Journal 4 (second module)

In the session of today, I was introduced more deeply in the definition of CDA, I like to understand better this because I used to confuse DA with CDA which are in somehow similar but at the same time have some contrasts. Now, I know that CDA is a research method which is problem-or issue-oriented. That is, it focuses on social problems and studies the relations between discourse and society. Besides, CDA studies the social perpetuation of dominance and power abuse by texts and talks in a socio-political context. It not only focuses on the production and reproduction of power abuse or domination but studies a way of transformation so it formulates an overall perspective of solidarity with dominated groups which create strategies of counter-power and counter-ideologies of challenge and resistance. To conclude, CDA studies the relationships of dominance, discrimination, power and control as manifested in language.

Something interesting that I read today was about the approaches to study CDA which are the follows:

1. Fairclough’s Socio-Cultural Approach: It focuses in analyzing: (a) the linguistic description of the formal properties of the text; (b) the interpretation of the relationship between the discursive processes/interaction and the text, and finally, (c) the explanation of the relationship between discourse and social and cultural reality. 

2. Van Dijk’s Socio-Cognitive Approach: It concentrates on social cognition as the mediating part between text and society. 

3. Wodak’s Discourse-Historical Approach: It emphazises how discourse is connected synchronically and diachronically with other communicative events.

Glossary:

Critical Discourse Analysis: It's an interdisciplinary approach to the study of discourse that views language as a form of social practice.

Interdisciplinary procedure: It involves the combining of two or more academic disciplines into one activity.

Transformative: It means "having the power to transform.".