Education 645: Methods of Discourse Analysis
Fall 2007, Wednesdays 2:00-4:00
Stanton Wortham
GSE 429, 898-6307
stantonw@gse.upenn.edu
http://www.gse.upenn.edu/~stantonw

Discourse analysis is a broad and complex interdisciplinary field. It includes somewhat diverse theoretical and methodological approaches from linguistics, anthropology, and sociology. All approaches to discourse share a commitment to studying language in context. But “context” is notoriously indeterminate, and different approaches to discourse analysis emphasize different aspects of context as potentially relevant to understanding language use.
This course focuses on several important methodological approaches that have been developed to do discourse analysis. Methods are motivated by and intertwined with theories, so the course inevitably addresses some theoretical issues. But the course intends primarily to provide students with methodological tools for studying naturally-occurring speech.
Because of its methodological goals, the course involves both reading and data analysis exercises. The course introduces a few approaches to understanding the relations between linguistic categories and social life, spending more time on conceptual issues earlier in the semester. Then it alternates between further reading and opportunities to analyze data. Some classes are set aside as data analysis sessions, in which data provided by the instructor or the students is analyzed in detail.
Students are expected to: (1) do the reading and come to class; (2) prepare the sample analyses for data analysis sessions—both preparing analyses for each session and taking responsibility for one session, including handing in a sample analysis for evaluation; (3) complete a larger piece of discourse analysis by the end of the term. This final paper should be primarily empirical, using techniques from one or more of the approaches to analyze a transcript of naturally occurring conversation or a piece of written discourse found in the social world. The paper should also include a brief discussion of why you chose the approach(es) you did—citing the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches for particular purposes. Deadlines for the project are: by October 3, a one page description of the data you plan to use; by November 7, a brief two page excerpt from the data analysis you are working on; by December 12, the final project. Grades will be determined using the following rule-of-thumb: 70% final paper; 30% completion of weekly analyses and class discussion.
When preparing your discourse analyses, you might try the coding program (“Coder”) available at www.wagsoft.com. Or you can use a qualitative data analysis program like NVivo (www.qsrinternational.com). You will have to tailor any software to your specific form of discourse analysis and use judgment in analyzing the data—there is no automated way to do complex discourse analyses of the sort we will discuss.

reff:

Blommaert, J. (2005). Discourse. NY: Cambridge.
Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse. NY: Routledge.
Gee, J. (1999). An introduction to discourse analysis. NY: Routledge.
Schegloff, E. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction. NY: Cambridge.
Readings