Social Geography Concept Explanation

Discourse : The concept discourse is used to break down the portrayal of knowledge presented through texts, visual means or spoken means. Discourse analysis is used to explain how knowledge is generated, where it comes from, who is constituted to presents it and how it knowledge is established. The Olwig & Rasmussen text does not do a discourse analysis, but the concept of discourse can still be linked to the text when to understand how the narratives presented influence what is perceived as being the reason of climate problem, as Olwig & Rasmussen argue the dominant narrative be an overly simplified narrative leaving out much factual information.

New Discourse: 

The concept discourse is used to break down the portrayal of knowledge presented through texts, visual means or spoken means. In this sense discourse analysis is used to explain how knowledge is generated, where it comes from, who is constituted to presents it and how it knowledge is established. As the Olwig & Rasmussen text centers its discussion around the impact of the dominant narratives on agricultural practices and the other types of livelihoods in Sahel, it is a useful concept to explain consequences  of a discourse of draught  narrative. It furthermore is suitable concept to use in  to explain the power relations causing the focus on a specific narrative.

Application: The starting point of our project is Germany’s economic situation consisting of a rich West Germany and a poor East Germany. This, despite there after the reunification of Germany, having been a political emphasis of the need of re-stabilizing Eastern Germany’s economy. The project’s starting point combined with the fact that there is a rising economic inequality between West and East Germany, the discussions and evaluations of development policies in Cornwall’s and Brock’s text What do buzzwords do for development policy? a critical look at 'participation', 'empowerment' and 'poverty reduction'  (2005) can arguably contribute to the reflections of what has caused the rising economic inequality in Germany.