Representations of Violence in Military Memoir: A Critical Cognitive Linguistic Approach

Matthew is based in the School of English at the University of Sheffield. He will bring a literary perspective to the seminar series by presenting a paper on his research concerning the ‘Language of Violence’.
Matt’s research explores the language of violence as performed by the authors of military memoirs of the 20th and 21st centuries. In particular, he is interested in reevaluating the way in which agency is construed in critical readings of these texts. His paper will introduce methods from Cognitive Linguistics in order to discuss perceptions of causality – and responsibility – in narratives of military conflict.