CDA and Our Shared Future

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CDA and Our Shared Future

• Michael Farrelly
• University of Birmingham
• m.j.farrelly_at_bham.ac.uk

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Approach to Research

• CDA not enough
• Ideally an interdisciplinary project
• Theory of cohesion and integration
• Or of governance practices (Jessop, Sum and
  Jessop)

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Simplification

• Social, political and economic life too complex
  for real time calculation (Jessop)
• Object of governance as an imaginary
  (discursively constructed)
• Governing types of behaviour in some locations
  amongst some people?

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Governing what?
Secondly, that this report is aimed at everyone
in England, regardless of their background. We do
not underplay the importance of tensions linked
to ethnicity and faith in some areas but
tensions can arise anywhere, for example between
generations or income groups. Integration and
cohesion must therefore be about more than
tackling inequalities and discrimination. (OSF
8) Potentially radical leftist agenda???
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the state of integration and cohesion in England
The national picture is a positive one
perceptions of cohesion are good in most areas
on average 79 of people agreed that people of
different backgrounds got on well in their local
area and the level of agreement fell below 60 in
only ten out of 387 local areas (OSF 9)
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Discourse in CDA

• Structure Language
• Practice Discourse
• Event Text
• Discourse as an element of social practices which
  is in a dialectical relation with other aspects
  of that practice
• (drawing on Fairclough 2003)

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Aspects of Discourse

• Genre way of doing
• Discourses ways of representing
• Styles ways of being
• (Fairclough 2003)

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Aspects of discourse in social practices

• Genre chains relatively stable links
• Controlled - White paper press release
  ministerial statement guidance
• Less controlled but predictable (articulating
  networks of practices) news reports counter
  statements
• Uncontrolled? Unpredictable? Intertextuality
• What are the genre-chains around this document?
  What do they tell us about the structured
  inequality in attempts at governance?

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Aspects of discourse in social practices

• Inter-discursivity
• Recognisable discourses (or parts of discourses)
  appearing in different social practices or scales
• Is the discourse of community cohesion being
  taken-up by civic officials? The wealthy? The
  poor? The disaffected? In other practices is
  this ideological?

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Genre

• Purpose of the genre?
• To set the terms of policy?
• What is being done though the genre?
• Construction of we
• Construction of cohesion and integration
• Attempt at setting the terms for interpersonal
  relations which are seen as problematic?
• Access to technology?
• Clear imbalance in means of disseminating a
  message

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Style

• The authors are being
• Assertive?
• Pseudo-scientific?
• They arent being
• Antagonistic?
• Polemical?

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Discourses

• Social Actors
• Social Actions
• Social Circumstances
• Assumptions

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Social Actors

• Included we, communities, local people
• Excluded ?
• Generic/specific as above
• Despite claims that specificity is needed
• Individual/collective are there any?
• What does this say about how concrete issues are
  being addressed?
• (van Leeuwen 1995, 1996)

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Social Actions

• Objectification
• Community cohesion
• Definition
• Why we think we need a new definition p38

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Social Circumstances

• Localising macro problems?
• Local problems and solutions need against a
  background of globalisation
• Space as a generalised local?
• Time as inevitable procession of objects
  (globalisation - the new challenges of economic
  and demographic change cohesion integration)

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Assumptions

• That different groups dont/should have cohesion
• That they need a process of cohesion and a new
  definition of cohesion and integration
• That there is a current definition of community
  cohesion

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Example
Chapter summary In this chapter, we argue that
based on the evidence of increasing local
complexity outlined above, and on the feedback
from consultation respondents and practitioners
about the current definition of community
cohesion, we need to set out a new understanding
of integration and cohesion one that responds
to local complexity, and that reinforces a sense
of common purpose across communities. (OSF 37)
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Example 2
3.2 Integration and cohesion are sometimes seen
as meaning the same thing. We do not agree. Both
are processes and both share much in common, but
cohesion is principally the process that must
happen in all communities to ensure different
groups of people get on well together while
integration is principally the process that
ensures new residents and existing residents
adapt to one another. (OSF 38)
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Example 3
3.8 The need for the definition to be clear is
important. We did not rush into redefining
recognising that there is momentum behind the
existing definition, and that local areas have
taken it forward in some enterprising and
creative ways. We also wanted to avoid the
navel-gazing of definitions in favour of a focus
on what was working in those local areas. (OSF
39)
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Example 4
3.11 We also see this national framework as being
an evolving one we would hope that as local
people take it, and develop what it means for
their own local actions plans, those changes will
in turn be reflected in the national policy
agenda. (OSF 40)
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Questions

• Neo-communitarianism as an adequate strategic
  response to neo-liberal macro policies and
  capital?
• Is this an attempt at governing the poor and
  disaffected, or being seen to be doing so?

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References
FAIRCLOUGH, N. (2003) Analysing Discourse
Textual Analysis for Social Research, London and
New York, Routledge. JESSOP, B. (2004) Critical
semiotic analysis and cultural political economy.
Critical Discourse Studies, 1, 159-174. JESSOP,
B. SUM, N.-L. (2001) Pre-disciplinary and
post-disciplinary perspectives in political
economy. New Political Economy, 6. VAN LEEUWEN,
T. (1993) Genre and Field in Critical Discourse
Analysis a synopsis. Discourse and Society, 4,
193-225. VAN LEEUWEN, T. (1995) Representing
Social Action. Discourse and Society, 6,
81-106. VAN LEEUWEN, T. (1996) The Representation
of Social Actors. IN CALDAS-COULTHARD, C. R.
COULTHARD, M. (Eds.) Texts and Practices
Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis. London
and New York, Routledge.