ABSTRACT
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a type of discourse analytical research that focuses on critically deconstructing how hegemonic structures and ideologies are reflected in and enacted through language—which is not necessarily confined to linguistic properties. A crucial characteristic of this approach is its emphasis on cultural, historical, and intertextual contextualization. In this chapter, Kathrin Trattner argues that CDA can be a useful method for analyzing representations of religion in video games—particularly those that are marginalizing and othering, and for placing them within a larger discursive context. The chapter provides a methodological framework based on Siegfried Jäger’s theoretical and methodological approach to CDA. To illustrate the method’s potential, as well as its limitations, Kathrin Trattner applies CDA to a case study that analyzes representations of Islam in recent Western military shooter games, using the example of Medal of Honor: Warfighter.
