COP Seminar - Beginner's Guide to Textyal Analysis by Alan Mckee

When doing a textual analysis it should be methodologically self-reflexive, methodology must be intuitive. In fact, the sensitivity of the reader in responding correctly to the text determines her ability as a scholar. It is only when we have some idea of what our own methodology actually is that we can begin to open up debates about alternative methodologies. Some disciplines are rigorous about their principles and methodologies and what an acceptable way to gather information is. For Media Studies, the view is taken that rigorous methodologies can limit research and the amount of new theories reaped are considerably less. By asking new questions you create different kinds of knowledge out of it.

We can only make an educated guess at some of the most likely interpretations that might be made of that text. We have to think more about how the audience interpreting the text, more than ourselves.
'There is no such thing as a single, 'correct' interpretation of any text. There are large numbers of possible interpretations, some of which will be more likely than others in particular circumstances.' Your interpretation is very much influenced by the message you want to convey. People can perceive things in entirely different ways.

'Never claim that a text is an 'accurate' or an 'inaccurate' representation; never claim that is 'reflects reality'' It's all interpretation. Every version of reality that we measure the text against is inescapably another interpretation - another text. There is never one, single, 'correct' way to describe something in this world. There are always just different ways in which the same 'truth' can be described. For example, in Welsh they have no word for the colour brown.

'Whenever anyone claims that a particular text is 'accurate' or 'truthful' or 'reflects reality' - what they are really saying us 'I agree with what this text is saying about the world' We all make sense of the world we live in  and reach a consensus of the understanding about the society we share. Textual analysis helps us to make sense of the world we live in as a collective, with a great focus on how other people perceive the world, not ourselves.

Only when a text is put into context can we fully start to guess about the likely interpretations of particular elements within it. If you were to put it within a different context, alongside different texts, it could be interpreted in an entirely different way. This its why its important to fully understand the context before using a quotation. The more you know, the more likely the interpretation is reasonable. Without context, than the understanding of the quote alone is 'logically coherent' but not really a likely interpretation of the text. 'It is perfectly legitimate to focus on one small part of the text as part of your argument and not mention the rest of it - so long as you bear in mind the rest of it in your interpretation of the small part that you mention.'

Important advice for essay: In order to create a good textual analysis, get as much a sense as possible of the wider 'semiosphere' (the 'world of meaning') as possible. Thus allowing you to slot the texts into a much wider context.