The Application of Discourse Theory in Sociology of Knowledge

New sociology of knowledge, as distinct from the classical pattern of sociology of knowledge, in which society has a causal relationship with knowledge is concerned with cultural atmosphere and semantic interpretation, and this renders important the understanding of discourse of knowledge. Giving a brief account of the history of sociology of knowledge, the present paper seeks to expound the theoretical background of discourse theory in sociology of knowledge.
This paper cites Claire Rayner’s research program entitled "sociology of knowledge approach to discourse" as an example of attempting to explicitly like these two areas and criticizes it .
Claire’s look at sociology of knowledge corresponds to that of Berger and Luckmann and Michel Foucault's discourse theory. Claire’s innovation can be understood through demonstrating the relationship between discourse theory and sociology of knowledge.
Two objections are raised against Claire’s work. First, she does not explain how discourses develop and become hegemonic and how hegemonic discourses are challenged.
Secondly, Rayner Claire’s focus on discourse analysis makes her response to the question of social determination of knowledge highly abmigueous.