Culture and identity: A genre-based positioning analysis of academic leadership discourse in Italy and the USA

Abstract

This study views genres as recurrent positioning acts that shape and reshape the social identity of members belonging to a discourse community. Combining genre analysis with positioning theory, this study aims to explore how the identity of a social role is constructed across cultures. A corpus-based analysis of 60 speeches from Italian and American university leaders reveals two cross-culturally common social positions: institutional representative and value disseminator. In terms of differences, Italian leaders tend to self-construct as advocates proposing courses of actions to a wide public on behalf of their institution. Their American counterparts, on the other hand, self-constructs as advisers providing guidance to students, also using the positions of morale-builder and relatable individual. The case study demonstrates that genres can serve as tools to understand the positionings typically associated with a social group in different cultural contexts. We suggest that this understanding can enhance the metacognitive genre awareness of L2 writers, aiding them in evaluating whether a position is acceptable to the reader from a different culture, thereby constructing an effective authorial self.