How to Do Critical Discourse Analysis
A Multimodal Introduction
- David Machin - Cardiff University, UK
- Andrea Mayr - Zayed University, UAE
Language and communication shapes and is shaped by the society we live in. Using a multimodal approach –graphic, vocal, written – the book guides students to an understanding of how language, power and ideology are negotiated in visual communication and media texts, from magazine and advertising, to YouTube and music videos.
It draws on discourse analysis, appraisal theory, stylistics and conversation analysis to present a systematic toolkit for doing language and image analysis. Using case studies and examples from a range of traditional and new media content, the book equips students with the necessary tools to analyze and understand the relationship between language, discourse and social practices.
Timely and relevant, How to do Critical Discourse Analysis is a unique and compelling textbook for students in media, communication, linguistics and journalism.
How great to have this practical introduction to doing critical discourse analysis, especially one that provides examples of multimodal discourse analysis. Extremely useful for students in media and cultural studies who need tools for the study of text, talk and images.
The authors have truly achieved the impossible: to make extremely complex phenomena accessible for students and scholars alike. Thus, this textbook will provide a most helpful guide when looking for adequate ways to grasp and analyze the intricate interdependence of written, oral and visual forms of semiosis.
David Machin and Andrea Mayr have written a well informed book combining critical discourse and visual analysis. They present, in a very accessible way, a range of semiotic tools introducing readers to both theory and practice. Highly useful to students of communication studies in general.
Media and cultural studies scholars have needed this book for some time - a critical and comprehensive introduction to the themes and tools of multimodal critical discourse analysis and, importantly, a clear framework for applying them in analysis. The book both summarises and develops a critical approach to analysing visual and linguistic communication, and should be mandatory reading for every student and scholar interested in examining how text and talk function.
This book is a must for any student or scholar who is interested in ‘doing’ critical discourse analysis. At present, it is not easy to find a book like this one which is dedicated to providing a practical introduction to the analytic tools used by CDA practitioners...I am impressed by the fact that the authors explain extremely complicated phenomena in such an accessible way, which shows their excellent understanding of the subject in question.
This excellent book demonstrates a wide range of meanings that can be conveyed by language in a manner that is accessible to students.
Very interesting practical introduction to CDA. Easy way to engage with basic concepts and a very useful roadmap to a hands on approach.Relevant and valid textbook
Good concise guide with clear use of language throughout
Authored by two of the most outstanding scholars in the field of Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies, this excellent book constitutes a perfect blend between the theory and the practice. Strong points: a clear style; case studies; an extended bibliography; and a useful glossary.Weak points: the analysis remains too linguistic and more could have been done for analysing visual elelments; more examples and more pictures would have been desirable.
I've adopted this as a key textbook for my undergraduate course. It's a very accessible introduction to CDA and the fact that it incorporates visual semiosis makes it particularly appealing to undergraduates