A ‘History of Discourse’ as a ‘Discourse of History. History, Methods, and Applications of Communication Studies.

Abstract

The inquired subject of the book is discourse as a feature of communication. The discourse has an important role in the history in communication studies. The earliest beginnings of discourse and its theory are in Greece in the West and in Chinese literature of the East. Every culture and time has had its specific meanings of discourse and this book serves as an introduction to the different concepts about discourse comparing cultures and different epoques. Discourse as an academic field of studies is situated in many disciplines. Among them philosophy, rhetoric, and logic are the oldest ones that we can trace back to the ancient Greek culture. In the 20th century discourse studies became a branch of academic studies built upon the traditional Greek disciplines plus cognitive science, linguistics, and social sciences. It is often taught and practiced with a critical approach of the social sciences. The last part of the book is interested in the most recent developments of discourse studies concerning both the historical development of discourse and the results of these approaches. Besides the traditional roots of discourse as a historically changed and changing concept we will also look at the functional aspects of discourse and elementary elements of discourse.