2.2: Discourse - Classroom Activity
- Page ID
- 383168
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Reading Culture | Classroom Activity | 'Discourse Frenzy: Here, There, Everywhere'
How To Use This Material [Instructor Note]
- The following is a small group activity wherein students will be invited to explore how a particular discourse comes to define those subject to it, with a particular focus on the power of media representation
- Each group should have access to some sort of internet-based device to explore their chosen topic and find the necessary examples
- This activity is meant to follow a reading of J. F. Lindsay’s “Foucault 101: A (Very Brief) Introduction to Discourse,” but can be completed without it
- You are welcome to make a copy of this material and edit it as you wish; please be sure to follow the CC license rules and provide the appropriate credit when doing so
Activity Introduction & Description
- The goal for this activity is to strengthen our understanding of the following concepts:
- Discourse: the systems of knowledge, language, and practices that define and regulate what can be said or known about a subject
- Subjectivity: how individuals are shaped by and internalize these discourses, becoming “subjects” of them
- Dominant Discourses: normative societal frameworks that define concepts like gender, sexuality, race, etc. (e.g., heterosexuality, masculinity, femininity, etc.)
- In groups of 3-4, you will be responsible for examining how your chosen discourse comes to ‘speak’ to us (and of us); the ways in which the discourse produces us as subjects with particular conceptualizations, understandings, and ways of being in the world
Instructions
- Decide on a Topic: in your groups, choose a dominant discourse to analyze (it’s okay if multiple groups choose the same). Some options discussed in the materials for homework include privacy, mental illness, race, education, health, success, class, heterosexuality, masculinity/femininity, and criminality, but you are welcome to step outside these topics if you’d like
- Group Research/Analysis: as mentioned above, your goal is to identify particular locations where your chosen discourse produces us as subjects. You should be sure to have at least 2-3 examples, but you are welcome to generate more. As you work, you should be sure to keep in mind both processes of institutionalization and enactment.
- Institutionalization: how was knowledge produced? Who produced it? Who ‘set the terms’ of the discourse, and with what/from what authority did they do so? (for example: the labeling of women as ‘hysterical’ through medical discourse, the creation of the homosexual deviant through psychiatric discourse, the formation of the criminal through legal discourse)
- It may be difficult to find exact, direct examples of this, but you should at least talk about the institutionalization process
- Enactment: how does the discourse ‘enter our world’? How are we exposed to the knowledge, beliefs, and language of the discourse? How do we come to adopt the discursive regime? (for example: The Sandlot’s “you play ball like a girl” creating a hierarchy of physical ability, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” endorsing rape culture, “that’s so gay” connoting the inherent negativity of queerness)
- There are a variety of locations you can look towards to find examples: popular culture, literature, family, politics/politicians
- You are welcome to source a ‘resistant’ example, too—an example that challenges the dominant discursive landscape
- Final Result: in the end, each group should have 2-3 explicit examples of how their chosen discourse ‘speaks’ to us and of us and be ready to share their thoughts and analysis with the class
- Institutionalization: how was knowledge produced? Who produced it? Who ‘set the terms’ of the discourse, and with what/from what authority did they do so? (for example: the labeling of women as ‘hysterical’ through medical discourse, the creation of the homosexual deviant through psychiatric discourse, the formation of the criminal through legal discourse)
- Group Presentations: each group will present their findings in 5-minute presentations, addressing:
- A brief summary of the discourse they analyzed
- The 2-3 examples they found and a brief analysis of each
- How these examples illustrate how people are shaped by this discourse and how individuals might internalize these norms (or resist them!)
Class Discussion/Reflection
- How do these discourses influence personal identity? How might they limit or empower us?
- What are the consequences of accepting or rejecting these dominant discourses in our society?
- Can you identify moments in your own life where you’ve been shaped or constrained by these discourses? Are there moments of resistance?
- How can we create counter-discourses that challenge these dominant narratives?
- How do we ‘see’ discourse, when it’s not just something we observe, but something we actively participate in and internalize