On the Interpretive Work of Reconstructing Discourses
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2012-09-20
Author(s)
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to elaborate on the interpretive process of distinguishing discourses. From a sociology of knowledge approach to discourse, discourses can be distinguished either by the institutions engaged in their (re)production or by their central thematic structure, a choice that usually depends on the research objective and the research design. However, as the data collection process almost unavoidably is institutionally contextualized, the data will be structured by both – the institutional context as well as specific ways of constituting phenomena. Interested in distinguishing discourses by the latter, this paper reflects upon the interpretative challenge of separating discourses from one another as well as on analytically separating the institutional context from thematic structures. This does not aim at putting forward a decontextualized view of discourses, but is rather interested in discourse structures that are not bound to resp. reproduced in a specific institutional field. The paper draws upon data that was collected for a research project focussed on students’ perceptions of transformation and inter-group relations at a South African university. A central part of their experiences with transformation concerned the move away from a single-language institution to a parallel-medium one and the introduction of mixed residences on the campus of a former “mono-lingual” university. The data was collected using focus groups. The talk referred substantially to campus related practices, which are part of the university as an institutional field. As the concept “discourse” does not primarily refer to linguistic (“discursive”) data, but to lager structural connections, the work of distinguishing discourses is also related to the question of how talk in interaction can provide an empirical data base for inferring not just mere “themes”, but discourses in the aforementioned sense.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Refereed
No
Event Title
Curiosity and serendipity – a conference on qualitative methods in the social sciences : ESA Research Network 20 Midterm Conference
Event Location
Lund (Sweden)
Event Date
20.-21.09.2012
Subject(s)
Eprints ID
218230