The Discursive Construction of National Identity: Translated by Angelika Hirsch and Richard Mitten (Critical Discourse Analysis)

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? This book analyzes discourse of national identity in Europe with particular attention to Austria. In the tradition of critical discourse analysis, the authors have developed a method of description and analysis of identity and nation which has applications to many other West European states. The authors interpret ongoing transformations in the self -- and other -- definition of national identities using an innovative approach which combines discourse-historical theory and methodology and a critical theory of context. The book analyses various discourses of identification and difference on public and private levels within the nation state and contains many concrete text and discourse examples as well as analyses.