Dr Christopher Hart
BA, MA, PhDSenior Lecturer in Cognitive Linguistics
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Contact details: School of Arts & Social Sciences Northumbria University Lipman Building, room 404b Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST phone: +44 (0) 191 243 4816 email: christopher.hart@northumbria.ac.uk |
Biography
I grew up in Norwich and studied linguistics at the University of East Anglia before receiving a PhD in linguistics from Lancaster University. I previously held the position of Senior Lecturer in English Language and Communication at the University of Hertfordshire (2007-2011) but joined Northumbria in 2011.
Teaching Interests
My teaching covers various aspects of language use, language structure and the human linguistic capacity. My specialist teaching interests are in the areas of cognitive linguistics, critical discourse analysis, semantics/pragmatics, and ‘evo lingo’ (evolutionary linguistics). I am currently responsible for the level 4 module Approaches to Language Study and the level 5 module Discourse Analysis.
Research Interests
My main research interests lie in cognitive and naturalistic approaches to language, manipulation and ideology. This involves two (interconnected) dimensions of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). In the first, I advocate a Cognitive Linguistic Approach to CDA, analysing the relationship between representations in text and conceptualisation. The principal aim of this approach is to demonstrate, in a systematic way, how certain linguistic (lexical and grammatical) constructions found in political and media discourses can engender ideologically vested cognitive representations of 'reality'. In the second dimension, I am interested in relationships between argument and adapted cognition, drawing on a theoretical synergy between Evolutionary Psychology and Argumentation Theory to explain the cognitive impact and manipulative potential of particular argument schemes recurrent in political and media texts. I have applied this model primarily in studies of anti-immigration discourse. However, I am currently using the Cognitive Linguistic Approach to investigate discourse in other domains, specifically representations of violence in news reports of political protests.
Other areas of interest include cognitive lexical semantics, cognitive pragmatics, corpus linguistics, and evolutionary linguistics.
Postgraduate Supervision
I am especially interested in supervising PhD projects in cognitive lexical semantics and cognitive approaches to critical discourse analysis.
Affiliations and Memberships
• Co-founder and Editor of the journal Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis Across Disciplines.
• Review Editor for the Journal of Language and Politics.
• Managing Editor for Language and Cognition.
• Publicity Officer for the UK Cognitive Linguistics Association.
Publications
Books:
(in prep.) Critical Discourse Analysis: Tools for the Trade. London: Continuum.
(2010) Critical Discourse Analysis and Cognitive Science: New Perspectives on Immigration Discourse. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Edited Volumes:
(in prep.) Contemporary Studies in Critical Discourse Analysis [with Piotr Cap].
(2011) Critical Discourse Studies in Context and Cognition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
(2007) Cognitive Linguistics in Critical Discourse Analysis: Application and Theory [with Dominik Lukes]. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Chapters and articles:
(submitted) Argumentation meets adapted cognition: Manipulation in media discourse on immigration.
(submitted) Event-construal in press reports of violence in two recent political protests: A Cognitive Linguistic approach to CDA.
(2011) Legitimising assertions and the logico-rhetorical module: Evidence and epistemic vigilance in media discourse on immigration. Discourse Studies 13 (6): 751-769.
(2011) Force-interactive patterns in immigration discourse: A Cognitive Linguistic approach to CDA. Discourse & Society 22 (3): 269-286.
(2011) Moving beyond metaphor in the Cognitive Linguistic approach to CDA: Construal operations in immigration discourse. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp.171-192.
(2008) Critical discourse analysis and metaphor: Toward a theoretical framework. Critical Discourse Studies 5 (2): 91-106.
(2008) Critical discourse analysis and conceptualisation: Mental spaces, blended spaces and discourse spaces in the British National Party. In C. Hart and D. Lukes (eds.), Cognitive Linguistics in Critical Discourse Analysis: Application and Theory. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 107-31.
