*2.1. History*

As noted in the Introduction, CDA is an interdisciplinary research methodology used to analyze discourse. Historically, CDA has been synonymous with critical linguistics (CL) and critical discourse studies (CDSs). Critical linguistics can be traced back to the work of Frankfurt School social theorists from the early- to mid-twentieth century. This school was predominantly concerned with identifying and challenging socioeconomic injustices of the time [2]. For instance, Jurgen Habermas argued that "language is also a medium of social domination and force. It serves to legitimize relations of organized power" ([2] p. 2).

The term 'critical linguistics' has largely been replaced by the term 'critical discourse analysis', which can be traced back to a January 1991 symposium in Amsterdam, where a group of scholars, Teun van Dijk, Norman Fairclough, Gunther Kress, Theo van Leewen, and Ruth Wodak, convened to discuss theories and methods of linguistic research [2]. Finally, 'critical discourse studies' is a third, often interchangeable term, denoting a broader scope and application of the method [6]. "Critical" is the central notion in each of these interchangeable terms. In this context, to be critical means to notice and oppose the ways in which discourse is used to socially construct truth and enforce power and control [1]. For the purposes of this paper, we will use the term critical discourse analysis (CDA). Presented subsequently is a summary of the CDA's most important tenets.

## *2.2. The Critical Impetus*

In the spirit of what Wodak and Meyer refer to as the Critical Impetus, CDA scholars focus on critiquing and changing society rather than merely describing and explaining it. Here, critical research ought to "be directed at the totality of society in its historical specificity", which means that it ought to be contextualized within the social, political, cultural, and historical spheres. Critical research must also be interdisciplinary, "improving the understanding of society by integrating all the major social sciences, including economics, sociology, history, political science, anthropology and psychology" ([6] p. 7). Critical research, including CDA, aims to produce knowledge that enables individuals to liberate themselves or others from forms of dominance and discrimination [6]; thus, this impetus is in the spirit of eradicating social injustice.
