Analysing Identities in Discourse: (28 Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture)

The discursive construction of identity is often under the control of the dominant forces in society and frequently results in forms of manipulation and abuse. This awareness led to the celebration of the First International Conference on CDA (València 2004), where over three-hundred academics working in the field of Critical Discourse Analysis became actively engaged in this important issue. The seven studies included in this volume have been selected as representative of those areas of human experience that have been given most intellectual attention and considered to be in fact in need for critical unravelling. Ethnic categorization in multicultural classrooms, patriotic discourse construction in Chinese readers, the denial of Palestinian identity in schoolbooks, the diverse constructions of European identities, Arabs constructing themselves on the worldwide web, identity construction in sexual assault trials, the representations of a dangerous ‘other’ in cases of PLWHAs, are the contextual perspectives embraced in this book to account for forms of power abuse in the discursive construction of identities.

Table of Contents:
1. Preface (by Dolon, Rosana); 2. Part I. Introduction; 3. Indentities in discourse: An integrative view (by Grad, Hector); 4. Part II. Discursive construction of identity in educational contexts; 5. Imposing and resisting ethnic categorization in multicultural classrooms (by Martin Rojo, Luisa); 6. The construction of patriotic discourse in Chinese basal readers (by Liu, Yongbing); 7. The denial of Palestinian national and territorial identity in Israeli schoolbooks of history and geography 1996-2003 (by Peled-Elhanan, Nurit); 8. Part III. National and cultural identity; 9. The discursive building of European identity: Diverse articulations of compatibility between European and national identities in Spain and the UK (by Grad, Hector); 10. 9-11 Response(s): Three Arab-American groups respond discursively to the attacks of September 11, 2001 (by Hussein, Lutfi M.); 11. Part IV. Identity construction and human suffering; 12. Sexual assault trials, discursive identities and institutional change (by Ehrlich, Susan); 13. The representation of PLWHAs and the dangerous 'Other' (by Lean, Mei Li)

Review :
This volume makes a unique contribution to our knowledge of identity construction in a variety of discourses, and in particular, to our understanding of how CDA theories and methodologies can be applied to these discourses so as to bring into clearer vision the diverse conceptions, structures, processes and functions vis-a-vis identity construction. In a similar vein to most CDA explorations, the collection underscores its social significance. As Rosana Dolón and Júlia Todolí highlight in the preface, it is hoped that these critical studies will eventually lead to desired social changes. The papers are representative of a range of contexts which are especially in want of CDA investigations, and will be of interest to (critical) discourse analysts, linguists, sociologists, educators, psychotherapists and others. Analyzing Identities in Discourse offers thorough analyses of identities from an interdisciplinary viewpoint and critical perspective. The editors’ introduction to the concept of identity is very informative and offers insightful commentary on the background of identity studies, and each of the chapters that follow makes a valuable contribution to identity research. Thus, Analyzing Identities in Discourse would make a suitable text for any graduate level course in identity studies or (critical) discourse analysis. [...] This book [...] successfully demonstrates the shaping influence of power domination hidden in discourse on identity construction, and thus presents a better picture of how processes of the construction of identity in discourse are linked to the process of domination. This well-presented and highly accessible volume makes a valuable contribution to the interdisciplinary field of identity studies. It can be regarded as a useful guidebook to explore, in particular, the relationship between discourse and identity by way of CDA methods and it will become a helpful resource in navigating the broad field of discourse and identity research not only for students but for scholars alike.