Linguistics and social sciences in the aspect of integration (continuation)

We offer a number of theses that concern the modern field of humanistics:

Thesis 1: Integration processes in the modern humanistics are based on the assumption that humanitarian knowledge is text-centred (discourse-centred), that means that its source and result are texts. Here the notion ‘text’ equals the notion ‘discourse’, and under it we understand text in its situation of communication, a verbalized event). In humanitarian science being the source, the means and the result text (or rather discourse, otherwise we always need to add text+smth) inevitably becomes the object of researches. That is why researchers started to speak about the appearance of discourse psychology, discourse philosophy, discourse history, discourse linguistics (here the word discourse is an attribute to the science name). This approach makes for the birth of a new knowledge that can be called discourse-knowledge (it means the knowledge that takes into account both knowledge as it is and the way of representation of this very knowledge).

How we understand discourse-knowledge? Is it theory, methodology or, probably, philosophy of knowledge? The answer will be right if we replace the conjunction “or” by the conjunction “and”. And even more, discourse knowledge is also communication and technology of knowledge.

Thesis 2: Modern humanitarian and social knowledge is built not only on the three “whales” (as it was accepted before), which are (1) methodology (perspectives usually discussed in philosophical sciences), (2) theory, and (3) practice. It has at least 4, if not 5 bases. Humanistics is run through by different methodologies (philosophies), theories and practices, but also (4) technologies and (5) communications that create a complex unity. In other words, any knowledge is not only pluralistic (is one of different kinds of knowledge) but also technological (is constructed in the course of targeted activity) and communicative (is constituted by discourse practices). We can also generalize by considering technological and communicative aspects as one.

Thesis 3: Technologies of communication are an independent field of research as well as methodology and theory. Here we allow ourselves to digress and to speak about linguistics in the aspect of its integration into the sphere of social knowledge. Linguistics is subdivided. The science of language as means of communication (we will call it Linguistics 1) has been for a long time at variance with the science of language use (Linguistics 2, or speechology, speech communication). Linguistic 2 took a lot from such interdisciplinary directions as pragmalinguistics, ethnolinguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, but also linguistics of mass media, linguistics of conflict or conflictology, and discourse-analysis turning finally to discourse linguistics. Linguistics 2 study text production and functioning on the macrolevel that involves not only macrotexts of different format – newspapers and magazines, books and TV programs, radio-programs, but also to pre-election campaigns, films, performances and interludes, and even TV and radio channel. The idea of the language has also been changed: now it includes different kinds of codes, nonverbal included (body language, clothes language, etc). The realization of the significance of communicative and technological practices led to the foundation of new disciplines in the sphere of sociology (social communication) and journalism (technology of communication).

So, we witness the new source of origin of a new knowledge and, hence, of new disciplines. From this the following thesis comes.

Thesis 4: Today the opening of new knowledge in the humanitarian sphere takes place not in the point of meeting of the sciences but at the “meeting point of their subjects (scientists)”, of their experience, knowledge, culture, texts histories. So, we notice the tendency towards the objectification of subject-subject relations in all the spheres of humanitarian knowledge.

And, at last, thesis 5: The meeting of the subjects (scientists) is the basis for integral approaches. The study of this phenomenon is the common task of linguists, specialists in the field of theory of communication, sociologists and specialists in political sciences. There are two directions within which integral approaches can be successfully handled (the directions being compatible with general university principles) – they cover the fields of education and research.

The first direction is the field of education. According to international experience of university education, the education of the youth in the field of social and humanitarian disciplines should be built on the “interchange” of professions: compulsory courses and special ones (major and minor) that are the core of professional training, including specialization and a number of optional courses from the related disciplines that the students choose according to their taste with the aim of their professional knowledge extension with the help of interdisciplinary material.

For example future specialists in social sciences are offered with the courses in discourse analysis. We can also have a look at interdisciplinary in a different aspect. We see interdisciplinary as the involvement of different disciplines into the relations of coordination and direction, but not of contiguity.

The second direction is the field of research. The organization of different interdisciplinary laboratories and projects (intra-university as well as inter-university), conferences, round-tables, joint publications deserve all the support.

 Check yourself!

 6.1. Choose a “thinking hat” and look at your education curriculum in Internet university page. Evaluate it taking into account the color of the hat and write down your opinion

 6.2. Read the Welcome speech of the rector of the University of Santiago de Compostela, find out thesis (statements) of the rector and supporting arguments, if any and write them down.