Chinatown transformed: Ideology, power, and resources in narrative place-making

Abstract

Combining textual, visual, and ethnographic approaches to discourse, this article examines a variety of resources employed in the narrative construction of Washington, DC's Chinatown in a billboard advertisement that de-ethnicizes the neighborhood. Analysis of the linguistic resources of narrative structure, comparative reference, and lexical cohesion reveals how the gentrification of Chinatown is constructed as a positive transformation driven by a corporation. Further, the visual juxtaposition of text with photos and graphics appropriates the community voice and infuses it with corporate identity. This ideological multimodal construction of the transformation of Chinatown is finally actualized in its durable material form and strategic spatial emplacement. Incorporating ethnographic observation and an interview, this article illustrates how the symbolic power of narrative in place-making is interdependent on the economic power of its producer to propagate ideological discourse in the material world.

Membership categorization analysis of racism in an online discussion among neighbors

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“…Zhou & Logan 1989;Zhou 1992Zhou , 2009); • semiotic landscapes and cultural markers (e.g. Preston & Lo 2000;Lai 2003;Lou 2007Lou , 2010Leeman & Modan 2009); • longitudinal analyses of the construction of racial categories and evolving perceptions (e.g. Anderson 1991;Shah 2001); • residential mobility and spatial transitions (e.g.…”

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Culture-Led Place-Making and Heterotopic Brand Building: A Comparative Approach between Ljubljana and Porto

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