Neill Korobov, Ph.D.

I study relational identities by focusing on the dynamism of conversations and storytelling practices. I examine social interactions as the sites where identities development. I am interested in the ways identities emerge, get tested out, resisted, and amended as part of the social business of managing relationships. My work is situated in Discursive Psychology, straddling critical discursive and conversation analytic methods. I study young adult's conversations about romantic and sexual experiences. I am interested in the ways couples pursue intimacy--that is, how potential romantic partners connect and create affiliation in their everyday natural contexts. I am also fascinated with poetry and how it might enliven our pedagogy. On a more personal note, my interest in discourse began as long-standing fascination with stories and storytelling practices. Stories have an inescapable gravity to them. For some time, I have felt as if particular stories had a way of stalking me. I have been equally healed and haunted by these stories. Isak Dinesen said "to be a person is to have a story to tell." I cannot think of a more astute psychological observation.

  • BS, Psychology & Philosophy, Wheaton College, 1997
  • MA, Developmental Psychology, Clark University, 2002
  • PhD, Developmental Psychology, Clark University, 2004

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Korobov, N. (2018). Indirect pursuits of intimacy in romantic couples everyday conversations: A Discourse analytic approach. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(2), Art. 21, http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.2.301 [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2018). Indirect pursuits of intimacy in romantic couples everyday conversations: A Discourse analytic approach. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 19(2), Art. 21, http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.2.301 [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2014). From script theory to script formulation: Derek Edwards’ shift from perceptual-realism to the interactional-rhetorical. In C. Tileagă & E.Stokoe (Eds.), Discursive Psychology: Revisiting classic studies. London: Sage.

Korobov, N. (2014). Identities as an interactional process. In K.C. McLean & M. Syed (Eds), The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development. Oxford University Press.

Korobov, N. (2013). Positioning identities: A discursive approach to the negotiation of gendered categories. Narrative Inquiry, 23, 111-131.

Korobov, N., & Laplante, J. (2013). Using improprieties to pursue intimacy in speed-dating interactions. Studies in Media and Communication, 1, 15-33.

Morgan, E., & Korobov, N. (2012). Interpersonal identity formation in conversations with close friends about dating relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1471-1483.

Korobov, N. (2011). Gendering desire in speed-dating interactions. Discourse Studies, 13, 461-485. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2011). Mate-preference talk in speed-dating conversations. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 44, 186-209. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2011). Young men's vulnerability in relation to women's resistance of emphasized femininity. Men and Masculinities, 14, 51-75. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2010). A discursive psychological approach to positioning. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7, 263-277. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2009). He's got no game: Young men's stories about failed romantic and sexual experiences. Journal of Gender Studies, 18, 99-114. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2009). Expanding hegemonic masculinity: The use of irony in young men's stories about romantic experiences. American Journal of Men's Health, 3, 286-299. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. & Thorne, A. (2009). The negotiation of compulsory romance in young women friends' stories about romantic heterosexual experiences. Feminism and Psychology, 19, 49-70. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. & Thorne, A. (2007). How late adolescent friends share stories about relationships: The importance of mitigating the seriousness of romantic problems. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27, 971-992. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N., & Bamberg, M. (2007). 'Strip Poker! They don't show nothing': Positioning identities in adolescent male talk about a television game show (pp. 253-272). In A. De Fina, M. Bamberg, and D. Schiffrin (Eds.), Selves and Identities in Narrative

Korobov, N. (2006). The management of nonrelational sexuality: Positioning strategies in adolescent male talk about (hetero)sexual attraction. Men and Masculinities, 8, 493-517. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. & Thorne, A. (2006). Intimacy and distancing: Young men's conversations about romantic relationships. Journal of Adolescent Research, 21, 27-55. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2005). Ironizing masculinity: How adolescent boys negotiate hetero-normative dilemmas in conversational interaction. The Journal of Men's Studies, 13, 225-246. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2004d). Inoculating against prejudice: A discursive approach to homophobia and sexism in adolescent male talk. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 5, 178-189. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. & Bamberg, M. (2004b). Development as micro-genetic positioning: A response to the commentaries. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22, 521-530. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N., & Bamberg, M. (2004a). Positioning a mature self in interactive practices:How adolescent males negotiate physical attraction in group talk. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22, 471-492. [View Publication (PDF)]

Korobov, N. (2000). Social constructionist theory hope: The impasse from theory to practice. Culture and Psychology, 6, 365-373. [View Publication (PDF)]