Staff Profile
Dr Yarong Xie
Lecturer
I am a social psychologist specialising in conversation analysis and discursive psychology. My work is driven by a commitment to understanding how racism and inequality are constructed, reproduced, and challenged through social interaction.
My doctoral and ongoing research examine how people talk about experiences of racism across a range of institutional and everyday contexts. I have led and contributed to projects on student wellbeing and mental health, media discourses, and the use of history in contemporary discourse. I have also contributed to the design and development of a digital wellbeing toolkit for postgraduate students studying and living in the North East of England.
I am committed to producing research that advances theoretical understanding while supporting equity and meaningful social change. I have led two ESRC-funded public engagement events at the annual ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, as well as two knowledge exchange workshops with Police Scotland.
- School – School of Education, Language and Psychology
- Email – y.xie@yorksj.ac.uk
Further information
Publications and conferences
Peer-reviewed Articles
Xie, Y., & Durrheim, K. (2025). Handling racism in a radio phone-in programme: Telling it like it is. Journalism, 26(3), 656-675. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241250196
Robles, J. & Xie, Y. (2024). Managing blame for racism in broadcast media. Discourse, Context & Media, 59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcm.2024.100785
Xie, Y. (2024). Reporting racism in broadcast interview. European Journal of Social Psychology, 54 (1), 170–182. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3005
Xie, Y. (2023). Talking about the experiences of racism: A study of reporting racism in broadcast interviews. British Journal of Social Psychology, 62(3), 1469-1485.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12643
Xie, Y., Kirkwood, S., Laurier, E., & Widdicombe, S. (2021). Racism and Misrecognition. British Journal of Social Psychology, 60(4), 1177-1195. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12480
Xie, Y., Yaqoob, A., Mansell, W., & Tai, S. (2021). A qualitative investigation of stress related to studying architecture at degree level in the UK. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 20(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022219871001
Xie, Y. & Kok, B.C. (2020). Discursive psychology: an overview. KWALON, 25(2), 27-35.
https://doi.org/10.5117/2020.025.002.004
Book Chapters
Xie, Y. (in press). Mothers reporting racism in Mumsnet. In R., Fitzgerald, W., Housley, R. Smith & T. Au-Yeung (Eds.), New Directions in Membership Categorisation Analysis. Brill.
Widdicombe, S. & Xie, Y. (2020). Authentic Identity as an Achievement: A View from Discursive Psychology. In J. P. Williams & K. C. Schwarz (Eds.), Studies on the Social Construction of Identity and Authenticity (pp. 107-123). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429027987
Conferences
Paper presentations
Xie, Y., Yeebo, M., Robinson, L., & Thwaites, S. (2026, June). Speaking about struggles of mental health and inequality in focus groups: a discursive-psychological study. 2026 International Conference on Conversation Analysis, Alberta, Canada.
Mossman, T. & Xie, Y. (2026, June). "I haven’t forgotten I’m Mauritian”: Linguistic Capability and Identity Transition Among Immigrant Students in Canada. 2026 International Conference on Conversation Analysis, Alberta, Canada.
Robinson, L., Thwaites, S., & Xie, Y. (2026, March). A tool for self-discovery and transformation: Introducing the PGR Wellbeing Toolkit. Learning and Teaching Conference 2026, Newcastle.
Xie, Y. (2025, December). ‘A spokesperson from University X said’: Institutional racism in the making. The 8th Nordic Interdisciplinary Conference on Discourse and Interaction, Trondheim, Norway.
Mossman, T. & Xie, Y. (2025, June). “Who the Hell Am I?”: Linguistic Capability and Identity Transition Among Immigrant University Students in Canada. The 3rd International Symposium on Intergroup Communication, Warsaw, Poland.
Thwaites, S.V., Robinson, L., Yeebo, M. & Xie, Y. (2024). Student Mental Health Support: Exploring the needs of racially and ethnically minoritised students. Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology Annual Conference.
Xie, Y. (2024, September). ‘A spokesperson from University X said’: Institutional racism in the making. BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, Queen’s University Belfast, UK.
Xie, Y. & Durrheim, K. (2023, August-September). ‘This is my country’: how a presenter responds to abuse on air. Ross Priory Broadcast Talk Group Annual Seminar, Ross Priory, UK. (Hybrid).
Xie, Y. (2022, December) Mums reporting racism in Mumsnet. CA Day 2022, Loughborough University, UK. https://youtu.be/2HsyzLf9Gys
Xie, Y. & Widdicombe, S. (2021, June). Report Racism. 1st Conference of the Association of European Qualitative Researchers in Psychology (EQuiP): Creating Bridges. Thessaloniki, Greece. (Online).
Xie, Y. (2020, October). Report Racism. Presentation on Graduate Women Scotland Research Presentation Day. Online. https://gwseast.org/2020/10/26/research-presentation-day-2020/
Xie, Y. (2020, June). Report Racism. European Conference on Conversation Analysis. Radboud University. Nijmegen, The Netherlands. (Online).
Xie, Y. & Widdicombe, S. (2019, August). Report Racism. BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, York, UK.
Xie, Y. (2018, November). Report Racism: A Modest Proposal. EMCA Doctoral Network, King’s College London, London, UK.
Symposium Organisation
Xie, Y. & Widdicombe, S. (2024, September). Making misconduct matter: responding to accusations in the public sphere. BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference, Belfast, UK.
Invited talk
Xie, Y. (2025, July). Sharing struggles of mental health and inequality in focus group: a discursive-psychological study. Doctorate In Clinical Psychology EDI Conference, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Curry, T. J., Frith, N., Buck, S., Xie, Y., & Likonde, S. (2025, April). Decolonised Transformations: reflecting on the histories and futures of the University of Edinburgh. IASH's 55th anniversary conference. Edinburgh.
Poster presentations
Xie, Y. (2025, February). Reporting Racism. Poster Presented at SIPR Engagement Event and James Smart Memorial Lecture, Edinburgh Napier University, UK.
Xie, Y. & Durrheim, K. (2023, December). ‘From ‘don’t be rude’ to ‘an ugly experience of xenophobia’: How a radio presenter responds to a caller’s abuse. Poster Presented at CA Day 2023, Loughborough University, UK. www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/409664016/CAday2023_yx_kd.mp4
Xie, Y. & Widdicombe, S. (2021, August). Report Racism. Poster Presented at BPS Social Psychology Section Annual Conference. Online.
Seminar talks
Xie, Y. & Durrheim, K. (2023, September). ‘This is my country’: how a presenter responds to abuse on air. IASH Work-In-Progress Seminar, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, The University of Edinburgh, UK.
