We shall argue that the constitutive force of each discursive practice lies in its provision of s... more We shall argue that the constitutive force of each discursive practice lies in its provision of subject positions. A subject position incorporates both a conceptual repertoire and a location for persons within the structure of rights and duties for those who use that repertoire.(1990: ...
Using video records of everyday life in a residential home, we report on what interactional pract... more Using video records of everyday life in a residential home, we report on what interactional practices are used by people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities to initiate encounters. There were very few initiations, and all presented difficulties to the interlocutor (support staff; the recording researcher); one (which we call 'blank recipiency') gave the interlocutor virtually no information at all on which to base a response. Only when the initiation was of a new phase in an interaction already under way (for example, the initiation of an alternative trajectory of a proposed physical move) was it likely to be successfully sustained. We show how interlocutors responded to initiations verbally, as if to neuro-typical speakers - but inappropriately for people unable to comprehend, or to produce well-fitted next turns. This mis-reliance on ordinary speakers' conversational practices was one factor that contributed to residents abandoning the interaction in alm...
This thesis was conceived around a single aim, to critically engage with the concept of the '... more This thesis was conceived around a single aim, to critically engage with the concept of the 'unemotional male'. The 'unemotional male' represents the embodiment of contemporary constructions of men's relationship with emotions as at least limited and at worst detrimental both to men and to those around them. Existing psychological and sociological literatures on masculinities and on sex and gender differences were submitted to critical review. These reviews provided overviews of the discursive resources that were commonly invoked to account for men's relationship with emotions. Adopting a critical discursive psychological approach, three types of data men's talk about men and emotions, a male speakers autobiographical narratives of humiliation and episodes of anger within heterosexual relationships were subjected to analysis. Across the first two types of data, the relationship between masculinity and emotions was identified as contingent upon the functions served by emotions in the constitution of social relationships and systems of power relations. In these two analyses, masculine subjectivities were demonstrably constituted relative to a 'hegemonic' masculine ideal. With regard to the final type of data, 'anger was demonstrated to be a resource available to members of both genders. Specifically, anger was done by members of both genders in response to unwarranted acts or accusations. Anger demonstrably functioned in the negotiation of individuals' rights and entitlements and in the constitution of local structures of power relations. The thesis finishes with an overview of the findings of the research in light of the literature reviewed. Future directions for critical discursive psychological engagements with emotions, as discourses and as performative acts, and the contribution that these might make to a social psychological understanding of the relationship between gender and emotion are outlined.
This chapter is about what happened when we talked to care-staff about their daily round of suppo... more This chapter is about what happened when we talked to care-staff about their daily round of supporting people with learning disabilities. The idea was to share our (suitably de-jargonised) conversation-analytic observations with them, in the hope that they would reflect on their practices and, where they found them wanting, change them. The project was an example of what Antaki (Chapter 1) terms 'interventionist'Conversation Analysis. Broadly one might identify four types of such intervention:(1) the use of findings from CA research ...
A recent study has revealed the extent of the obstacles to choice and control in residential sett... more A recent study has revealed the extent of the obstacles to choice and control in residential settings for people with learning disabilities. In the first part of this article the first two authors highlight the key messages for practice. In the second part of the article the Social Care Institute for Excellence provides an overview of other research and resources on residential services and learning disabilities.
We shall argue that the constitutive force of each discursive practice lies in its provision of s... more We shall argue that the constitutive force of each discursive practice lies in its provision of subject positions. A subject position incorporates both a conceptual repertoire and a location for persons within the structure of rights and duties for those who use that repertoire.(1990: ...
Using video records of everyday life in a residential home, we report on what interactional pract... more Using video records of everyday life in a residential home, we report on what interactional practices are used by people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities to initiate encounters. There were very few initiations, and all presented difficulties to the interlocutor (support staff; the recording researcher); one (which we call 'blank recipiency') gave the interlocutor virtually no information at all on which to base a response. Only when the initiation was of a new phase in an interaction already under way (for example, the initiation of an alternative trajectory of a proposed physical move) was it likely to be successfully sustained. We show how interlocutors responded to initiations verbally, as if to neuro-typical speakers - but inappropriately for people unable to comprehend, or to produce well-fitted next turns. This mis-reliance on ordinary speakers' conversational practices was one factor that contributed to residents abandoning the interaction in alm...
This thesis was conceived around a single aim, to critically engage with the concept of the '... more This thesis was conceived around a single aim, to critically engage with the concept of the 'unemotional male'. The 'unemotional male' represents the embodiment of contemporary constructions of men's relationship with emotions as at least limited and at worst detrimental both to men and to those around them. Existing psychological and sociological literatures on masculinities and on sex and gender differences were submitted to critical review. These reviews provided overviews of the discursive resources that were commonly invoked to account for men's relationship with emotions. Adopting a critical discursive psychological approach, three types of data men's talk about men and emotions, a male speakers autobiographical narratives of humiliation and episodes of anger within heterosexual relationships were subjected to analysis. Across the first two types of data, the relationship between masculinity and emotions was identified as contingent upon the functions served by emotions in the constitution of social relationships and systems of power relations. In these two analyses, masculine subjectivities were demonstrably constituted relative to a 'hegemonic' masculine ideal. With regard to the final type of data, 'anger was demonstrated to be a resource available to members of both genders. Specifically, anger was done by members of both genders in response to unwarranted acts or accusations. Anger demonstrably functioned in the negotiation of individuals' rights and entitlements and in the constitution of local structures of power relations. The thesis finishes with an overview of the findings of the research in light of the literature reviewed. Future directions for critical discursive psychological engagements with emotions, as discourses and as performative acts, and the contribution that these might make to a social psychological understanding of the relationship between gender and emotion are outlined.
This chapter is about what happened when we talked to care-staff about their daily round of suppo... more This chapter is about what happened when we talked to care-staff about their daily round of supporting people with learning disabilities. The idea was to share our (suitably de-jargonised) conversation-analytic observations with them, in the hope that they would reflect on their practices and, where they found them wanting, change them. The project was an example of what Antaki (Chapter 1) terms 'interventionist'Conversation Analysis. Broadly one might identify four types of such intervention:(1) the use of findings from CA research ...
A recent study has revealed the extent of the obstacles to choice and control in residential sett... more A recent study has revealed the extent of the obstacles to choice and control in residential settings for people with learning disabilities. In the first part of this article the first two authors highlight the key messages for practice. In the second part of the article the Social Care Institute for Excellence provides an overview of other research and resources on residential services and learning disabilities.
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