Discourse analysis

Methodology courses and philosophy of sciences

Course information

ECTS: 2.5 
Number of sessions: 4
Hours per session: 3
Course fee:

  • free for PhD candidates of the Graduate School
  • € 575,- for non-members
  • consult our enrolment policy for more information

Contact:
Enrolment-related questions: enrolment@egsh.eur.nl
Course-related questions: oonk@eshcc.eur.nl

Telephone: +31 (0)10 4082607 (Graduate School).

In the academic year 2023-2024 this course will take place offline.

Session 1
April 2 (Tuesday) 2024
9.00-12.00
Mandeville building (campus map), room T19-01

Session 2
April 9 (Tuesday) 2024
9.00-12.00
Mandeville building (campus map), room T19-01

Session 3
April 16 (Tuesday) 2024
9.00-12.00
Mandeville building (campus map), room T19-01

Session 4
April 23 (Tuesday) 2024
9.00-12.00
Mandeville building (campus map), room T19-01

Enrolment available from the end of October

Introduction

Do you have interviews or other biographic data and want to know how to analyse them in-depth? Discourse analysis helps you to understand how the narrator in your data perceives the world and other people in relation to his/her own identity and which aspects influence this perception.

The method is based on different approaches for qualitative data analysis (including discourse analysis) and it is used in various disciplines, including history, anthropology, and cultural, minority and subaltern studies.

Aims and working method

There are four sessions with mini-lectures and practical training. In every meeting the focus is on grasping theoretical concepts and turning these into tools you can use to analyse your data. 

Literature on the concepts of identity, discourse, focalisation and argumentation as well as on self-reflexivity are discussed in class as a basis for this analysis. The lecturer explains the use of these concepts on the basis of concrete examples.

How to prepare

During the four meetings, one of your sources will be analysed in-depth. Before starting the course, all participants will have send in the interview, oral source or other ego-document that they will analyse in class in order for the lecturer to assess its suitability for the analysis.

Participants will also read some literature on the concepts used in the analysis. The participants will be informed about the literature well in advance by email. 

Session descriptions

Session 1: Introduction to discourse analysis

  • Introduction of the theoretical background to the method of discourse analysis and of the main concepts used during the course
  • Introduction by participants of their research and the role of interviews in their analysis
  • Lecture about the use of ‘reading against the grain’ based on samples from interviews and other texts from the media as well as on academic research
  • A first step in the analysis of the interviews of the participants with a focus on ‘stereotypes’ and ‘stereotypical images’ in the context of their research area

Session 2: Concepts of discourse, subject-positions, contexts and identities

  • Analysis of the interviews based on these concepts in sub-groups
  • A discussion on the problems encountered during the analysis

Session 3: Concepts of focalisation, argumentation and silences

  • Analysis of the interviews based on these concepts in sub-groups
  • A discussion on the problems encountered during the analysis

Session 4: Notions of self-reflexivity, ‘othering’ and alternative subject-positions

  • Analysis of the same or another interview by participants in sub-groups
  • Connecting the outcome of the analysis to the research question
  • Relating the analysis to other research methods
  • Wrapping up: evaluating the usefulness of the method of discourse analysis for analysing your research material.

About the instructor

Gijsbert Oonk holds the endowed (Jean Monnet) chair: Europe in Globalizing World: Migration, Citizenship and Identity. This chair promotes education and research in the field of Global History, European Studies and National Identity. The Jean Monnet chairs are an initiative of the European Commission to promote education, research and reflection in the field of European integration studies at higher education institutions. Oonk is director of the Sport and Nation research program at Erasmus University Rotterdam. This interdisciplinary research program focuses on talented athletes with a migrant background within football and the Olympic Games in the context of changing citizenship, multiple citizenship and elite migration. For more information see: www.sportandnation.com.

Oonk is also one of the academic advisers of EUROCLIO (European Association of History Educators). The chair will inspire the EUROCLIO program: Engaging History Education through memories and legacies of Europe's favorite sports. This program aims to promote the historical thinking of young people through football. The shared history of Europe generates a strong sense of togetherness and responsibility. This feeling can bring about active citizenship, especially among young people who are often less interested in study and history. Another goal of the project is to write a textbook: The Constitution in Utopia? Towards a just world in ten cases. The intended target groups are students, history teachers in secondary education, journalists and policy makers.