1) Persuasion in Strategic Communication –
analytical approaches and methodologies
2) Language & Thought – cognitive
perspectives and practical applications
3) Discourse & Action – pragmatic and
strategic features
4) Communication & Interaction –
interactive aspect of persuasion and intra/interdisciplinary
relations
1) Persuasion in Strategic Communication –
analytical approaches and methodologies
Particularly fascinated by the relation between language/thought
and discourse/action she is generally interested in communication
processes and practices, with particular emphasis on persuasive
phenomena within strategic communication in English. Her expertises
are predominantly in the fields of cognitive linguistics, discourse
analysis and corpus linguistics.
Her recent research has concentrated on procedures for
identifying and applying conceptual metaphor in text, integrated
models for detecting persuasion in discourse, the role of
conceptual metaphor and emotion in conducting persuasive strategies
in security discourse (also focussing on issues of power and
ideology), contrastive corpus-based analysis for identifying
‘operational' keywords and comparing strategic narratives, dialogic
argumentation as well as rhetorical styles, instances of
identity/space in modality and their genre-specific persuasive
effect.
2) Language & Thought – cognitive
perspectives and practical applications
In this research field she develops cognitive perspactives and
investigates the potential of language in strategic communication
settings. Starting from the biunivocal relation between language
and thought, it would be possible to work on language not only to
observe how language itself, and thought work, but also to produce
change for strategic purposes.
Strategic is a purpose which responds to the needs declared in
the persuasive process. Also, strategic are those communication
settings where the persuasive intent is declared within the
discoursal rationale and a relation between discourse and
action (to produce change in opinions, attitudes, and behaviour) is
particularly evident as a desired need.
3) Discourse & Action – pragmatic and
strategic features
Focussing on the pragmatic and strategic component of language
and communication, i.e. the relation between discourse and
political action, she has also developed interdisciplinary
collaborations and questioned complex issues such as the interplay
between new rhetorical trends and foreign policy change and the
influence of personal and emotive factors in International
Relations.
In the same area of enquiry is to be collocated a more
psychological research perspective dealing with the transformative
potential of language in strategic communication domains aimed at
offering aid to the person (Psycho-therapy, Counseling, Social
Services in general).
4) Communication & Interaction –
interactive aspect of persuasion and intra/interdisciplinary
relations
This research field develops interaction in persuasive and
communication practices, as well as ‘communication' from a
meta-discoursal point of view, i.e. in intra/interdisciplinary
methodological perspectives. Under investigation is the potential
to which different disciplines as well as different fields within
the same discipline can (fruitfully) interact. ‘Why should
disciplines, or fields within the same discipline, have to fight,
while they could, instead, cooperate'?
