Marketization in the language of UK university recruitment: a critical discourse analysis and corpus comparison of university and finance industry job advertisements

Kheovichai, Baramee (2014). Marketization in the language of UK university recruitment: a critical discourse analysis and corpus comparison of university and finance industry job advertisements. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

This thesis investigates the marketization of universities’ recruitment discourse, using critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistic methodology. University and financial job advertisements were compared synchronically and diachronically. Synchronic corpus linguistic analyses were executed on 3,000 online university and 3,000 financial job advertisements from the present day. In addition, 60 university and financial job advertisements from newspaper in the 1970s were analysed manually for the diachronic comparison.
The results indicate that while 1970s university and financial job advertisements are strikingly different, 2010s university job advertisements are fundamentally aligned with those from businesses. 2010s university job advertisements and financial job advertisements seek to establish the credentials of the employer but this move is rare in 1970s university job advertisements. Universities in 2010s are construed as performing activities that are inherently promotional. Applicants in 2010s university job advertisements are construed as more equal and as benefiting from the job. The evaluative adjectives in university and financial job advertisements are largely similar. Business oriented discourse and ideologies have become conventionalized in the phraseology of university discourse. However, universities do not always adopt business discursive practices and should indeed be more selective about the in-take of business discourse.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

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