Constructing mediator identities through questioning in Chinese televised mediation

Abstract

This study, integrating poststructuralist discourse analysis and conversation analysis, analyzes how the question-answer sequences construct mediators’ dynamic identities during Chinese televised mediation. The research shows that different mediators in the team tend to employ different types of questions at varying stages; that questions serve not only to elicit information but also to manage the multilateral talk, to make assertions, to persuade, and to construct different identities; that different mediators’ identities include the manager, the reality tester, the moral educator, the facilitator, and the entertainer. Instead of remaining neutral, they might step out of the neutralistic circle and adhere to the golden mean. The complex representation of these identities is deeply rooted in China’s cultural and socioeconomic background. This study provides a thorough understanding of the interplay between questioning and identity in institutional contexts and the mechanism of Chinese televised mediation.