NO CLASS ON MONDAY=> See you Thursday, October 13
We did some discourse analysis on a transcript of an interview. We spent some time talking about the material in the transcript - and then we deepened our exploration in terms of the 4 frames for analysis identified by Bloome et all.
1. the "linguistic turn" and its detailed focus on language
2. movement between micro + macro perspectives on the material
3. consideration of socio/historical contexts
4. structures for power including 'dominant narratives' that designate the "right" way to be and think.
I this discussion we paid attention to the ways that discourse analysis (like any other research method) is NOT a "set of decontextualized, ideilogically neutral, and autonomous tools that can be applied to any situation. . . ." Our analysis showed how our choices about what features of the text to focus on, which social structures (such as stories and interviews) to use to "interpret" the transcript, and so on implied both our own assumptions about what was important and our understanding of "the way the world is." This is not really surprising, if you think about it - but it is important to remember.
In our analysis we noted the following with respect to the frames identified by Bloome et al.
1. the "linguistic turn" and its detailed focus on language
the interview had themes connected to friends, fear, the ESL test
You also noted some of the features we looked at in the classroom description from the book: use of pronouns, turn taking, repeated words, word choices, active/passive constructions (agency => when the speaker represented herself as in control; emotions associated with the different statements, and so on
2. movement between micro + macro perspectives on the material
We then looked at the particular (micro-level) word choices, patterns for telling her stories, representations of agency, and so on in this story in terms of larger cultural patterns (macro level) for story telling associated with age (position in the life course). We identified the fact that L told her story about passing the test 3 times - and that each time she told it - even when she dealt with its negative aspects = she featured a positive resolution.
Researchers have identified this pattern has been identified with US patterns for telling stories in late adolescence - particularly among middle class youth, and as a pattern used by individuals who "grow and change in positive ways." Although we could have talked much more about how L's patterns for storytelling and connecting to values correlate with larger cultural assumptions, values and beliefs= this brief discussion showed how individuals do not tell their stories - or even choose their words on their own. They select from a "menu" that is "out there in the culture, and one task of discourse analysis is to identify connections to which cultural forms influence individual choices.
3. consideration of socio/historical contexts
While the context for this conversation was a particular interview for a research project - interviews have a long history and are associated with many different "assumptions" about what kind of information should be reported, who has authority, what the purpose of the conversation should be, what it is OK to say (and what it isn't OK to say) and so on. In L's interview - both she and Ch operated within the conventions of a research interview. We could have spent more time about how their assumptions about what should happen in research interviews affected their conversation.
For example, Ch believes in "active interviews" where subjects are invited to reflect on the meaning of their experiences - and interviewers are allowed to contribute ideas and reflections of their own. This position is what allowed for the second story to emerge. If Ch had believed that "emotions" can "distort" what "really" happened - she may not have asked the question that elicited the story about not having any friends.
4. structures for power including 'dominant narratives' that designate the "right" way to be and think.
As we noticed - L's stories in this section of the interview connect to dominant stories about "success" and the "American Dream" where doing well in school (complying with school requirements) and learning English is good and associated with a step up. This story is true in many important ways - but the focus on "success" and "opportunity" can overshadow the hardships associated with being "tracked" at school, the unfairness of the "test" (you really couldn't study) - the way it becomes so "high stakes" (it was really nerve-shocking) and the school system does not support or prepare students.
As we noted in class, the structure of the educational system set up these hardships - and paying attention to the stories that underlie educational policies can help us think about new possibilities. Is there a more compassionate, more effective way to support language learning + cultural change? Do we need a different kind of a story? Discourse analysis that looks at power structures and dominant narratives can help us to ask these kinds of questions.
This class exercise walked you through an examination of a particular text in terms of the frames identified in your book. It was a bit of a whirlwind - but hopefully those ideas are starting to make sense.
For next class:
Read: Bloome et al, Chapters 3 & 4. Pay particular attention to the sample essays.
Blog 8: Post your notes/analysis of the sample transcript (the handout is in the right side panel labeled Sample Transcript for DA.)
Four of your classmates have volunteered to answer a set of questions on the 4 sample discourse analysis essays in Chapter 3.
Jen Theesfield - p 79
Nina Sinicropi 93
Will Barbieri p 105
Jen McDonald p. 119
They are going to prepare a MS word document and email it to me that answers the following questions:
1. what are the essay's main points?
2. what theories does it draw from (the authors should mention them straight out)
3. what "moves" does the analysis make (in terms of the particular features of language it focuses on, and the particular frames it uses = micro -macro correlations, socio-historical context, etc)
4. how is this essay organizaed (name what kind of material is in each section)?
5. what is this kind of discourse analysis good for? or - what kind of questions can it answer?
We will use a discussion of their presentations as a way to talk in some more depth about what discourse analysis is - and what it can do.
I am working on the list of presentations on research methods and will post a "draft" for next class. We will talk it over and finalize it in class.
Good work today and see you Thursday.!
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