The Contributions of Critical Discourse Analysis to Social Work

Background: Social Work as a discipline seeks a diversity of research methods and methodologies to increase the scope of our understandings. Critical discourse analysis shares social work values of dignity, worth, justice, care, and autonomy and thus has a great deal to offer social work practice, research, and advocacy. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is the study of how language constructs identities in ways that advantage some and disadvantage others in terms of power, privilege, and prestige (Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2021; Fairclough, 2015) and thus affects access to resources and opportunities, such as education, income, housing, health care, and respected places in communities (Gilgun, 2010; Willey-Sthapit et al., 2020). Once the analysis is completed, researchers develop strategies for detoxifying the effects of language and for de-stigmatizing the identities of persons language has harmed. The long-term goal is creating equality of opportunities and transforming oppressive social structures, beliefs, and practices.

Purpose: The purpose of this roundtable is to demonstrate how CDA aligns with social work values, provide four CDA project examples, and encourage attendees to share their questions and experiences using CDA. We are approaching this roundtable with a critical paradigm whose purpose is to reveal how inequitable power relations cause social problems (Collins, 2019; Foucault, 1980). Research shows how discourses of the powerful wound and silence oppressed groups (Fairclough, 2016; Foucault, 1989).

Objectives: By the end of the session, attendees will gain an understanding of how discourse maintains inequitable power relations. In addition, attendees will gain knowledge of how CDA can challenge and dismantle social inequities.

Specific learning outcomes include: 1. The development of knowledge about CDA as a research method and methodology, including what it is, how to use it, and in which situations. 2. Provide exemplars of how the presenters have used CDA to address social justice issues, such as sexual harassment, campus sexual violence, healthcare, and domestic violence. 3. Identify the key components of CDA and discuss how attendees can apply them to their own research agendas.

Friere (1970/2018) warned the oppressed from becoming the oppressors, but since the discourse we have is that of oppressors, this is difficult to do. Critical discourse analysis provides a methodology for critiquing the oppressor’s discourse and creating counter discourses focused on liberation (Raelin, 2008). The first presenter examines how discourses of shame and blame silence survivors of violence and proposes strategies for social workers to use in the construction of counter discourses. The second presenter demonstrates how discourse regarding campus sexual violence has evolved over the past 40 years and asks whether this evolution addresses the root causes of sexual violence. The third presenter draws upon theories from sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology to provide ways for social work researchers to think about how conversations and written records are produced and understood in practice and in research. The fourth presenter uses a comparative CDA approach to examine the utility and limitations of international human rights instruments in addressing the economic, social, and political contexts of domestic violence in Nepal.