((apologies for cross-posting))
We’re extending the application deadline for the Prague PhD Course on Discourse Studies and Method: Using Discourse-Theoretical Analysis and Discursive-Material Analysis. Limited spots still available!
New deadline for applications: 31 July 2025
https://culcorc.fsv.cuni.cz/phd-course-on-discourse-theory/
Course coordinator and leader: Nico Carpentier
Course credits: 5 credits
Course location: Centrum Voršilská, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Dates: 03 – 07 November 2025
Contact person: Mazlum Kemal Dagdelen
Course Background and Rationale
The course aims to discuss two methods in the field of discourse studies: Discourse-theoretical analysis (DTA) and Discursive-material analysis (DMA). Both are grounded in so-called high theory, with discourse theory as its main starting point, but with elements of actor-network theory and new materialism. This course will start with an introduction to these theoretical models but will then move on to their analytical deployment in communication and media studies research.
Special attention will be spent on the creation of a theory-grounded analytical model to guide the research. Apart from attending lectures, participants will be expected to participate in both theoretical and research-driven workshops.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, successful students will be able to:
- have a deeper understanding of the field of discourse studies and, in particular, of its discourse-theoretical component;
- have a deeper understanding of the theoretical relationship between the discursive and the material;
- know how to translate discourse-theoretical models into analytical practice through the use of the notion of the sensitising concept (applied to discourse theory and to discourse-theoretical rereading of other theories);
- set up an analytical model for a discourse-theoretical analysis and a discursive-material analysis.
Teaching and Evaluation
The one-week course will be organised in 10 teaching slots, combining lectures and workshops. These workshops are partially theoretical (presenting an article or chapter) and partially research-driven (presenting an analytical model).
A certificate (with a grade “Pass”) is given after 1) attendance of a minimum of 8 meetings, 2) a working group theoretical presentation, and 3) an individual case study presentation.
Available Participant Slots and Costs
A total of 20 participant slots are available. Following the first round of applications, only a limited number of places remain.
The participation fee is 50 euros and only covers course attendance. Participants are required to pay themselves for their travel and accommodation costs, and all other expenses.
Application and Registration
To apply for this course, the following three documents have to be submitted:
- A motivation letter
- A brief description/abstract of the ongoing (PhD) research (including the current stage of the research)
- A CV (including information about your university affiliation and your contact information)
Please use the form on the websiteto submit your application. If you need assistance regarding registration, please get in touch with Mazlum Kemal Dağdelen at <mazlum.dagdelen@fsv.cuni.cz> (mazlum /dot/ dagdelen /at/ fsv /dot/ cuni /dot/ cz).
NEW DEADLINE: 31 July 2025
Applicants will be notified of results by 10 August 2025.
Accepted applicants will receive further instructions regarding registration and payment in due time.
Course Readings
Main Reading
Carpentier, Nico (2017) The Discursive-Material Knot: Cyprus in Conflict and Community Media Participation. New York: Peter Lang.
Secondary Readings
Butler, Judith (1993) Bodies that matter. On the discursive limits of ‘sex’. New York, London: Routledge.
Dolphijn, Rick, van der Tuin, Iris (2012) New materialism: Interviews and cartographies. Ann Arbor: Open humanities press.
Glynos, Jason, Howarth, David (2007) Logics of critical explanation in social and political theory. London and New York: Routledge.
Howarth, David (2000) Discourse. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.
Howarth, David (2012) “Hegemony, political subjectivity, and radical democracy”, in Simon Critchley and Oliver Marchart (eds.) Laclau: A critical reader. London: Routledge, pp. 256-276.
Howarth, David, Stavrakakis, Yannis (2000) “Introducing discourse theory and political analysis”, in David Howarth, Aletta J. Norval and Yannis Stavrakakis (eds.) Discourse theory and political analysis. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 1-23.
Laclau, Ernesto, Chantal Mouffe (1985) Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London: Verso.
Latour, Bruno (2005) Reassembling the social. An introduction to Actor-network-theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mouffe, Chantal (2005) On the Political. London: Routledge.
Philips, Louise, Jørgensen, Marianne W. (2002) Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method. London: Sage.
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (1988) “Can the subaltern speak?”, in Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg (eds.) Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, pp. 271-313.
Torfing, Jacob (1999) New Theories of Discourse: Laclau, Mouffe, and Zizek. Oxford: Blackwell
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