Subjectivity, reality and discourse, beyond structuralist determinism and social constructionism

Authors

  • Rodrigo Cornejo Universidad de Chile
  • Natalia Albornoz Universidad de Chile
  • Diego Palacios Universidad de Chile

Abstract

The study of the subjectivity and the subject appears today as a disputed field by different perspectives. In this article, we expose a framework to understand the subjectivity in a cultural historical approach and we propose theoretical, methodological and axiological issues for the study of subjectivity. We discuss the place of discourse in the study of social subjectivity through structuralism’s positions and proposals of social constructionism. Finally, we defend that the Critical Discourse Analysis proposed by Norman Fairclough as a solid theoretical-methodological perspective for the study of the complex links between subjectivity, discourse and social reality. We propose that this approach, based on categories such as discursive practice, social practice hegemony, discursive order, intertextuality and discursive shift, can address the theoretical, methodological and axiological challenges regarding the study of subjectivity.

Keywords:

subjectivity, discourse, cultural historical approach, constructionism, determinism