Written intertextuality and the construction of Catholic identity in a parish community : an ethnographic study
This thesis is a study of the role of written texts in processes of identity construction and maintenance in a Catholic parish community. It is based on a critical realist understanding of society which sees social practice as the locus of continuity and change and requires detailed observation of social activity explained within a theoretical framework to achieve an understanding of the mechanisms at work in society. Social practice is understood as ~habitualised ways, tied to particular times and places, in which people apply resources (material or symbolic) to act together in the world~ (Chouliaraki and Fairclough 1999: 21). Social practices are drawn on and continued in social activity, a process which articulates four moments: material activity, social relations and processes, mental phenomena, and meaning-making processes. These moments are not understood as being discrete but rather as existing in dialectical relations of reciprocal intemalisation. Language and literacy are analysed in terms of their embeddedness within this model of social practice. Identity is conceived of as particular ways of being which are realised in social activity as people engage in particular social practices. Within this
Tusting, Karin Patricia
Literacy practices
Written intertextuality and the construction of Catholic identity in a parish community : an ethnographic study. This thesis is a study of the role of written texts in processes of identity construction and maintenance in a Catholic parish community. It is based on a critical realist understanding of society which sees social practice as the locus of continuity and change and requires detailed observation of social activity explained within a theoretical framework to achieve an understanding of the mechanisms at work in society. Social practice is understood as ~habitualised ways, tied to particular times and places, in which people apply resources (material or symbolic) to act together in the world~ (Chouliaraki and Fairclough 1999: 21). Social practices are drawn on and continued in social activity, a process which articulates four moments: material activity, social relations and processes, mental phenomena, and meaning-making processes. These moments are not understood as being discrete but rather as existing in dialectical relations of reciprocal intemalisation. Language and literacy are analysed in terms of their embeddedness within this model of social practice. Identity is conceived of as particular ways of being which are realised in social activity as people engage in particular social practices. Within this
written intertextuality construction catholic identity parish community ethnographic_study study role write_texts process identity_construction maintenance catholic parish community base critical realist society see social_practice locus continuity_change require detailed observation social activity explain within_theoretical_framework achieve mechanism work society social_practice understood way tie particular time_place people apply resource material symbolic act together world fairclough social_practice draw continue social activity process articulates moment material activity social_relation process mental phenomenon meaning_making process moment understand discrete rather exist dialectical relation reciprocal language literacy analyse term within model social_practice identity conceive particular_way realise social activity people_engage particular social_practice within