47 research outputs found
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Discursive psychology and the study of gender: a contested space
No full text[From book introduction] In Chapter 11, Nigel Edley and Margaret Wetherell identify a particular challenge for discursive psychology, that is, to fruitfully combine analytical principles from both branches – in the face of critics who maintain that macro-analysis of discourse patterns works at the expense of micro-analysis of the interactional context of talk (Wooffitt, 2005). They claim that an expanded and integrative discursive psychology that assumes a broad understanding of constructionism and aims to work across both the micro and the macro would in principle combine a focus on ‘how speakers construct (and use) gender categories and how they are constructed – as gendered beings – by those very categories’
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Negotiating hegemonic masculinity: imaginary positions and psycho-discursive practices
No full textIn this paper we provide a critical analysis of the concept of hegemonic masculinity. We argue that although this concept embodies important theoretical insights, it is insufficiently developed as it stands to enable us to understand how men position themselves as gendered beings. In particular it offers a vague and imprecise account of the social psychological reproduction of male identities. We outline an alternative critical discursive psychology of masculinity. Drawing on data from interviews with a sample of men from a range of ages and from diverse occupational backgrounds, we delineate three distinctive, yet related, procedures or psycho-discursive practices, through which men construct themselves as masculine. The political implications of these discursive practices, as well as the broader implications of treating the psychological process of identification as form of discursive accomplishment, are also discussed
Never the twain shall meet: a critical appraisal of the combination of discourse and psychoanalytic theory in studies of men and masculinity
No full textIn recent years there has been a number of attempts by different researchers to study men and masculinity using a combination of discourse theory and psychoanalysis. The main reason for this development is the sense that, on its own, discourse theory provides an incomplete account of masculine subjectivity. Psychoanalysis is thought to be able to fill those gaps. In this paper I want to begin by reviewing these arguments. I will provide an outline of the alleged deficiencies in discursive approaches to men and masculinity before going on to examine some of the work that has attempted the above synthesis. What I aim to show is that, for a number of reasons, such attempts are bound to fail. Instead, I will argue that better progress can be made in studies of masculinity by remaining within the theoretical boundaries of Discursive Psychology
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Masculinity manoeuvres: critical discourse psychology and the analysis of identity strategies
No full textIn this paper we want to return to a particular historical moment (the mid 1990s) and to the identity struggles of a group of young white middle-class men as they negotiate their place within regimes of hegemonic masculinity. We first researched and wrote about this group of young men some ten years ago now (Edley and Wetherell, 1997). Our aim in turning back to this work is to argue for a particular 'take' on gender, discourse and identity. We want to highlight the benefits of approaches to discourse and gender which incorporate both fine-grain micro analysis and more macro-cultural perspectives. Our work is within the broad tradition of discursive psychology (c.f. Potter and Wetherell, 1987; Edwards and Potter, 1992) but unlike forms of discursive psychology which follow conversation analysis (e.g. Edwards, 2006; Potter, 2000; 2005) we seek to combine the study of discourse in action with analyses of the broader social context (Edley and Wetherell, in press; Wetherell, 1998; in press; Wetherell and Edley, 1998; 1999). Indeed, we believe that it is impossible to make sense of gender identities as these appear in the flow of everyday life without this dual focu
A Conservative\u27s Comments on Edley and Sunstein
No full textThe author finds Professor Edley\u27s perspective on the administrative process of great interest. Like him, he agrees that there exist today various crises both in administrative law and in the regulatory process. Edley fails, however, to distinguish between problems that stem from administrative structure and process, and those that stem from the political arena. The author agrees with Sunstein that we must shift our attention away from courts and toward different audiences, such as Congress, administrators, and the public. Where the author differs, however, is that he believes Sunstein\u27s substance project can only be successfully addressed by examining the especially pervasive and often overlooked problem of administrative structure
Jekyll and Hyde: men's constructions of feminism and feminists
No full textResearch and commentary on men's responses to feminism has demonstrated the range of ways in which men have mobilised both against and for feminist principles. This paper argues that further analyses of men's responses require a sophisticated theory of discourse acknowledging the fragmented and contradictory nature of representation. A corpus of men's talk on feminism and feminists was studied to identify the pervasive patterns in men's accounting and regularities in rhetorical organisation. Material from two samples of men was included: a sample of white middle-class 17-18 year old school students and a sample of 60 interviews with a more diverse sample of older men aged 20 to 64. Two interpretative repertoires of feminism and feminists were identified. These set up a 'Jekyll and Hyde' binary and positioned feminism along with feminists very differently as reasonable versus extreme and monstrous. Both repertoires tended to be deployed together and the paper explores the ideological and interactional consequences of typical deployments along with the identity work accomplished by the men as they positioned themselves in relation to these
Imagined futures: young men's talk about fatherhood and domestic life
No full textAs part of an extensive series of interviews about men and masculinity, small groups of 17 to 18-year-old male students were invited to look forward to their future romantic and domestic lives. Their responses were analysed using the approach and methods of discourse analysis in order to examine both the interpretative resources used within their accounts and to look at how the young men attempted to manage the ‘ideological dilemma’ (Billig, Condor, Edwards, Gane, Middleton & Radley, 1988) that was framed by these cultural themes. The analysis describes three such strategies while paying particular attention to the ‘action orientation’(Heritage, 1984) of these constructions. Finally, the paper moves on to discuss, albeit briefly, the broader implications of this research
Jockeying for position: the construction of masculine identities
No full textIn this paper we examine the construction of masculine identities within a real-life social situation. Using data from an extensive series of interviews with small groups of sixth-form (17-18-year-old) students attending a UK-based, single-sex independent school, the analysis looks at the action orientation of different constructions of identity. More specifically, it focuses upon how the identity talk of one particular group of students were oriented towards managing their subordinate status within the school. In a number of instances the identity of the `new man' was adopted as a strategy of resistance. However, it was found that the more common strategy involved buying back into values embodied within a more traditional definition of masculinity
Beyond black and white : affirmative action in America
No full textModerator, Charles J. Ogletree ; panelists, Ward Connerly, Angela Walker, Ruth J. Simmons, Ann Coulter, Frank D. Riggs, Ann F. Lewis, Antonia Hernandez, Suzan Shown Harjo, Diane Chin, Robert L. Woodson, Sr., Christopher Edley, Jr., Judge Jon O. Newman, John R. Strangfeld, Tamar Jacoby, Lt. Gen. Julius W. Becton, Jr. Editor, Jonathan Fein.All sides of the affirmative action issue have targeted the same goal: ending racism of all types. But do opportunities for some have to come at the expense of others? In this Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Harvard Law School's Charles Ogletree, a what-if scenario revolves around a university's efforts to enroll a diverse student body of qualified candidates. Panelists include Ward Connerly, proponent of California's Proposition 209; Christopher Edley, Jr., author of Not All Black & White: Affirmative Action, Race, and American Values; Julius Becton, Jr., former head of Washington, D.C.'s public schools; Ruth Simmons, president of Smith College; and policy activists from the African-American, Asian, Native American, and Latino communities
Monarchy in the mirror A social psychological study of press representations
No full textSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX95198 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
