Knowledge or Language? Towards a ›studies of knowledge‹ approach in discourse research

Abstract

This contribution starts with a critical discussion of recent work on discourse theory and analysis in historical research by Achim Landwehr and Philipp Sarasin. It argues against both a study of language bias in discourse research, as proposed by Landwehr, and the notion of ›discourse theory as philosophical attitude‹ put forward by Sarasin. The article then outlines a research programme for discourse analysis, which can be termed the ›sociology of knowledge approach to discourse‹ (wissenssoziologische Diskursanalyse). Such an approach may also prove useful for historical discourse research too. Going beyond questions of language, the sociology of knowledge approach to discourse looks at social relations and the politics of knowledge, as well as the discursive construction of reality as a ›material‹ process. This approach to discourse integrates insights from Foucault’s theories of discourse into interpretative paradigms from the social sciences, especially the ›German‹ approach to the sociology of knowledge. Furthermore, it combines research questions focused on the concept of ›discourse‹ with methods drawn from qualitative social research. The author advocates the use of analytical concepts from the sociology of knowledge, such as interpretative frameworks, classification systems, phenomenological and narrative structures, and the use of methodological strategies from ›grounded theory‹.