Edited Books
Text-Based Research and Teaching: A Social Semiotic Perspective on Language in Use
Text-Based Research and Teaching brings into focus the extent to which our lives are conducted with different text types for different social purposes. Using the theoretical framework of Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), it presents current research with documentation of naturally occurring language from across institutions and countries.
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Book Chapters
‘A Study of Emic Proportions: Contextualising Phraseological False Friends’
Linguo-Cultural Research on Phraseology, Volume 3 of the Intercontinental Dialogue on Phraseology (IDP3), is a collection of papers from around the world in the field of phraseology. Published by the University of Bialystok, it is a multilingual book with contributions in English, French, German, Polish, and many other languages.
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Theses
‘Rewriting History: A Functional Analysis of Voice in Memoir’
This MA thesis in Applied Linguistics was a contribution to the development of a model for analysing voice in memoir using systemic functional linguistics.
Journal Articles
Devira, M and E Westin 2021, ‘A Genre and Appraisal Analysis of Critical Review Texts in Academic Writing From a Systemic Functional Linguistic Perspective,’ Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 22-36
A critical review is one of the text types (i.e., genres) assigned for academic writing in Australian universities; yet, the study of this genre remains underexamined in academic discourse. This qualitative study was designed to analyse the schematic structures and lexical choices in evaluative meanings within critical review texts to provide a description of the critical analysis genre that could help to familiarise students with the characteristics of the genre. Texts used for the analysis were a tutor’s model text, provided to the students in the Introductory Academic Program (IAP) at the University of Adelaide, and the critical review writing of 2 Indonesian students in the IAP class. Using both genre analysis (Martin & Rose, 2003) and the appreciation framework (Martin & White, 2005) from systemic functional linguistics (SFL), the study applied “a genre-analytic approach” (Nodoushan & Khakbaz, 2011, p.112) to analysing and describing the structure and language use of the critical review texts. Analysis of the schematic structure identified 5 stages: Introduction, Summary of the Article, Analysis of the Article: Positive Critique, Analysis of the Article: Negative Critique, and Conclusion. The values of appreciation that contributed to the evaluative purpose of the critical review genre were categorised as valuation, composition, and reaction. Based on the analysis, this report provides suggestions for structural and lexical resources for the realisation of the purpose of a critical review text and for the expression of evaluative meanings.
Febrianti, Y, Westin, E, Vu, T and J Yang 2019, ‘Non-native and Native Speakers’ Casual Conversations: A Comparative Study of Involvement and Humour,’ Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 1525 – 1540
Research on spoken language has mainly focused on spoken discourses in settings such as classroom and workplace. Another important use of speech, casual conversation, has received much less attention. Casual conversation is a functional and semantic activity. It is a site for the establishment and development of social identity and interpersonal relationships; a way of conveying who we are and of interacting with others in different contexts. This paper reports a comparative study on two casual conversations, which naturally occurred in two different settings; between international students from different language backgrounds and between native speakers of English. The texts were constructed in everyday social settings and reflected the role of language in the construction of social identities and interpersonal relations. The two settings displayed different uses of language to construct solidarity, intimacy and affiliation. The study used a functional and semiotic theoretical framework for analysing casual conversation, in order to describe and explain two aspects of casual talk; namely involvement and humour. Using a bottom-up approach, the conversations were analysed to look at the use of naming, technicality, swearing and slang for the purpose of involvement. Humour in each conversation was analysed through language devices that triggered laughter from participants. Situational and cultural influences on meaning-making were explored and compared in the analysis of involvement and humour in the two different settings.
Conference Papers
Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Convention “Diversity, Intersectionality, Interdisciplinarity” 2021: ‘Gendered Narratives of the Ukrainian Holodomor and their Implications for Memory and Trauma’
‘Gendered Narratives of the Ukrainian Holodomor and their Implications for Memory and Trauma’ was presented at the ASEEES Convention with the theme “Diversity, Intersectionality, Interdisciplinarity” in December 2021.
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Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) Conference “Narrating the Holodomor: The Social and Cultural History of Collectivization and Famine in Soviet Ukraine” 2021: ‘Gendered Narratives of the Holodomor and their Effects on Cultural Mourning’
‘Gendered Narratives of the Holodomor and their Effects on Cultural Mourning’ was presented at the HREC Conference with the theme “Narrating the Holodomor: The Social and Cultural History of Collectivization and Famine in Soviet Ukraine” in December 2021.
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Memory Studies Association Annual Conference “Convergences” 2021: ‘Unburied Memories: Making Meaning of Trauma in Holodomor Survivor Literature’
‘Unburied Memories: Making Meaning of Trauma in Holodomor Survivor Literature’ was presented at the Memory Studies Association Annual Conference with the theme “Convergences” in July 2021 in Warsaw, Poland.
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Narratives of Forced Migration in Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 2019: ‘Ukrainians as Survivors and Refugees: Attending to Trauma in Lesa Melnyczuk’s Silent Memories, Traumatic Lives and Holodomor: Silenced Voices of the Starved Children’
‘Ukrainians as Survivors and Refugees: Attending to Trauma in Lesa Melnyczuk’s Silent Memories, Traumatic Lives and Holodomor: Silenced Voices of the Starved Children‘ was presented at the Narratives of Forced Migration conference on the 17th of September in Stirling, Scotland.
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IAGS 2019: ‘The Missing Picture in Holodomor Discourse: An Analysis of the Representation of Women in The Black Deeds of the Kremlin’
‘The Missing Picture in Holodomor Discourse: An Analysis of the Representation of Women in The Black Deeds of the Kremlin’ was presented at the International Association of Genocide Studies conference on the 17th of July 2019 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Emotional Bodies in Context Symposium 2019: ‘Narratives of Victimhood in the Ukrainian Diaspora: Invoking Affect in Miron Dolot’s
Execution by Hunger’
‘Narratives of Victimhood in the Ukrainian Diaspora: Invoking Affect in Miron Dolot’s Execution by Hunger’ was presented at the Emotional Bodies in Context Symposium on the 12th of April 2019 at the University of Adelaide.
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Ukraine and the World 2018: ‘Emotive Language as Identity Performance in Miron Dolot’s Execution by Hunger’
‘Emotive Language as Identity Performance in Miron Dolot’s Execution by Hunger’ was presented at the Ukraine and the World Conference on 13th of July 2018 at Monash University.
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International Systemic Functional Linguistics Congress (ISFC) 2017: ‘Politicising the Past: The Russo-Ukrainian War of Words’
‘Politicising the Past: The Russo-Ukrainian War of Words’ was presented at the 44th International Systemic Functional Linguistics Congress on 11th of July 2017 with the theme ‘Transforming Contexts’.
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Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) 2016: ‘Intercultural and Native Speakers’ Casual Conversations: A Comparative Study of Involvement and Humour’
‘Intercultural and Native Speakers’ Casual Conversations: A Comparative Study of Involvement and Humour’ was presented at the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) Conference on 7th of December 2016 with the theme ‘Making Connections’: across languages, disciplines, or theoretical perspectives, and between theory and practice, society and language and people.
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Book Reviews
Jelena Subotić, Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance After Communism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2019, published in the Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 339-342.
Other Projects
Westin, E 2021, Understanding and Reflecting on Second Language Teaching Practice for Reading Comprehension: An Evaluation of a Reading Program for LANTITE Preparation [online paper].
Westin, E 2021, Developing Online L2 Communities of Practice [in progress].
Elise Westin 