Critical discourse studies for research on media and information literacy projects

ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an illustrated discussion of seven methodological considerations for researchers setting up a critical discourse study (CDS) of media and information literacy (MIL) projects. These considerations relate to the construction of a CDS-informed problematic (how to choose an appropriate CDS approach; how to identify relevant discourses), as well as to matters of data collection (how to select cases; how to draw boundaries around discourses) and data analysis (how to choose relevant units of analysis; why coding might be useful; how to analyze the political and ideological dimensions of discourse). This chapter illustrates the implications of decisions concerning each consideration with reference to a study of the MIL project of the European Association for Viewers Interests (EAVI). In doing so, the authors do not seek to (de)legitimize EAVI’s project but to demonstrate how CDS allows researchers to render the political and ideological dimensions of MIL discourses explicit, enabling democratic debates about the discourses that shape our world.






In the March meeting of the MediaEd Club, speakers Jan Zienkowski and Geoffroy Patriarche discuss their chapter, ‘Critical discourse studies for research on media and information literacy projects: An illustrated discussion of seven methodological considerations’. This is part of the edited volume, ‘Media Literacy and Media Education Research Methods: A Handbook’ by Pierre Fastrez and Normand Landry published by Routledge.
 

Jan Zienkowski holds a chair in Strategic Communication at the Department of Information and Communication Science of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). He has a long-standing research interest in the transdisciplinary field of discourse studies with a particular focus on matters of political subjectivity, reflexivity, and critique in society-wide debates. Jan Zienkowski is a member of ReSIC (Centre de Recherche en Information et Communication) at the ULB, and an associate researcher of Engage (Uclouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles).

Geoffroy Patriarche is Professor in Information and Communication at UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles. He serves as co-head of the master program in Communication strategy and digital culture, and as co-head of Engage - Research Center for Publicness in Contemporary Communication. His current research interests lie at the crossroads of audience studies, disinformation studies, and discourse studies.
 

About the Book Chapter: This presentation outlines a series of methodological considerations for critical discourse studies (CDS) of media and information literacy (MIL) projects. The authors exemplify the practical implications of these considerations in a case study of the MIL (Media and Information Literacy) project of the European Association for Viewers Interests (EAVI).

Link to the chapter presentation 
Link to the recording of the communication published by MediaEd Club