Special Sessions on Research Priorities & Capacity Building V: Critical Discourse Analysis as a Tool for Advancing Social Work Research Presenters: Sandra Leotti & Erin Sugrue

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is a rapidly growing, interdisciplinary field of inquiry that combines linguistic analysis and social theory to address the way power and dominance are enacted and reproduced in text. This session is designed to introduce social work researchers to the theory and practice of CDA. Presenters will utilize a mix of didactic and interactive activities in order to illustrate the ways in which CDA can be used as an essential tool for raising consciousness about our field’s most pressing social justice issues. The session will provide an overview of the central concepts and principles that are salient in CDA and offer examples of specific projects in order to highlight the flexibility of CDA in addressing a diverse range of research questions and concerns. Presenters will offer participants the opportunity to engage in exercises to obtain hands-on experience in conducting CDA. Finally, participants will be given time to ask questions and/or discuss issues related to how CDA can be used in their own research projects. A large portion of this session will involve open discussion in which participants are encouraged to brainstorm and share ideas for incorporating CDA into their scholarship. The overarching goal of this workshop is to stimulate discussion and increase awareness regarding CDA’s innovative potential for interdisciplinary and intersectional research in our field.