1st Edition

Nexus Analysis Discourse and the Emerging Internet

    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    Nexus Analysis presents an exciting theory by two of the leading names in discourse analysis and provides a practical guide to its application.

    The authors argue that discourse analysis can itself be a form of social action. If the discourse analyst is part of the nexus of practice under study, then the analysis can itself transform that nexus of practice.

    Focussing on their own involvement with and analysis of pioneering communication technologies in Alaska they identify moments of social importance in order to examine the links between social practice, culture and technology. Media are identified not only as means of expressing change but also as catalysts for change itself, with the power to transform the socio-cultural landscape.

    In this intellectually exciting yet accessible book, Ron Scollon and Suzie Wong Scollon present a working example of their theory in action and provide a personal snapshot of a key moment in the history of communication technology, as the Internet transformed Alaskan life.

    1. Discourse Analysis and Social Action  2. Cycles of Discourse 3. From the Essay to Email: New Media Technology and Social Change  4. Engaging the Nexus of Practice: Oil, the Cold War, and Social Change in Alaska in the 1980's  5. Navigating the Nexus of Practice: Mapping the Circumferences and Timescales of Human Action  6. Navigating the Nexus of Practice: Discourse Analysis and Institutional Power  7. Changing the Nexus of Practice: Technology, Social Change, and Activist Discourse Analysis  References  Appendix: A Fieldguide for Nexus Analysis

    Biography

    Ron Scollon is Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University, USA. Suzie Wong Scollon is Network Coordinator, Associated Sociocultural Research Projects, Georgetown University, USA.

    'In this intellectually exciting yet accessible book, Ron Scollon and Suzie Wong Scollon provide the reader with not only a working example of a new theory in action, but also a personal and engaging snapshot of a key moment in the history of communication technology, as Internet technology transformed Alaskan life.' - Folia Linguistica