Introduction

[Mary Bucholtz]

Thanks to Jim, Georgina, and Luuk for their introductions. It's nice to see
such a geographic and disciplinary range already. I'm looking forward to a
lot of stimulating discussion.

Speaking now as a subscriber rather than a listowner, I'm an assistant
professor of linguistics and discourse studies in the Department of English
at Texas A&M University. A&M is one of the few schools in the US with a
degree concentration in discourse studies, but because the field is so new
the faculty and graduate students here are still exploring what discourse
studies is and can be. I hope we'll be able to pursue that discussion on
the list as well.

My research focuses on the discursive construction of identity, especially
gender, race, and youth identities in the US. I'm working now on a book
entitled _Signifying Nothing: Language, Youth, and Whiteness,_ which
explores how white identities are discursively produced and yet rendered
invisible and "natural" through linguistic practices and ideologies. I've
also done research on discourse and power in the media and the law, and on
the political effects of transcription.

Mary

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Mary Bucholtz				Department of English
Assistant Professor of Linguistics	Texas A&M University
bucholtz at tamu.edu			College Station, TX 77843-4227
phone: (409) 862-3910			fax: (409) 862-2292
http://www-english.tamu.edu/pers/fac/bucholtz/
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