Shadow Subjects: A Category of Analysis for Empathic Stancetaking

This article analyzes conversational and material data collected during 12 months of fieldwork at a secondary school in southeast Spain. I focus on the cultivation of stance positions—particularly around gender equality—involving “shadow subjects”: imagined discursive figures that both prompt and co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of linguistic anthropology Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 190 - 209
Main Author Taha, Maisa C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2017
Subjects
Adolescents
Bias
Conversation
Cultivation
Discourse analysis
Egalitarianism
Elaboration
Empathy
Fieldwork
gender equality
Gender equity
Gender inequality
Ideology
Immigrants
immigration
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Secondary school students
Secondary schools
Semiotics
Spain
stance
subjectivity
Spain
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Summary:This article analyzes conversational and material data collected during 12 months of fieldwork at a secondary school in southeast Spain. I focus on the cultivation of stance positions—particularly around gender equality—involving “shadow subjects”: imagined discursive figures that both prompt and constrain empathy for others whose rights have been violated. Within this multicultural context, Moroccan immigrant youth get positioned as defenders of outdated patriarchal mores. I argue that the semiotic burdening and elaboration of stance on behalf of shadow subjects makes this possible and points to inherent biases in operationalizing “universal” egalitarian values among ideologically and experientially diverse communities.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1055-1360
1548-1395
DOI:10.1111/jola.12157