Censure and management of racist talk

Research on the language of prejudice and racism has long been concerned with the ways in which people seek to inoculate themselves against charges of prejudice. However, until relatively recently less attention has been paid to the ways in which such attempts at denial and rationalisation of racism have been received, nor on the way in which racist talk may be censured or managed by other parties in an interaction. This chapter provides a selective overview of some recent developments in research on these issues, focussing in particular on two recent traditions of work: First, a body of research that focusses on accusations of racism in their own right; second, a dialogical perspective on racist discourse that has moved the focus away from individuals denying racism on their own behalf, and instead considers the accusation, denial, management and enactment of racism as a collaborative accomplishment. It is suggested that future work should expand this focus by exploring in greater depth the connections between contexts and interactional encounters, and indeed it is argued that the time may be right to formulate a longitudinal approach to the discursive psychology of ‘race’ and racism.