Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

This chapter examines the concept of intertextuality as it is used in the analysis of discourse. The exploration begins with a review of the philosophical foundations and terminology associated with the concept, and then discusses several dimensions of intertextuality that have been taken up in the work of discourse analysts, including (re)contextualization, genre, the intertextual gap, parody, reported speech/constructed dialogue, and intertextuality, discourse and power.

This article examines the discourse about race and racism that ensued in the US media after the shooting death of an African American youth, Trayvon Martin, by a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, in February 2012. The analysis examines news programs from the three major cable television channels in the United States: CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. The theoretical framework builds upon Hill’s (2008) discussion of the ‘folk theory of race and racism’ in contrast to critical race theory, and asks, to what extent does the mainstream media’s discourse about race remain embedded in folk ideas and to what extent …