Emotion and Discourse in L2 Narrative Research

This book examines the interactional management of emotionality in second language autobiographical interview research. Advancing a discursive constructionist approach, it offers a timely methodological and reflexive perspective that brings into focus the dynamic and dilemmatic aspects of interviewee and interviewer identities and experiences, and it makes visible the often unexpected and unseen consequences for the research project and beyond. The author weaves together critical discussion and empirical analysis based on longitudinal, narrative-based research with adult immigrants from Southeast Asia living in the US and Canada. This interdisciplinary book will be compelling reading for students, researchers, and others interested in emotion, narrative, discourse, identity, interaction, interviews, and qualitative research.

Matthew T. Prior is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Arizona State University. His research interests include emotion and other socio-psychological dimensions of second language learning and use, multilingualism and identity, transcultural belonging, discursive constructionist approaches (narrative, conversation analysis, discursive psychology, membership categorization analysis), and qualitative methodologies.