A Critical Realist Study of Political Identity in Aotearoa New Zealand, © 2015
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ACRITICALREALISTSTUDYOFPOLITICALIDENTITY INAOTEAROANEWZEALAND Materiality, Discourse and Context jay michael woodhams A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fullment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Victoria University of Wellington Te Whare Wananga¯ o te Upoko¯ o te Ika a Maui¯ 2015 Jay Michael Woodhams: A Critical Realist Study of Political Identity in Aotearoa New Zealand, © 2015 Typeset by the author in LATEX. The typeface is Linux Libertine and the transcript excerpts are Linux Biolinum. Both are licensed under the gnu General Public License and the sil Open Font License. supervisors: Associate Professor Meredith Marra Professor Janet Holmes Dedicated to the memory of Dr John William Macnab. An inspiring teacher. 1924 – 2000 ABSTRACT Political identity is a complex phenomenon that is generated within a rich sociocultural context. This thesis examines political identity in informal talk which is situated within a relatively under-explored context, New Zealand’s capital city and political centre, Wellington. Grounding the study within the critical realist model of stratied reality provides the philosophical motivation to explore multi-layered discourses alongside the extra-discursive referents that underpin them. The analysis centres on a model of identity, contra postmod- ernism, which shows that identities, while socially recognised in discourse, are articulated in reference to physical and social structures. I adopt a comprehensive multi-layered approach to discourse by examining the macro sociocultural inuences that appear to pattern interaction across the country, the meso-level subnational discourses that inuence dialogue at a more situated level and the micro-level interactional stances taken up in everyday communication. Discourse at all levels is implicated in the identities I examine in this thesis and it is against this backdrop that I unpack political identity into its indexed discourses and constitutive stance acts. Framed by my ethnographic immersion in the study context and drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty-six individuals, I explore the way in which discourse and stancetaking are implicated in the genesis of the participants’ political selves. I rst consider the extra-discursive context, including the geographical, eco- nomic and cultural structures that underlie New Zealand discourses. This is followed by detailed analysis of sociocultural discourse as it appears in talk. I identify egalitarianism and tall poppy as two related discourses which are embedded within the historical context of the country. I also explore four subnational discourses relating to Wellington city, including the political town, left-wing and small town discourses, which occur alongside a discourse of contrast. These sociocultural and subnational discourses inuence much of the talk that occurs in reference to politics in Wellington and are thus im- plicated in political identity as it is generated in moment-by-moment v interaction. To explore this in further detail I examine the micro- level of interactional discourse, more specically the processes of stancetaking, in two detailed case studies. The two focus participants demonstrate prominent stance processes which I argue are central to much identity work: intersubjectivity, in which the stances of all those involved in the discussion interact in complex ways; and multiplicity, when participants take numerous stance directions that appear to contribute to dierent aspects of their identities. The intensive focus on the case studies, alongside analysis of the full discursive and extra-discursive context, provides a multi-layered and philosophically anchored approach that seeks to contribute to current understandings of and approaches to the study of discourse and identity. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the unceasing support, guidance, perseverance and inspiration: I thank my supervisors, Meredith Marra and Janet Holmes. It seems I have come a long way since 2003 when I was a young undergraduate sitting quietly at the back of your sociolinguistics class. I did not imagine then that I would ever be where I am now. I am grateful for the many opportunities you have aorded me, the knowledge you have guided me towards and the challenges you have posed for me to overcome. To all of the participants who volunteered to take part in this study, including those who agreed to be lmed during the pilot study: my sincere thanks. Without you all this project would have been a literal impossibility. I wish to express my gratitude to those who contributed in some way to the research process: David Pearson and Gary Hawke for their insights into egalitarianism; Alison Sealey for the food for thought regarding realism and constructionism; Elaine Vine for her feedback on the hec application; Emily Greenbank for her work with tall poppy; and Chris Jennings for his attention to detail in the gures and advice on the archaeological literature. Thanks to the Wellington Language in the Workplace Project team. My years with you as a research assistant have been incredibly fruitful and have provided me with invaluable research experience that has shaped my approach to this thesis. I am also thankful for the insightful feedback on my data which I gained from members of Victoria’s Discourse Analysis Group and the Research Network for Workplace and Organisational Discourse. Thank you to the sta at Student Learning, in particular Ann Pocock and Jan Stewart. I appreciate the casual employment (and com- plimentary baking) that provided welcome respite from my studies. I also wish to thank the academic and general sta of the School of Linguistics and Applied Languages Studies. I have been lucky to work alongside dedicated colleagues who all contribute to maintaining the collegial and productive atmosphere that we enjoy. vii An undertaking such as this is not without its nancial implic- ations. Thanks to Victoria University of Wellington for the three- year Doctoral Scholarship and conference funding. Thanks to Victoria University Postgraduate Students’ Association for awarding me the 2013 Postgraduate Research Excellence Award which allowed me to present some of the ndings of this research at a conference in Hungary in 2014. They say a doctorate, while enriching, is an exercise in isolation. This may be true, but I am fortunate enough to have many special people in my life who have supported me socially and emotionally over the last few years and, in doing so, have contributed in less visible ways to this thesis. Jeremy Koay—ocemate, squash trainer, generous chef and friend—we made it. Keely Kidner, Rike Tegge and the rest of the postgraduate battlers. My parents, Oenone and Mike, who never doubt my choices and always leave the door open. Quiet afternoons looking out over your garden helped to sustain my drive to see this through to the end. My three brothers, Adrian, Angus and Carl. Claire Chittenden, for the limitless support from start to nish. And to the rest of my good friends in Wellington and abroad, thanks for giving me something else to talk about, providing good laughs and helping me over the obstacles that a doctorate inevitably places in the way. Finally, I wish to thank my late grandparents, whose belief in the power of education set me on this path. My grandfather, my inspiration and to whom I dedicate this thesis, and my grandmother, Mrs Beryl Jean Macnab, who passed away as I embarked on this journey. Thank you both for believing in me until the very end. viii CONTENTS 1 introduction and aims 1 1.1 Study Rationale . 3 1.2 Research Aims . 5 1.3 Thesis Structure . 7 1.4 Conclusion . 8 2 philosophical background 9 2.1 Critical Realism . 10 2.1.1 The Main Features of Critical Realism . 11 2.1.2 Critical Realism and Social Constructionism . 16 2.1.3 Deconstructing ‘Construction’ . 20 2.2 Sociocultural Discourse and Critical Realism . 22 2.2.1 Dening Discourse . 22 2.2.2 Discourse and Realism . 26 2.2.3 Sociocultural Discourse Applied . 28 2.3 Ideology . 31 2.4 Summary . 33 3 discourse in identity 35 3.1 Discourse Approaches to Identity . 35 3.1.1 Sociocultural Linguistic Identity . 37 3.1.2 Emergent Identities . 38 3.2 Critical Realist Identity . 40 3.2.1 The NIDA Model . 42 3.2.2 Core Identity . 48 3.2.3 Negotiation, Contestation and Recognition . 49 3.2.4 Theoretical Model . 52 3.3 Summary . 52 4 interactional discourse 55 4.1 Interaction . 55 4.1.1 Discourse Analysis and Critical Realism . 57 4.1.2 Critical Realist Discourse Analysis . 59 4.2 Interactional Sociolinguistics . 62 ix x contents 4.3 Indexicality . 65 4.4 Stance . 69 4.4.1 Stance, Context and Identity . 73 4.4.2 Political Identity and Stancetaking . 77 4.5 Summary . 79 5 data collection and method of analysis 81 5.1 Implications of Critical Realism for Method . 81 5.1.1 Approach to Study Design . 83 5.2 Human Ethics and Informed Consent . 84 5.3 Pilot Study . 85 5.4 Participant Recruitment . 86 5.5 Data Collection . 89 5.5.1 Linguistic Ethnography . 90 5.5.2 Semi-Structured Interviewing . 94 5.5.3 Data Set . 109 5.6 Data Analysis . 109 5.7 Follow-up Reporting . 114 5.8 Summary . 115 6 the physical and social landscape 117 6.1 Setting and Context . 119 6.1.1 New Zealand’s Political System . 123 6.2 Geographical Reality of the Small Country . 124 6.3 The Reality of Inequality . 130 6.4 Biculturalism and Multiculturalism . 137 6.5 Summary . 144 7 sociocultural discourses 145 7.1 New Zealand Egalitarianism . 146 7.1.1 Conceptualising Egalitarianism . 151 7.1.2 Egalitarianism in Interaction . 154 7.1.3 Mitigation of Power as Egalitarian Equity . 164 7.2 Tall Poppies in New Zealand . 167 7.3 Summary . 175 8 subnational discourses 177 8.1 Political Identity in Wellington . 178 8.2 The Political Town .