Conference Presentations by Maria Fotiadou
Text & Talk, 2021
This paper examines the language used by careers services in UK universities. Using a combination... more This paper examines the language used by careers services in UK universities. Using a combination of critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics methods and tools, the analysis of 2.6 million words collected from 58 UK university websites shows that the services highlight the quantity and variety of resources and assistance offered to Higher Education (HE) students. In addition, the close analysis of linguistic data brings to light a commonly used semantic pattern where the services act as the enablers of the students’ self-beneficiary actions. The main idea communicated in these webpages is that if HE students want to succeed in the graduate job market they need to prepare for the world of work, follow instructions and develop their employability. This course of action is presented by UK universities as natural or common sense. The interpretation and evaluation of linguistic patterns that emerge from the corpus-based analysis challenges the notion of employability and its association with the idea of ‘empowering’ young people to successfully compete in the graduate job market.
This paper aims to explore the issue of 'competitiveness' in the 'graduate job market' and the no... more This paper aims to explore the issue of 'competitiveness' in the 'graduate job market' and the notion of 'employability', as presented by Universities in the UK through their career services webpages.
Presented at 12th Newcastle upon Tyne Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics. 31 March 2017, Newc... more Presented at 12th Newcastle upon Tyne Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics. 31 March 2017, Newcastle, UK.
Critical Aproaches to Discourse Analysis Across Disciplines (CADAAD) - Catania, Italy
Presented at: Critical Approaches to Research: 2016 Postgraduate Conference at the University of ... more Presented at: Critical Approaches to Research: 2016 Postgraduate Conference at the University of Sunderland. 21 June 2016, Sunderland, UK.
Presented at: Discourse, Culture and Politics: An interdisciplinary symposium in the Humanities a... more Presented at: Discourse, Culture and Politics: An interdisciplinary symposium in the Humanities and Social Sciences. 18 May 2016, Newcastle, UK.
Poster presented at the 8th International Corpus Linguistics Conference (CL2015) at Lancaster Uni... more Poster presented at the 8th International Corpus Linguistics Conference (CL2015) at Lancaster University
Book Reviews by Maria Fotiadou
Discourse and Democracy is a critical examination of the notion of ‘democracy’ and its continuous... more Discourse and Democracy is a critical examination of the notion of ‘democracy’ and its continuous use, or rather misuse, mainly by politicians and officials in the English-speaking world. Building on his earlier work, Farrelly employs methods of Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the representations of democracy in contemporary advanced liberal nations. Specifically, the author focuses on the different ways ‘democracy’ is being represented by powerful groups; those dominant groups that have the means – though, in most cases, not the will - to make a real difference in the community.
Papers by Maria Fotiadou
Spare Rib explored a wide range of topics significant to women from the early 1970s, including se... more Spare Rib explored a wide range of topics significant to women from the early 1970s, including sexual assault, street harassment, and the growing demand for women’s self-defence classes. In particular, the magazine gave voice to women who stepped out of the victim zone, strengthened their muscles, and learned to physically defend themselves. The aim of this chapter is to look at the linguistic choices of the participants (the writers, the instructors, and the female martial arts students) and capture the general feeling surrounding the women’s decision to take karate/self-defence classes in the 1970s.
This thesis examines the discourse of careers services in UK university websites. The notion of e... more This thesis examines the discourse of careers services in UK university websites. The notion of employability has been presented and promoted by powerful groups, such as governments, organisations, the media, employers, and higher education institutions, as the remedy to the social problem of unemployment. Careers services in UK universities were given the role of ‘expert’ professionals who are there to support and guide students towards developing their employability and skills. This study examined the ideas and messages reproduced and promoted by the careers services, which could affect the students’ understanding of the ‘job market’ and their role in it. The chosen methodology, that is corpus-based critical discourse analysis, combined qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for the analysis of 2.6 million words deriving from 58 UK universities’ websites, and more specifically the careers services sections. In general, this thesis highlights some of the problematic, common...
This paper examines the language used by careers services in UK universities. Using a combination... more This paper examines the language used by careers services in UK universities. Using a combination of critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics methods and tools, the analysis of 2.6 million words collected from 58 UK university websites shows that the services highlight the quantity and variety of resources and assistance offered to Higher Education (HE) students. In addition, the close analysis of linguistic data brings to light a commonly used semantic pattern where the services act as the enablers of the students’ self-beneficiary actions. The main idea communicated in these webpages is that if HE students want to succeed in the graduate job market they need to prepare for the world of work, follow instructions and develop their employability. This course of action is presented by UK universities as natural or common sense. The interpretation and evaluation of linguistic patterns that emerge from the corpus-based analysis challenges the notion of employability and its as...
Journal of Language and Politics, 2019
Critical Discourse Studies, 2018
ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the representation of the notion of employability and the job-seek... more ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the representation of the notion of employability and the job-seeking ‘reality’. It is part of a wider research project that looks closely into the careers services sector within Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom. The chosen methodology, that is corpus-based critical discourse analysis, combined qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for the analysis of 2.6 million words deriving from 58 university websites, and more specifically the careers services sections. The analysis brings to light some problematic, common-sense ideas that are being disseminated by these services and encourages the denaturalisation of the careers services’ discourse. It shows that the language used by careers services reproduces and promotes neoliberal ideology. In addition, it argues that the notion of employability could be interpreted as a pseudo-solution to the social problem of (youth) unemployment and fierce competition in the graduate job market.
This paper focuses on the representation of the notion of employability and the job-seeking ‘real... more This paper focuses on the representation of the notion of employability and the job-seeking ‘reality’. It is part of a wider research project that looks closely into the careers services sector within Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom. The chosen methodology, that is corpus-based critical discourse analysis, combined qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for the analysis of 2.6 million words deriving from 58 university websites, and more specifically the careers services sections. The analysis brings to light some problematic, common-sense ideas that are being disseminated by these services and encourages the denaturalisation of the careers services’ discourse. It shows that the language used by careers services reproduces and promotes neoliberal ideology. In addition, it argues that the notion of employability could be interpreted as a pseudo-solution to the social problem of (youth) unemployment and fierce competition in the graduate job market.
on a personal level, whether on the streets or in their own homes. However, another undeniable fa... more on a personal level, whether on the streets or in their own homes. However, another undeniable fact is that individual women around the world resist male violence. As Mackay (2014, p. 47) notes, women's resistance to male violence 'is presumably as old as violence itself'.
Thesis Chapters by Maria Fotiadou
This thesis examines the discourse of careers services in UK university websites. The notion of e... more This thesis examines the discourse of careers services in UK university websites. The notion of employability has been presented and promoted by powerful groups, such as governments, organisations, the media, employers, and higher education institutions, as the remedy to the social problem of unemployment. Careers services in UK universities were given the role of ‘expert’ professionals who are there to support and guide students towards developing their employability and skills. This study examined the ideas and messages reproduced and promoted by the careers services, which could affect the students’ understanding of the ‘job market’ and their role in it.
The chosen methodology, that is corpus-based critical discourse analysis, combined qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for the analysis of 2.6 million words deriving from 58 UK universities’ websites, and more specifically the careers services sections.
In general, this thesis highlights some of the problematic, common-sense ideas that are being promoted by these services and encourages the denaturalisation of the careers services’ discourse. The main argument is that the language used by the careers services in UK universities reproduces and promotes neoliberal ideology. The analysis shows that higher education students are encouraged to develop ‘job-hunting techniques’ and are presented as responsible for their own ‘survival’ in a ‘fiercely competitive job market’. The notion of employability is promoted as the main solution to this highly problematic ‘reality’. The services advertise that they ‘know’ what employers are looking for from prospective employees and claim that they can ‘help’ students with their job search. The close analysis of linguistic data reveals that these services act as the ‘enablers’ of the students’ self-beneficiary action. In addition, besides their role as careers counsellors, the services’ use of language demonstrates their involvement in the therapeutic field.
Finally, the language used by post-1992 and Russell Group universities was found to be quite similar. There are, however, some differences that could be viewed as signs of competition between these two university ‘groups’ and a preference of the job market towards a particular ‘group’ of graduates from elite institutions.
Books by Maria Fotiadou
This book employs a corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodology to analyse the lan... more This book employs a corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) methodology to analyse the language used by university careers services in the UK. Drawing on a corpus which includes the public-facing websites of careers services from 24 Russell Group and 34 Post-92 universities, the author highlights some of the potentially problematic 'common-sense' views and ideas that are currently promoted to students using these services. She argues that the language used by university websites promotes neoliberal ideology and encourages the denaturalisation of such language. This book will be of interest to linguists, sociologists, education scholars, and scholars who are otherwise interested in the notion of employability.
Uploads
Conference Presentations by Maria Fotiadou
Book Reviews by Maria Fotiadou
Papers by Maria Fotiadou
Thesis Chapters by Maria Fotiadou
The chosen methodology, that is corpus-based critical discourse analysis, combined qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for the analysis of 2.6 million words deriving from 58 UK universities’ websites, and more specifically the careers services sections.
In general, this thesis highlights some of the problematic, common-sense ideas that are being promoted by these services and encourages the denaturalisation of the careers services’ discourse. The main argument is that the language used by the careers services in UK universities reproduces and promotes neoliberal ideology. The analysis shows that higher education students are encouraged to develop ‘job-hunting techniques’ and are presented as responsible for their own ‘survival’ in a ‘fiercely competitive job market’. The notion of employability is promoted as the main solution to this highly problematic ‘reality’. The services advertise that they ‘know’ what employers are looking for from prospective employees and claim that they can ‘help’ students with their job search. The close analysis of linguistic data reveals that these services act as the ‘enablers’ of the students’ self-beneficiary action. In addition, besides their role as careers counsellors, the services’ use of language demonstrates their involvement in the therapeutic field.
Finally, the language used by post-1992 and Russell Group universities was found to be quite similar. There are, however, some differences that could be viewed as signs of competition between these two university ‘groups’ and a preference of the job market towards a particular ‘group’ of graduates from elite institutions.
Books by Maria Fotiadou
The chosen methodology, that is corpus-based critical discourse analysis, combined qualitative and quantitative methods and tools for the analysis of 2.6 million words deriving from 58 UK universities’ websites, and more specifically the careers services sections.
In general, this thesis highlights some of the problematic, common-sense ideas that are being promoted by these services and encourages the denaturalisation of the careers services’ discourse. The main argument is that the language used by the careers services in UK universities reproduces and promotes neoliberal ideology. The analysis shows that higher education students are encouraged to develop ‘job-hunting techniques’ and are presented as responsible for their own ‘survival’ in a ‘fiercely competitive job market’. The notion of employability is promoted as the main solution to this highly problematic ‘reality’. The services advertise that they ‘know’ what employers are looking for from prospective employees and claim that they can ‘help’ students with their job search. The close analysis of linguistic data reveals that these services act as the ‘enablers’ of the students’ self-beneficiary action. In addition, besides their role as careers counsellors, the services’ use of language demonstrates their involvement in the therapeutic field.
Finally, the language used by post-1992 and Russell Group universities was found to be quite similar. There are, however, some differences that could be viewed as signs of competition between these two university ‘groups’ and a preference of the job market towards a particular ‘group’ of graduates from elite institutions.