Analyzing Public Discourse demonstrates the use of discourse analysis to provide testimony in public policy consultations: from environmental impact statements to changes in laws and policies. Scollon asserts that it is in the best interest of democratic public discourse for all participants in the process to be working with a common discursive framework. He puts forward a strategy by which discourse analysts can become engaged in this framework as participants through the process of public consultations. Using documents which are publicly available online from specific consultative projects, Scollon provides the reader with concrete examples and introduces basic skills for discourse analysis. Accessible to readers who are new to discourse analysis, Analyzing Public Discourse will be of interest to students of linguistics and language studies as well as to those on environmental studies courses. This book can also be used as a guide for any public consultation which calls for public responses.

This text explores the workings of the connection between community & communication by providing a mature treatment of public argument that will encourage the student to evaluate public discourse critically.

"The book is an essential resource seeking to analyze real texts and discourse."--BOOK JACKET.

Analyzing Public Discourse demonstrates the use of discourse analysis to provide testimony in public policy consultations: from environmental impact statements to changes in laws and policies. Scollon asserts that it is in the best interest of democratic public discourse for all participants in the process to be working with a common discursive framework. He puts forward a strategy by which discourse analysts can become engaged in this framework as participants through the process of public consultations. Using documents which are publicly available online from specific consultative projects, Scollon provides the reader with concrete examples and introduces basic skills for discourse analysis. Accessible to readers who are new to discourse analysis, Analyzing Public Discourse will be of interest to students of linguistics and language studies as well as to those on environmental studies courses. This book can also be used as a guide for any public consultation which calls for public responses.

In this accessible new textbook, Isabela and Norman Fairclough present their innovative approach to analysing political discourse. Political Discourse Analysis integrates analysis of arguments into critical discourse analysis and political discourse analysis. The book is grounded in a view of politics in which deliberation, decision and action are crucial concepts: politics is about arriving cooperatively at decisions about what to do in the context of disagreement, conflict of interests and values, power inequalities, uncertainty and risk. The first half of the book introduces the authors’ new approach to the analysis and evaluation of practical arguments, while the second half explores how it can be applied by looking at examples such as government reports, parliamentary debates, political speeches and online discussion forums on political issues. Through the analysis of current events, including a particular focus on the economic crisis and political responses to it, the authors provide a systematic and rigorous analytical framework that can be adopted and used for students’ own research. This exciting new text, co-written by bestselling author Norman Fairclough, is essential reading for researchers, upper undergraduate and postgraduate students of discourse analysis, within English language, linguistics, communication studies, politics and other social sciences.

This is an essential read for anyone interested in the way language is used in the world of politics. Based on Aristotle's premise that we are all political animals, able to use language to pursue our own ends, the book uses the theoretical framework of linguistics to explore the ways in which we think and behave politically. Contemporary and high profile case studies of politicians and other speakers are used, including an examination of the dangerous influence of a politician's words on the defendants in the Stephen Lawrence murder trial. International in its perspective, Analysing Political Discourse also considers the changing landscape of political language post-September 11, including the increasing use of religious imagery in the political discourse of, amongst others, George Bush. Written in a lively and engaging style, this book provides an essential introduction to political discourse analysis.

A unique anthology of textual analysis methodologies, this book offers a thorough introduction to the key approaches and the tools students need to implement them. Every chapter contains not just the theory behind each methodology, but also its advantages and disadvantages, its problems with ontology and language, and its relationship to studying social phenomenon. Through contemporary and relatable real-world worked examples, the book illustrates different contexts in which a methodology has been successfully used and allows students to see the methods in action and extrapolate the techniques into their own research. Methods included: Content analysis Argumentation analysis Qualitative analysis of ideas Narrative analysis Metaphor analysis Multimodal discourse analysis Discourse analysis Engaging and authoritative in equal measure, this guide to textual analysis is the perfect foundation for students conducting research in the social sciences.