The 'Other's' Gaze

Abstract

The book combines the tools of corpus linguistics and discourse analysis in the attempt to investigate the discursive construction of professional identity on the part of journalists from Italy and the United States of America. More specifically, the ultimate objective of the study is to examine the discursive resources enabling journalists to construct their professional persona as experts exerting their authority in a community of practice, while they gaze at the 'other'. The analysis thus focuses on news articles from quality papers from Italy and the United States where each other's country is represented. With this primary aim in mind, the volume addresses the following leading questions:
• How is the ‘other’ (Italy in the US and the US in Italy) represented?
• How do journalists use language in order to craft their professional identity as they observe the ‘other’?
• How is this operation subtly encoded in the language of texts traditionally credited with a balanced recount of facts, i.e., news articles?

About the Author

Davide Mazzi works as a research fellow in English linguistics at the Language and Translation Department of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy). He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Languages and Cultures and his main research interests concern English for Special Purposes (legal and academic), argumentation studies and media discourse.