Autism in Interaction: (Un)masking and Impoliteness

This book seeks to build further links between (im)politeness research and autism by countering prevailing notions in pragmatics around autism and media portrayals of autistic characters through the lens of neurodiversity. The volume explores the social, cognitive and emotional impact of perceptions of rudeness and autistic masking on autistic individuals and the need for pragmatics research to move away from existing theorisations and instead put neurodiversity at the fore. Jagodziński locates this book’s theoretical foundations in the work of Goffman, reconceptualising notions of face, facework and line around interpersonal dynamics from a neurodivergent perspective. Jagodziński uses Polish television series Herkules, which stars an autistic character, as a springboard for showcasing a new pragmatic model for neurodivergent facework rooted in autistic unmasking, best understood as being motivated by the need to bid for interactional freedom that is then co-constructed with a neurotypical interlocutor. This book makes the case for introducing new language and perspectives in the way we describe autistic communication toward capturing pragmatic differences specific to the autistic community in an inclusive way. This book will appeal to scholars in pragmatics, politeness studies, and language and communication, as well as those interested in interdisciplinary perspectives in autism research.