ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I outline a sociology of knowledge approach to discourse ethnography, illustrated with a case study that concerns an increase of racial diversity in South African student residences. The discussion departs from the question of how a study of local settings (such as student residences) may contribute to an analysis of discourses, in that they are phenomena and processes on the so-called macro-level of analysis.
Drawing on recent contributions regarding how micro-settings are linked to wider societal forces, that external conditions of social situations operate as introjected constraints on the meaning level are first demonstrated. Second, it is suggested that a sociology of knowledge approach – situated within the interpretive paradigm – is particularly well suited to integrating the macro-level of analysis with an ethnographic research approach. I discuss the strengths of such an approach to studying discourses ethnographically and elaborate its basic analytical purposes and methodological considerations. Finally, I use a case study to demonstrate how an ethnographic study may contribute to a differentiated understanding of how discourses are entangled with local contexts, and how this entanglement is implied in structuring social action.
