Self-identity, authenticity and the Other: The spirits and audience management in stage mediumship

In this paper we address Hasting and Manning’s (2004) call for analysis of relational aspects of the performance and production of social identity, and in particular acknowledgement of the role of the other, or alterity, in identity work. Drawing from methods in the micro sociological study of social interaction, we examine a corpus of video recordings of stage demonstrations of mediumship. These video clips were posted on the internet by the participating mediums. Our analyses focus on various communicative practices in the setting of the demonstration by which a particular other – in this case, the spirits – are invoked, and the rhetorical and inferential consequences that follow for the mediums’ claims to authenticity and authority.

► This paper examines ‘alterity’ in naturally occurring interaction. ► The analysis focuses on how spirit ‘others’ are invoked in the demonstration. ► We examine how mediums use language to establish authority in stage demonstrations of mediumship. ► We use conversation analytic methods to offer an empirically grounded account of alterity.