How to Do Discourse Analysis: A Toolkit

How to do Discourse Analysis provides a comprehensive toolkit for conducting discourse analysis, offering twenty-six practical tools to examine how language is used to construct meaning, enact identities, and shape social realities. Written by renowned linguist James Paul Gee, it introduces key concepts like situated meanings, social languages, and Discourses, showing how language both reflects and creates social contexts.

This essential textbook takes readers through a step-by-step process of analyzing texts and talk, from examining grammar and vocabulary to uncovering underlying ideologies and power dynamics. It covers a wide range of discourse types, from everyday conversations to political speeches and social media posts. Gee draws on diverse examples from education, politics, media, and popular culture to illustrate the tools in action.

While grounded in linguistic theory, the book emphasizes hands-on application. Each tool is explained clearly and accompanied by sample analyses and practice exercises. This new edition incorporates recent developments in digital communication and updates examples for contemporary relevance, making it an ideal resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students working in the areas of applied linguistics, education, psychology, anthropology and communication.

James Paul Gee is a Regents Professor, Emeritus, at Arizona State University and an elected member of the National Academy of Education. He is the author of many books and papers on linguistics, literacy, discourse analysis, and learning. His books include What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Literacy and Learning (2007), Introducing Discourse: From Grammar to Society (2017), and What is a Human? (2020).