Theories of Discourse

Book excerpt: This is the first critical introduction to the theories ofdiscourse advanced by Foucault, Althusser, PUcheux and Hindess andHirst. Discourse theory proposes that in our daily activities theway we speak and write is shaped by the structures of power in oursociety, and that because our society is defined by struggle andconflict our discourses reflect and create conflicts. The words,expressions and forms of knowledge in institutions (schools anduniversities, the church and the media) become political as theyare traversed and rearranged by the pressure of forces. DianeMacdonell reveals the various lines of thought in recent work ondiscourse, showing how the central conception of discourse as apolitical and social tool could diversify into several differentcritical theories and ideologies. This book is of particular interest as it calls for a reappraisalof Althusser whose work, Macdonell argues, has been wronglydebunked. This is the first overview and introduction to anotoriously complex area of critical theory, an area which is atthe heart of debates about form, meaning, ideology, literarycriticism and the humanities.