questions or resources that more effectively meet their current interests.
For each project there will be three written products:
September 18: A written plan (~1 p.) that includes a brief description of a discourse to be studied, a short list of questions to explore, and a sketch of how you plan to investigate those questions;
October 2. A progress report (~2-3 pp.) that includes some examples from the discourse under study, and preliminary analysis;
November 6. First draft (~10-15 pp.) to share with the class or small working group for reactions and suggestions.
December 4. Final report on the project (~15 pp.).
Schedule
August 28. Introduction to the courseSeptember 4. Labor Day [all campus holiday]
September 11. Discourse and inquiry: Making sense of the world through language
Bohannan, L. (1975). Shakespeare in the bush, in Ternes, pp. 203-216
Bruce, B. C. (1994). The discourses of inquiry ... in Keller-Cohen
Michaels, S., & Bruce, B. (1989). Discourses on the seasons.
Pratt, M. L. (1987). Linguistic utopias, in Fabb, pp. 48-66.
September 18. Popular media discourse [Project plan due]
Lutz, C. A., & Collins, J. L. (1993). Reading Nat'l Geographic, pp. xi-46, 155-216
September 25. Ways of knowing in the classroom
Duckworth, E. (1987). "The having of wonderful ideas", pp. 1-14, 50-112
October 2. The construction of facts [Progress report on project due]
Duckworth, E. (1987). "The having of wonderful ideas", pp. 122-140
Duckworth, E., et al. (1990). Science education, pp. 61-140
October 9. Social shaping of discourse
Edwards, D., & Mercer, N. (1987). Common knowledge, pp. 1-91
October 16. Communication and control
Edwards, D., & Mercer, N. (1987). Common knowledge, pp. 92-170
October 23. Conceptions of langauge in use
Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). Speech genres, pp. 60-102
Wittgenstein, L. (1961). Tractatus, pp. 58-74
Wittgenstein, L. (1968/1953). Philosophical investigations, pp. 2-49
October 30. Feminist critiques of science practice
Tuana, N. (1989). Feminism & science, pp. 119-228
November 6. Feminist theories of science [First draft of project report due]
Tuana, N. (1989). Feminism & science, pp. 3-118
November 13. Scientific constructions of race
Harding, S. (1993). The "racial" economy of science, pp. 84-169
November 20. Control of discourse
Foucault, M. (1972). The discourse on language, pp. 215-237
Harding, S. (1993). The "racial" economy of science, pp. 201-238, 275-286
November 27. The invention of nature
Hardaway, D. J. (1991). Simians, cyborgs, and women, pp. 7-20, 149-230
December 4. Non-Western science [Final project report due]
Harding, S. (1993). The "racial" economy of science, pp. 1-83
December 11. Final project presentations [no additional readings]
Bibliography
Bakhtin, M.M. (1986). The problem of speech genres. In C. Emerson & M. Holquist (Eds.), M.M. Bakhtin: Speech genres and other late essays. (V.W. McGee, Trans.). Austin: University of Texas Press.Bohannan, L. (1975). Shakespeare in the bush. In A. Ternes (Ed.), Ants, Indians, and little dinosaurs (pp. 203-216). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Bruce, B. (1994). The discourses of inquiry: Pedagogical challenges and responses. In D. Keller-Cohen (Ed.), Literacy: Interdisciplinary conversations (pp. 289-316). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton.
Duckworth, E. (1987). "The having of wonderful ideas" and other essays on teaching and learning. New York: Teachers College Press.
Duckworth, E., Easley, J. A. Jr., Hawkins, D., & Henriques, A. (1990). Science education: A minds-on approach for the elementary years. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Edwards, D., & Mercer, N. (1987). Common knowledge: The development of understanding in the classroom. New York: Methuen.
Foucault, M. (1972). The discourse on language. In M. Foucault (trans. by A. M. Sheridan Smith), The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language (pp. 215-237). New York: Pantheon.
Haraway, D. J. (1991). Simians, cyborgs, and women: The reinvention of nature. New York: Routledge.
Harding, S. (1993). The "racial" economy of science: Toward a democratic future. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Janik, A., & Toulmin, S. (1973). Wittgenstein's Vienna. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Lutz, C. A., & Collins, J. L. (1993). Reading National Geographic. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [309 pp.]
Michaels, S., & Bruce, B. (1989, April). Discourses on the seasons. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Francisco.
Monmonier, M. (1991). How to lie with maps. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Postman, N. & Weingartner, C. (Eds.) (1969). Teaching as a subversive activity. New York: Dell.
Pratt, M. L. (1987). Linguistic utopias. In N. Fabb, D. Attridge, A. Durant, & C. MacCabe (Eds.), The linguistics of writing: Arguments between language and literature (pp. 48-66). New York: Methuen.
Tuana, N. (Ed.) (1989). Feminism and science. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Wittgenstein, L. (1961). Tractatus logico-philosophicus (tr. D. F. Pears & B. F. McGuiness). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Wittgenstein, L. (1968/1953). Philosophical investigations (tr. G. E. M. Anscombe). New York: Macmillan.