DISCOURSE-IN-USE

David Bloome and Caroline Clark

The Ohio State University
Manuscript prepared for Complementary Methods for Research in Education co-edited by Judith
reen! re" Camilli! and #atricia $lmore to be published by the %merican $ducational &esearch
%ssociation' %ddress for correspondence( David Bloome! )an"ua"e! )iteracy * Culture! School
of Teachin" * )earnin"! The Ohio State University! +,-B &amseyer .all! +/' 0' 0oodruff
%venue! Columbus! Ohio 12+,3 bloome',4osu'edu
Discourse-5n-Use
The concept of discourse-in-use focuses attention simultaneously on ho6 people interact
6ith each other! the tools they use in those interactions! the social and historical conte7ts 6ithin
6hich they interact! and 6hat they concertedly create and accomplish throu"h those interactions'
The concept of 8discourse-in-use9 can be distin"uished from other definitions of discourse'
Discourse has been defined as stylistic 6ays of usin" lan"ua"e : ;! 6ritten te7t : ;! as a set
of cultural! historical! and ideolo"ical processes :cf'! <oucault! ,/=3;! amon" other definitions
:see Bloome! Carter! Christian! Otto * <aris! in press! for a discussion of definitions of
discourse;' ee :,//-; distin"uishes bet6een discourse 6ith a lo6er case 8d9 and Discourse
6ith an upper case 8D'9 The former referrin" to 6ays of usin" lan"ua"e 6ithin face-to-face
events and similar situations> the latter referrin" to broad social! cultural! and ideolo"ical
processes' 0hether one uses ee?s trope of lo6er case 8discourse9 versus upper case
8Discourse!9 ackno6led"ement needs to be made that people use lan"ua"e and other semiotic
tools 6ithin multiple layers of social conte7t and that 6ays of usin" lan"ua"e do not e7ist
distinct from broader social and historical processes' 0e use 8discourse-in-use9 to ask 6ho is
doin" 6hat 6ith 6hom! to 6hom ! 6hen! 6here! and ho6@ The concept of discourse-in-use
focuses attention on ho6 people adopt and adapt the lan"ua"e and cultural practices historically
available in response to the local! institutional! macro-social and historical situations in 6hich
they find themselves'
5n this chapter! 6e e7amine methodolo"ical 6arrants and obli"ations that the concept of
discourse-in-use provides for researchers interested in describin" and understandin" ho6 people
accomplish education' By 8accomplish education!9 6e mean ho6 people create events and
+
social institutions that are reco"niAable to themselves and others as educational events and
educational institutions' 0e vie6 the accomplishment of education as occurrin" both in
classroom and non-classroom settin"s'
0e be"in by briefly discussin" historical roots of the concept of discourse-in-use' Then!
6e discuss the material nature of discourse-in-use and the nature of the 6arrants needed to
support claims re"ardin" interpretations of discourse events' 0e follo6 the discussion of
6arrants by raisin" t6o key issues( animation of discourse and a"ency! and dividin" practices'
To illustrate the concepts 6e present! 6e e7amine a small se"ment of classroom conversation
from a seventh "rade lan"ua"e arts lesson' 5n this classroom conversation! the teacher and
students had been discussin" Sterlin" Bro6n?s poem! 8%fter 0inter'9 The conversation evolved
into a discussion of lan"ua"e variation and the particular conversational se"ment 6e use involves
discussion of 8soundin" 6hite'9
Transcript ,
Conversational se"ment from a Seventh rade )an"ua"e %rts )esson
3, Teacher 0ho can e7plain to the concept of soundin" 6hite B
3+ Maria OC 5 have an e7ample
32 Maria 0hen 5 be at lunch and 5 say liDke
31 %ndre 0hen 5 be laughs :aside;
3E Teacher F0ait a minuteF
3- Teacher 5?m sorry G
iven space limitations! the discussion is necessarily brief' <or more e7tensive discussions of
the theoretical and methodlo"ical issues 6e refer readers to Bloome et al! in press> ee!
Schiffrin! Tannen! * .amilton! +33,> > van DiHk! > 0oodak! > Iadd others hereJ'
2
Historical Roots of Discourse-in-use?
0e trace the historical roots of discourse-in-use to t6o related intellectual traditions'
,

The first derives from the literary and lin"uistic theoriAin" of Bakhtin :,/2E! ,/E2; and
Kolosinov :,/+/L,/M2; and the use of their theories in analysis of educational processes :e'"'!
;' The second derives from the ethno"raphy of communication :cf'! Bauman! ,/=->
umperA!,/=+a> umperA * .ymes!,/M+> .eath! ,/=2> .ymes!,/M1; and related intellectual
traditions such as interactional sociolin"uistics :cf'! ee! ,//-> .anks! +333> Ochs! Sche"loff! *
Thompson! ,//-; and ethnomethodolo"y :cf'! Sacks! Sche"loff * Jefferson! ,/M1; and the
evolution of these lines of intellectual inNuiry in constitutin" an educational lin"uistics :cf'!
Bloome et al! in press> CaAden! ,/==! ,//+> CaAden! Jon! * .ymes! ,/M+> reen! ,/=2> reen *
0allat! ,/=,> <oster! ,//E> .eap ,/=E! ,/==> Macbeth! +332> Mehan! ,/M/>,/=3;' These t6o
intellectual traditions focus attention on the inseparability of lan"ua"e from the conte7ts of its
use'
Roots in Literary Theory. <or Bakhtin :,/2EL,/=,; and Kolosinov :,/+/L,/M2;! conte7t
is historical' $very 6ord invokes a history of its use! both 6hat has "one before and 6hat is to
come later' Bakhtin :,/2EL,/=,; 6rites(
The living utterance, having taken meaning and shape at a particular historical
moment in a socially specific environment, cannot fail to brush up against
thousands of living dialogic threads, woven by socio-ideological consciousness
around the given object of an utterance; it cannot fail to become an active
participant in social dialogue. After all, the utterance arises out of this dialogue as
a continuation of it and as a rejoinder to it it does not approach the object from
the sidelines. (pp. 276-277)
1
But 6ords do not only reflect a history and a 8socially specific environment!9 they also refract
that history' That is! 6ords are located in a tension bet6een centripetal forces that seek to
maintain an ideolo"ical status Nuo and centrifu"al forces that seek to provoke chan"e'
#art of the historical conte7t also involves the ackno6led"ement of multiple voices!
hetero"lossia! the dialo"ue Bakhtin refers to above' These different voices and their histories
and ideolo"ies play a"ainst each other' Koices can be submer"ed and subsumed> they can
harmoniAe> they can stand out from each other and create discord> they can create dialo"ue'
Koices do not e7ist in isolation! they only stand in relationship to other voices! even if only
implicitly so' <or e7ample consider an authoritative or he"emonic discourse that makes claims
to autonomous truths' Such a discourse is one that has dismissed other voices! and imposes itself
on another person :or people;! subsumin" the person as 6ell as other voices' %n authoritative
discourse! ho6ever! should be understood not as an autonomous process but as a relationship
amon" voices! amon" people! 6ithin and amon" social institutions' 5t is similarly so 6ith a
dialo"ue' % dialo"ue is also a relationship amon" voices! people! and social institutions! a
relationship that ackno6led"es the e7istence of other voices' Bakhtin defines a dialo"ue as a
discourse that allo6s for! encoura"es! and ackno6led"es the appropriation and adaptation of
other voices' 0hereas the po6er of authoritative discourse lies in its imposition from 6ithout!
the po6er of dialo"ue lies in its mutability to become an internally persuasive discourse'
%lternatively! "iven that any use of lan"ua"e al6ays involves responses to other uses of
lan"ua"e and other voices! an ar"ument can be made that all discourses are inherently dialo"ic'
%t Nuestion is the nature of that dialo"ue! the nature of the social relationships amon" people!
amon" voices! and amon" social institutions! and the de"ree to 6hich the inherent dialo"ic nature
of a discourse is obfuscated or ackno6led"ed'
E
%lso implicit in any use of lan"ua"e are assumptions about ho6 people make their 6ay
throu"h space and time' &eferrin" to novels! Bakhtin used the term 8chronotope9 to distin"uish
different implicit assumptions about ho6 people :characters in novels; made their 6ay throu"h
space and time' <or e7ample! a prota"onist in a novel may encounter a series of adventures but
the order of these adventures is of no si"nificance and there is no assumption of chan"e in the
prota"onist over time! space! or adventures' %n alternative chronotope mi"ht assume that the
seNuence of adventures is important and contin"ent and that both the prota"onist and the 6orld
chan"e over time' Bakhtin characteriAed different literary periods as havin" different underlyin"
chronotopes'
Chronotopes are not only implicit in literary 6orks! they also e7ist in the narratives that
people use to "uide their o6n lives and evaluate the lives of others includin" the narratives that
"uide educational processes! curricular models! educational evaluation! and educational research
:cf'! Bloome * Carter! +33,! Bloome * CatA! ,//M> in press;' %lthou"h chronotopes are rarely
made e7plicit! they are not deterministic' &ather! throu"h their interactions people instantiate
and challen"e an e7tant chronotope! reconstructin" 6hat has been implicitly 8"iven'9'
%lthou"h not e7plicitly noted by Bakhtin! inherent in his and Kolosinov?s discussion of
lan"ua"e is the construct of interte7tuality! first named by Cristeva :,/=-;' 5n brief! any 6ord!
utterance! or te7t! has relationships 6ith other 6ords! utterances! and te7ts! and the
meanin"fulness and si"nificance of a 6ord! utterance! or te7t derives in part from those
interte7tual relationships' .o6ever! the interte7tual relationships are not simply "iven in the te7t
itself :althou"h there may be various lin"uistic si"ns su""estin" an interte7tual relationship! for
e7ample citations;! but rather interte7tual relationships are constructed by people in interaction
6ith each other :Bloome * $"an-&obertson! ,//2;' 5nterte7tual relationships need to be
-
proposed! reco"niAed! ackno6led"ed! and have social si"nificance :Bloome * $"an-&obertson!
,//2;'
Roots in The Ethnography of Communication and Related Intellectual Traditions. The
inseparability of lan"ua"e from its conte7ts of use is also found in the ethno"raphy of
communication and related intellectual traditions' <ocusin" on ho6 culture influences ho6
people use lan"ua"e in their everyday lives! ethno"raphers of communication and others have
e7amined variation in the lan"ua"e practices people use in their everyday lives' .o6 people
"reet each other! ar"ue! make romance! create coherence! tell stories! listen! construct and sho6
en"a"ement! Hoke! share information! form social "roups! alienate and isolate others! establish
social and cultural identities! amon" other social activities! are inseparably connected to their
culture! to their shared 6ays of actin"! thinkin"! believin"! and feelin"'
One "oal of the ethno"raphy of communication and related intellectual traditions has
been to describe the diverse lan"ua"e practices people employ across cultures' <or e7ample!
ho6 do people en"a"e in storytellin" in different ethnic cultures@ $ducational researchers
buildin" on the ethno"raphy of communication have noticed that occasionally cross-cultural
miscommunication occurs in classrooms because the lan"ua"e practices of the classroom may
differ from that of the students? home' <or e7ample! the 6ays of tellin" a story in a classroom
may be different than those in the student?s home culture :cf'! Scollon * Scollon! ,/=,>
Michaels! ,/=-;' $ven 6hen such differences are subtle! they can have ne"ative conseNuences
for the students unless the cross-cultural differences are reco"niAed and accommodated :e'"'! %u!
,/=3> <oster! ,//+;'
%nother "oal has been to describe ho6 people in interaction 6ith each other! throu"h
their face-to-face interactions create reco"niAable social and cultural practices and 6hat
M
interactional obli"ations and opportunities do these social and cultural practices have for
participants' <or e7ample! ethnomethodolo"ists have focused attention on Nuestion and ans6er
conversations and the 8rules9 for en"a"in" in such conversations both in and outside of
classrooms' 0hat are the rules for 6ho has the floor to speak and 6ho 6ill "et the ne7t turn at
talk@ .o6 do they kno6 6hen the Nuestion askin" event is over and they are movin" on to
another social practice@ <rom the perspective of an educational lin"uistics! at issue in Nuestions
such as those above is both the structure and the meanin"fulness and import of the social
practices teachers and students create throu"h their interactions' <or e7ample! researchers have
identified a pattern of classroom interaction labeled initiation-response-evaluationLfeedback :5-&-
<;' The teacher asks a Nuestion! a student responds! and the teacher evaluates the response
providin" feedback' 5n part! at issue in the identification of the 5-&-< seNuences in classrooms is
investi"ation of the opportunities and obli"ations made available throu"h 5-&-< seNuences'
&esearchers have focused attention on the comple7ity and import of 5-&-< seNuences for social
relationships bet6een teachers and students :e'"'! ;! for academic learnin" :e'"'! CaAden!
+332> Oystrand! > O?Connor * Michaels! ;! for student evaluation and assessment :e'"'!
;! for socialiAation :e'"'! ;! for classroom mana"ement :e'"'! ;! for race relations in
classrooms :e'"'! Bloome * olden! ,/ ;! and for cross-cultural communication :e'"'! CaAden!
,/ > ee! ;' 0hat social and cultural 6ork an 5-&-< seNuence does cannot be assumed or
predetermined but must be determined throu"h e7amination of the particularities of its enactment
and ho6 people! teachers and students! respond to each other'
% related "oal associated 6ith the ethno"raphy of communication and related intellectual
traditions has been to e7amine ho6 people interactionally construct specific events buildin" on
each other?s interactional behavior as they adapt e7tant lin"uistic and social practices in order to
=
create ne6 meanin"s! ne6 social relationships! and ne6 social accomplishments' 5mplicit in this
"oal is the assumption that people do not merely enact "iven social practices and do not merely
reproduce "iven systems of meanin"s' &ather! they are constantly e7ercisin" a"ency in adaptin"
the lan"ua"e and social practices "iven 6ithin a social settin" in order to address chan"in"
situations and circumstances and to create ne6 circumstances and situations' That is! people act
and react to each other :$rickson * ShultA! ,/MM;' $ducational researchers have e7amined ho6
teachers and students challen"e "iven institutional identities such as bein" labeled learnin"
disabled :e'"'! Clark! ,//2;! create learnin" opportunities :cf'! reen! ,/=2> &e7! ,///;! co-
construct failure :e'"'! McDermott! ,/=+> Bloome! #uro! * Theodorou! ,/=/;! challen"e and
redesi"n academic curriculum :e'"'! Bloome et al! in press;! amon" other educational processes'
Description Of The Interactional Processes Throuh !hich People
Concerte"l# Construct E$ents
Capturin" discourse-in-use reNuires description of the lin"uistic features people in
interaction 6ith each other use as they mutually construct an event' Capturin" those features is
not a technical matter as much as a theoretical one! and thus researchers may differ in ho6 they
define basic units of analysis! create transcripts! and define lin"uistic features :Du Bois! ,//,>
$d6ards! +33,> Ochs! ,/M/;' By lin"uistic features 6e are referrin" to the broad ran"e of
semiotic tools that people have available for communicatin" their intents and respondin" to each
other' These include verbal! nonverbal! and prosodic behavior! use and manipulation of obHects!
and the coordination of their behavior 6ith each other' umperA :,/ ; has referred to these
lin"uistic features as conte7tualiAation cues since it is throu"h these cues that people si"nal both
their intentions and 6hat the social conte7t is taken to be' #art of the obli"ation in for
/
educational researchers interested in capturin" discourse-in-use is describin" ho6 people use
conte7tualiAation cues to construct educational events! ho6 they communicate their intents and
construct the social conte7ts 6ithin 6hich they interact' <or e7ample! consider Table , 6hich
sho6s the conte7tualiAation cues that define and accompany the messa"e units
+
from a small
se"ment of an instructional conversation'
Table ,
Sample of a Description of Conte7tualiAation Cues to a Transcript
%ine
&
Spea'er (essae Unit Description of Conte)tuali*ation Cues
3, Teacher 0ho can e7plain to the
concept of soundin"
6hite B
Stress on 86ho9
risin" intonation pattern peakin" at end of messa"e unit
3+ Maria OC 5 have an e7ample Stress on OC
OC acts as a place holder
<lat intonation pattern after OC
32 Maria 0hen 5 be at lunch and 5
say liDke
Stress on 80hen9
Stress on first 859
Stress on second 859
$lon"ated vo6el in 8liDke9
31 %ndre 0hen 5 be laughs Different speaker
80hen9 overlaps part of 8)iDke9
&epetition of 85 be9 intonation and style pattern
Speaker stops verbal messa"e at end
3E Teacher F0ait a minuteF reatly increased volume
Oonverbal hand Nuestions
.i"hly styliAed voice and intonation pattern
Stress on 80ait9
3- Teacher 5?m sorry G )o6er volume
Cessation of hi"hly styliAed voice and intonation
pattern
Mock intonation pattern
#ause after sorry
The description of the use of conte7tualiAation cues reNuires description of their use in
time and in relationship to 6hat has "one before and 6hat 6ill come later' That is! the
,3
meanin"fulness of a conte7tualiAation cue P a stress! a si"h! a shru"! an overlap! an intonation
pattern! etc' P is not "iven in the conte7tualiAation cue itself! but only in relationship to 6hat has
"one before and the evolvin" 6orkin" consensus amon" the interlocutors about 6hat is
happenin" at that time :cf'! reen * 0allat! ,/=,> ;'
%s teachers and student interact 6ith each other! they mutually create events 6ith
boundaries' They si"nal these boundaries to each other' There are the boundaries bet6een one
messa"e unit and another! bet6een one interactional unti and another! bet6een one activity and
another! bet6een one phase of a lesson and the ne7t! bet6een instructional time and non-
instructional time! etc' <or e7ample! in Table + the Teacher be"ins an interactional unit initiated
by a Nuestion in )ine 3,' % student responds and be"ins a narrative! all of 6hich are si"naled by
conte7tualiAation cues so that her interlocutors :the other students and the teacher; kno6 6hat
interactional behavior is e7pected of them :that is! 6hen a person is renderin" a narrative the
interlocuters are e7pected to listen 6ithout interruption unlike the previous interaction 6hich
involved student response to teacher Nuestions;' %lthou"h %ndre attempts to characteriAe his
comments as an aside :as indicated by the conte7tualiAation cues he uses;! the Teacher redefines
his aside as an interruption in the ne7t messa"e unit chan"in" the interactional unti to a ne6
conversation focusin" on the content and appropriateness of %ndre?s aside' The Teacher! Maria!
and %ndre use conte7tualiAation cues to si"nal and contest boundaries bet6een different types of
inteactional units :recitation! narrative! aside commentary! lecture;'
Boundaries are not "iven by one person! by a teacher or a student! althou"h a person may
propose a boundary' &ather! boundaries are mutually created as they must be mutually a"reed
upon' Thus! a teacher mi"ht si"nal a chan"e from one phase of a lesson to another perhaps by
,,
makin" a statement' But if the students do not respond to that si"nal and validate it! then no
transition 6ill have occurred'
The importance of boundaries is that they si"nal to interlocutors chan"es in the
interactional ri"hts and obli"ations they have to6ard each other and they si"nal potential chan"es
in 6hat is happenin" and the shared interpretive frame6orks that mi"ht be employed at that time'
<or e7ample! as a classroom lesson moves from a series of 5-&-< seNuences to a narrative! the
ri"hts and obli"ations for participation for the teacher and the students chan"e and the
interpretive frame6ork for evaluatin" behavior and content chan"es as 6ell' Thus! in Table +!
%ndre?s behavior 6hich mi"ht have been acceptable durin" the more free form Nuestion-ans6er
discussion 6as not appropriate once Maria be"an her narrative'
Description! therefore! is not a process of codin" communicative behavior! but rather one
of situatin" behavior 6ithin the flo6 of social interaction' The meanin"fulness of any
communicative behavior or of any stream or seNuence of behavior is not found 6ithin itself but
in its use and import 6ithin the flo6 of social interaction' #eople en"a"ed in interaction 6ith
each other must constantly monitor 6hat is happenin" in order to assi"n meanin"fulness to
communicative behavior' Similarly! 6hatever claims researchers mi"ht make about 6hat is
happenin" at any particular moment in an educational event need to be ar"ued in terms of the use
and import of communicative behavior 6ithin the conte7t of the flo6 of social interaction'
Qet! even such situated claims and ar"uments need to be tentative as the meanin" and
import of any specific moment 6ithin an on"oin" event can be redefined later :Bloome! ,/ ;' %
particular comment made by a student or a particular series of e7chan"es bet6een a teacher and a
student can be interpreted one 6ay by interlocutors at the time of their occurrence! but later they
can be referenced and the meanin" of that behavior or series of e7chan"es rene"otiated' <or
,+
e7ample! Maria?s use of the habital be form in line 32 in Table + :80hen 5 be at lunch '''9; is
first framed by %ndre as either an inferior 6ay of speakin" or as ironic :since Maria is
complainin" of bein" accused of 8speakin" 6hite9 6hen she is usin" a feature of %frican
%merican )an"ua"e; but later in the instructional conversation the Teacher makes clear that she
uses the habitual be! that it is used by educated people! and that use of the use of the habitual be
is not 6ron" or inappropriate' 5n brief! the Teacher reconte7tualiAes the lin"uistic behavior' 5n
sum! any communicative behavior can be reconte7tualiAed' Meanin" is never determinate'
Oor is the meanin"fulness of any communicative behavior monolithic' <irst! althou"h
interlocutors may have established a 6orkin" consensus for interpretin" each other?s behavior
6ithin a particular event! they may have only done so at a surface level' $ach person may be
brin"in" to the event interpretive frame6orks from their o6n histories or cultural back"rounds
that are not shared' %nd althou"h the communicative behaviors each produces is sufficient to
create an on"oin" and coherent event! beyond the production of the event itself! the interpretation
of 6hat occurred durin" that event varies 6idely' Thus! researchers! like the people en"a"ed in
the event themselves! must distin"uish bet6een the production of the event itself :6hat Bloome!
#uro! * Theodorou! ,/=M! call procedural display; and the meanin"fulness of that event on
multiple levels'
<or e7ample! one of the institutional obli"ations of schools is to produce events that look like
8schoolin"'9 The conversation in Table + looks like 8schoolin"'9 The teacher is askin"
Nuestions! standin" mostly at the front of the class! the students are sittin" at their desks! raisin"
their hands for a turn at talk! and discussin" a poem introduced by the teacher earlier in the
lesson' 5n part! the meanin"fulness of an event is in its location 6ithin a series of events'
,2
Sometimes interlocutors si"nal the series of events in 6hich they are embeddin" an event in they
are participatin"' But sometimes the broader series of events is assumed and interlocutors only
need to si"nal the broader series of events if they detect confusion or disa"reement' But it is also
the case that the series of events 6hich conte7tualiAes any particular event can be disputed and
contested' %s a result! the meanin"fulness of an event or of a communicative behavior 6ithin an
event can vary even amon" those in interaction 6ith each other' <or e7ample! in the event
sho6n in Table + involves an interruption to Maria?s story by %ndre and opens a Nuestion about
the le"itimacy of the habital-be form :and more "enerally! the le"itimacy of %frican %merican
)an"ua"e;' Maria is locatin" the topic :8speakin" 6hite!9 usin" the habitual-be! %frican
%merican )an"ua"e; 6ithin her o6n e7periences :6hen she is at lunch;' %ndre relocates it
6ithin the conte7t of a peer "roup classroom conversation' The Teacher relocates the
interruption and the topic 6ithin the broader topic of understandin" lan"ua"e variation and then
later in the lesson she uses their discussion of the habitual-be to raise Nuestions about the poem
they had read and at the end of the lesson she uses the interruption to raise Nuestions about the
ethics of interpretation' She tells the students at the end of the lesson(
a lot of you are makin" e7cellent comments but they are devoid of you as a
person' 5t?s very easy to make "eneraliAations about people or about other people
6hen you?re able to take yourself out of it! But 6hen you put yourself back into
your statements! put yourself in relationship to your comments you?re makin"!
and then see if the comment still 6orks
5n brief! the Teacher?s comments at the end of the lesson propose a reinterpretation of the
instructional conversation that has occurred on that day and previously in their classroom' She is
proposin" a reinterpretation about 6hat counts as valid kno6led"e' 0hether the Teacher?s
,1
proposed reinterpretation is interactionally validated cannot be kno6n at that time as the lesson
ends and the students leave' The task for the researcher is to e7amine subseNuent events! such as
instructional conversations the ne7t day in the lan"ua"e arts classroom for public validation!
6hether e7plicit or implicit! of the teacher?s proposal about 6hat counts as valid kno6led"e'
More "enerally stated! the task for a researcher interested in the meanin"fulness and import of
any educational event is to build a data-based ar"ument in 6ays similar to that 6hich
interlocutors 6ould use to assi"n meanin"fulness yet kno6in" that meanin" is indeterminate!
multiple! and not necessarily fully shared amon" the interlocutors'
(aterial Nature an" Orani*ation of Discourse Practices
Discourse-in-use is material and reNuires "eo"raphy' The 6ords! prosody! nonverbal
behaviors! and manipulation of obHects are all material! they have substance' So! too! the bodies
of those en"a"ed in interaction' ConseNuently! discourse-in-use is subHect to all of those
processes associated 6ith material production! distribution! and consumption'
Consider the instructional conversations that occur in classrooms' Students and teacher
enter into a physical space :a classroom; that has been pre-established 6ith a particular siAe!
li"htin"! and "iven furniture Some elementary classrooms include alcoves Hust bi" enou"h for a
table of si7 to seven students and a teacher' $ven the people and the types of people have been
predetermined' The number of people in the classroom is a material condition influencin" ho6
people can en"a"e in discourse' 5mplicit in this classroom "eo"raphy are ideolo"ical
assumptions about the kinds of social and cultural practices! the discourse practices! that 6ill
occur there and the space has been manufactured to encoura"e those social and cultural practices'
Similarly so! time has been pre-established' 5t is not Hust that there is an official be"innin" and
,E
endin" time! rather for most teachers the school day is previously se"mented! and pre-determined
distinctions are instructional time and play time :e'"'! recess! lunch;' Calendar time is also pre-
determined' $valuation schemes also define time( by a certain point in the year! the students are
e7pected to have "one throu"h particular curriculum units and to have demonstrated competence
in predetermined skills'
The social and cultural practices in 6hich teachers and students are to en"a"e are also
"iven materially' Throu"h the provision of te7tbooks! teacher "uides! instructional materials
:e'"'! paper! pencils! soft6are;! the location of blackboards! etc'! particular social practices for
interaction bet6een teachers and students are encoura"ed' <urther! teachers! students! and others
:e'"'! administrators! parents; hold e7pectations for 6hat social and cultural practices 6ill occur
in the classroom space as they define education throu"h the instantiation of those social and
cultural practices' 5f those e7pectations are not fulfilled! they 6ill react and their reactions are
part of the material conditions of classroom discourse'
5n brief! teachers and students step into a "iven chronotope and a set of "iven social and
cultural practices defined as education that are materially manifest' They step into a "iven
discourse' Their history and the historical conte7t of their discourse-in-use does not be"in 6ith
their first day of school! but rather 6ith deeper roots and materially so' One of the obli"ations of
educational researchers interested in discourse-in-use in classroom settin"s is to describe!
interpret! and e7plain the production of the material conditions of classroom discourse'
Qet! despite the "iven material conditions! teachers and students are not dependent
variables' %lthou"h the material conditions may constrain 6hat they can do and ho6 they mi"ht
interact 6ith each other :or more positively stated! provide encoura"ement and affordances to
en"a"e in particular social and cultural practices;! people also act upon those material conditions!
,-
adapt "iven social and cultural practices! and create events that in small measure or lar"e esche6
the social and cultural practices "iven' %s a history of such events is made! that history may
become part of the material conditions of classroom discourse' 5t is not Hust that the "iven space
mi"ht be re-arran"ed or e7panded :e'"'! use of the hall6ay;! and divisions of time redefined! but
that the social and cultural practices that the teachers! students! and others held for definin"
education mi"ht evolve and that the e7pectations embodied in their reactions to each other have
chan"ed'
Consider the classroom conversation in Table+' The lesson be"an 6ith a readin" of a
poem and discussion of 6hat happened in the poem' .o6ever! rather than focus attention on the
poem itself! the teacher and the students use the poem as a prop to e7plore their o6n lives> in this
case! their lives as racialiAed people 6ho speak varieties of $n"lish labeled 86hite!9 and L or
8Black9' They have adapted the traditional poetry lesson 6hich focuses on the meanin" of the
poem 6ithout losin" the appearance of en"a"in" in a traditional classroom poetry lesson :e'"'!
presentin" a poem! a teacher-led discussion! related home6ork assi"nments! hand-raisin"! etc';'
Thus! one obli"ation of the educational researcher interested in describin"! interpretin"! and
e7plainin" discourse-in-use in educational settin"s is to capture the adaptation and evolution of
the material conditions of classroom discourse over time' The cross-sectional study of discourse-
in-use is a non-seNuitor'
%t issue! ho6ever! is not Hust an a"enda 6ith re"ard to documentin" the material
conditions of discourse-in-use' Since discourse itself is material! e7istin" both in the resources at
hand and in the conte7tualiAation cues of people in interaction use! a record can be made of the
material enactment of discourse-in-use' That record needs to sho6 ho6 people acted and reacted
to each other' 5t is throu"h the careful description of the material enactment of the event! of the
,M
discourse-in-use in that event as it constitutes the event! that educational researchers are
6arranted in makin" claims about 6hat is happenin" in that event' The key for educational
researchers interested in constructin" interpretations of an event that lie close to the
interpretations of the people in that event is to call upon the same or similar frames of reference
as the people there' Since the people in that event need to make clear to each other their
e7pectations for the interpretive frame6orks to be used in assi"nin" meanin" to the event and
since they si"nal those intentions materially! those material cues are also visible to researchers of
that event' Claims! therefore! to the interpretation of discourse events are 6arranted by
description of the material construction of that event as it reveals ho6 people in that event! both
individually and collectively! built an interpretation of 6hat 6as occurrin"'
+ni,ation of Discourse an" +enc#
The animation of discourse refers to conceptions of discourse that treat it as if it 6ere
itself a person or a"ent' Such animation occurs 6hen discourse is vie6ed as capturin" a person
or as positionin" a person' <or e7ample! the discourse of schoolin" forces people into the
cate"ory of 8teacher9 or 8student'9 iven the ubiNuitous nature of these cate"ories in the
discourse used across schools in 0estern countries! it 6ould be impossible to assi"n such use to
an individual or to a "roup' 5ndeed! 6hat is prime in such uses of discourse is that they appear
ubiNuitous! 6ithout a specific a"ent! and 8natural'9 Oatural refers to bein" taken-for-"ranted! an
obvious truth! common sense! and uncontested' Of course! such cate"ories and such a discourse
may not at all be uncontested! alternatives may e7ist or could be ima"ined' #art of 6hat is
po6erful about the naturaliAation of a discourse is that refusal to adopt the discourse! and ho6 it
,=
captures people! can be taken by others as a si"n of lack of common sense! a denial of truth! and
in some cases! as patholo"y or mental illness'
<rom the point-of-vie6 of discourse-in-use! the Nuestion to ask about animated
discourses is not their ori"in! but 6ho is usin" that animated discourse to do 6hat! to 6hom!
6hen! 6here! and 6ith 6hat conseNuences' &eturnin" to the discourse of schoolin"! in a
particular school district! school! or classroom! people may use the discourse of schoolin" and its
cate"ories of teacher and student to create a kno6led"e hierarchy and a set of social relationships
amon" people' Once established! school officials can locate kno6led"e and the presti"e and
po6er that accompanies it in the school and they can define the communities served by the
school as i"norant and deficit' $ven if there is opposition to the 6ay that the animated discourse
is used! by invokin" it! people can establish the terms of debate! values! and 6hat is assumed to
be common sense and rational'
<or e7ample! in the classroom lesson described earlier! one of the students invokes the
discourse of proper and improper lan"ua"e! a discourse also invoked by the formal curriculum of
prescriptive "rammar' The student invokes that discourse as if it Hust e7ists! as if it is 8natural9
and to be taken for "ranted that there is a proper and improper 6ay of usin" lan"ua"e' The
discourse of proopoer and improper captures people! as if the discourse iteself 6ere an a"ent' 5n
the lesson! the teacher responds to the students invokin" of such a discourse by problematiAin"
the terms proper and improper' She Nuestions! 8OC! 0hat is proper and 6hat is slan"@ .elp me
outF9 %nd similarly in Table +! she problematiAes the notion that the habitual be
%nimated discourses are subHect to the same processes of adaptation that 6ere discussed
earlier' %s people act and react to each other! they not only respond to animated discourses they
adapt and refract them' <or e7ample! reconsider the discourse of schoolin" and its cate"ories of
,/
teacher and student and the implied hierarchy in those terms' 5n some classrooms! teachers 6ill
redefine the assi"nment of those terms statin" that 85n this classroom! 6e are all teachers and all
students'9 Other teachers mi"ht redefine their role as a teacher from that of dispensin"
kno6led"e to that of facilitatin" kno6led"e acNuisition processes' 0hat is at issue here is not
specific responses to the cate"ories of teacher and student! but rather that people are not simply
8captured9 by a discourse' 0hile some may adopt an animated discourse! others may modify!
adapt! or transform such a discourse throu"h their interactions 6ith others' Some may do so
deliberately and label their actions so as part of a resistance to that discourse! its values! and ho6
it structures social relationship! others may do so implicitly and 6hile the adaptations may be
substantial they 6ould not necessarily label their actions as resistance' &e"ardless! animated
discourses do not e7ist outside of the a"ency of people 6ho use them'
Discourse-in-Use an" the !or' of Di$i"in Practices
-
Dividin" practices create cate"ories for or"aniAin" and controllin" people and subHectin"
them to the "oals of a social institution' Thus! social institutions such as schools! families!
churches! courts! and health care! all use dividin" practices to create le"itimate L ri"hteous and
ille"itimate L errant people that Hustify the e7istence of the social institution( the educated and the
i"norant! relatives and stran"ers! believers and heretics! the la6-abidin" and the criminal! the
sane and insane! etc' Such dividin" practices can be codified P e'"'! students attendin" school
versus truant students P or part of a 8folk9 cate"orical system P e'"'! "ood students versus bad
students' Dividin" practices provide a rationale for the social institution to en"a"e in activities
that protect the le"itimate from the ille"itimate and to convert the errant to the ri"hteous'
+3
The po6er of a discourse! in part! lies in its dividin" practices and in makin" those
dividin" practices appear 8natural'9 Once the dividin" practices are taken as common sense! as
obvious! and as e7istin" 6ithout alternative! there is no need to control people throu"h physical
coercion' &ather! people 6ill act in accordance 6ith the 8truth9 of the social institution and its
dividin" practice' %ll that remains to be debated is ho6 to enact that 8truth'9
0ith re"ard to discourse-in-use! educational researchers cannot limit their investi"ations
to identifyin" and describin" the dividin" practices of educational discourses' &ather! attention
needs to be focused on 6ho is usin" those dividin" practices! to do 6hat! to 6hom! 6hen and
6here' 5n brief! ho6 is the 8truth9 of that discourse and its dividin" practices enacted' Such a
vie6 of classroom discourse redefines a number of educational processes' <or e7ample! rather
than define academic learnin" and success as an achievement and failure as lack of achievement!
both success and failure are vie6ed as social achievements :see ;' The 8"ood9 students
e7ists :and obtains herLhis privile"es; only because the 8bad9 student is Hu7taposed' <or
e7ample! the teacher asks the students 6hether there is a proper and improper 6ay of speakin" or
6hether people 8codes6itch9 in different situations' By doin" so! she challen"es the dividin"
practices the students have assumed as natural'
5n addition to describin" the enactment of dividin" practices! attention needs to be paid to
ho6 people! throu"h their interactions 6ith each other! are adaptin" and transformin" those
dividin" practices' Such adaptations mi"ht be acts of resistance! others mi"ht not be defined as
such' <or e7ample! some teachers refuse to define their students as 8"ood9 or 8bad'9 Some
schools refuse to "ives "rades' They en"a"e in such practices as overt acts of resistance to the
normative discourse of schoolin"' Some teachers redesi"n the curriculum and the evaluation
system so that every student in their classroom is successful! definin" success not in terms of its
+,
opposition to failure but as a developmental process' Such actions may not be overt acts of
resistance! nonetheless such acts adapt and transform the dividin" practices of school discourse'
Thus! part of the obli"ation for educational researchers interested in discourse-in-use is to
describe the adaptations of dividin" practices both in those classrooms that are e7plicitly
resistant and in those that make no claim to resistance'
.inal Co,,ents/ Discourse-in-Use as a Situate" Process
The Nuestion to ask about discourse is not 6hether it is 6ritten or spoken! discourse or
Discourse! animated or other6ise! verbal or non-verbal! ubiNuitous or confined! adopted or
adapted P discourse is al6ays all of these' The Nuestion to ask is 6ho is doin" 6hat! 6ith 6hom
to 6hom! to 6hat conseNuence! 6hen and 6here' The 86hen and 6here9 is critical as it situates
discourse-in-use as an historical and interpersonal process' %s $rickson and ShultA :,/MM;
pointed out over t6o decades a"o! people are the conte7t for each other' The obli"ation and
6arrant for educational researchers interested in ho6 people create education is to trace!
moment-by-moment! action by action! response by response! and refraction by refraction! ho6
people use the lin"uistic tools they have available and the material resources at hand to adopt and
adapt e7tant discourse practices as they define their social relationships! social identities!
kno6led"e! and the acNuisition of kno6led"e' Such an obli"ation includes the interte7tual and
interconte7tual nature of any event and the dialo"ic relationship of the event 6ith other events'
But! rather than create a description that merely serves as an illustration of e7tant social theory!
the obli"ation is to create a description and interpretation 6hose e7planation lies close to the
meanin"fulness of the event produced by the people involved' Such an e7planation does not
++
esche6 social theory! but redefines social theory as a situated process that is both particular and
historical'
5llustration of Messa"e Unit Boundaries Kia Conte7tualiAation Cues
%ine
&
Spea'er (essae
Unit
Conte)tuali*ation
Cues Use" to
Deter,ine (essae
Unit 0oun"aries
Interpretation of
Conte)tuali*ation Cues in
I"entif#in (essae Unit
0oun"aries
3, Teacher 0ho can
e7plain to
the concept
of soundin"
6hiteB
Stress on 86ho9
risin" intonation
pattern peekin" at end
of messa"e unit
Ms' 0ilson "ives up
floor
Stress on 86ho9 indicates
be"innin" of the messa"e unit>
risin" intonation pattern si"nals
Nuestion and lack of speaker
desi"nation allo6s students to
compete for the ne7t turn
3+ Maria OC 5 have
an e7ample
Stress on OC
OC acts as a place
holder
<lat intonation pattern
after OC
no pause after end
Stress on OC si"nals both a
be"innin" to the messa"e unit and
a claim on speakin" ri"hts> flat
intonation pattern and lack of
pause at end si"nal maintains of
turn-at-talk
32 Maria 0hen 5 be
at lunch
and 5 say
liDke
Stress on 80hen9
Stress on first 859
Stress on second 859
$lon"ated vo6el in
8liDke9
Use of syntactic form
to indicate a receurrent
event
Stress on 86hen9 si"nals shift to a
ne6 messa"e unit> elon"ated vo6el
in 8liDke9 su""ests that either more
is comin" in this messa"e unit or
speaker is holdin" the floor for the
ne7t turn-at-talk' Syntactic form
si"nals the be"innin" of a narrative
and therefore ri"hts to consecutive
turns at talk'
31 %ndre 0hen 5 be
laughs
Different speaker
80hen9 overlaps part
of 8)iDke9
&epetition of 85 be9
Speaker stops verbal
messa"e at end
Stylistic intonation
pattern
Messa"e unit is part of a side
conversation> timin" of 80hen9 to
overlap 8liDke9 in previous
messa"e unit su""ests either
8liDke9 6as interpreted as end of a
messa"e unit and that the floor 6as
open or that Maria has violated
rules for maintainin" the floor or
%ndre has violated rules for "ettin"
the floor> lau"hter is not a si"nal of
+2
%ine
&
Spea'er (essae
Unit
Conte)tuali*ation
Cues Use" to
Deter,ine (essae
Unit 0oun"aries
Interpretation of
Conte)tuali*ation Cues in
I"entif#in (essae Unit
0oun"aries
Ruasi-6hisper volume maintainin" the floor or of a
continuin" messa"e unit
3E Teacher F0ait a
minuteF
reatly increased
volume
Oonverbal hand
Nuestions
.i"hly styliAed voice
and intonation
pattern
Stress on 80ait9
5nterrupts both %ndre and Maria!
reasserts control of turn-takin" and
conversational floor> styliAed
pattern indicates shifts to another
topic or type of conversation and
mutes the 8offense9 of interruptin">
stess on 86ait9 brin"s students?
talk to a stop! takes the form of a
command
3- Teacher )o6er volume
Cessation of hi"hly
styliAed voice and
intonation pattern
Mock intonation
pattern
#ause after sorry
Shift in tone! volume! and style
si"nals shift to a different type of
interactional unit' The mock
rendition of 85?m sorry9 allo6s
politeness form made necessary by
interruptin" the conversation but
makes clear doin" so is not really a
violation of the teacher?s 8ri"hts?
to control the floor and indicates
that %ndre?s interruption 6as
inappropriate' Si"nals the
be"innin" of the teacher?s
commentary on %ndre?s
comments'
+1
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and Education Quarterly, 11, +! /,-,,E'
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+E
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<ee1 =6P6 2>???56 The Ne@ %iterac# Stu"ies/ .ro, Asociall# situate"B to the @or' of the
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+=
,
The tracin" of intellectual traditions is not a linear or determinate process' Thus! the intellectual traditions of the concept
of 8discourse-in-use9 can be traced more broadly to include the philosophy of lan"ua"e :e'"'! 0itt"enstein! > 0illiams! ;!
social and cultural anthropolo"y :e'"'! BoaA! > Malino6ski! ;! lin"uistics :e'"'! <irth! > Sapir! > 0horf! ;! and the
sociolo"y of lan"ua"e :Bernstein! > <ishman! ;' 5n this chapter 6e provide one startin" point! amon" others! for
e7aminin" the 8lo"ics-of-inNuiry9 :cf'! ee * reen! ; related to 8discourse-in-use'9 <or other startin" points! see ee :
;! Iadd more hereJ'
+
reen and 0allat :,/=,; define a 8messa"e unit9 as the minimal unit of conversation'
2
%lthou"h numerous scholars have discussed dividin" practices! the discussion in this section builds on <oucault?s : ;
discussion of dividin" practices'