Confrontation in Academic Communication

This book explores the strategies used by linguists to voice criticism in academic discourse, investigates the causes of confrontation, and assesses its impact on international academic communication. It examines intertextuality, cross-cultural variations, and the concept of an "academic discourse community." The study analyzes academic book reviews in English and German with a negative tone and publications that discuss a common problem from two confrontational perspectives. It discusses theoretical issues such as evaluation, criticism, negative evaluation, and confrontation in academic communication, as well as the importance of culture, discipline culture, and communities of practice. The contrastive discourse analysis highlights differences between English and German in rhetorical strategies used to express criticism.

Format: Hardback
Length: 114 pages
Publication date: 22 August 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This comprehensive book delves into the intricate realm of argumentation strategies employed by linguists when voicing criticism within the academic discourse. It seeks to unravel the underlying reasons behind confrontations in this discourse, evaluating their positive and/or negative effects on international academic communication. The book explores various issues, including the role of intertextuality, cross-cultural variations, and the concept of an "academic discourse community." Special attention is given to the latest developments in contrastive rhetoric studies, as well as the contentious debate surrounding the use of context-based versus corpus-based methods.

The corpus under investigation comprises a collection of academic book reviews in English and German, characterized by a strongly negative tone, as well as a series of publications in English that are interconnected by their discussion of a common set of problems but from two entirely confrontational perspectives. This portrayal aptly illustrates what has been termed an "academic war." Additionally, some related theoretical issues are addressed, such as the significance of evaluation in academic communication, the interplay between criticism, critique, negative evaluation, and confrontation in academic communication, and the importance of culture, discipline culture, and communities of practice.

Through a contrastive discourse analysis, the book showcases distinct differences between English and German in the rhetorical strategies employed by review writers to express criticism. This analysis provides valuable insights for researchers and teachers interested in academic communication and rhetorics, particularly those teaching English/German for academic purposes.

Weight: 310g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031327353
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023