HAD6511H

Applying Foucauldian Critical Discourse Analysis in Health Professions Education Research

Prerequisite

Recommended for learners who have completed a course that includes an overview of critical and interpretive social science theories (HAD6502H or HAD6504H)

Objectives

  • Objective 1:     Gain an understanding of central concepts in Foucauldian critical discourse analysis
  • Objective 2:     Develop methodological reasoning in Foucauldian critical discourse analysis
  • Objective 3:     Explore new theoretical and/or research ideas; applying Foucauldian discourse analysis to specific research interests related to health professional education

Description

The course will provide an overview key methodological considerations for applying Foucauldian concepts in the interdisciplinary field of health professions education (HPE).  Theoretical concepts will be explored through analysis of their application and methodological affordances for addressing core issues in health professional training. The course will place emphasis on how the concepts of archive, discourse, governmentality, biopower, heterotopia/utopia, and subjectivity have been applied in HPER and other related disciplines. Comparisons with other socio-cultural theoretical concepts and discourse analytical methods will be used throughout the course to encourage methodological reasoning. In addition, approaches for combining Foucauldian inspired critical discourse analysis with ethnographic and lived experience methodologies will also be presented. By considering how Foucauldian constructs are operationalized in empirical and non-empirical academic activities in HPER, learners will develop foundational knowledge they will apply to their own scholarship.

Evaluation Breakdown

Competencies