CfP: Mind Discourse and Society

Theme Session Mind, Discourse and Society at 42nd Poznań Linguistic Meeting

http://ifa.amu.edu.pl/plm/2011/Home

Convener: Prof. dr hab. Małgorzata Fabiszak, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań, Poland, fagosia@ifa.amu.edu.pl

This session is devoted to an interaction between the mind, discourse and society. In particular it focuses on how certain social actions are mediated by discourse (personal narratives, dynamic negotiation of self and a vision of the world in talk) and encoded in cognitive structures (frames, ICMs, metaphor, metonymy, force dynamics, image schemas). This new area of research has attracted several researchers working within the conceptual metaphor theory, discourse studies and cognitive linguistics. For example, Bernardez (2007) stresses the need to expand cognitive linguistic research beyond the solipsistic mind - container and to place it firmly in cultural interaction including the socio-historical dimension (synergic cognition). The role of metaphor in discourse has been noted already in the seminal studies by Charteris-Black (2004) and Musolff (2004), and this line of research has been steadily developing. Semino (2010) shows how to investigate the influence of text genre on metaphor in academic and educational discourses. Cameron et al. (2009) place metaphor in a discourse-dynamic perspective and show how it can be employed to express values of a particular speech community. Hart (2010) stresses the need for Cognitive Discourse Analysis to expand the discipline beyond metaphor and include Langacker's construal operations or Talmy's force dynamics in the investigation of discourse. Van Dijk (2009) advocates a socio-cognitive approach to ideology.

The major objective of the present session is investigate the role of cognitive structures in discourse, in particular with relation to the following topics:

  • memorialisation of traumatic historical events
  • the construction of victim and perpetrator in war narratives
  • negotiation of social hierarchy in the workplace
  • constructing empathy in conflict situations
  • representation of social minorities
  • gender and the workplace
  • values and their expression in discourse

The link between social action and discourse can, for example, take the form of collective identity construction through individual re-telling of the hegemonic narrative in memorialisation discourse; negotiating the course of action by competing groups in the workplace; framing of social issues as highlighting some courses of political action and hiding others (cf Nerlich et al 2002 on FMD and Nerlich 2005 stem cell research); the construction of social norms and values as prerequisite for creating social cohesion uniting individuals into groups pursuing common goals. 

The abstracts should comply with the general guidelines of the conference and be submitted via EasyChair system http://ifa.amu.edu.pl/plm/2011/Abstract_submission by 21 January 2011.

Published 20/12/2010