26.425, Diss: Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics: Georgalou: 'Constructions of Identity on Facebook...'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-26-425. Wed Jan 21 2015. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 26.425, Diss: Discourse Analysis, Sociolinguistics: Georgalou: 'Constructions of Identity on Facebook...'

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Date: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 22:22:59
From: Mariza Georgalou [m.georgalou at gmail.com]
Subject: Constructions of Identity on Facebook: A discourse-centred Online Ethnographic Study of Greek Users

 
Institution: Lancaster University 
Program: PhD in Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2015 

Author: Mariza Georgalou

Dissertation Title: Constructions of Identity on Facebook: A discourse-centred
Online Ethnographic Study of Greek Users 

Linguistic Field(s): Discourse Analysis
                     Sociolinguistics


Dissertation Director(s):
Sirpa Leppänen
Greg Myers

Dissertation Abstract:

The social network site (SNS) of Facebook is a dynamic online socio-cultural
arena which gives users ample and unprecedented opportunities for
self-presentation through the meshing of language with other semiotic modes.
Research on the subject has tended to focus on either a particular linguistic
phenomenon in relation to identity (e.g. code-switching) or on a specific
aspect of identity (e.g. ethnic identity) without treating multimodality in
much detail. It has also been limited to exploring identity through
information abstracted from member profiles alone and not interactions amongst
participants, while it often lacks an ethnographic perspective. Moreover,
identity on Facebook constitutes, in the main, a slice of larger-scale
linguistic research on social media and not a fully-fledged study per se. 
In this light, the present study is in its entirety dedicated to the ways in
which identity is discursively constructed within Facebook, drawing on
insights from Greek users. More specifically, it investigates 1) how Facebook
users construct themselves, 2) how they are co-constructed by their Facebook
friends, 3) the role of multimodality in these identity constructions, and 4)
the kinds of textual practices that Facebook users follow to construct their
identities. To this end, I adopted a discourse-centred online ethnographic
approach (Androutsopoulos 2008), which combined a three-year systematic
observation of specific Facebook profiles with the direct engagement with
their owners (two females and three males; mean age = 28). The data of the
study comprise Facebook profile information, status updates, comments from
interactions, video and article links, photos my informants have taken
themselves or have found elsewhere in the internet, interview excerpts, survey
and field notes as well my informants’ comments on my analysis.
Developing a data-driven, bottom-up approach of discourse analysis, this study
offers a multifaceted and nuanced view of identity on Facebook through the
lenses of place, time, profession, education, stance, and privacy. It
identifies the ways in which the users locate themselves in terms of place and
time; announce activities, share and broaden their expertise and buttress
solidarity among colleagues and fellow students; communicate emotions, tastes,
thoughts, opinions and assessments; and control the flow of information on
their profiles to secure their privacy and hence identity.
It is argued that apart from being a self-reflexive process, identity is
intrinsically an interactive and collaborative process, shaped and reinforced
by those with whom the users share a ‘friendship’ on Facebook. Focusing on
discourse manifestations of identity, this study shows how Facebook can
function as a cathartic gateway for self-expression, a powerful grassroots
channel, a digital memory bank, a tool for promoting one’s work, a platform to
exchange information, a dynamic knowledge depository, a meta-friend, and a
research tool.







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