What’s the Big “D”? Contemporary Approaches to Discourse in Interpersonal and Family Communication Scholarship

The term “discourse” is surrounded by an incredible amount of ambiguity in interpersonal and family communication (IFC) scholarship. As a result, IFC scholars often miss opportunities for dialogue and theory building. In an effort to demystify discourse, I first review ongoing conversations concerning discourse in IFC and organizational communication scholarship. Second, I analyze 205 IFC articles from communication journals through two intersecting continuums: discourse as instrumental/agentic and discourse as central/peripheral. Third, I frame these findings in a stage metaphor, where studies construct discourse in four ways, with discourse as a (a) set prop, (b) background actor, (c) personal prop, and (d) cast of actors. The results indicate that IFC scholarship retains an emphasis on the individual and the abstract. Finally, I advocate for a Latourian approach to discourse that decenters the individual and incorporates concrete, material considerations.