Discursive & Discourse (Week 3)

This topic is a complicated one, and has its history by the Historian Philosopher Michel Foucault. Before we dive into the basics of the discursive system and discourse we shall define them in simple terms and find meanings from it to answer some of my questions and ideas about it.

Discourse means:

(Discourse, n.d.)

(University Quick Course, n.d.) While Discursive Field can mean, “consist of competing ways of giving meaning to the world and of organizing social institutions and processes” (Dr. Weinberg, 2015). Discourse is the way we communicate ideas and the understanding of a topic through its refinement and ideologies. We can have various discourses when we talk to various individuals. But, we have a discursive field or system that overlap different subjects and topics in an irregular manner that can mean similar things but are incorrectly positioned and displaced in the conversation as a whole. For me, personally, discursive system is how we can have language barriers even while speaking the same language while it clouds our judgment because of how not only are we as humans but also how we are raised culturally and ethnically.

A fine example would be of playing football on the street versus playing it on an actual football stadium. Where rules, the environment, the ground, and structure defines that object or ball. While the idea of football remains the same when played in a different area other than the stadium we don’t inherently give it value unless that object is related to the confinement of where it is given meaning. And here we face the discourse form where we are establishing the basis of the game based on its environmental posture (University Quick Course, 2019).

The interesting thing about this topic is that we are confining to language, traditional ideologies, norms, conditions and how this can vary amongst people of different age groups, backgrounds, and gender. We are unsure how to communicate with people on serious debates because we have a different background and different ideas can mean different things to various people. But the basis of knowing and discussing a topic and its relationship with people is a very beautiful and enchanting opportunity that we humans have received from evolution. We must understand the discursive nature of a topic and use professional ideas or language to not overlap on topics but to lay them out neatly and discuss them with courage and confidence. REFERENCES: Discourse. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/discourse Dr. Weinberg, M. (2015). Discursive Fields. Retrieved from http://ethicsinthehelpingprofessions.socialwork.dal.ca/analytical-tools/discursive-fields University Quick Course. (2019, July 3rd). Michel Foucault's Conception of Discourse as Knowledge and Power [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb02e2SYdGg

APPENDIX:

Academic Educational Materials. (2016, Nov 2nd). Discursive Structure: Meaning and Examples. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuilN8rEBd8 Educational Foundations and Research, University of North Dakota. (2015, Jan 28th). What is Discourse Analysis? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUeA0PEF_g4

The School of Life. (2015, July 3rd). PHILOSOPHY - Michel Foucault [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBJTeNTZtGU