Reiner Keller on "The Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse"

Prof. Reiner Keller, Department of Sociology at the University of Augsburg, Germany, will be giving a guest lecture on "The Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse?" on Tuesday, September 11th at 12 pm. The lecture will frame existing discourse analysis approaches useful in sociology and policy analysis. Keller's own sociology of knowledge approach to discourse (SKAD) draws on Foucault, Berger and Luckmann and the interpretative paradigm of sociology including symbolic interactionism. In comparison to the Foucauldian tradition, Keller's approach focuses more on social actors and societal arenas of discursive disputes. In comparison to Berger & Luckmann, it expands analysis of societal processes of knowledge construction in institutional contexts and in public or semi-public arenas. Professor Keller will describe his use of SKAD in research on environmentalism to demonstrate the policy and social movement analysis possibilities offered by this powerful approach. Tuesday, September 11th 12:00-1:30 Laurel Heights Room 474 Brown bags welcome!