Opening up terrorism talk: The sequential and categorical production of discursive power within the call openings of a talk radio broadcast

The current research undertakes a combined CA/MCA approach to analyse the unfolding moral business of ‘talk radio’ discourse, and situates this analysis within a critical discourse studies framework. In a case study analysis of a talk radio broadcast on the topic of terrorism, the sequencing and membership categorization work that is accomplished during the call openings of its contributors is examined. Local manifestations of discursive power allied to the ‘host’ role are identified, along with the data-driven distinction of ‘lay’ and ‘elite’ callers. The empowering versus disempowering consequences of sequential turn allocation and identity categorization are explored, leading to some reflections on security versus human rights advocacy within terrorism talk. The contribution of this research to two research enterprises is then outlined. Firstly, we highlight the benefit that a combined CA/MCA approach, which foregrounds powerplay, offers to analysis of talk-in-interaction. Following which, we underline how placing such a micro-level spotlight on the seemingly mundane details of talk in context can offer valuable insights for critical terrorism studies

Keeping students engaged throughout a lecture: how to avoid premature packing away behaviours

This collaborative workshop critically examined a phenomenon that can occur at the end of university lectures. We were interested in cases where students begin to pack up their belongings before the lecturer has finished talking, which we labelled ‘premature packing away behaviour’ (PPAB). Such behaviour can impact student engagement in the lecture experience and can lead to frustration for lecturers and students alike. We shared our exploratory research into this phenomenon, which adopted the perspective of Conversation Analysis. In this view, certain actions of the lecturer can cue an upcoming closing of the encounter and consequently cue reciprocal pre-closing behavior from students in the form of PPAB. Further cues discussed included time cues, AV cues and individual differences. The workshop provided opportunities for participants to share their own views and reflections on the phenomenon and concluded with a clear outline for effective teaching practice into PPAB management

Thinking out loud: A discourse analysis of ‘thinking’ during talk radio interactions

Early work in discursive psychology highlighted the rhetorical strength of devices that serve to establish matters as objective facts. More recently, there has been increasing interest within this discipline concerning mental state invocations (e.g. imagining; knowing; intending), which typically convey speaker subjectivity. Elsewhere, linguists have examined the social business enabled by speakers’ deployment of cognitive verbs, a prime example of which deals with overt references to thinking. The current article sets out to extend the work on thinking by synthesizing research from discursive psychology, linguistics, and conversation analysis in order to undertake an integrated analysis of thinking. In our examination of a UK talk radio corpus, comprising data from 11 talk radio shows, we demonstrate three discursive functions of deploying a thinking device: setting an intersubjective agenda; doing opinion; and managing ‘facts’. An integrated approach allows us to examine the rhetorical strength of these subjectivizing maneuvers, and contribute to the existing body of work concerning the discursive deployment of thinking and mental state terms

Contestable adulthood: variability and disparity in markers for negotiating the transition to adulthood

Recent research has identified a discreet set of subjective markers that are seen as characterizing the transition to adulthood. The current study challenges this coherence by examining the disparity and variability in young people’s selection of such criteria. Four sentence-completion cues corresponding to four differentcontexts in which adult status might be contested were given to 156 British 16- to 17-year-olds. Their qualitative responses were analyzed to explore patterns whilst capturing some of their richness and diversity. An astonishing amount of variability emerged, both within and between cued contexts.The implications of this variability for how the transition to adulthood is experienced are explored. The argument is made that markers of the transition to adulthood are not merely reflective of the bio–psycho–social development of young people. Rather, adulthood here is seen as an essentially contested concept,located within the discursive interactional environment in which young people participate

Graded structure in sexual definitions: categorizations of having “had sex” and virginity loss among homosexual and heterosexual men and women

Definitions of sexual behavior display a robust hierarchy of agreement regarding whether or not acts should be classed as, for example, sex or virginity loss. The current research offers a theoretical explanation for this hierarchy, proposing that sexual definitions display graded categorical structure, arising from goodness of membership judgments. Moderation of this graded structure is also predicted, with the focus here on how sexual orientation identity affects sexual definitions. A total of 300 18- to 30-year-old participants completed an online survey, rating 18 behaviors for how far each constitutes having “had sex” and virginity loss. Participants fell into one of four groups: heterosexual male or female, gay male or lesbian. The predicted ratings hierarchy emerged, in which bidirectional genital acts were rated significantly higher than unidirectional or nonpenetrative contact, which was in turn rated significantly higher than acts involving no genital contact. Moderation of graded structure was also in line with predictions. Compared to the other groups, the lesbian group significantly upgraded ratings of genital contact that was either unidirectional or nonpenetrative. There was also evidence of upgrading by the gay male sample of anal intercourse ratings. These effects are theorized to reflect group-level variation in experience, contextual perspective, and identity-management. The implications of the findings in relation to previous research are discussed. It is suggested that a graded structure approach can greatly benefit future research into sexual definitions, by permitting variable definitions to be predicted and explained, rather than merely identified

Diversity as victim to "realistic liberalism": analysis of an elite discourse of immigration, ethnicity and society.

Analysis of contemporary political discourse reveals that the topics of ‘immigration’ and ‘asylum’, historically the preserve of extreme right-wing politics, have increasingly entered more centrist conservative discourse. Meanwhile, it is also argued that elite political discourse on ethnic affairs cuts across traditional political divides. Thus, contemporary left wing discourses also require scrutiny. The current article examines one example of elite discourse from liberal media commentary, which addresses ideological concerns regarding diversity, immigration and the welfare state in Britain. Adopting a discursive analytic approach, three predominant discursive themes are identified in the text, which we term: ‘Unnatural Sharing’, ‘Diversity as Ethnic Difference’ and ‘Immigrant-Minorities Alchemy’. Through careful examination of these themes, we show how, via their engagement, the text subtly yet persuasively builds a version of ‘reality’ inimical to progressive ideals