The subject in poststructuralist discourse theory: making room for self-interpretations and reflexivity in analyses of political engagement

In this paper, I argue that large-scale social and political debates cannot be properly understood without an understanding of the way the actors involved constitute their subjectivity. I explore how Essex style discourse theory conceives of the subject. Building on the framework proposed by Glynos and Howarth (2007), I make suggestions on how to analyse subjectivity while taking the self-interpretations and reflexive awareness of activists into account. At the same time I provide a general outline for thinking political engagement in the context of poststructuralist discourse studies.