Language and Power: An Introduction to Institutional Discourse

by Andrea Mayr, Tommaso M. Milani (Editor)

Overview

How language is used in institutions and how institutions generate language is a key concern of both sociolinguistics and social theory. This readable and comprehensive introduction to language and power in institutions combines theoretical reflection with a strong analytical focus. Covering a range of institutional discourses and settings, each chapter in Language and Power closely examines institutional discourse practices and provides detailed steps to the critical analysis of institutional discourse both linguistic and multimodal. This book is a long overdue contribution to the analysis of the way that institutions have the power to shape our thinking and understanding of the world and to construct identities. Key Features: *This book contains fascinating examples from a variety of institutional contexts, including academia, prison, media and the military *It brings together insights from (multimodal) critical discourse analysis, social theory, media studies and corpus analysis *It is essential reading for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates doing sociolinguistics, media studies, communication and cultural studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826487445
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/21/2008
Series:	Advances in Sociolinguistics
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Andrea Mayr is Lecturer in the School of English at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. Her books include Prison Discourse (Palgrave, 2004), Language and Power (Continuum, 2008), and Language and Power: A Resourcebook for Students (Routledge, 2010).

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors 1. Introduction: Power, discourse and institutions, Andrea Mayr 2. Discourses of higher education: Enterprise and institutional change in the university, Andrea Mayr 3. Prison discourse: Enterprising managerialism in a total institution, Andrea Mayr 4. News discourse I: Understanding the social goings-on behind news texts, David Machin 5. News discourse II: Anti-racism and neo-liberalism in the British Regional Press, David Machin and Andrea Mayr 6. Defence discourse I: The visual institutionalization of discourses in war monuments, Gill Abousnnouga and David Machin 7. Defence discourse II: A corpus perspective on routine and rhetoric in defence discourse, Tony Bastow 8. Conclusion: Researching institutional discourse, Andrea Mayr with Tony Bastow Appendix References Index

Editorial Reviews

"Language and Power offers an innovative and intriguing blend of socio-historical criticism and textual analysis. Applying critical discourse analysis to a range of discourse types the authors display its potential to the full with a series of thought-provoking and illuminating readings. All serious students of institutional discourse will want to engage with this book."--Sanford Lakoff

"Students of CDA with an interest in multimodal analysis will find this book specially useful. Its broad treatment of discourse to include all aspects of semiotic activity, from the use of photos in news stories to the visual design of war monuments, provides concrete case studies that help introduce key concepts in the study of language and power."--Sanford Lakoff

Mention Book News, February 2009

Mention --Book News, February 2009

Briefly reviewed in the Year's work in English Studies journal, vol 89, No. 1

Mention -Book News, February 2009

From the Publisher