ABSTRACT
Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) is, to put it in general terms, a problem-centred, trans- and interdisciplinary research programme. CDS shares the focus on analysis of “naturally occurring” language practices with other approaches in Discourse Studies, such as descriptive discourse analysis, the ethnography of speaking, psycho- and sociolinguistics or conversation analysis. Similarly, non-verbal aspects are generally included in the analysis. The Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) was developed in multiple projects since 1986. The point of departure was an interdisciplinary project which investigated post-war antisemitism in Austria in the context of the so-called “Waldheim affair”. Analytically, the DHA distinguishes three interconnected levels of analysis: content, argumentative strategies and topoi; and linguistic and other forms of realisation. While texts realise aspects or fragments of discourses, discourses cannot be reduced to a number of texts or corpora.
