Abstract
This article argues that phenomenological sociology has great potential to provide a strong theoretical support to the Sociocognitive Approach (SCA) in Critical Discourse Studies. SCA is interested in the interconnections between knowledge, discourse and society while placing subjectivity in the centre of its framework. It looks into the correlative relationship between personal- and socially shared knowledge, and the significance of these correlations to discourse production and interpretation. Analogously, phenomenological sociology explores the interrelated structures of subjectivity, knowledge and the social world. It systematically analyses the conditions and forms of intersubjective understanding and the mutually constitutive relationship between subjective- and objective knowledge. Given the considerable overlap between the subject matter of phenomenological sociology and that of SCA, the purpose of the article is to draw the attention of critical discourse analysts to a neglected but extremely resourceful field. Following a brief introduction to SCA, the article will address some of SCA’s key concepts in conjunction with the phenomenological-sociological insight.
Highlights
Critical Discourse Studies, known as Critical Discourse Analysis, is a multimethodical and multidisciplinary field interested in the discursive manifestation and reproduction of dominance, social control, power abuse, and of social inequalities
This article argues that phenomenological sociology remains increasingly relevant to sociological research
Phenomenology, or as Schutz (1978, p. 140) phrased it, “the treasure of knowledge opened up by Husserl” has been long neglected by contemporary social sciences. Schutz and his successors fused phenomenology with sociology and developed a comprehensive framework analysing the interrelated structures of subjectivity, knowledge and the social world
Summary
Critical Discourse Studies, known as Critical Discourse Analysis, is a multimethodical and multidisciplinary field interested in the discursive manifestation and reproduction of dominance, social control, power abuse, and of social inequalities. The purpose of this article is not to trace back certain concepts of SCA to phenomenological sociology Rather, it draws on various concepts developed by Schutz and his successors, Thomas Luckmann and Peter Berger, that are relevant and might be productively integrated into Van Dijk’s framework. This is why Zahavi argues that positive sciences in general, and cognitive sciences in particular, can benefit from phenomenology, because phenomenology can “elucidate” and clarify the theoretical concepts and assumptions about perception and consciousness made by the former (Zahavi 2004) Taking this argument as a point of departure, the article provides an insight into why phenomenological sociology is relevant to, and could potentially be operationalised by, SCA contributing to its already existing strengths. This can sensibly be done within the framework of SCA developing a separate approach is not necessarily warranted
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