Research areas

My research focuses on how language is used in public discourse about gender-based and racial violence. Using both quantitative corpus linguistics and qualitative discourse analysis approaches, I examine how violence prevention texts and survivor support resources define sexual consent and violence when addressing different sectors of the public. By focusing on linguistic features -- such as presupposition, pronouns, and modal auxiliaries -- I examine how guidance texts project beliefs and experiences onto different target audiences. More recently, I've also been working on the representation of anti-Latinx and anti-LGBTQ gun crime in US media.

I have a longstanding commitment to public scholarship, and evaluating policy proposals and making recommendations to strengthen violence prevention and survivor support resources is an important component of my work. My research has appeared in UK Parliamentary reports, and I welcome opportunities to work with non-profit and public sector organization, developing prevention strategies, and supporting survivors of harassment, abuse, and trauma.