ABSTRACT
Recently, scholars Fairclough and Fairclough published an article in Critical Discourse Studies journal, edited by Phil Graham. The scholars discuss ethical critique in critical discourse analysis (CDA). They point out that CDA is an approach to critical social analysis that focuses on the relationships between discourse and other aspects of social life. In their view, ethical criticism is concerned with political values (justice, equality, freedom). CDA is considered by these authors as a method of social science that aims to speak the truth to power, and that requires not being politically partisan, in the same way as political activism. According to these scholars, some works at the CDA are politically partisan, although they shouldn’t be. CDA’s concern is with social injustices, including political ones, which can be corrected. Considering the effects of coloniality in Latin America, whose social injustices are secular, it is necessary to think about an ethical criticism for CDA, aimed at all forms of oppression (class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity). In this sense, I defend a CDA aimed not only as a complaint, but also to be on the front line, alongside the victims of the dominant system. Ethical critique in CDA can be a promising proposal, as it opens paths for discussion and analysis from the ethical and moral point of view of society, through the shift from normative discourse criticism to explanatory criticism, considering practices and broader social structures. In this chapter, I discuss ethical critique in CDA, giving emphasis to the coloniality of power-knowing-being.
