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Nicolina Montesano Montessori

Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Research Centre Business and Media, Associate Professor +1Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Research Centre Business and Media, Associate ProfessorUtrecht University of Applied Sciences, Research Centre for Learning and Innovation, Associate Professor

I am an associate professor and Privacy Officer for the research center for learning and innovation (HU). I completed my PhD research in 2008 (Lancaster University, UK). I now supervise PhD theses and am a frequent external examiner for PhD examinations in the Netherlands and abroad. Research include discursive analysis of complexity in education, social movements, discursive and qualitative research methodology, social entrepreneurship, social justice in the classroom, 15M/Indignados and Podemos in Spain. Recently I am working on the UN discourse on sustainable development goals.
Supervisors: Norman Fairclough and Ruth Wodak

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568 Followers 297 Following 23 Co-authors Total Views446 Public Mentions

Books

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis Advances in Critical Policy Studies series

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori, Michael Farrelly, Kristof Savski, and Mikko Poutanen

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis, 2019

This book provides a series of contemporary and international policy case studies analysed throug... more This book provides a series of contemporary and international policy case studies analysed through discursive methodological approaches in the traditions of critical discourse analysis, social semiotics and discourse theory. This is the first volume that connects this discursive methodology systematically to the field of critical policy analysis and will therefore be an essential book for researchers who wish to include a discursive analysis in their critical policy research.

See
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/critical-policy-discourse-analysis
for further details and recommendations

Imagining the Peoples of Europe: populist discourses across the political spectrum (edited volume)

by Jan Zienkowski, Ruth Breeze, Federico Giulio Sicurella, Arthur Borriello, Nicolina Montesano Montessori, Esperanza Morales-López, Óscar García Agustín, and Andreas J Önnerfors

Imagining the peoples of Europe: populist discourses across the political spectrum, 2019

The political landscape in Europe is currently going through a phase of rapid change. New actors ... more The political landscape in Europe is currently going through a phase of rapid change. New actors and movements that claim to represent 'the will of the people' are attracting considerable public attention, with dramatic consequences for election outcomes. This volume explores the new political order with a particular focus on discursive constructions of 'the people' and the category of populism across the spectrum. It shows how a unitary representation of 'the people' is a central element in a vast range of very diverse political discourses today, acting to anchor identities and project antagonisms in a multitude of settings. The chapters in this book explore commonality and contrast in representations of 'the people' in both radical and mainstream political movements, looking in depth at recent political discourses in the European sphere. The authors draw on approaches ranging from Essex-style discourse theory over critical discourse studies, corpus analysis and linguistic prag-matics, to investigate how historically situated categories such as the people and populism become fixed through local linguistic, textual and narrative practices as well as through wider ideological and discursive patterns.

Leyendo el tejido social completo circular

A discursive analysis of a struggle for hegemony in Mexico

Abstract: The Zapatista rebellion which broke out on January 1, 1994, on the very day that the N... more Abstract:
The Zapatista rebellion which broke out on January 1, 1994, on the very day that the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented, can be considered a local response to the global policy shift of the Mexican government under President Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994). This thesis includes a detailed discursive analysis of the annual speeches of the president, and the annual declarations of the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional). One of the basic assumptions of the thesis is that these political narratives played a strategic role in a struggle to gain hegemonic acceptance amongst the Mexican populace for the respective national projects which each side envisioned.
The initial chapters present a description of the socio-historical context in Mexico and of the EZLN as a social movement. Chapters III and IV describe the theoretical-methodological framework of the thesis, which integrates a Gramscian approach to hegemony with discourse theory and two main directions in critical discourse analysis (CDA): discourse and social change and the discourse-historical approach. Categories of discourse theory have been connected to categories in CDA, thus creating a framework which allows for the analysis of data in the light of a hegemonic struggle. The analysis helps to clarify concepts in discourse theory, especially ‘empty signifiers’, ‘nodal points’, ‘myth’ and ‘imaginary’. The integration of discourse theory and CDA makes possible an analysis of the discourse of the Mexican government and the EZLN in terms of processes of rearticulation. Thus, Salinas de Gortari rearticulates the national future of Mexico in terms of civic nationalism and liberal democracy; and the EZLN in terms of ethnic nationalism and a radical democracy. The final chapters discuss the stakes in this conflict and consider it in terms of the struggle, on the part of the EZLN, for the right to be different. In abstract terms, this involves an increased tension between the universal and particular – both relevant issues in a contemporary world which is characterized by multiple groups struggling to affirm their identity.

Complexity in Education From Horror to Passion

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and Cok Bakker

This volume, the result of four years of work performed by the combined research groups of Utrech... more This volume, the result of four years of work performed by the combined research groups of Utrecht University (Faculty of Humanities) and the HU Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (Faculty of Education), focuses on the central theme of ‘Normative Professionalization’.
Drawing on a wide variety of scholars including Hannah Arendt, Gert Biesta, Harry Kunneman, Donald Schön and Chris Argyris, and engaging with professionalism, ethics, virtue and morality, this book builds the argument that learning to deal with complexity supports not only education but the personal development of teachers and the improvement of society and democracy as well. This volume presents research on a broad range of topics such as worldview education, co-teaching, moral authorship, traditional-reform perspectives on education, the discourse on citizenship, teacher education, and the question how to link religion and education. The research chapters explain the theoretical lenses and methodological approaches which have been employed to get a grip on complexity. The results have been interpreted in light of the concepts of horror complexitatis, amor complexitatis and dolor complexitatis. Guided by detailed research accounts of worldview descriptions provided by students and teachers, this framework has been enriched with the notion of a passio complexitatis. In the concluding chapters, the book advocates for an improved balance between the normative and instrumental professionalization of teachers, in order to create space for the improvement of pedagogical relations and processes and to reintroduce the moral dimensions of education. The claim throughout this book is that allowing for complexity in education – even going so far as to embrace it – is vital for the improvement of education, and a prerequisite for more authentic relationships (on the micro level) and the maintenance of a well-functioning democracy and a balanced society (on the macro level). This book is of interest to researchers and educators who are interested in normative professionalization, to qualitative and practice oriented researchers, to teachers and managers in primary, secondary and professional education, and to the wider public which is concerned with the significance of education for the development of a stable and sustainable society.

Opening Up Spaces for Meaningful Engagement in Educational Praxis

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and George Lengkeek

Opening up spaces for meaningful engagement in educational praxis , 2020

How to open up spaces to make education more meaningful? The concept of space can involve educati... more How to open up spaces to make education more meaningful? The concept of space can involve educational interactions, relationships, contents and other relevant aspects relating to this purpose. The book presents three perspectives to engage in opening up spaces. It empowers pupils, students, and teachers to develop as unique individuals, better relate to the communities and cultural traditions to which they belon, and to develop new visions, understandings, and ways of living.

Bewegen in complexiteit. Voorbeelden voor onderwijs, onderzoek en praktijk.

by Daan Andriessen, Nicolina Montesano Montessori, and Mariecke Schipper

Bewegen in complexiteit, 2019

Het is ongelooflijk hoe de samenleving de afgelopen 20 jaar is veranderd. De maatschappelijke uit... more Het is ongelooflijk hoe de samenleving de afgelopen 20 jaar is veranderd. De maatschappelijke
uitdagingen in de zorg en het onderwijs, rondom duurzaamheid en veiligheid, in
de stedelijke omgeving en op het platteland zijn enorm en ingewikkeld geworden. De
maatschappij verandert dusdanig dat traditionele modellen en werkwijzen niet meer
afdoende blijken te werken. Het hoger beroepsonderwijs speelt een belangrijke rol in het
aangaan van deze uitdagingen; door het opleiden van hbo-professionals die in staat zijn
om te handelen in moeilijke situaties en door het uitvoeren van praktijkgericht onderzoek
dat daadwerkelijk een bijdrage levert aan het oplossen van maatschappelijke problemen.
De maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen vereisen ander onderwijs, ander onderzoek en bijgevolg
ook een andere manier van organiseren binnen Hogeschool Utrecht. Een centraal
begrip dat sturend is in dit ‘anders’ is ‘complexiteit’. Het thema ‘complexiteit in beroepsuitoefening’
leeft op de hogeschool en is maatschappelijk van groot belang vanwege de
snelle veranderingen en het toenemende besef dat we in een systeem leven en werken
dat verknoopt is met andere systemen die in hun werking onvoorspelbaar zijn. De afgelopen
twee jaar is gebleken dat veel docenten, onderzoekers en managers bezig zijn met
vragen als: Hoe passen beroepsopleidingen zich hierop aan? Wat kan onderzoek bijdragen
aan de omgang met complexiteit? Wat betekent complexiteit voor ons eigen functioneren,
onze omgang met anderen en onze dagelijkse routines?
Antwoorden en reflecties op deze en andere vragen leest u in dit boek. Een boek over
complexiteit in beroepsuitoefening ván medewerkers van de HU vóór collega’s op de HU,
voor collega’s van andere hogescholen en voor collega’s uit het beroepenveld. Bijdragen
zijn afkomstig van een breed scala aan lectoraten en opleidingen, namelijk: Methodologie
van Praktijkgericht Onderzoek, Normatieve Professionalisering, Co-Design, Innovatieve
Maatschappelijke Dienstverlening, de lerarenopleiding Instituut Archimedes, StudentsInc,
het Instituut voor Ecologische Pedagogiek, Instituut voor Communicatie, Institute for
Engineering & Design met de opleiding Technische Bedrijfskunde, Instituut voor
Gebouwde Omgeving met de opleiding Built Environment. Iedere bijdrage verhaalt op
eigen wijze een doorleefde ervaring met vormen van complexiteit en beschrijft op welke
wijze complexiteitstheorieën hebben geïnspireerd, hoe nieuwe werkwijzen zijn ontwikkeld,
nieuwe mechanismen zijn ingezet en andere houdingen zijn aangenomen om met complexe
situaties om te gaan of anderen daarbij te ondersteunen. We beschrijven in deze
inleiding hoe deze bundel tot stand is gekomen en we schetsen een beeld van de aard en
de opbouw van de bundel.

Kritische discoursanalyse: De macht en kracht van taal en tekst.

"This book provides an introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), a transdisciplinary app... more "This book provides an introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), a transdisciplinary approach which was developed in the 1990’s, following the pathbreaking work of Foucault. CDA is the analysis of the dialectical relationships between discourse and other elements of social practices, such as power, values, and beliefs, institutional and material practices. It analyses the relation between language and power in society at large and social units such as organisations and the family. While CDA is well introduced in the social sciences, this transdisciplinary approach which integrates the social sciences with linguistics is relatively new in the Netherlands. Introductory texts to CDA are rare and often too specialised. For this reason, we present this general introduction in Dutch.
The book consists of three parts. Part I introduces CDA as a discipline. Chapter 1 discusses the three main concepts: discourse, analysis and the critical orientation. Chapter 2 discusses the functions of texts and narratives. Chapter 3 explains the ontological, epistemological and methodological characteristics of CDA, while Chapter 4 presents the main original directions in CDA: the socio-cognitive, the discourse-historical and the dialectical-relational approach. Part II contains two chapters. Chapter 5 discusses the concepts of ideology, identity and power in relation to discourse and CDA. Chapter 6 presents various views on hegemony. This part concludes with the potential of a CDA approach to research for practice oriented researchers. Part III includes 5 chapters dealing with the research cycle of CDA. It uses a discursive analysis of political discourse in Mexico as an example. The study consists of a comparative analysis of the discourse of the Zapatista Movement and former President Salinas de Gortari of Mexico in the period 1988-1998. Chapter 7 explains the formation of a scientific object which will form the basis for research and which has to be constructed for any research in a CDA tradition. A scientific object contains a selection of theory, methodology, definition of concepts and the data to be analysed, as well as a justification of the choices made and criteria for successful research. Chapter 8 presents the theoretical framework for the research on political discourse in Mexico. It consists of the theories of Gramsci (1971) and Laclau & Mouffe (1985) on hegemony. Chapter 9 discusses the methodological framework and presents the first analytical stage: the content analysis. Chapter 10 focuses on the second analytical stage, which implies the analysis of discursive and argumentative strategies. Chapter 11 presents an analysis of the linguistic features of both discourses of the Zapatista movement and Salinas de Gortari. It demonstrates how both discourses functioned at different levels of abstraction. Chapter 12 presents an evaluation of the research in agreement with the criteria formulated in Chapter 7."

Praktijkgericht onderzoek voor reflectieve professionals

This book is written in the context of the relative new emphasis on research within Universities... more This book is written in the context of the relative new emphasis on research within
Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Previously, participating in and
carrying out research was confined to the traditional universities, whereas Universities
of Applied Sciences focused on teaching and training of highly skilled professionals.
During the last decade the situation changed. Professions were becoming more complex
and professionals engaged with new and challenging practices in complex settings. They
needed to prepare for developing new relationships with students and clients and to
continuously improve their professional performance. Since 2001 the Dutch government
stimulated the development of research centres within the Universities of Applied
Sciences. The aim was to integrate the academic curricula with practice-orientated
research and the continuing professional development of teachers and other practitioners
working in the field. A research centre at a University of Applied Sciences typically
involves lecturers, students, practitioners and professional researchers. The kind of research
performed in these research centres tends to be practice-orientated, based on
professional practice and the dilemmas practitioners encounter in their field of work.
This book focuses on practice-orientated research. It emphasises that research is both
a systematic and a creative activity. For this reason, the book does not contain a blueprint
as to how to perform practice-orientated research. Rather, it helps the reader to
understand what the main characteristics of this specific kind of research is, how a research
design can be developed, how the researcher can define his research position
and, based on that position, can take necessary and relevant decisions which will lead to
a rigorous research design and actually carrying out a relevant research project. Chapter
1 describes three main paradigms: the positivist, the interpretative and the critical
emancipatory paradigm, each with its cons and pros. Chapter 2 relates practice orientated
research to these paradigms and introduces McClelland’s metaphor of the iceberg
(Spencer & Spencer, 1993) which helps to take into account the underlying realm of
values, beliefs and attitudes in research projects. Chapter 3 describes the three stages
of practice-orientated research and the skills required by the researcher in each of these
stages. It presents an example of an emergent research design. Chapter 4 explains how
to perform a literature study during the different stages of the research and the specific
functions of the literature study which varies throughout the research process. Chapter
5 presents a series of research strategies such as action research, comparative research,
case studies, documentary research design science research and surveys. Chapter 6 discusses
methods of data collection, including interviews, questionnaires, narrative interviews
and observations. Chapter 7 focuses on qualitative data analysis, while Chapter 8
presents an introduction to quantitative data analysis.

Articles in journals

Towards webs of equivalence and the political nomad in agonistic debate Contributions from CDA and scales theory

Journal of Language and Politics, 2021

Discourse theorists often defend their discursive stance on ‘reality’ and the material with refer... more Discourse theorists often defend their discursive stance on ‘reality’ and the material with reference to Laclau and Mouffe’s quote that, while an “earthquake or the falling of a brick…exist externally to thought,” they cannot “constitute themselves as objects outside any discursive conditions of emergence”.

While fully endorsing this statement, we argue that it does not licence discourse theorists to consider discursive formations divorced from their material context, but obliges us to account for the constraints and affordances of the material conditions on the structuring of the discursive field itself. Drawing on previous work, we argue that material conditions may render discourse systems incommensurate, such that they cannot be articulated through chains of equivalence within a radically restructured field. We suggest as a way forward the concept of the nomadic politician continually traversing between equivalential systems in order to reconfigure and renegotiate key signifiers within the materially-constrained discursive fields of each.

El Movimiento Zapatista: una cultura politica hibrida y paradojica

Kamchatka, 2018

ABSTRACT: This article reveals the hybrid character of the Zapatista movement (Zapatista Army of ... more ABSTRACT: This article reveals the hybrid character of the Zapatista movement (Zapatista Army of National Liberation, EZLN). It was announced on January 1, 1994 in protest against the free trade agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, Canada and the US and entered into force that very same day. The movement launched an armed struggle against the government, under the slogan “Never again a Mexico without us”. In the “Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle”, the movement declared a war on the Mexican federal army. The movement did everything possible to avoid an easy classification so that all univocal interpretations such as a new social movement, or a neo-indigenous movement or pan maya or a traditional guerrilla turned out to be, rather, equivocal. This article will review these interpretations and bring forward the hybridity of this movement. If hybridity was part of a conscious and attempted policy, this article will also point to a series of unintended paradoxes that came to light as a result of a careful analysis of the Zapatista discourse. Its final reflections point to the importance of this movement for the world at large and provide a suggestion for future research.

A theoretical and methodological approach to social entrepreneurship as world-making and emancipation: social change as a projection in space and time

This article presents and analyses three cases, which integrate features of both social movements... more This article presents and analyses three cases, which integrate features of both social movements and social entrepreneurship (SE). It is the result of a longitudinal study (January 2012 to September 2015). The study contributes new insights to the theoretical and methodological discussions on SE, focusing on ‘the social’ in SE literature. The three selected movements, active in the Netherlands, are: ‘The Dutch Chapter of Zeitgeist’ henceforth Zeitgeist (TZM), (2010–present), ‘Giving is All we Have’ (henceforth GIAWH, (2011–2014) and ‘MasterPeace’ (MP) (2010–present). Each movement shows a strong inclination towards social transformation, while being rooted in organizational structures, therefore considered ‘social entrepreneurial movements’. Specific contributions entail: the presentation of these innovative cases, the design of a methodology based on critical discourse analysis, state theory, narrative analysis, political theory and discourse theory and a thorough analysis and interpretation of these cases in the national and global contexts in which they emerged. More specifically, it contributes to SE literature on emancipation, defined as ‘breaking free’ when further developing the method in the direction of world-making, defined as ‘creating new worlds’. This study suggests that transition theory can be useful for the study of the impact of social entrepreneurial movements.

International Developments on Inclusive Education and the Presentation of a Participative and Reflective Approach to Research

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and Hans Schuman

Civitas Educationis. Education, Politics and Culture, anno III, no1, 2015

Abstract: The purpose of this contribution is twofold. On the one hand we present an overview of ... more Abstract: The purpose of this contribution is twofold. On the one hand we present an overview of recent international developments on inclusive education since the Salamanca Declaration (UNESCO, 1994). We also present the more general challenges and dilemmas this new approach generated, along with a series of promising approaches that have been developed internationally. We will argue – in agreement with many others – that inclusive education requires taking distance from a (dominant) medical-deficit approach in favour of a citizenship approach, which is connected to the Human Rights discussion. Finally, we will argue that the foregoing also suggests an alternative approach towards research in education: a more participative and reflective approach. We then present some examples of research developed and applied by the two authors in which people with disabilities and the professionals working with them were not considered ‘objects of research’, but were research partners throughout the process. The main working principles of this approach will be described and we will discuss some salient results of it.
Keywords: Social model of disability, the voice of the learner, self-determination and choice, inter-professional collaboration, people first language.

Researching classroom communications and relations in the light of social justice

This articles discusses participative action research performed by a network consisting of resear... more This articles discusses participative action research performed by a network consisting of researchers and student teachers of a University of Applied Sciences and teachers and pupils of four primary schools in the Netherlands. These schools focused on inclusive education in order to allow children with special educational needs (SEN) to participate in mainstream schools. The central idea of the research project was to integrate the insiders’ perspective of the teachers with the outsiders’ perspective of the university researchers. Therefore, the research project combined process and content goals. The research lasted from September 2008 to June 2010. It consisted of five different stages: orientation, general and specific exploration, reconstruction and overall analysis. This article describes the goals and results of each of these stages. The article concludes with a final discussion on the main findings. An important result included a nuanced view of teacher on their power position in the class room. Teachers facilitated children to increase their own responsibility for their behaviour and their interaction with their class mates and the teacher. This seemed to provide a basis for a more organic order in the classroom, which was less dependent on the interventions of the teacher.

Multimodal narrative as an instrument for social change: reinventing democracy in Spain—the case of 15 M

by Esperanza Morales-López and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

This article provides a description of the emergence of the Spanish ‘Occupy’ movement, democracia... more This article provides a description of the emergence of the Spanish ‘Occupy’ movement, democracia real ya. The aim is to analyse the innovative discursive features of this movement and to connect this analysis to what we consider the innovative potential of the critical sciences. The movement is the result of a spontaneous uprising that appeared on the main squares of Madrid and Barcelona on 15 May 2011 and then spread to other Spanish cities. This date gave it its name: 15M. While the struggle for democracy in Spain is certainly not new, the 15M group shows a series of innovative features. These include the emphasis on peaceful struggle and the imaginary of a new democracy or worldview, transmitted through innovative placards and slogans designed by Spanish citizens. We consider these innovative not only due to their creativity, but also because of their use as a form of civil action. Our argument is that these placards both functioned as a sign of protest and, in combination with the demonstrations and the general dynamics of 15M, helped to reframe the population's understanding of the crisis and rearticulate the identity of the citizens from victims to agents. In order to analyse the multimodal character of this struggle, we developed an interdisciplinary methodology, which combines socio-cognitive approaches that consider ideological proposals as socio-cognitive constructs (i.e. the notion of narrative or cognitive frame), and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in the analysis of discourses related to processes of social imagination and transformation. The socio-constructivist perspective is used to consider these discourses in relation to their actors, particular contexts and actions. The use of CDA, which included a careful rhetoric analysis, helped to analyse the process of deconstruction, transformation and reconstruction that 15M uses to maintain its struggle. The narrative analysis and the discursive theoretical concept of articulation helped to methodologically show aspects of the process of change alluded to above. This change was both in terms of cognition and in the modification of identity that turned a large part of the Spanish population from victims to indignados and to the neologism indignadanos, which is a composition of indignado and ciudadano (citizen).
Key words: multimodal narratives, cognitive frame, discourses of social change, social movements’ discourses, Critical Discourse Analysis, emotions, socio-cognitive approaches, constructionism

Un análisis discursivo comparativo entre las Narrativas del EZLN y las de Salinas de Gortari

The design of a theoretical, methodological, analytical framework to analyse hegemony in discourse

Critical Discourse Studies, Jan 1, 2011

This paper includes a detailed discursive analysis of the discourse of former President Salinas d... more This paper includes a detailed discursive analysis of the discourse of former President Salinas de Gortari (Mexico, 1988-1994) and that of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN). This study contextualises the EZLN struggle as a local response to the global policy shift of the Mexican government. It considered the discourses of both parties as narratives which played a strategic role in a struggle to gain hegemonic acceptance in Mexico. This paper focuses on the theoretical-methodological framework which integrates a Gramscian view on hegemony with discourse theory (DT) and two main directions in critical discourse analysis (CDA). It demonstrates that this approach opened a series of new perspectives and helped to evaluate existing interpretations as well as to define the main stakes in the struggle. While Salinas sought to establish republican nationalism and a liberal democracy, the EZLN struggle is for ethnic nationalism and a radical democracy.
Keywords: hegemony, narrative, orders of discourse, myth, imaginary, nodal points, empty signifiers.

Contrastive analysis of the preferred and unpreferred readings in political discourse in Mexico

Oralia, Jan 1, 2009

This article analyses two sets of directly related discourses: The Inaugural Speech of President ... more This article analyses two sets of directly related discourses: The Inaugural Speech of President Zedillo (December 1, 1994) (Z1) and the response to the inaugural speech from the EZLN (December 3, 1994) (EZ1); and, secondly, the announcement of military intervention in Chiapas (Text pronounced by President Zedillo and broadcasted on the radio on February 5, 1995) (Z2) and the response to this announcement by the EZLN (February 9, 1995) (EZ2). Due to the direct response by the EZLN, these texts provide a special opportunity to analyze procedures of intertextuality and to study the reception of a particular text. This article presents a description of the socio-political context; it defines a theoretical-methodological framework which allows the analysis of preferred and unpreferred readings of a text and the discursive and rhetoric strategies employed to construct these readings, as well as the connection of these readings to the ideological positions of the social agents.

KEYWORDS: globalization, political discourse, subject position, preferred versus unpreferred readings of a text, recontextualisation.

Chapters in books

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis

In: Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 2023

This chapter presents Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (CPDA) which merges critical discourse a... more This chapter presents Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (CPDA) which merges critical discourse analysis (CDA) with critical policy studies (CPS). CPDA engages with a discursive analysis of a policy problem, generally drawing on critical discourse analysis for its methodology, in this case Text Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA). The research addresses the problem of complexity reduction in the process of policy-making and illustrates this with an analysis of the UN Agenda “Transforming the World, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which introduces the sustainable development goals (SDGs). It presents the reader with a detailed example of how to perform a TODA research. It indeed reveals mechanisms of policy reduction such as decontextualization, singularization, a limited spatio-temporal frame reduced to the timespan of the UN. It discusses the potential consequences of this for the effectivity of the SDGs and presents alternative theories and voices that do capture the complexity of real life events. The final section suggests further developments in CPDA and advocates bringing complexity to the fore.

Text Oriented Discourse Analysis: an analysis of a struggle for hegemony in Mexico

In: Critical Policy Discourse Analysis, 2019

This chapter describes Text Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA) as a method to perform a discursiv... more This chapter describes Text Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA) as a method to perform a discursive analysis, and illustrates this through a performed analysis in agreement with this tradition of the discourse of the Zapatista movement (EZLN) in Mexico, contesting the global policy of the former Mexican president, Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994). TODA was developed in the early 1990s as a method to include discursive and linguistic analysis in the social sciences. Inspired by a critical study on Foucault, it aimed to ‘put Foucault’s work into TODA (Fairclough, 1992). TODA analyses texts -whether spoken or written- as discursive moments in their social context. TODA integrates the analysis of both the linguistic text and the form in which it is shaped, such as an interview, a consultancy or, in this particular case, annual state of the nation speeches by Salinas de Gortari and political declarations by the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN). TODA allows for an analysis of specific texts and their dialectic relation to social structures; it reveals the discursive construction of social structures, relations and processes; it indicates moments of social change and it indicates processes of power, for instance through the analysis of elements of what is included or excluded, foregrounded or backgrounded. The chapter begins with a detailed description of TODA; it then brings forward how the comparative analysis of the discourses of Salinas de Gortari and the EZLN was performed, with a specific focus on the way in which a scientific object (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992) consisting of adequate theories, a developed methodology and selection of data was created as a preparation for the analysis. It was necessary to do this, since at the time of performing this study (2002-2008) there was no clear-cut method available to analyze processes of hegemony in empirical textual data. It then describes the analytical procedure and its outcomes and interpretation. This is followed by a discussion of the encountered advantages and dilemmas of the performed TODA research and it depicts its relevance for interpretative policy analysts. The chapter ends with suggestions for future research.

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis Advances in Critical Policy Studies series

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori, Michael Farrelly, Kristof Savski, and Mikko Poutanen

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis, 2019

This book provides a series of contemporary and international policy case studies analysed throug... more This book provides a series of contemporary and international policy case studies analysed through discursive methodological approaches in the traditions of critical discourse analysis, social semiotics and discourse theory. This is the first volume that connects this discursive methodology systematically to the field of critical policy analysis and will therefore be an essential book for researchers who wish to include a discursive analysis in their critical policy research.

See
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for further details and recommendations

Imagining the Peoples of Europe: populist discourses across the political spectrum (edited volume)

by Jan Zienkowski, Ruth Breeze, Federico Giulio Sicurella, Arthur Borriello, Nicolina Montesano Montessori, Esperanza Morales-López, Óscar García Agustín, and Andreas J Önnerfors

Imagining the peoples of Europe: populist discourses across the political spectrum, 2019

The political landscape in Europe is currently going through a phase of rapid change. New actors ... more The political landscape in Europe is currently going through a phase of rapid change. New actors and movements that claim to represent 'the will of the people' are attracting considerable public attention, with dramatic consequences for election outcomes. This volume explores the new political order with a particular focus on discursive constructions of 'the people' and the category of populism across the spectrum. It shows how a unitary representation of 'the people' is a central element in a vast range of very diverse political discourses today, acting to anchor identities and project antagonisms in a multitude of settings. The chapters in this book explore commonality and contrast in representations of 'the people' in both radical and mainstream political movements, looking in depth at recent political discourses in the European sphere. The authors draw on approaches ranging from Essex-style discourse theory over critical discourse studies, corpus analysis and linguistic prag-matics, to investigate how historically situated categories such as the people and populism become fixed through local linguistic, textual and narrative practices as well as through wider ideological and discursive patterns.

Leyendo el tejido social completo circular

A discursive analysis of a struggle for hegemony in Mexico

Abstract: The Zapatista rebellion which broke out on January 1, 1994, on the very day that the N... more Abstract:
The Zapatista rebellion which broke out on January 1, 1994, on the very day that the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented, can be considered a local response to the global policy shift of the Mexican government under President Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994). This thesis includes a detailed discursive analysis of the annual speeches of the president, and the annual declarations of the EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional). One of the basic assumptions of the thesis is that these political narratives played a strategic role in a struggle to gain hegemonic acceptance amongst the Mexican populace for the respective national projects which each side envisioned.
The initial chapters present a description of the socio-historical context in Mexico and of the EZLN as a social movement. Chapters III and IV describe the theoretical-methodological framework of the thesis, which integrates a Gramscian approach to hegemony with discourse theory and two main directions in critical discourse analysis (CDA): discourse and social change and the discourse-historical approach. Categories of discourse theory have been connected to categories in CDA, thus creating a framework which allows for the analysis of data in the light of a hegemonic struggle. The analysis helps to clarify concepts in discourse theory, especially ‘empty signifiers’, ‘nodal points’, ‘myth’ and ‘imaginary’. The integration of discourse theory and CDA makes possible an analysis of the discourse of the Mexican government and the EZLN in terms of processes of rearticulation. Thus, Salinas de Gortari rearticulates the national future of Mexico in terms of civic nationalism and liberal democracy; and the EZLN in terms of ethnic nationalism and a radical democracy. The final chapters discuss the stakes in this conflict and consider it in terms of the struggle, on the part of the EZLN, for the right to be different. In abstract terms, this involves an increased tension between the universal and particular – both relevant issues in a contemporary world which is characterized by multiple groups struggling to affirm their identity.

Complexity in Education From Horror to Passion

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and Cok Bakker

This volume, the result of four years of work performed by the combined research groups of Utrech... more This volume, the result of four years of work performed by the combined research groups of Utrecht University (Faculty of Humanities) and the HU Utrecht University of Applied Sciences (Faculty of Education), focuses on the central theme of ‘Normative Professionalization’.
Drawing on a wide variety of scholars including Hannah Arendt, Gert Biesta, Harry Kunneman, Donald Schön and Chris Argyris, and engaging with professionalism, ethics, virtue and morality, this book builds the argument that learning to deal with complexity supports not only education but the personal development of teachers and the improvement of society and democracy as well. This volume presents research on a broad range of topics such as worldview education, co-teaching, moral authorship, traditional-reform perspectives on education, the discourse on citizenship, teacher education, and the question how to link religion and education. The research chapters explain the theoretical lenses and methodological approaches which have been employed to get a grip on complexity. The results have been interpreted in light of the concepts of horror complexitatis, amor complexitatis and dolor complexitatis. Guided by detailed research accounts of worldview descriptions provided by students and teachers, this framework has been enriched with the notion of a passio complexitatis. In the concluding chapters, the book advocates for an improved balance between the normative and instrumental professionalization of teachers, in order to create space for the improvement of pedagogical relations and processes and to reintroduce the moral dimensions of education. The claim throughout this book is that allowing for complexity in education – even going so far as to embrace it – is vital for the improvement of education, and a prerequisite for more authentic relationships (on the micro level) and the maintenance of a well-functioning democracy and a balanced society (on the macro level). This book is of interest to researchers and educators who are interested in normative professionalization, to qualitative and practice oriented researchers, to teachers and managers in primary, secondary and professional education, and to the wider public which is concerned with the significance of education for the development of a stable and sustainable society.

Opening Up Spaces for Meaningful Engagement in Educational Praxis

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and George Lengkeek

Opening up spaces for meaningful engagement in educational praxis , 2020

How to open up spaces to make education more meaningful? The concept of space can involve educati... more How to open up spaces to make education more meaningful? The concept of space can involve educational interactions, relationships, contents and other relevant aspects relating to this purpose. The book presents three perspectives to engage in opening up spaces. It empowers pupils, students, and teachers to develop as unique individuals, better relate to the communities and cultural traditions to which they belon, and to develop new visions, understandings, and ways of living.

Bewegen in complexiteit. Voorbeelden voor onderwijs, onderzoek en praktijk.

by Daan Andriessen, Nicolina Montesano Montessori, and Mariecke Schipper

Bewegen in complexiteit, 2019

Het is ongelooflijk hoe de samenleving de afgelopen 20 jaar is veranderd. De maatschappelijke uit... more Het is ongelooflijk hoe de samenleving de afgelopen 20 jaar is veranderd. De maatschappelijke
uitdagingen in de zorg en het onderwijs, rondom duurzaamheid en veiligheid, in
de stedelijke omgeving en op het platteland zijn enorm en ingewikkeld geworden. De
maatschappij verandert dusdanig dat traditionele modellen en werkwijzen niet meer
afdoende blijken te werken. Het hoger beroepsonderwijs speelt een belangrijke rol in het
aangaan van deze uitdagingen; door het opleiden van hbo-professionals die in staat zijn
om te handelen in moeilijke situaties en door het uitvoeren van praktijkgericht onderzoek
dat daadwerkelijk een bijdrage levert aan het oplossen van maatschappelijke problemen.
De maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen vereisen ander onderwijs, ander onderzoek en bijgevolg
ook een andere manier van organiseren binnen Hogeschool Utrecht. Een centraal
begrip dat sturend is in dit ‘anders’ is ‘complexiteit’. Het thema ‘complexiteit in beroepsuitoefening’
leeft op de hogeschool en is maatschappelijk van groot belang vanwege de
snelle veranderingen en het toenemende besef dat we in een systeem leven en werken
dat verknoopt is met andere systemen die in hun werking onvoorspelbaar zijn. De afgelopen
twee jaar is gebleken dat veel docenten, onderzoekers en managers bezig zijn met
vragen als: Hoe passen beroepsopleidingen zich hierop aan? Wat kan onderzoek bijdragen
aan de omgang met complexiteit? Wat betekent complexiteit voor ons eigen functioneren,
onze omgang met anderen en onze dagelijkse routines?
Antwoorden en reflecties op deze en andere vragen leest u in dit boek. Een boek over
complexiteit in beroepsuitoefening ván medewerkers van de HU vóór collega’s op de HU,
voor collega’s van andere hogescholen en voor collega’s uit het beroepenveld. Bijdragen
zijn afkomstig van een breed scala aan lectoraten en opleidingen, namelijk: Methodologie
van Praktijkgericht Onderzoek, Normatieve Professionalisering, Co-Design, Innovatieve
Maatschappelijke Dienstverlening, de lerarenopleiding Instituut Archimedes, StudentsInc,
het Instituut voor Ecologische Pedagogiek, Instituut voor Communicatie, Institute for
Engineering & Design met de opleiding Technische Bedrijfskunde, Instituut voor
Gebouwde Omgeving met de opleiding Built Environment. Iedere bijdrage verhaalt op
eigen wijze een doorleefde ervaring met vormen van complexiteit en beschrijft op welke
wijze complexiteitstheorieën hebben geïnspireerd, hoe nieuwe werkwijzen zijn ontwikkeld,
nieuwe mechanismen zijn ingezet en andere houdingen zijn aangenomen om met complexe
situaties om te gaan of anderen daarbij te ondersteunen. We beschrijven in deze
inleiding hoe deze bundel tot stand is gekomen en we schetsen een beeld van de aard en
de opbouw van de bundel.

Kritische discoursanalyse: De macht en kracht van taal en tekst.

"This book provides an introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), a transdisciplinary app... more "This book provides an introduction to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), a transdisciplinary approach which was developed in the 1990’s, following the pathbreaking work of Foucault. CDA is the analysis of the dialectical relationships between discourse and other elements of social practices, such as power, values, and beliefs, institutional and material practices. It analyses the relation between language and power in society at large and social units such as organisations and the family. While CDA is well introduced in the social sciences, this transdisciplinary approach which integrates the social sciences with linguistics is relatively new in the Netherlands. Introductory texts to CDA are rare and often too specialised. For this reason, we present this general introduction in Dutch.
The book consists of three parts. Part I introduces CDA as a discipline. Chapter 1 discusses the three main concepts: discourse, analysis and the critical orientation. Chapter 2 discusses the functions of texts and narratives. Chapter 3 explains the ontological, epistemological and methodological characteristics of CDA, while Chapter 4 presents the main original directions in CDA: the socio-cognitive, the discourse-historical and the dialectical-relational approach. Part II contains two chapters. Chapter 5 discusses the concepts of ideology, identity and power in relation to discourse and CDA. Chapter 6 presents various views on hegemony. This part concludes with the potential of a CDA approach to research for practice oriented researchers. Part III includes 5 chapters dealing with the research cycle of CDA. It uses a discursive analysis of political discourse in Mexico as an example. The study consists of a comparative analysis of the discourse of the Zapatista Movement and former President Salinas de Gortari of Mexico in the period 1988-1998. Chapter 7 explains the formation of a scientific object which will form the basis for research and which has to be constructed for any research in a CDA tradition. A scientific object contains a selection of theory, methodology, definition of concepts and the data to be analysed, as well as a justification of the choices made and criteria for successful research. Chapter 8 presents the theoretical framework for the research on political discourse in Mexico. It consists of the theories of Gramsci (1971) and Laclau & Mouffe (1985) on hegemony. Chapter 9 discusses the methodological framework and presents the first analytical stage: the content analysis. Chapter 10 focuses on the second analytical stage, which implies the analysis of discursive and argumentative strategies. Chapter 11 presents an analysis of the linguistic features of both discourses of the Zapatista movement and Salinas de Gortari. It demonstrates how both discourses functioned at different levels of abstraction. Chapter 12 presents an evaluation of the research in agreement with the criteria formulated in Chapter 7."

Praktijkgericht onderzoek voor reflectieve professionals

This book is written in the context of the relative new emphasis on research within Universities... more This book is written in the context of the relative new emphasis on research within
Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Previously, participating in and
carrying out research was confined to the traditional universities, whereas Universities
of Applied Sciences focused on teaching and training of highly skilled professionals.
During the last decade the situation changed. Professions were becoming more complex
and professionals engaged with new and challenging practices in complex settings. They
needed to prepare for developing new relationships with students and clients and to
continuously improve their professional performance. Since 2001 the Dutch government
stimulated the development of research centres within the Universities of Applied
Sciences. The aim was to integrate the academic curricula with practice-orientated
research and the continuing professional development of teachers and other practitioners
working in the field. A research centre at a University of Applied Sciences typically
involves lecturers, students, practitioners and professional researchers. The kind of research
performed in these research centres tends to be practice-orientated, based on
professional practice and the dilemmas practitioners encounter in their field of work.
This book focuses on practice-orientated research. It emphasises that research is both
a systematic and a creative activity. For this reason, the book does not contain a blueprint
as to how to perform practice-orientated research. Rather, it helps the reader to
understand what the main characteristics of this specific kind of research is, how a research
design can be developed, how the researcher can define his research position
and, based on that position, can take necessary and relevant decisions which will lead to
a rigorous research design and actually carrying out a relevant research project. Chapter
1 describes three main paradigms: the positivist, the interpretative and the critical
emancipatory paradigm, each with its cons and pros. Chapter 2 relates practice orientated
research to these paradigms and introduces McClelland’s metaphor of the iceberg
(Spencer & Spencer, 1993) which helps to take into account the underlying realm of
values, beliefs and attitudes in research projects. Chapter 3 describes the three stages
of practice-orientated research and the skills required by the researcher in each of these
stages. It presents an example of an emergent research design. Chapter 4 explains how
to perform a literature study during the different stages of the research and the specific
functions of the literature study which varies throughout the research process. Chapter
5 presents a series of research strategies such as action research, comparative research,
case studies, documentary research design science research and surveys. Chapter 6 discusses
methods of data collection, including interviews, questionnaires, narrative interviews
and observations. Chapter 7 focuses on qualitative data analysis, while Chapter 8
presents an introduction to quantitative data analysis.

Towards webs of equivalence and the political nomad in agonistic debate Contributions from CDA and scales theory

Journal of Language and Politics, 2021

Discourse theorists often defend their discursive stance on ‘reality’ and the material with refer... more Discourse theorists often defend their discursive stance on ‘reality’ and the material with reference to Laclau and Mouffe’s quote that, while an “earthquake or the falling of a brick…exist externally to thought,” they cannot “constitute themselves as objects outside any discursive conditions of emergence”.

While fully endorsing this statement, we argue that it does not licence discourse theorists to consider discursive formations divorced from their material context, but obliges us to account for the constraints and affordances of the material conditions on the structuring of the discursive field itself. Drawing on previous work, we argue that material conditions may render discourse systems incommensurate, such that they cannot be articulated through chains of equivalence within a radically restructured field. We suggest as a way forward the concept of the nomadic politician continually traversing between equivalential systems in order to reconfigure and renegotiate key signifiers within the materially-constrained discursive fields of each.

El Movimiento Zapatista: una cultura politica hibrida y paradojica

Kamchatka, 2018

ABSTRACT: This article reveals the hybrid character of the Zapatista movement (Zapatista Army of ... more ABSTRACT: This article reveals the hybrid character of the Zapatista movement (Zapatista Army of National Liberation, EZLN). It was announced on January 1, 1994 in protest against the free trade agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, Canada and the US and entered into force that very same day. The movement launched an armed struggle against the government, under the slogan “Never again a Mexico without us”. In the “Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle”, the movement declared a war on the Mexican federal army. The movement did everything possible to avoid an easy classification so that all univocal interpretations such as a new social movement, or a neo-indigenous movement or pan maya or a traditional guerrilla turned out to be, rather, equivocal. This article will review these interpretations and bring forward the hybridity of this movement. If hybridity was part of a conscious and attempted policy, this article will also point to a series of unintended paradoxes that came to light as a result of a careful analysis of the Zapatista discourse. Its final reflections point to the importance of this movement for the world at large and provide a suggestion for future research.

A theoretical and methodological approach to social entrepreneurship as world-making and emancipation: social change as a projection in space and time

This article presents and analyses three cases, which integrate features of both social movements... more This article presents and analyses three cases, which integrate features of both social movements and social entrepreneurship (SE). It is the result of a longitudinal study (January 2012 to September 2015). The study contributes new insights to the theoretical and methodological discussions on SE, focusing on ‘the social’ in SE literature. The three selected movements, active in the Netherlands, are: ‘The Dutch Chapter of Zeitgeist’ henceforth Zeitgeist (TZM), (2010–present), ‘Giving is All we Have’ (henceforth GIAWH, (2011–2014) and ‘MasterPeace’ (MP) (2010–present). Each movement shows a strong inclination towards social transformation, while being rooted in organizational structures, therefore considered ‘social entrepreneurial movements’. Specific contributions entail: the presentation of these innovative cases, the design of a methodology based on critical discourse analysis, state theory, narrative analysis, political theory and discourse theory and a thorough analysis and interpretation of these cases in the national and global contexts in which they emerged. More specifically, it contributes to SE literature on emancipation, defined as ‘breaking free’ when further developing the method in the direction of world-making, defined as ‘creating new worlds’. This study suggests that transition theory can be useful for the study of the impact of social entrepreneurial movements.

International Developments on Inclusive Education and the Presentation of a Participative and Reflective Approach to Research

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and Hans Schuman

Civitas Educationis. Education, Politics and Culture, anno III, no1, 2015

Abstract: The purpose of this contribution is twofold. On the one hand we present an overview of ... more Abstract: The purpose of this contribution is twofold. On the one hand we present an overview of recent international developments on inclusive education since the Salamanca Declaration (UNESCO, 1994). We also present the more general challenges and dilemmas this new approach generated, along with a series of promising approaches that have been developed internationally. We will argue – in agreement with many others – that inclusive education requires taking distance from a (dominant) medical-deficit approach in favour of a citizenship approach, which is connected to the Human Rights discussion. Finally, we will argue that the foregoing also suggests an alternative approach towards research in education: a more participative and reflective approach. We then present some examples of research developed and applied by the two authors in which people with disabilities and the professionals working with them were not considered ‘objects of research’, but were research partners throughout the process. The main working principles of this approach will be described and we will discuss some salient results of it.
Keywords: Social model of disability, the voice of the learner, self-determination and choice, inter-professional collaboration, people first language.

Researching classroom communications and relations in the light of social justice

This articles discusses participative action research performed by a network consisting of resear... more This articles discusses participative action research performed by a network consisting of researchers and student teachers of a University of Applied Sciences and teachers and pupils of four primary schools in the Netherlands. These schools focused on inclusive education in order to allow children with special educational needs (SEN) to participate in mainstream schools. The central idea of the research project was to integrate the insiders’ perspective of the teachers with the outsiders’ perspective of the university researchers. Therefore, the research project combined process and content goals. The research lasted from September 2008 to June 2010. It consisted of five different stages: orientation, general and specific exploration, reconstruction and overall analysis. This article describes the goals and results of each of these stages. The article concludes with a final discussion on the main findings. An important result included a nuanced view of teacher on their power position in the class room. Teachers facilitated children to increase their own responsibility for their behaviour and their interaction with their class mates and the teacher. This seemed to provide a basis for a more organic order in the classroom, which was less dependent on the interventions of the teacher.

Multimodal narrative as an instrument for social change: reinventing democracy in Spain—the case of 15 M

by Esperanza Morales-López and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

This article provides a description of the emergence of the Spanish ‘Occupy’ movement, democracia... more This article provides a description of the emergence of the Spanish ‘Occupy’ movement, democracia real ya. The aim is to analyse the innovative discursive features of this movement and to connect this analysis to what we consider the innovative potential of the critical sciences. The movement is the result of a spontaneous uprising that appeared on the main squares of Madrid and Barcelona on 15 May 2011 and then spread to other Spanish cities. This date gave it its name: 15M. While the struggle for democracy in Spain is certainly not new, the 15M group shows a series of innovative features. These include the emphasis on peaceful struggle and the imaginary of a new democracy or worldview, transmitted through innovative placards and slogans designed by Spanish citizens. We consider these innovative not only due to their creativity, but also because of their use as a form of civil action. Our argument is that these placards both functioned as a sign of protest and, in combination with the demonstrations and the general dynamics of 15M, helped to reframe the population's understanding of the crisis and rearticulate the identity of the citizens from victims to agents. In order to analyse the multimodal character of this struggle, we developed an interdisciplinary methodology, which combines socio-cognitive approaches that consider ideological proposals as socio-cognitive constructs (i.e. the notion of narrative or cognitive frame), and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in the analysis of discourses related to processes of social imagination and transformation. The socio-constructivist perspective is used to consider these discourses in relation to their actors, particular contexts and actions. The use of CDA, which included a careful rhetoric analysis, helped to analyse the process of deconstruction, transformation and reconstruction that 15M uses to maintain its struggle. The narrative analysis and the discursive theoretical concept of articulation helped to methodologically show aspects of the process of change alluded to above. This change was both in terms of cognition and in the modification of identity that turned a large part of the Spanish population from victims to indignados and to the neologism indignadanos, which is a composition of indignado and ciudadano (citizen).
Key words: multimodal narratives, cognitive frame, discourses of social change, social movements’ discourses, Critical Discourse Analysis, emotions, socio-cognitive approaches, constructionism

Un análisis discursivo comparativo entre las Narrativas del EZLN y las de Salinas de Gortari

The design of a theoretical, methodological, analytical framework to analyse hegemony in discourse

Critical Discourse Studies, Jan 1, 2011

This paper includes a detailed discursive analysis of the discourse of former President Salinas d... more This paper includes a detailed discursive analysis of the discourse of former President Salinas de Gortari (Mexico, 1988-1994) and that of the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN). This study contextualises the EZLN struggle as a local response to the global policy shift of the Mexican government. It considered the discourses of both parties as narratives which played a strategic role in a struggle to gain hegemonic acceptance in Mexico. This paper focuses on the theoretical-methodological framework which integrates a Gramscian view on hegemony with discourse theory (DT) and two main directions in critical discourse analysis (CDA). It demonstrates that this approach opened a series of new perspectives and helped to evaluate existing interpretations as well as to define the main stakes in the struggle. While Salinas sought to establish republican nationalism and a liberal democracy, the EZLN struggle is for ethnic nationalism and a radical democracy.
Keywords: hegemony, narrative, orders of discourse, myth, imaginary, nodal points, empty signifiers.

Contrastive analysis of the preferred and unpreferred readings in political discourse in Mexico

Oralia, Jan 1, 2009

This article analyses two sets of directly related discourses: The Inaugural Speech of President ... more This article analyses two sets of directly related discourses: The Inaugural Speech of President Zedillo (December 1, 1994) (Z1) and the response to the inaugural speech from the EZLN (December 3, 1994) (EZ1); and, secondly, the announcement of military intervention in Chiapas (Text pronounced by President Zedillo and broadcasted on the radio on February 5, 1995) (Z2) and the response to this announcement by the EZLN (February 9, 1995) (EZ2). Due to the direct response by the EZLN, these texts provide a special opportunity to analyze procedures of intertextuality and to study the reception of a particular text. This article presents a description of the socio-political context; it defines a theoretical-methodological framework which allows the analysis of preferred and unpreferred readings of a text and the discursive and rhetoric strategies employed to construct these readings, as well as the connection of these readings to the ideological positions of the social agents.

KEYWORDS: globalization, political discourse, subject position, preferred versus unpreferred readings of a text, recontextualisation.

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis

In: Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 2023

This chapter presents Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (CPDA) which merges critical discourse a... more This chapter presents Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (CPDA) which merges critical discourse analysis (CDA) with critical policy studies (CPS). CPDA engages with a discursive analysis of a policy problem, generally drawing on critical discourse analysis for its methodology, in this case Text Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA). The research addresses the problem of complexity reduction in the process of policy-making and illustrates this with an analysis of the UN Agenda “Transforming the World, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which introduces the sustainable development goals (SDGs). It presents the reader with a detailed example of how to perform a TODA research. It indeed reveals mechanisms of policy reduction such as decontextualization, singularization, a limited spatio-temporal frame reduced to the timespan of the UN. It discusses the potential consequences of this for the effectivity of the SDGs and presents alternative theories and voices that do capture the complexity of real life events. The final section suggests further developments in CPDA and advocates bringing complexity to the fore.

Text Oriented Discourse Analysis: an analysis of a struggle for hegemony in Mexico

In: Critical Policy Discourse Analysis, 2019

This chapter describes Text Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA) as a method to perform a discursiv... more This chapter describes Text Oriented Discourse Analysis (TODA) as a method to perform a discursive analysis, and illustrates this through a performed analysis in agreement with this tradition of the discourse of the Zapatista movement (EZLN) in Mexico, contesting the global policy of the former Mexican president, Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994). TODA was developed in the early 1990s as a method to include discursive and linguistic analysis in the social sciences. Inspired by a critical study on Foucault, it aimed to ‘put Foucault’s work into TODA (Fairclough, 1992). TODA analyses texts -whether spoken or written- as discursive moments in their social context. TODA integrates the analysis of both the linguistic text and the form in which it is shaped, such as an interview, a consultancy or, in this particular case, annual state of the nation speeches by Salinas de Gortari and political declarations by the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN). TODA allows for an analysis of specific texts and their dialectic relation to social structures; it reveals the discursive construction of social structures, relations and processes; it indicates moments of social change and it indicates processes of power, for instance through the analysis of elements of what is included or excluded, foregrounded or backgrounded. The chapter begins with a detailed description of TODA; it then brings forward how the comparative analysis of the discourses of Salinas de Gortari and the EZLN was performed, with a specific focus on the way in which a scientific object (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992) consisting of adequate theories, a developed methodology and selection of data was created as a preparation for the analysis. It was necessary to do this, since at the time of performing this study (2002-2008) there was no clear-cut method available to analyze processes of hegemony in empirical textual data. It then describes the analytical procedure and its outcomes and interpretation. This is followed by a discussion of the encountered advantages and dilemmas of the performed TODA research and it depicts its relevance for interpretative policy analysts. The chapter ends with suggestions for future research.

Introduction to the Volume

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and George Lengkeek

Opening up spaces for meaningful engagement in educational praxis, 2020

The chapters in this volume contribute to the rethinking of aspects of educational practice in th... more

Critical Language Awareness: Opening Spaces for Educational Praxis in Turbulent Times of Transition and Crisis

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and George Lengkeek

Opening up Spaces for meaningful engagement in educaitonal praxis, 2020

This chapter dwells on the crises of today, the need for a critical understanding of imaginaries ... more

Un enfoque metodológico para investigar transformaciones hegemónicas y contrahegemónicas

Leyendo el tejido social, 2020

Este capítulo trata el tema de una metodología adecuada para estudiar la hegemonía y la contraheg... more Este capítulo trata el tema de una metodología adecuada para estudiar la hegemonía y la contrahegemonía en textos y otras expresiones semióticas como los eslogans, canciones, entrevistas, imágenes en el Internet, el uso de argot y elementos retóricos como la ironía y las oposiciones. Primero se presentará una breve revisión de la perspectiva sobre hegemonía de Antonio Gramsci (1971) y la elaboración de la misma en la teoría del discurso (Laclau & Mouffe, 1985). Luego se presentarán ejemplos de tres estudios ya completados en los cuales se desarrolló una metodología específica para poder investigar cada tema. Los temas de investigación correspondientes son: un análisis comparativo entre el discurso político del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional y el discurso del ex presidente Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994) en México (Montesano Montessori, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014); el estudio de la lucha de los Indignados (15M) en
Leyendo el tejido social
260 ■
España (Montesano Montessori & Morales López, 2015; y las causas de
tres emprendedores sociales (Montesano Montessori, 2016b)1.
En cada caso se ha construido una metodología basado en tres de los
principios básicos de la metodología en el análisis crítico del discurso (ACD)
(Wodak & Meyer, 2016) especialmente dentro del enfoque discursivo-histórico
elaborado en Viena (Reisigl & Wodak, 2001). Los principios enfatizados
para este capítulo incluyen: la abducción, la estratificación y la interdisciplinaridad.
La abducción implica establecer un diálogo entre teoría, metodología
y datos concretos dentro del contexto que se estudia. La estratificación
implica la separación entre las capas macro- meso y micro de una situación
social, a nivel teórico y a nivel metodológico. La interdisciplinidad implica
combiner disciplinas y/o la combinación de varios enfoques teóricos. Este
capítulo describe las metodologías elaboradas teniendo en cuenta estos
principios seleccionados.

Introducing critical policy discourse analysis

Critical Policy Discourse Analysis, 2019

This volume presents ten empirical case studies that demonstrate the added value of integrating C... more This volume presents ten empirical case studies that demonstrate the added value of integrating Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) with Critical Policy Studies (CPS), producing a theoretical and methodological synergy we term Critical Policy Discourse Analysis (CPDA). 1 Our aim is threefold: first, to show how this integration can enrich the conceptualisation-and thus analysis of policy; second, to render explicit the methodological steps whereby such analysis can be operationalised; and, third, to reflect on the distinctive contribution made to both fields when such an integrated approach is applied to actual policy problems. These aims are reflected in the way the chapters are organised. First, each chapter investigates a particular policy-relevant problem which was tackled using a critical discourse analytical approach, with a specific focus on detailed textual analysis. This latter focus reflects an important contribution of CPDA to policy research: namely, an analytical framework capable of capturing, and conceptualising in relation to their socially structuring potential , the fine details of text which are often overlooked in policy analysis, but which have effects on how policy is understood, developed, and implemented. Second, each chapter takes the reader through the methodological decisions made, while making explicit the underlying theoretical assumptions which motivated them. Finally, each chapter reflects on the novel theoretical and empirical insights which were born out of this integrated approach. CDA is an approach to social scientific research which combines detailed analysis of texts with theoretically informed accounts of the phenomena under investigation, in order to identify the processes by which language (re)produces social practices and helps privilege certain ways of doing, thinking, and being over others. It investigates how language figures in the constitution, contestation, and transformation of social problems, and thereby processes of social change. CDA 2 has its origins in linguistics and can best be seen as a problem-oriented interdisciplinary research movement, subsuming a variety of approaches, analytical models and research agendas (Fairclough

Why Complexity Matters

Complexity in Education. From Horror to Passion, 2016

This chapter addresses the issue of plurality and complexity in contemporary,globalized society t... more This chapter addresses the issue of plurality and complexity in contemporary,globalized society through the lens of discourse theory (Laclau & Mouffe,1985; Mouffe, 1993/2005; Laclau, 2005). It explains plurality in discourse
theoretical terms of difference and antagonism. It explains emerging populismin the EU as a result of increased instrumentalization and universalization
of modern politics. It leads to the insight that Hannah Arendt’s warningsconcerning the importance of maintaining plurality in the public realm are
relevant today.

The articulation of 'the people' in the discourse of Podemos.

Imgainging the peoples of Europe: Populist discourses across the political spectrum., 2019

This chapter focuses on the construction of pueblo ‘people’ and patria ‘homeland’ in the Spanish ... more This chapter focuses on the construction of pueblo ‘people’ and patria ‘homeland’ in the Spanish discourse of Podemos and the party’s relation to la gente ‘the people’ between June 2016 and its second political conference, Vistalegre II (February 2017). The discursive analysis focuses on figures of speech, such as synecdoche and metaphors, followed by a narrative analysis. The data cover
the General Secretary of the party, Pablo Iglesias and the head of the branch in Catalonia, Xavier Domènech. We then apply the explanatory logics developed within discourse theory (Glynos and Howarth 2007) to interpret the results
of the analysis1 and we critically reflect on some observed ambiguities in the discourse of Podemos.

CDA and Participatory Action Research: A New Approach to Shared Processes of Interpretation in Educational Research

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and Hans Schuman

In our research we focus on shared processes of interpretation, knowledge development and innovat... more In our research we focus on shared processes of interpretation, knowledge development and innovation in education, developing non-hierarchical research relationships between researchers. Our work is informed by a critical stance towards the current practice in Dutch education where teachers are struggling with student diversity and students with disabilities are excluded from mainstream schools. For the project we present in this book we combined critical discourse analysis, participatory action research and an emergent research design. We worked with teachers and students, supporting and stimulating them to develop a more just and inclusive practice in their schools, where all students get a fair deal. Starting point were the narratives of the teachers involved. Their stories, their struggle and their views were important. Interpretation became a process of shared meaning making at all stages of the research process, systematically integrating insiders’ and outsiders’ perspectives. Thus, the teachers and their students developed contextually-relevant and innovative solutions to the challenges they encountered in their practice, for example regarding power relations in the classroom and managing diversity, making use of the strengths of individual students and those of the group. The researchers involved brought in their knowledge and experience regarding practice-oriented research and introduced a theoretical framework for analysing and understanding current practices.

“CDA, Critical Events and Critical Event Studies: How to Make Sense of Critical Events in a Society of Radical Change” In: Critical Events Studies: Approaches to Research. Lamond, I. & Platt, L. (Eds). Chapter 7. Pp. 131-148. London: Palgrave MacMillan.

Ciritical Event Studies. Approaches to Research

This chapter argues that critical discourse analysis (CDA) provides a fruitful methodology for Cr... more This chapter argues that critical discourse analysis (CDA) provides a fruitful methodology for Critical Event Studies (CES). This is due both to its eclectic, abductive research methodology that engages in a dialogue between theory(ies), methodology(ies), data, and the sociohistorical context. Secondly, CDA, like other critical approaches, adopts a layered approach to research methodology, focusing from the global to meso- and micro-aspects of an event or, if one wishes, from social structures, to social institutions and social events, always considering the discursive as being both constituted by and constitutive of social structures. It will illustrate this through a brief description of the discourse-historical dimension in CDA which distinguishes the content analysis, the analysis of discursive and argumentative strategies and, finally, the analysis of linguistic features [Reisigl, M., & Wodak, R. (2001). Discourse and discrimination. Rhetorics of racism and antisemitism. London: Routledge]. This basic assumption will be illustrated through the description of a theoretical-methodological framework recently employed for the study of the occupy movement in Spain. It shows how a framework was assembled that brought social constructivism, narrative analysis, rhetoric, and finally the discourse-theoretical concept of ‘rearticulation’ to work together in order to analyse how the Occupy movement helped Spanish citizens to gain agency and voice. It warns for pitfalls in the development of critical event studies.

Het voorlopig onderzoeksontwerp als instrument om complexiteit te borgen in het (actie) onderzoek

Bewegen in complexiteit pp 97-104, 2019

Inleiding: In dit artikel doe ik verslag van een participatief actieonderzoek naar sociale recht... more Inleiding:
In dit artikel doe ik verslag van een participatief actieonderzoek naar sociale rechtvaardigheid in de klas. Het werd uitgevoerd in de periode 2008-2010, op vier verschillende basisscholen, door een gecombineerde groep van HU onderzoekers en praktijkonderzoekers, waaronder leerkrachten, stagiaires en leerlingen van de scholen.
Ik heb dit onderzoek gekozen als voorbeeld van complexiteit omdat het onderzoek een daadwerkelijke zoektocht was. Ik leg hierbij de nadruk op het voorlopige onderzoeksontwerp en de emergente momenten die uit deze werkwijze naar voren zijn gekomen. Daarnaast zal ik me, wat betreft de aanpak vooral richten op de ervaring dat deze werkwijze leidde tot meervoudigheid in het onderzoek. Zowel de onderzoeksbijeenkomsten als de tijdens het onderzoek ontworpen onderzoeksinstrumenten en de rol van de onderzoekers hadden allen een meervoudig karakter in functie en ontwerp1.

Mijn visie op complexiteit

Een belangrijk kenmerk van complexiteit is voor mij dat er sprake is van een open, nog onbekend einde. Hoewel er veel andere vormen zullen bestaan van complex onderzoek, is het voor mij het soort onderzoek waarvan noch kerndefinities, noch de beoogde doelen en effecten vaststaan. Dat is dus anders dan van ons gevraagd wordt als wij financiering aanvragen; dan moetende doelen en (beoogde) uitkomsten al bij de aanvraag worden gepresenteerd.
Een complex onderzoek is in mijn ogen dus een daadwerkelijke – systematische – zoektocht, een stap in het onbekende, in dit geval samen met onbekende anderen. Dit ook in combinatie met de wens het onderzoek voldoende diepgang mee te geven, door niet alleen beschrijvend te werken, maar ook verkennend in de zin van dubbel- en drieslag leren, zodat ook met elkaar gekeken werd naar de morele dimensies van het begrip ‘sociale rechtvaardigheid’ en van het onderzoek zelf. Een emergent onderzoeksontwerp dient dan als basis en houvast om op gefundeerde wijze aan zo’n collectieve zoektocht te beginnen.

From Text to Political Positions: The potential of narrative strategies in the discursive construction of hegemonic positions and social change

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and Veronika Koller

This chapter illustrates ways in which narrative strategies contribute to the construction of he... more This chapter illustrates ways in which narrative strategies contribute to the construction of hegemonic processes of social change. Narratives have transformational power because they shape new imaginaries about social life, help to legitimate them and create consensus. It is argued that effective hegemony constitutes power over social reality and will be generally accepted as a ‘matter of course’. This chapter is based on a study of the struggle for hegemony between former Mexican President Gortari and the Zapatista movement and integrates a Gramscian view on hegemony with discourse theory (Laclau and Mouffe 1985). The study contributes to the development of discourse theory on hegemony, using the concept of three levels of abstraction, or ‘orders of discourse’, found in Critical Discourse Analysis (Fairclough, 2001, 2003); and a discourse-historical approach (Reisigl and Wodak 2001). A comparison is made with Eleveld’s study of storylines (this volume) and Filardo Llamas’ text worlds, leading to the presentation of criteria for qualitative research and some ideas for further research.

Developing new identities in social conflicts Constructivist perspectives20200717 25694 13t9ryv

Critical Discourse Studies, 17:4,, 2020

This highly interesting volume was brought together by a mature group of researchers who share a... more This highly interesting volume was brought together by a mature group of researchers who share a constructivist approach which holds that discourse – with a strong focus on rhetoric and its tropes – constructs social reality and therefore, assumingly, has the potential to improve social reality. The authors draw on rhetoric, the ideas of the historian Hayden White and the Italian political philosopher and rhetorician Giambattista Vico (1668–1774), as well as the Chilean neurologists Maturana and Varela.
This review presents a description of its structure and the main content of the various chapters, followed by a general evaluation and a recommendation for the potential readership of this book.

Developing new identities in social conflicts. Constructivist perspectives

Critical Discourse Studies, 2019

This highly interesting volume was brought together by a mature group of researchers who share a ... more This highly interesting volume was brought together by a mature group of researchers who share a constructivist approach which holds that discourse – with a strong focus on rhetoric and its tropes – constructs social reality and therefore, assumingly, has the potential to improve social reality. The authors draw on rhetoric, the ideas of the historian Hayden White and the Italian political philosopher and rhetorician Giambattista Vico (1668–1774), as well as the Chilean neurologists Maturana and Varela.

This review presents a description of its structure and the main content of the various chapters, followed by a general evaluation and a recommendation for the potential readership of this book.

Review on HYBRID VOICES AND COLLABORATIVE CHANGE by Tom Bartlett

This intriguing book is the result of three and a half years of fieldwork performed by the author... more This intriguing book is the result of three and a half years of fieldwork performed by the author in the North Rupununi savannahs of Guyana near the border with Brazil (1999– 2002). The fieldwork took place around the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB), an umbrella organization which brought together 13 indigenous local commu- nities with representatives of the national government of Guyana and an international development organization, IWOKRAMA, to do with the conservation and developments of rainforests. Throughout the fieldwork, the author found that the community managed to gain ground (and voice) within the NRDDB. This process of empowerment of the indi- genous groups and the ways in which they managed to appropriate dominant discourses then became the focus of the research. This review will concern both the reported research and the way the research is situated around critical discourse analysis (CDA) and positive discourse analysis (PDA).

Language and power. An introduction to institutional discourse

Critical Discourse Studies, Jan 1, 2010

Politics and Morality

Review on Giroux, H. Neoliberalism's War on Higher Education (Marx & Philosophy Review of Books)

Review on Why we can't afford the rich by Andrew Sayer (Marx & Philosophy Review of Books)

Marx & Philosophy Review of Books, May 1, 2015

Why we can’t afford the rich presents an excellent critique on capitalism as well as a critique ... more Why we can’t afford the rich presents an excellent critique on capitalism as well as a critique of the rich. It is based on a broad array of literature, from different schools of economic and political thought, some Marxist and others critical of Marx, and engages with contemporary authors such as David Harvey and Thomas Piketty, novels and classical thinkers, including Aristotle. It presents a nuanced, well informed vision, which speaks from the perspective of a moral economy. It addresses the mechanisms underlying the inequality of the current economy, which is comparable to the early 20th Century. It questions both the legitimacy, and the functionality of how the rich make and manage their money through the lens of social justice. This critical exploration addresses Iinguistic and ideological features that help legitimate and sustain the current situation.

Review on Stephen, L. We are the Face of Oaxaca. Testimony & Social Movements in Social Movement Studies

This book describes the short history of the Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (Popular A... more This book describes the short history of the Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca (Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca, APPO) in 2006. It consists of nine chapters and conclusions, accompanied by a website: http://faceofoaxaca.uoregon.edu which contains twenty-six testimonies and a wide collection of photographs, thus directly presenting the reader with the participants of this movement.
Click the following address for a free copy TF.
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/Vt3qeB4kGGEAEXeNaaPR/full#.VNuY3kITqF0

Review on Seeking Social Justice by Edward W. Soja

Book review: Norman Blaikie, Designing Social Research

Discourse & Society, Jan 1, 2012

D&S: Review on Christa J Olson, Constitutive Visions: Indigeneity and Commonplaces of National Identity in Republican Ecuador

Constitutive Visions skilfully and systematically puts together two strands of scholarship – cons... more Constitutive Visions skilfully and systematically puts together two strands of scholarship – constitutive rhetoric and rhetorical historiography – to analyse the construction of
Downloaded from das.sagepub.com at Oxford Brookes University on January 12, 2016
124 Discourse & Society 27(1)
Ecuadorian national identity between 1852 and 1947. Seeking to answer questions such as ‘How do strong identifications, such as national identities, come into being and sustain themselves? How do these identifications make claims on future change?’ (p. 1), this book focuses on the creation and dissemination of commonplaces or topoi that show both continuity and difference over the century it covers.

Towards a critical approach to multi-ethnic education Review Essay

Published in Pedagogy, Culture & Society

Improving the context for inclusion by Howes, A., Davies, S.M.B. & Fox S,

DOI:10.1080/09650792.2012.727661, Dec 4, 2012

East, M. Task-Based Language Teaching from the Teachers’ Perspective, John Benjamins

Reforming teaching globally

Educational Action Research, Jan 1, 2009

Hannes Heer, Walter Manoschek, Alexander Pollak, and Ruth Wodak (eds.), The discursive construction of history: Remembering the Wehrmacht's war of annihilation. …

Language in Society, Jan 1, 2009

The articulation of ‘the people’ in the discourse of Podemos and its partners En Marea and En Comú Podem. The dilemma with ethnicity.

by Esperanza Morales-López and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

In different papers, we have published our research on the 15M’s discourses (the Spanish social m... more In different papers, we have published our research on the 15M’s discourses (the Spanish social movement, named as well “Movimiento de los indignados”, in 2011), and then on the post-15M discourses which appeared some years later, shaped as social movements or/and new political parties, such as the political party Podemos and its regional partners. In this presentation we will focus on the difference between the Podemos’ discourse and its partners in Galicia (En Marea) and in Catalonia (En Comú) in the articulation of ‘the people’. This contrast is particularly relevant in the context of the “Catalan conflict” (the attempt by the Catalan government to declare independence from the Spanish state in September and October 2017).

The rhetoric-discursive analysis shows that Podemos aims at making a difference in the historical political narrative of Spain based on its claims to directly serve and protect the people and to restore the dignity of Spain. It recodes the concept of the nation from centrality of the state to popular sovereignty.

En Marea and En Comú develop its political agenda in bilingual regions, where the population is divided by nationalism and ethnicity. The analysis of the speeches of these particular groups shows, contrary to Podemos, the dilemma of including the nationalistic approach in their demands, with the danger, particularly in Catalonia, of being abandoned by the left-wing voters who support the actual status quo (being part of Catalonia and at the same time part of Spain and Europe).

From a discourse theoretical point of view, we will revise these findings as a tension between the universal and the particular. We will emphasise the transformative potential of discourse theory and its concepts such as empty and floating signifiers, the split identity and chains of equivalence. In this sense we draw on earlier research on the Zapatista Movement in Mexico (Montesano Montessori, 2011) and, indeed, Podemos in Spain. Both movements have intellectual leaders who were inspired by discourse theory and redesign these findings in transformative mechanisms which can play an important role in a world increasingly torn by conflicts between global universalism and ethnic, political, cultural and historical particularism.

Participatory teaching techniques to build critical communities of knowledge

This paper presents an approach to participatory teaching practices that help construct critical ... more This paper presents an approach to participatory teaching practices that help construct
critical communities of knowledge in an era that imposes instrumental, accountable results in teaching. This instrumental approach to teaching, prepares pupils for their role in the econ- omy rather than for becoming democratic, responsible, critical citizens (Nussbaum, 2011).
It also narrows the ideals about 'good education' and removes teachers from the practice
of establishing professional dialogues as to what is good teaching in any particular moment (Biesta, 2010). In addition, one could argue that our era which is marked by radical change, pupils and students (and society at large) should be endowed with a big tool kit of criti-
cal reading and thinking, and the capacity to argue and to publicly discuss how to shape
our society both at the micro level (classrooms) and the macro level (the political system
and the economy). It is for these reasons that we developed in our research group of the 'moral dimensions or teaching' in the Netherlands, approaches for collective learning pro- cesses, where participants take up roles and tasks to elaborate on real life issues, for instance some social problem in the neighborhood. As a group they will study, perform an prob-
lem analysis, elaborate possible solutions and experiment with putting these into practice.
The main arguments of the paper will be that a) these groups should be heterogeneous, but horizontally organised b) various types of knowledge should be welcomed (emotional, intu- itive, cognitive, tacit and practical or experiential knowledge) c) these processes both entail and require a double hermeneutics when it comes to interpretations and a joint process of making sense of the topic that is being learnt about.

CDA and Participatory Action Research: the presentation of a reflective research methodology

This paper addresses a methodology that integrates approaches to Action Research with those of Cr... more This paper addresses a methodology that integrates approaches to Action Research with
those of Critical Discourse Analysis. It will also show how a well designed emergent research
design empowers the participatory research process with a structure that is strong enough to
lead the research process, while it is also flexible enough to absorb and use emerging knowledge for the ongoing organization and focus of the research throughout its various stages. In
this sense, I consider participatory action research as a form of double hermeneutics. I will
show that this model generates both theoretical and process-oriented goals and it simultane-
ously achieves investigating, a collective learning process, innovation and implementation. I
suggest that this process requires a horizontal (rather than vertical, hierarchical) structure,
so that new knowledge can emerge freely in the process and power relations can be investi-
gated and questioned. In other words, the model allows for processes of double and triple
loop learining (Argyris & Schön, 1974). CDA brings in a layered research methodology that
allows to investigate the dynamics between structure and agency, while Action Research
helps to free CDA from the confines of academia, since it allows to carry out its research in
real life situations i.e. in organizations, schools, hospitals, etc. I will illustrate this model
with various examples from research carried out so far. My main claim will be that this
kind of research is highly needed in times of complex and radical change. Perhaps against
the current day emphasis on evidence-based practices, I believe that modern society requires
a new practice of contextualised dialogue between heterogeneous stakeholders in order to
make sense of processes of rapid change and to engage in a joint process of problem analysis
and the construction of new horizons and innovative, inclusive, practices.

New Paradigms for Assessing Innovations in the Technology Sector

terrafore.com

A critical return to Lewin: exposing discourse and identification in a Participative Action Research project

by Peter Edward and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

organizzazione.unina.it

Podemos’ shift of the political landscape in Spain: the emancipation of the ‘demos’.

by Esperanza Morales-López and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

This article highlights one salient creative discursive feature of Podemos and then indicates ho... more This article highlights one salient creative discursive feature of Podemos and then indicates how this party made a Gramscian interpretation of the crisis in Spain as a 'regime crisis' and translated its transformative power into a new party that advocates and contributes to establishing a deliberative democracy in Spain, for the participation and the emancipation of the demos. We finish the article with a call on Podemos to revitalize the European Left in an era of rightwing (neoliberal) dominance and authority. We draw, in part, on an earlier article, in which we analysed the discourse of 15M or The Indignados as it was constructed by citizens around the country and which serves as a strong basis for the orientation of Podemos.

Narrativas multimodales como instrumento de cambio social: la reinvención de la democracia en España –el caso del 15M

Este artículo ofrece una descripción de la emergencia del movimiento español Democracia real ya. ... more Este artículo ofrece una descripción de la emergencia del movimiento español Democracia real ya. Nuestro objetivo es analizar los rasgos discursivos más creativos de este movimiento social y conectar el análisis con el potencial de innovación de las ciencias críticas. Este grupo es el resultado de un levantamiento espontáneo en las principales plazas de Madrid y Barcelona el 15 de mayo de 2011, extendido después a muchas otras ciudades del país; de ahí el nombre de 15M. Aunque la lucha por la democracia no es nueva en España, el 15M muestra una serie de rasgos creativos; entre ellos su lucha pacífica y la propuesta de imaginario de una nueva democracia o visión del mundo, todo ello transmitido a través de eslóganes creados espontáneamente y de manera anónima por sus integrantes. Sus rasgos innovadores no residen solamente en esta creatividad discursiva, sino también en su uso como una forma de acción social. Nuestra hipótesis es que estos eslóganes funcionan a la vez como forma de p...

Multimodal Narrative as an Instrument for Social Change: Reinventing Democracy in Spain—The Case of 15 M

This article provides a description of the emergence of the Spanish 'Occupy' movement, De... more This article provides a description of the emergence of the Spanish 'Occupy' movement, Democracia real ya. The aim is to analyse the innovative discursive features of this movement and to connect this analysis to what we consider the innovative potential of the critical sciences. The movement is the result of a spontaneous uprising that appeared on the main squares of Madrid and Barcelona on 15 May 2011 and then spread to other Spanish cities. This date gave it its name: 15M. While the struggle for democracy in Spain is certainly not new, the 15M group shows a series of innovative features. These include the emphasis on peaceful struggle and the imaginary of a new democracy or worldview, transmitted through innovative placards and slogans designed by Spanish citizens. We consider these innovative not only due to their creativity, but also because of their use as a form of civil action. Our argument is that these placards both functioned as a sign of protest and, in combinati...

Review on Blaikie, N. Designing Social Research

2.3 CDA and Participatory Action Research: A New Approach to Shared Processes of Interpretation in Educational Research

Springer International Handbooks of Education, 2014

La irrupción de Podemos en el paisaje político en España: la emancipación del 'demos'

by Esperanza Morales-López and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

De una manera divulgativa, las autoras explican la aparición de Podemos como nuevo partido polít... more De una manera divulgativa, las autoras explican la aparición de Podemos como nuevo partido político en la democracia española, su conexión con el 15M y, en consecuencia, la herencia de sus principales rasgos discursivos. Asimismo, en el artículo se hace una breve referencia a la conexión de la ideología política de este partido con la tradición de Gramsci.

Narrativas multimodales como instrumento de cambio social: la reinvención de la democracia en España -el caso del 15M (2014).

by Esperanza Morales-López and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

From Text to Political Positions: Text analysis across disciplines, ed. by Kaal, Maks and Van Elfrinkhof

by Bertie Kaal, Veronika Koller, Nicolina Montesano Montessori, anja eleveld, and Michael S. Boyd

Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, May 2014

From Text to Political Positions addresses cross-disciplinary innovation in political text analys... more From Text to Political Positions addresses cross-disciplinary innovation in political text analysis for party positioning. Drawing on political science, computational methods and discourse analysis, it presents a diverse collection of analytical models including pure quantitative and qualitative approaches. By bringing together the prevailing text-analysis methods from each discipline the volume aims to alert researchers to new and exciting possibilities of text analyses across their own disciplinary boundary.

The volume builds on the fact that each of the disciplines has a common interest in extracting information from political texts. The focus on political texts thus facilitates interdisciplinary cross-overs. The volume also includes chapters combining methods as examples of cross-disciplinary endeavors. These chapters present an open discussion of the constraints and (dis)advantages of quantitative and qualitative methods and the affordances of combining them.

Special issue Discourse Theory: Ways Forward for Theory Development and Research Practice

by Benjamin De Cleen and Nicolina Montesano Montessori

Journal of Language and Politics, 2021

This special issue considers the past, present and future of poststructuralist discourse theory a... more This special issue considers the past, present and future of poststructuralist discourse theory as a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research practice. Dealing with a variety of topics including fantasy, ideology studies, the relation between the discursive and the material, and populism, the issue is aimed at scholars from a wide range of fields, including political studies, discourse studies, media and communication studies, critical management studies, and policy studies. Following the English translation of a text by Ernesto Laclau hitherto only published in French-Politics as Construction of the Unthinkable-the ten subsequent polemic-programmatic articles reflect on ways forward for DT. The authors, originating from different disciplines, critically and constructively engage with DT, reflecting on its strengths but also its limitations, and proposing paths for future theoretical development as well as for rigorous and innovative research practice.

Jlp.specialissueDT flyerfinal

by Nicolina Montesano Montessori and Ayşem Mert

This special issue considers the past, present and future of poststructuralist discourse theory a... more This special issue considers the past, present and future of poststructuralist discourse theory as a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research practice. Dealing with a variety of topics including fantasy, ideology studies, the relation between the discursive and the material, and populism, the issue is aimed at scholars from a wide range of fields, including political studies, discourse studies, media and communication studies, critical management studies, and policy studies. Following the English translation of a text by Ernesto Laclau hitherto only published in French-Politics as Construction of the Unthinkable-the ten subsequent polemic-programmatic articles reflect on ways forward for DT. The authors, originating from different disciplines, critically and constructively engage with DT, reflecting on its strengths but also its limitations, and proposing paths for future theoretical development as well as for rigorous and innovative research practice.

Special issue Discourse Theory: Ways Forward for Theort Development and Research Practice

by Benjamin De Cleen, Nicolina Montesano Montessori, Andreja Vezovnik, Ayşem Mert, and Arthur Borriello

Journal of Language and Politics , 2021

This special issue considers the past, present and future of poststructuralist discourse theory a... more This special issue considers the past, present and future of poststructuralist discourse theory as a conceptual framework and interdisciplinary research practice. Dealing with a variety of topics including fantasy, ideology studies, the relation between the discursive and the material, and populism, the issue is aimed at scholars from a wide range of fields, including political studies, discourse studies, media and communication studies, critical management studies, and policy studies. Following the English translation of a text by Ernesto Laclau hitherto only published in French-Politics as Construction of the Unthinkable-the ten subsequent polemic-programmatic articles reflect on ways forward for DT. The authors, originating from different disciplines, critically and constructively engage with DT, reflecting on its strengths but also its limitations, and proposing paths for future theoretical development as well as for rigorous and innovative research practice.

Related Authors

Matthew Eagleton-Pierce

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