Time for a change: a critical discoursal analysis of synchronic context with diachronic relevance

This article offers a framework for the analysis of temporal context, an analysis of synchronic context with diachronic relevance. It seeks to look at the way in which temporal context operates on a number of levels to help construct the ways in which individuals and groups understand their social worlds. Aspects considered include the immediate and medium-term sociopolitical contexts, the contemporary sociopolitical individuals, organizations and structures and the more long-term temporal context which includes the various assumptions of order, structures of inclusion and exclusion and generally how a society legitimates itself and achieves its social identity. In addition to the analytical tool considered, the article also posits some methodological implications for research in this area.