The Discursive Construction Of The Shanghai Identity

Identity formation is a prominent research topic in the social sciences and hasbeen a major focus domain in the field of intercultural communication. The presentstudy considers the popular discursive construction of the Shanghai identity todayagainst the backdrop of an increasingly populous and mobile society of Shanghai as aresult of the opening up of the city since the1980s, by analyzing the music album ofTop Floor Circus, a local Rock and Roll band in Shanghai, which was dedicated tothe city of Shanghai. In the present study, this music album is seen as part of a popularcultural discourse that contributes to the discursive construction of the Shanghaiidentity.The present study takes on a critical perspective and assumes that the Sha nghaiidentity is not a static, pre-existing concept but is socially constructed through the useof discursive strategies. More specifically, it applies critical discourse analysis (CDA)to the textual analysis of the thirteen songs in the music album and finds that1) in themusic album, constructive and perpetuation strategies are most frequently used toconstruct a common past, present and future of the Shanghai people and2) theunderlying ideology of the music album is more of d iscrimination than assimilation,though certain linguistic features of the lyrics analyzed show signs of reduced socialdistance between Shanghai people and migrant workers.This study aims to contribute to the studies of the Shanghai identity with adiscursive approach, which has relatively been less explored in the field. Although themajor findings lead to the conclusion that the discursive construction of the Shanghai identity in the music album reflects an ideology more of discrimination thanassimilation, the present study remains open-and critical-minded as it sees itself asonly providing a possible reading of the text using of a particular set of tools.