Theories of Discourse: An IntroductionISBN: 978-0-631-14839-5
Paperback
156 pages
January 1991, Wiley-Blackwell
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This is the first critical introduction to the theories of
discourse advanced by Foucault, Althusser, PUcheux and Hindess and
Hirst. Discourse theory proposes that in our daily activities the
way we speak and write is shaped by the structures of power in our
society, and that because our society is defined by struggle and
conflict our discourses reflect and create conflicts. The words,
expressions and forms of knowledge in institutions (schools and
universities, the church and the media) become political as they
are traversed and rearranged by the pressure of forces. Diane
Macdonell reveals the various lines of thought in recent work on
discourse, showing how the central conception of discourse as a
political and social tool could diversify into several different
critical theories and ideologies.
This book is of particular interest as it calls for a reappraisal of Althusser whose work, Macdonell argues, has been wrongly debunked. This is the first overview and introduction to a notoriously complex area of critical theory, an area which is at the heart of debates about form, meaning, ideology, literary criticism and the humanities.