Discourse analysis

[Holly Ogren]

Dear Zouhair (and others on the list),

Thank you for your query, and I'm sorry to be so long in responding.
Happily, I've finished my exams now, and am back to a more normal schedule.


Greg Urban and Joel Sherzer developed a "discourse-centered approach," out
of the ethnography of speaking (or communication) begun by the work of Dell
Hymes and John Gumperz (which you seem to be familiar with).  David Samuels
(also on this list) has worked with Greg Urban, so he may be able to give a
more personalized understanding of this approach, but basically this
approach considers socially circulating discourse (language practices) as
the central means for transmitting culture, and thus discourse as a rich
site for investigating intersections between linguistic practices
(discourse) and cultural practices.

The best references I know of for this work are:

Sherzer, Joel 1974.  "A discourse -centered approach to language and
culture" American Anthropologist 89(2):295-309.

Urban, Greg 1991.  A discourse-centered approach to cultue.  Austin,
TX:University of Texas Press.

There is also a little bit about this approach in:
Keating, Elizabeth forthcoming.  "The ethnography of communication," in
Handbook of ethnography. Paul Atkinson, Amanda Coffey, Sara Delamont, Lyn
Lofland, and John Lofland, eds. Londond: Sage Publications.

I hope this is of use to you.

Holly

>Welcome to the list, Holly.
>
>If Greg Urban and Joel Sherzer are developing an approach to discourse
>analysis different from others', and as I am not familiar with their work
>(but more familiar with Hymes and Gumperz), I am, and I suppose others on
>this List will be, interested in knowing about it. I know that you are busy
>preparing for your exams as you explicitly mentioned it; therefore, please
>give us a survey of their theory and/or some of their publications when you
>are less busy.
>
>Zouhair