21.837, Diss: Anthro Ling/Socioling: Jones: 'The Construction of Identity...'

linguist at LINGUISTLIST.ORG linguist at LINGUISTLIST.ORG
Thu Feb 18 18:29:22 UTC 2010


LINGUIST List: Vol-21-837. Thu Feb 18 2010. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 21.837, Diss: Anthro Ling/Socioling: Jones: 'The Construction of Identity...'

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Eastern Michigan U <aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Aristar-Dry, Eastern Michigan U <hdry at linguistlist.org>
 
Reviews: Monica Macaulay, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Eric Raimy, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Joseph Salmons, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
Anja Wanner, U of Wisconsin-Madison  
       <reviews at linguistlist.org> 

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org/

The LINGUIST List is funded by Eastern Michigan University, 
and donations from subscribers and publishers.

Editor for this issue: Di Wdzenczny <di at linguistlist.org>
================================================================  

To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at
http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.html.

===========================Directory==============================  

1)
Date: 17-Feb-2010
From: Lucy Jones < lucy.jones at edgehill.ac.uk >
Subject: The Construction of Identity in a Lesbian Community of Practice: A sociocultural linguistics approach
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:27:58
From: Lucy Jones [lucy.jones at edgehill.ac.uk]
Subject: The Construction of Identity in a Lesbian Community of Practice: A sociocultural linguistics approach

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=21-837.html&submissionid=2610977&topicid=14&msgnumber=1
  


Institution: University of Sheffield 
Program: English Language and Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2009 

Author: Lucy Jones

Dissertation Title: The Construction of Identity in a Lesbian Community of
Practice: A sociocultural linguistics approach 

Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics
                     Sociolinguistics


Dissertation Director(s):
Emma Moore

Dissertation Abstract:

This dissertation documents a fifteen-month ethnographic research project
in which the interactive construction of shared identity in a lesbian
community of practice (a hiking group named the Sapphic Stompers) is
examined. The women in this group vary considerably in terms of their
individual style and practice yet, upon coming together as a group, engage
in interactive tactics which combine to construct mutually-negotiated norms
of lesbian authenticity. The author engages in micro-level discourse
analysis of a range of recorded interactions between the six core members
of this group in order to identify their use of such tactics. 

The women in this study mutually construct a sense of homogeneity in order
to project a group-specific, authentic persona of 'dyke', erasing and
adequating sociocultural or linguistic differences between them. The
women's shared experiences are shown to be crucial to an understanding of
this constructed authentic self. Specifically, broader norms associated
with lesbian culture relevant to the women's shared age, socioeconomic
class and political persuasion are shown to impact upon the 'dykey'
identity. The constructed nature of this authentic lesbianism is further
illustrated by interactions during which the differences between the women
are exposed, as they shift their stances in order to rework 'dyke' in line
with the emergent norms of the conversational moment. Taking this view of
identity as fluid and contextually-specific and employing an ethnographic,
discourse analytical approach allows sexuality to be interpreted as a fluid
cultural construct. As such, this thesis tests the sociocultural
linguistics framework provided by Bucholtz and Hall (2004) for the field of
language and sexuality. Furthermore, it challenges the restrictive
definition of the community of practice approach, implementing it within a
non-institutional context in order to assess its applicability in such
settings. 




-----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-21-837	

	



More information about the LINGUIST mailing list