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Doing Foucault: inquiring into nursing knowledge with Foucauldian discourse analysis
Rusla Anne Springer1, Michael E Clinton
1College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Summary
Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) offers a critical lens to examine nursing knowledge and professional identity. This methodology reveals how discourse shapes nursing practice and knowledge, prompting deep reflection on its normalizing power.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Studies
- Social Sciences
- Philosophy
Background:
- Nursing knowledge and professional identity are shaped by underlying discourses.
- Understanding these discourses is crucial for critical reflection on nursing practice.
- Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) provides a framework for this examination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the utility of Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) in understanding nursing knowledge.
- To reveal how discourses influence the conditions of possibility for nursing practice.
- To facilitate critical reflection on the construction of nursing as a profession.
Main Methods:
- Application of Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) as a critical methodology.
- Analysis of the historical and social construction of nursing knowledge.
- Examination of how power relations embedded in discourse shape nursing subjectivity and practice.
Main Results:
- FDA makes visible the 'positive unconscious of knowledge' within nursing.
- The methodology identifies and traces the effects of discourses shaping nursing practice.
- It highlights the normalizing power of discourse in defining nursing roles and knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Foucauldian discourse analysis (FDA) is a powerful tool for critical inquiry in nursing.
- It enables a deeper understanding of nursing knowledge, practice, and professional identity.
- FDA encourages reflection on the influence of discourse in shaping the future of nursing.
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