Which route to discourse analysis? An interview with Jean-Jacques Courtine

Abstract

It’s commonly known among researchers the importance of Jean-Jacques Courtine’s route in the Discourse Analysis of French tradition and his contributions to the theory. As it is common to the great thinkers, the thought of this scholar of the humanities has not remained the same, nor the spaces through which he circulated academically (France, USA and currently New Zealand). From the work done about the communist discourse addressed to Christians to the recent work History of virility, Courtine has faced many problems. In this unprecedented interview, the author tells us about his story in the field of Discourse Analysis of French tradition; aspirations, expectations and common perspectives from the 1960s that influenced Discourse Analysis; he tells about aspects of his relationship with Pêcheux and the paths that their work has taken from the 1980s on. All this leads us to reflect upon the complexity, importance and relevance of the discourse as an object of investigation.