A critical hermeneutic approach to analysing online discussions

Abstract

For three decades, the internet has played host to an increasing number of open public forums, where opinions are formed and action instigated (Graham, 2015; Persily, 2017). My current doctoral work explores how students engage in one such online space, and the implications this may have for educators looking to improve students’ capacity to communicate well online. This presentation will outline my development of a methodology based on critical theory—in particular Jürgen Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action (1984, 1987)—to conduct a novel type of discourse analysis that treats text-based asynchronous online discussion as both person-to-person interaction and as publication.