This website presents the European Discourses and Counter-Discourses Observatory initiated in November 2012 by the ADCoST team (Analyse de discours, Corpus, Science des Textes ; EA ELLIADD) of the Franche-Comté University. Julien Auboussier, Toni Ramoneda and Philippe Schepens are the instigators of the project “Discours d’Europe”.

The project wants to establish a European network of researchers who have a common issue: study the discourses and comments aroused from the process of European construction and integration inside the public sphere. The purpose of the ADCoST team is to analyse the political communication examining the discursive forms and materialities moving within the public sphere (using both political discourse analysis and media discourse analysis).

All the discourses that “say” and “make” Europe draw our attention. The researchers’ idea is to approach Europe through discourse, that is to say in its relation to the world which makes it appear real and become a true political territory. We intend to focus on the circulation of the different discursive types which establish Europe as a political entity within the public space. We intend to take seriously the discursive forms circulation by which Europe assigns itself a political consistency in public space and the exercise of communication.

Saying and making Europe. And also undoing it. Contested, accused sometimes condemned: Europe is attacked by many critical speeches. Some of these counter-discourses are seen as progressive, others as reactionary. The researchers intend to rise above that critical cacophony by analyzing the logic, arguments, imaginary, genres, registers, formulas that reflect fears and dreads which come with the European construction.

At the crossroads of human and social sciences, the network is also a space of interdisciplinary reflection (discourse analysis, specialists of communication, sociologists, political scientists, political philosophers,...). In short, it aspires to be an open area where it is possible to discuss the different point of views arising from each discipline.

If you want to join the network or learn more about the “Discours d’Europe” project, please contact us by clicking here.