Constructing identities in an online forum of a South African university

Abstract

The researchers construct the identity of participants by analysing online and offline identity performances in a virtual forum of a higher education institution in South Africa. The study identifies several interactional and cyclic elements that inform the articulation of discursive identity. Being directed by Iris Marion Young's theory of communicative action, the interactional character of the different elements of identity formation are valued to be enhancing or debilitating moral discourse. As the research concludes that embodied identities facilitate moral discourse, design elements for the online forum are proposed to enhance a critical understanding of own (un)emancipatory positions and the appreciation of others.

Keywords:

• digital discourse
• embodiment
• identity
• moral discourse
• online design