Race talk

Abstract

Racism in Australia has recently received prominence as an important topic of contemporary debate. In contrast to mainstream social-psychological research, which has focused on attempts to measure and quantify racism, the present study utilises Potter and Wetherell's (1987) discourse analytic methodology to identify the patterns of talk and the rhetorical arguments used by nonindigenous Australians in discussions on race and racism in Australia. Aims of the research were to demonstrate how talk about racism is put together and to examine the ways in which participants construct indigenous Australians during their discussions. Participants drew on four common linguistic resources during discussions. These were a historical narrative of Australia's colonial past, the contemporary Aboriginal plight, the discounting of racism in Australia, and the necessity of identifying collectively as “Australian”. These interpretative resources are illustrated and discussed in terms of their rhetorical organisation and social consequences.