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Discourse (The New Critical Idiom) If language was a simple act of messages and responses our system of understanding would not be riddled with the frustrations, nuances, and idiosyncracies that make communication a veritable time bomb. From Noam Chomsky to Deborah Tannen's use of language deconstruction and understanding, Sara Mills provides readers with a succinct explication of a complex topic. Don't let this little book fool you. It is a concise and well written exposition of the term "discourse." Sara Mills use and understanding of the term both historically and socially make this an invaluable tool to understanding the evolution of the term "discourse" from Foucault down to the systematic analysis of language and structure. She provides a foundation for the term while breaking down the complexities of the Foucauldian discourse theory and applying it to other critical theories that inform the way academics use language as a form of power, knowledge, and understanding. Mills outline moves the reader from the historical use and understanding of the term "discourse" to the process of the structure of discourse all the way to the application of discourse as a medium for critically reading, understanding, and analyzing the context of discourse through the the critical theories of Feminism, Colonial/Post-Colonial, and Sociolinguistic theories. This book packs a punch of formal and informal examples that helps the reader conceptualize the theoretical frameworks presented throughout the reading.
E-Book Content
DISCOURSE
The term ‘discourse’ has a wider range of possible significations than any other term in literary and cultural theory. Yet it is often the term within theoretical texts which is least defined. Discourse uses a number of literary and non-literary texts to illustrate how the term has been used. Mills discusses the ways that feminist, colonial and post-colonial discourse theorists have appropriated the term developed by Michel Foucault for use in other contexts. In this clear and helpful analysis, Sara Mills has provided a sense of the historical development of the term discourse as well as some straight-forward working definitions, as they are currently used within different disciplines. Sara Mills is a Research Professor at the School of Cultural Studies, Sheffield Hallam University. She has published on feminist linguistic and literary theory and on feminist post-colonial discourse theory.
THE NEW CRITICAL IDIOM SERIES EDITOR: JOHN DRAKAKIS, UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING
The New Critical Idiom is an invaluable series of introductory guides to today’s critical terminology. Each book: =
provides a handy, explanatory guide to the use (and abuse) of the term
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offers an original and distinctive overview by a leading literary and cultural critic
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relates the term to the larger field of cultural representation.
With a strong emphasis on clarity, lively debate and the widest possible breadth of examples, The New Critical Idiom is an indispensable approach to key topics in literary studies. =
See below for new books in this series.
Gothic by Fred Botting Historicism by Paul Hamilton Humanism by Tony Davies Ideology by David Hawkes Metre, Rhythm and Verse by Philip Hobsbaum Myth by Laurence Coupe Romanticism by Aidan Day Sexuality by Joseph Bristow Stylistics by Richard Bradford
DISCOURSE Sara Mills
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 1997 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001. © 1997 Sara Mills All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means