Between Methodological “Ebb” and Emancipatory “Tide”: Reflecting on the “Critical” Core of Critical Discourse Studies in our own Work

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Published: Jul 25, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/grsr.42213
Keywords:
critique, argumentation, normalisation, decolonisation, self-reflexive practice, discourse-historical approach, Frankfurt school
Dimitris Serafis
University of Groningen
Samuel Bennett
Adam Mickiewicz University
Abstract

This article offers a reassessment of the use of the “Critical” in Critical Discourse Studies (CDS). In doing so, it aims to “breathe new life” into the discussion so that the concept can be reconsidered and better understood. We return to the immanent - socio-diagnostic, retrospective- and prospective critiques, introduced by the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) as a valuable heuristic for considering the “Critical” in CDS. After pinpointing some limitations in contemporary CDS-oriented research, we present examples from our own research practices to show both how “critique” can be foregrounded and how different ‘‘forms’’ of critique can, and should, be combined.

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Author Biographies
Dimitris Serafis, University of Groningen

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Samuel Bennett, Adam Mickiewicz University

Assistant Professor, Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

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