Discursive Construction of National Identity

How do we construct national identities in discourse? Which topics, which discursive strategies and which linguistic devices are employed to construct national sameness and uniqueness on the one hand, and differences to other national collectives on the other hand? The Discursive Construction of National Identity analyses discourses of national identity in Europe with particular attention to Austria.In the tradition of critical discourse analysis, the authors analyse current and on-going transformations in the self-and other definition of national identities using an innovative interdisciplinary approach which combines discourse-historical theory and methodology and political science perspectives. Thus, the rhetorical promotion of national identification and the discursive construction and reproduction of national difference on public, semi-public and semi-private levels within a nation state are analysed in much detail and illustrated with a huge amount of examples taken from many genres (speeches, focus-groups, interviews, media, and so forth).In addition to the critical discourse analysis of multiple genres accompanying various commemorative and celebratory events in 1995, this extended and revised edition is able to draw comparisons with similar events in 2005. The impact of socio-political changes in Austria and in the European Union is also made transparent in the attempts of constructing hegemonic national identities. Key Features:*Discourse-historical approach.*Interdisciplinarity (cultural studies, discourse analysis, history, political science).*Multi-method, multi-genre.*Qualitative case studies.

Ruth Wodak is Distinguished Professor of Discourse Studies at Lancaster University.

Rudolf de Cillia is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Vienna.

Martin Reisigl is a Lecturer in the Department of Linguistics, University of Vienna, and an Austrian Programme for Advanced Research and Technology (APART) Research Fellow of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

Karin Liebhart is a Researcher in the Department of Political Sciences, University of Vienna.