Co-constructing identities and ideological positions in conversational storytelling among friends

Abstract

Research has shown that identities and ideologies result from a complex interplay between various social, cultural and psychological factors, such as socialisation, shared experiences, cultural backgrounds and institutional practices in media, education and family. However, due to this tendency to focus on macro identity categories and macro-level ideological processes, more research is needed on how these categories and ideologies are co-constructed and operationalised within micro contexts, such as between friends. In doing so, we can explore the malleability of ideologies and identities as individuals (re)negotiate their beliefs and affiliations over time, often within micro, everyday activities. Using ethnographic methods and a practice approach to narrative, this paper shows how the analysis of conversational practices, specifically storytelling, can provide a window into the granular semiotic and discursive processes through which group identities and ideologies are (re)negotiated in mundane everyday discourse. The analyses of naturally occurring conversations between friends in Cape Town, South Africa, show that, through the use of constructed dialogue and other evaluative devices, interlocutors jointly negotiate complex alignments and positions in relation to a variety of social issues and ordinary occurrences, simultaneously and implicitly (re)establishing or (re)defining their group positionalities and ideologies.