Introducing Jameson to critical discourse analysis

ABSTRACT

This article integrates into critical discourse analysis (CDA) concepts developed by the Marxist literary critic Fredric Jameson. These concepts include Jameson's theories of contradiction, mode of production, and social formation. By taking up Jameson's ideas, it is argued, researchers can strengthen CDA's underdeveloped theories of contradiction and historical change. Furthermore, this article shows how Jameson's theories can sharpen CDA's methods of studying texts. By taking a Jamesonian tack and viewing each text as offering ‘an imaginary resolution of a real contradiction', researchers can track how antagonisms in the social order shape and are shaped by processes of textual production. Additionally, by foregrounding contradictions and resolutions, researchers can see how texts participate in processes of historical change. To demonstrate a Jamesonian version of CDA, this article concludes with an analysis of a text that charts a course through neoliberal capitalism.

KEYWORDS:

• Discourse analysis
• critical theory
• Jameson
• contradiction
• capitalism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Ross Collin is an assistant professor of English education in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Virginia Commonwealth University, 3106a Oliver Hall, 1015 W. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284-2020, USA. His interests center on literacy, curriculum theory, and socioeconomic transformation.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Virginia Commonwealth University's Presidential Research Quest Fund.