Discourses in action Operations of race, sexuality and gender in Chinese talk-in- interaction Hayden Blain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0118-5807 Submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Languages and Linguistics University of Melbourne August 2020 Abstract This thesis is a conversation analytic and poststructuralist study of discourses and social categories. In particular, it analyses how discursive categories of race, sexuality and gender operate in talk among a group of Chinese lesbians, and how the categories produced by these discourses are implemented in, and potentially reshaped by, interaction. The data which is presented and analysed in this thesis comes from a corpus of approximately 16 hours of audio recordings of conversations between and with Chinese lesbians who live in Melbourne, Australia. The thesis has two main aims. Firstly, it analyses how discourses operate in interaction. It does this by locating moments in interaction where discourses of race, sexuality and gender are oriented to. It shows how categories of race are resisted in ambiguous interactional projects; categories of sexuality are shown to operate and potentially alter in repair sequences; and categories of gender are shown to operate and be normalised in storytelling sequences. Secondly, the thesis aims to develop a critical conversation analysis methodology. In order to achieve this aim, the thesis builds on feminist and critically-oriented conversation analysis (CA) to develop and implement critical CA. This methodology finds points of compatibility between CA and poststructuralism. The implementation of this methodology also contributes to the long- standing debate between conversation analysts and critically-oriented discourse analysts about the compatibility between poststructuralist and conversation analytic epistemologies. The thesis concludes that critical CA can indeed be used to show the operation of discourses in mundane, everyday interaction. This can improve our understanding of how social categories are produced, sustained, resisted, and even potentially altered. Such findings may allow us to contribute an understanding of the operation of discourse to a political project of reducing discrimination based on social categories. ii Declaration This is to certify that: 1. the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD 2. due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used 3. the thesis is less than 100,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, maps, figures, and foreign language examples. ____________________________________________________ Hayden Blain https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0118-5807, August 2020 iii Acknowledgements This thesis has brought moments of elatedness and happiness and moments of frustration and despair. The ups and downs have made me more capable and more humble, and I hope the process has set me up to provide some small piece of useful knowledge to the world that didn’t exist before. Throughout the PhD, I had academic, intellectual and emotional support from several important people, who I’d like to acknowledge here. First, this thesis would not have been possible without the help of all the participants who agreed to spend time with me and be recorded by me. I came to Melbourne without any contacts, but thanks to the generosity of some of the women I met, I was able to build a small and vibrant community. All of our time spent together was extremely valuable, and I am truly grateful for the moments the participants dedicated to this study. I hope the findings and my future work help to eventually make the lives of LGBTQI+ people everywhere more accepted and celebrated. My supervisors, Tim and Chloé, were incredible sources of support, encouragement, feedback and inspiration. Tim took me under his wing not just as a student, but as an intellectual pupil. He patiently and clearly explained (iteratively) the intricacies of Foucault’s discourses, Derrida’s iterability, Butler’s agency and Goffman’s interaction order. He constantly reignited my passion in the project and reminded me of the bigger picture, especially at times when I was bogged down fixing small issues, or kicking myself for embarking on a 3.5-year PhD. Tim was always steadfast in his belief of the project, and his support and dedication over the past several complicated years means the world to me. Chloé’s deep understanding of sociolinguistics and pragmatics added a layer of depth and perspective to my own understanding which improved this thesis immeasurably. Despite her own budding and busy career, she was always available to offer support in the form of a meeting in her office, a cup of coffee from the Standing Room or dinner in the city. Chloé had strong empathy for the life of PhD students and was always looking out for me, be that in the form of casual work, future job opportunities, or just being free to catch up about personal issues in both our lives. Chloé is both an academic mentor and friend, and I am incredibly grateful for all of her support over the years. I am lucky to have had the support of colleagues from not just one, but two universities. In the first two years, I was surrounded by PhD students and postdocs in the Babel Building at UniMelb. We would meet almost daily for coffees and lunches, and share in both our successes and frustrations. I’d particularly like to thank Giuseppe for kind and fun companionship in the office and at home and Xiaofang for long chats about academia and life. I would also like to extend a special thanks to Catherine Travis, who made it possible for me to move and work at ANU for over a year, allowing me to have support as I moved cities with my partner. From ANU, I’d like to thank the coffee crew and my officemate James for company and motivating discussions. I also thank Wesley, Josh and Ash for important insights into academic life. Lastly, I thank Yanyan, for giving me the chance to tutor Chinese with the amazing ANU Chinese tutors, and exploring conversation analysis with me. I’m grateful to my parents, Debbie and Ian, for always supporting my move to do a PhD, and showing interest in my topic despite it being far removed from their own lives. I felt secure embarking on this risky endeavour, knowing they were there to support me. Finally, I thank Taimoor, who convinced me to do this in the first place! He has always been there, allowing me to vent and cry, providing solutions, and offering emotional support even at my most vulnerable. I have no idea what the future holds, but I know we will tackle it together. iv Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................ ii Declaration ......................................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1: Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Discourse............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Social categories ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.3 ‘Macro’ context: Structuralism and poststructuralism ............................................................ 2 1.3.1 Structuralism............................................................................................................................. 2 1.3.2 Poststructuralism ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 ‘Micro’ context: Conversation analysis ........................................................................................ 3 1.5 The participants: Chinese lesbians ............................................................................................... 3 1.5.1 Heterosexism in Chinese society .......................................................................................... 4 1.5.2 Queer migration and racism .................................................................................................. 5 1.6 Overview of the thesis ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.6.1 Aim and research questions .................................................................................................. 6 1.6.2 Summary of the analysis ........................................................................................................ 6 1.6.3 Chapter outline ......................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Ethnomethodology ........................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.1 Indexical expressions ............................................................................................................ 10 2.1.2 Rational action .......................................................................................................................