Applying principles of critical discourse analysis, we will consider ways that “interest groups” present themselves and their issues to their memberships, the public, and decision makers. During the recent election season, the designations “special interest” and “special interest group” have frequently been used to connote negative activities. While we could certainly point to questionable practices of some, interest groups form to accomplish goals of people who share needs, agendas, values, and perspectives. Interest groups are large and small, broadly and narrowly focused, and all over the political and social spectrums. Examples of a few well-known, organized interest groups include the Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club (wildlife protection); Greenpeace and the Environmental Defense Fund (environmental); the National Teachers Association, the National Education Association, and the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) (education); and U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs), which is involved in many issues. In fact, the list of issues and the various interest groups involved in them is huge. Some of the questions we’ll address in the course include:

• What are interest groups? What are some different types of interest groups? What do interest groups do?
• How do interest groups use language to present issues to their members, to the public at large, and to decision makers? How do interest groups differentiate themselves from other groups taking on the same issues (form an identity)?
• What specific genres to interest groups use and why? What communication strategies are common to many interest groups? What strategies are very different?
• What is critical discourse analysis? How does critical discourse analysis work as a tool for understanding interest groups and their impacts on issues? 

From CongressLink: “Interest Group: A group of individuals who share some common goals and try to influence public policy to meet these goals. Also called ‘special interest group.’” http://www.congresslink.org/print_lp_
whyneedcongress_vocab.htm

required texts

Fairclough, Norman. Discourse and Social Change. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, Inc. 2002. ISBN # 0-7456-1218-0.

Additional required readings and online resources will be linked from the course website or provided via Blackboard.