Foucauldian Discourse Analysis: Moving Beyond a Social Constructionist Analytic

Abstract

Although social constructionism (SC) and Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) are well established constructionist analytical methods, this article propose that Foucauldian discourse analysis is more useful for qualitative data analysis as it examines social legitimacy. While the SC is able to illuminate how the “meaning” of our social action is constructed through our everyday interaction in socio-cultural and political contexts, questions emerge that are beyond the scope of the SC. These questions are concerned with understanding how the construction of “meaning” is connected to the power imbalance in our society, as well as how a particular version of reality comes to us as truth, having excluded other versions. Moreover, SC does not distinguish between successful and unsuccessful/marginalized claims. This article reflects on how using FDA addresses weaknesses in SC when used in qualitative data analysis, using specific examples from different literature.