What is MDSRG?
The Media, Discourse, and Society Research Group (MDSRG) is a collaborative initiative that is designed to cultivate a research-oriented culture within the PhD in Communication program at Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). This group will provide a platform for PhD students who are interested in or specialize in Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) to participate in intellectual discussions, provide peer feedback, and improve their research output.
Why Establish MDSRG?
Academic research, particularly in CDS, thrives in environments that encourage collaborative critique, iterative writing, and structured peer engagement.
The Media, Discourse, and Society Research Group (MDSRG) is a collaborative initiative that is designed to cultivate a research-oriented culture within the PhD in Communication program at Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). This group will provide a platform for PhD students who are interested in or specialize in Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) to participate in intellectual discussions, provide peer feedback, and improve their research output.
Why Establish MDSRG?
Academic research, particularly in CDS, thrives in environments that encourage collaborative critique, iterative writing, and structured peer engagement.
- Enhance Research Quality
- Build a Supportive Research Culture
- Bridge Individual Work with Collective Learning
How MDSRG May Help Students
- Structured feedback on dissertations and research projects.
- A give-and-take system where members both give and receive peer critiques.
- Rigorous discussions on CDS theories, methods, and emerging trends.
- Support for conference presentations, journal submissions, and dissertation completion.
Our Philosophy
The Media, Discourse, and Society Research Group (MRSG) adopts CDS as its foundational analytical approach. We recognize language and discourse as sites of power, ideology, and contestation, shaping and being shaped by media, politics, and everyday life. Our work is grounded in the belief that discourse is never neutral—it is embedded in historical, political, and cultural contexts (Fairclough, 1995; Wodak & Meyer, 2016).
Our Commitment
MRSG is committed to advancing CDS research in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, particularly in relation to media, digital communication, and socio-political discourse. Our approach is:
The Media, Discourse, and Society Research Group (MRSG) adopts CDS as its foundational analytical approach. We recognize language and discourse as sites of power, ideology, and contestation, shaping and being shaped by media, politics, and everyday life. Our work is grounded in the belief that discourse is never neutral—it is embedded in historical, political, and cultural contexts (Fairclough, 1995; Wodak & Meyer, 2016).
Our Commitment
MRSG is committed to advancing CDS research in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, particularly in relation to media, digital communication, and socio-political discourse. Our approach is:
-
Critical – We interrogate power asymmetries in discourse, from political rhetoric to everyday language use.
Contextualized – We center Philippine and Southeast Asian socio-political realities, ensuring that our analyses are relevant to Global South contexts. - Multimodal – We analyze not only text but also images, videos, memes, and digital media discourse.
- Interdisciplinary – We integrate insights from media studies, linguistics, political communication, and sociology.
Our Contribution
MRSG aims to contribute to theoretical, methodological, and applied advancements in CDS by:
MRSG aims to contribute to theoretical, methodological, and applied advancements in CDS by:
- Developing localized approaches to CDS that foreground Philippine and Southeast Asian socio-political realities.
- Expanding CDS beyond Western-centric models, integrating Global South perspectives into discourse analysis.
- Producing rigorous, peer-reviewed research that contributes to the broader field of media studies, communication, and political discourse analysis.
Organizational Structure
Founder & Lead Convener:
Dr. Karl Patrick R. Mendoza
Core Research Fellows:
Founder & Lead Convener:
Dr. Karl Patrick R. Mendoza
Core Research Fellows:
- Bernardita Gwynne Bondoc
- Kimmi Dane Jimenez
- Rodrigo C. Rivera
- Jonas C. Villaveza
Associate Research Fellows:
- Junephrey Ocampo
- Rae Francis Quilantang
- John Vincent B. Toribio