I am a sociolinguist. More specifically, I am a sociocultural, critical, interdisciplinary and intercultural discourse analyst. 
The principal theme of my work is the question of belonging, as we construct it by – and in – text and talk. This theme is embodied in the exclusionary practices towards those that “do not belong”, as well as the practices of non-belongers that reflect their intent to be included. I write about stepmothers, immigrants, prisoners, female politicians. I analyze both public and private discourses, from political speeches to family dinner conversations, elicited narratives, and internet chat room discourse. At the same time, I deal with aspects of theoretical linguistics that inform applied approaches. In this respect, I recently published a book on discourse particles.


My interdisciplinary approach includes critical discourse analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, linguistic pragmatics, social psychology (specifically Positioning Theory), cognitive sociolinguistics (specifically Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Relevance Theory), social semiotics, cultural studies, and communication theories.


On this web page you can find some of my publications, classes I teach, pictures of some people who have influenced my work, and even a sample of my creative writing. More to come!