Poststructuralism and Language Teacher Identity

As a theoretical and philosophical stance, poststructuralism problematizes and questions dominant narratives that define people and the social world. As Davies argues, “poststructuralist theory invites an openness to the unexpected, it turns a critical gaze towards oppressive patterns of power and powerlessness, and it engages a strong will to action”. Poststructuralism is primarily concerned with the interconnections among power, language, and ideology. It acknowledges the dynamic construction of power in and through discourses, the circulation of which is possible through language, and argues that systems of power and knowledge are maintained via ideologies. In this chapter, we aim to explain how poststructuralism can guide explorations of teacher identity. We begin with a brief overview of poststructuralism and conceptualize poststructural teacher identity. We then discuss the ways poststructuralism can be utilized in exploring and contesting binary social categories and dominant/dominating discourses of normality and rationality in relation to language teacher identity. We conclude with implications for future scholarship on poststructural language teacher identity.