In this discussion, you will apply the principles of critical discourse analysis (CDA) to a famous political speech. Your goal is to consider the ways in which discourse can present or further an ideology.

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read Chapter 2: Discourse and the World in your textbook Discourse Analysis, read the article Why Do News Values Matter? Towards a New Methodological Framework for Analysing News Discourse in Critical Discourse Analysis and Beyond, and watch the videos Language of Politics—Noam Chomsky
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and Professor Lakoff, Metaphors We Live By
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. In this discussion, you will apply the principles of critical discourse analysis (CDA) to a famous political speech. Your goal is to consider the ways in which discourse can present or further an ideology.
Choose one of the following speech transcripts:
Full Transcript: Hillary Clinton’s Economic Speech
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Hillary Rodham Clinton: Remarks to the U.N. 4th World Conference on Women Plenary Session
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F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address: Historic Speeches: Inaugural Address
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Freedom From Fear Speech: By Aung Sang Suu Kyi, 1990
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Obama Inaugural Address: 20th January 2009
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Ronald Reagan: Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger Address to the Nation, January 28, 1986
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Ronald Reagan: “Tear Down This Wall”
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Full Text: Trump’s 2018 UN Speech Transcript
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The Full Text: Malala Yousafzai Delivers Defiant Riposte to Taliban Militants With Speech to the UN General Assembly
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In your initial posting:
Paraphrase briefly the contents of the speech. What is it about? What are its contexts (i.e., what is the physical and temporal location, and what is the physical and temporal world outside of the text to which it refers)?
Explain any worldview(s) expressed in the speech. Does the speech come out of a specific cultural paradigm? How are worldview and culture revealed through theme and language use? Remember to refer to specific words, phrases, and sentences.
Identify any cognitive metaphors that assist the speaker in arguing the point and expressing a worldview. Consider the ways of speaking or verbal art used to convey a specific meaning or ideological perspective (i.e., grammar, repeated words, parallelism, structure and style, strategic language use).
Describe choices the speaker has made about the representation of actions, actors, and events; evaluation; representation of knowledge status; naming and wording; and incorporation or representing other voices.
Identify any silences in the discourse. What is missing from the discourse, and what do any absences reveal about the speaker’s meaning or ideological focus?
Assess, in summary, the ways in which discourse and ideology are intertwined. Does the discourse convincingly advocate for social justice or social change?
Your initial post is due by Day 3 and must be at least 500 words in length.

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