Discursive Construction of Post-9/11 American National Identity: United by “the Enemy”
| dc.contributor.advisor | Rogers, Paul M. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Parker, Robin A. | |
| dc.creator | Parker, Robin A. | |
| dc.date | 2014-05-02 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-10-14T20:48:37Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-10-14T20:48:37Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-10-14 | |
| dc.description.abstract | National identity derives from a sense of sameness and cohesion; however, scholars across fields accept the nation as an “imagined community” and that national identity changes. In this thesis, I conduct a Critical Discourse Analysis of political speeches and informal interviews to investigate the post-9/11 discursive construction of American national identity. With a theoretical backing in social constructionism and Norman Fairclough’s articulation of CDA, I focused on lexico-grammatical features and intertextuality and interdiscursivity. Taking head from Ruth Wodak’s study of Austrian national identity, I also analyzed my corpus for constructive strategies of assimilation. Although many discourses contribute to the construction of national identity, the post-9/11 discourse overtly addresses what it means to be American and constructs a stark “other” in the form of terrorism. This study finds that while citizens criticize politics, their sense of “sameness” becomes most concrete when faced with a threat or opposition in the form of terrorism, or when discussing Muslims not associated with terrorism. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1920/9063 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.rights | Copyright 2014 Robin A. Parker | |
| dc.subject | National identity | |
| dc.subject | Critical discourse analysis | |
| dc.subject | Post-9/11 rhetoric | |
| dc.subject | Social constructionism | |
| dc.subject | American national identity | |
| dc.title | Discursive Construction of Post-9/11 American National Identity: United by “the Enemy” | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | English | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | George Mason University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Master's | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts in English |