Taiwan Linguistic Summer Institute 2008, July 8, Tuesday Narrative and Discourse Analysis II Lecture I Michael Bamberg Ph.D. Dept of Psychology Clark University

Narrative and Discourse Analysis II Overview: MicrogenesisMicrogenesis andMicroanalysis PositioningPositioning and Positioning Analysis With an example from a small story in interaction

Summary from yesterday: what have we accomplished? Narrative + narrative analysis –Positioning of characters in space + time Identity and identity analysis –Positioning self vis-à-vis others With talk/discursively and bodily means

Language as woven into actions Language as woven into actions contextual embodiments Overall Make-Up –dress, hair (shaved/beard), ring, tattoo… MovementMovement –body as whole; parts: head, legs, arms --- –Posture: standing, walking, sitting (mode of) Gestures movement –arm, hand (fist), finger (movement) Facial “expressions” –eye-gaze changesdirection, eye-movements (blinks, winks), changes movement –smile, frowning, lip-biting, tongue movement

Gesture --in isolation

With a bit more context

In all the con- text available

Gesture-movement

posture Sitting Legs crossed Hands in lap Hands ‘busy’ Gaze downward Arms resting on arms of chair Surroundings: -Vase - Paper/journals -etc.

gaze

The COORDINATION of Gesture and Gaze Hand Gesture Gaze Gaze AND hand gesture

Gesture, posture + gaze In coordination with referring to the same referent (a pink box with a dress in it) and the action of placing it on the top of the trunk of a car

Lip-biting coordinated with gaze followed and preceded by other facial expressions COORDINATED WITH SPEECH COORDINATED WITH SPEECH

Identity as the construction of: Sameness + DifferenceSameness + Difference across time –how can I be same in the face of constant change? Sameness + DifferenceSameness + Difference between self + others –how can I define myself as unique though being the same as everyone else? AgencyAgency –who is the agent? person-to-world direction of fit (world-making - with self as agent) world-to-person direction of fit (self as product of ‘world’)

How does the construction of identity take place? in microgenesisin microgenesis –consisting of moment-by-moment changes –in these changes selves and identities are in the making (‘emergence’ or ‘genesis’) genesis –interactive processes as the site where these changes (genesis) takes place –interactive processes as the site where the emergence of sense of self is analyzable

microanalysis micro-analysis inquiry into ‘moment-by-moment changes’ - by means of fine-grained and highly con-textual micro-analysis ---of how meaning comes to existence in moment-by-moment (inter-)actions --- and small stories as the sites where these changes take place

positioning speakers creating order in the story and in the telling situation – indexing ‘who they are’ (story- tellers as positioning themselves)  level 1 :  level 2  level 3

yesterday Gay boys at our schoolGay boys at our school: small story about –ONE boy positioned as ‘hanging out mostly with girls’ talking ‘about being gay - a lot’ Not talking to the girl - but to others –‘girl’ positioned as ‘honest’ + ‘nice’ positioned as a “girl”

Shaggy Today: Shaggy story

expl :“It wasn’t me, hey, I’m Shaggy” > Same group of ten-year-olds + adult moderator Moderator question: “what do YOU boys find attractive in girls?” –borrowing ‘a male friend’ and ‘a girl’ positioning level 1 –borrowing another speaker positioning level 2 –borrowing ‘Shaggy’ positioning level 3 see transcript

‘Shaggy’ It wasn’t me Honey came in and she caught me red-handed it wasn’t me CHORUS: but she caught me on the counter it wasn’t me saw me banging on the sofa it wasn’t me I even had her in the shower it wasn’t me she even caught me on camera it wasn’t me