Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Tornadoes Of Utterances: A Theoretical Approach To Studying Discourse, Power And Knowledge, Terri L. Russ

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This paper expands upon our current understanding of the nexus between discourse and power by presenting an alternative theoretical approach to studying the intertextual workings of various discourses and how they work independently and interdependently to create power. Using Bakhtin’s theories of language, the paper first shows how all discourse is heteroglot and intertextually related to other discourses. The paper then shows how this intertextuality works to increase the connection between discourse, power and knowledge as discussed by Foucault. Taking this knowledge, the tornado model of discourse and power is presented as a theoretical and methodological tool to be used …