Published
Jones, H. (2023) "“Gua means scrape”: A conversation analysis of identity construction and negotiation in polylogal Wikipedia paratext", in K. Batchelor and C. Bucaria (eds) "Media Paratexts and Translation", Special Issue of Translation Studies 16(3): 379-397, DOI: 10.1080/14781700.2023.2229330.
ABSTRACT: This article contributes to multidisciplinary research exploring the role played by paratext in the construction of identities. First, it develops a theoretical and methodological framework inspired by recent scholarship on conducting conversation analysis in digital contexts and on the ways in which speakers claim positions of expertise through their turns-at-talk. Next, it presents a case study examining translation-focused discussion forum comments posted within the so-called “Talk” pages that surround the mainspace content of the online user-generated encyclopedia Wikipedia. The analysis highlights the often intensely interactive nature of digital paratext and probes the implications for participants’ identity work: I argue that the polylogal nature of this paratextual space requires the constant negotiation of identities as Wikipedia contributors relentlessly jostle with one another for recognition of their epistemic authority. In the final section, I discuss the implications of this Wikipedia case for broader areas of scholarship on translation and digital paratext.
Coming soon
Jones, H. (in press) Knowledge Translation in Wikipedia: Exploring the Mediation of Medical Knowledge in Digital Culture. London & New York: Routledge.
DESCRIPTION:
This book explores the mediation and contestation of medical evidence in Wikipedia.
Existing scholarship in the medical sciences has highlighted Wikipedia as a key tool for medical ‘knowledge translation’, understood as the process of accelerating the wide dissemination and implementation of the latest scientific evidence in healthcare. Little is known, however, about the people, practices and politics involved in the production of Wikipedia’s medicine and health-related content. To address this gap, this book draws on theories and methods developed in the humanities field of translation studies and over a decade of empirical research into Wikipedia to examine the social, cultural and political dimensions of medical knowledge translation in the online encyclopedia. In doing so, it not only elucidates the complexity of factors that shape what knowledge gets translated, who by, why and how. It also shows how positioning medical knowledge translation within a broader continuum of other interlingual, intralingual and inter-epistemic translational practices can open up novel transdisciplinary perspectives on the critical challenges of improving health, health literacy and healthcare worldwide.
The book is ideal for health humanities researchers and students interested in the deep entanglement of medical evidence, media, power, identity and culture in today’s digital age.
Publisher website: https://www.routledge.com/Knowledge-Translation-in-Wikipedia-Mediating-Medical-Evidence-Online/Jones/p/book/9781032740874
Available for pre-order on November 9, 2026. Item will ship after November 30, 2026