Analysing long term discursive processes:Methodological reflections on the basis of a citizen participation project

What do timescales - the notion that processes take place or can be viewed within a shorter or longer temporal range (Lemke 2005) - mean for the analysis of discourse? What are the methodological consequences of analyzing discourse at different timescales? It may be argued that discourse analysis in general has favored either the analysis of short term processes such as interviews, discussions, and lessons, or the analysis of non-processual entities such as (multimodal) texts, arguments, discursive repertoires, and discourses (in a Foucaultian sense). In contrast, analysis of long term processes which extend beyond the single interaction, for instance negotiations or planning processes, seems to have played a less important role, with studies such as Iedema 2001 and Wodak 2000 as exceptions. These long term processes, however, are central to the constitution and workings of organizations in modern societies. This paper aims to reflect on methodological guidelines for the discourse analysis of long term processes. The paper investigates how these guidelines may differ - if at all - from the analysis of processes at shorter timescales. The problematic is approached with empirical reference to a citizen participation project on energy saving and renewable energy in northern Denmark. References: Iedema, Rick (2001): Resemiotization. In: Semiotica 137 (1/4). Lemke, Jay (2005): Place, pace, and meaning: multimedia chronotope. In: Norris, Sigrid & Jones, Rodney H. (eds.): Discourse in Action. Introducing mediated discourse analysis. New York: Routledge. Wodak, Ruth (2000): From Conflict to Consensus? The co-construction of a policy paper. In: Muntigel, P., Weiss, G. & Wodak, R.: European Union Discourses on Un/Employment: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Employment Policy-Making and Organizational Change. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.