Olivia Knapton

Discourse and health – Olivia is interested in how people with mental health problems – in particular, OCD, anxiety, phobias and eating disorders - structure their experiences through various cognitive conceptualisations, such as metaphors and schemas. This line of research also focuses on women’s experiences of health and the body, for example, looking at the negotiation of identity within health contexts.

Communication of health and environmental information, public understandings and perceptions – Olivia’s research also explores the relationship between the discourse used to communicate information about health and environmental issues, public perceptions/understandings of those issues and public motivations to take any recommended actions. For example, Olivia has researched understandings of and adherence to water safety advice, and is currently investigating effective ways to promote insect conservation within urban environments.

Cognitive discourse analysis – In terms of approach, Olivia explores ways in which to combine meaning from stable, cognitive conceptualisations with meaning from contextually-situated discourse production. For example, Olivia has looked at how image schemas are drawn upon within narratives of OCD to represent heightened experiences of the surrounding space.

Olivia is a qualitative discourse analyst whose work primarily focuses on people’s experiences of mental health and the body, and communication about the natural world. She is a member of the Centre for Language, Discourse and Communication, and teaches across the undergraduate and postgraduate linguistics programmes within the School of Education, Communication and Society.