Sten Hansson
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson
@stenhansson.bsky.social
4.4K followers 440 following 150 posts
Associate Professor @UniTartu interested in #government #communication #blameavoidance #disasters #disinformation #discoursestudies

https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&user=AmIeTJYAAAAJ
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · May 7
New article out now! We propose a framework for studying how changes in political leadership affect the language of government communication journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Social media communication of government agencies should ideally be truthful and impartial to sustain public trust in government and support democratic goals. However, the politicization of agencies may harm the benefits that impartial and engaged communication brings. In this study, we provide a linguistic framework for analyzing how agency politicization is reflected in the language of government social media communication by asking: How does the agency (1) use speech acts (e.g., commands, requests), (2) talk about itself and others, (3) refer to statistical and scientific information, and (4) express positive and negative sentiment? We demonstrate the application of the framework by conducting a case study of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s messaging on Twitter across administrations with distinct ideological alignments between the agency and its top administrator. The analysis shows that (1) requests and statistical information were used substantially more under the administrator more aligned with the agency mission; (2) expressive speech acts were used more often during the administration less aligned with the agency mission; and (3) posts were generally positive but more so under the administration less aligned with the agency mission, possibly to counteract increased public criticism. We discuss the results in relation to theories of politicization and government communication, and the implications for citizens and public sector communicators using social media sites.
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
This may be of interest to researchers of #PolComm #DiscourseStudies #TeamRhetoric

@polcomm.bsky.social @ecpr-polcom.bsky.social @critdiscstuds.bsky.social @liprg.bsky.social @discoursenet.bsky.social @theframelab.bsky.social @jlanpol.bsky.social
stenhansson.bsky.social Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 20d
OUT NOW: Qualitative Research Methods in #Argumentation Studies

Download my co-authored chapter "Political discourse and argumentation" for free:

www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...
Qualitative Research Methods in Argumentation Studies Edited By Corina Andone, Marianne Doury, Sara Greco, Kati Hannken-Illjes, Menno Reijven
December 18, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Ruth Wodak's new article:

“We’re the party of common sense”: Conflicting appeals to “normal/ity” and “common sense” in the discourse of the freedom party of Austria

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
“We’re the party of common sense”: conflicting appeals to “normal/ity” and “common sense” in the discourse of the freedom party of Austria
The political invocation of common sense dates to antiquity and has often been deployed to appeal to the alleged agreements of an epistemic community, rejecting expert knowledge in favor of intuiti...
www.tandfonline.com
December 30, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
discodiscourse.bsky.social
There are some great tips and observations in this editorial. I'll thread them >>
January 6, 2026 at 10:13 AM
stenhansson.bsky.social
Tips for getting your work published by an overworked journal editor

academic.oup.com/ccc/article-...
Tips for getting your work published by an overworked journal editor
Abstract. In this article, I discuss the constraints today’s journal editors are facing to help authors understand what they can do to more effectively man
academic.oup.com
January 6, 2026 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
jensrydgren.bsky.social
Conceptual flipsiding and reversal of liberal-democratic notions: discursive-political strategies in/and the normalisation of illiberal public imagination

New paper with Michal Krzyzanowski and Natalia Krzyzanowska in Social Semiotics

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com
December 23, 2025 at 3:37 PM
stenhansson.bsky.social
Ruth Wodak's new article:

“We’re the party of common sense”: Conflicting appeals to “normal/ity” and “common sense” in the discourse of the freedom party of Austria

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
“We’re the party of common sense”: conflicting appeals to “normal/ity” and “common sense” in the discourse of the freedom party of Austria
The political invocation of common sense dates to antiquity and has often been deployed to appeal to the alleged agreements of an epistemic community, rejecting expert knowledge in favor of intuiti...
www.tandfonline.com
December 30, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
barbaradecock.bsky.social
Just out! Sara Greco and I wrote a chapter on
"Approaching social media argumentation from a linguistics-informed perspective. Methodological aspects"

as part of this open-access collective book "#Qualitative Research Methods in #Argumentation Studies"
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edi...
Qualitative Research Methods in Argumentation Studies | Corina Andone,
This book explores the core principles, related theories, and conventions of qualitative research methods within the field of argumentation studies. In each
www.taylorfrancis.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
OUT NOW: Qualitative Research Methods in #Argumentation Studies

Download my co-authored chapter "Political discourse and argumentation" for free:

www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...
Qualitative Research Methods in Argumentation Studies Edited By Corina Andone, Marianne Doury, Sara Greco, Kati Hannken-Illjes, Menno Reijven
December 18, 2025 at 12:43 PM
stenhansson.bsky.social
Political discourse and argumentation: Qualitative approaches

www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...
Political discourse and argumentation | 11 | Qualitative approaches |
Argumentation is central to the organisation of social life, including ‘doing politics’ and ‘doing democracy’. In this chapter, we show how qualitative analysis
www.taylorfrancis.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:25 PM
stenhansson.bsky.social
This may be of interest to researchers of #PolComm #DiscourseStudies #TeamRhetoric

@polcomm.bsky.social @ecpr-polcom.bsky.social @critdiscstuds.bsky.social @liprg.bsky.social @discoursenet.bsky.social @theframelab.bsky.social @jlanpol.bsky.social
stenhansson.bsky.social Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 20d
OUT NOW: Qualitative Research Methods in #Argumentation Studies

Download my co-authored chapter "Political discourse and argumentation" for free:

www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...
Qualitative Research Methods in Argumentation Studies Edited By Corina Andone, Marianne Doury, Sara Greco, Kati Hannken-Illjes, Menno Reijven
December 18, 2025 at 1:04 PM
stenhansson.bsky.social
OUT NOW: Qualitative Research Methods in #Argumentation Studies

Download my co-authored chapter "Political discourse and argumentation" for free:

www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...
Qualitative Research Methods in Argumentation Studies Edited By Corina Andone, Marianne Doury, Sara Greco, Kati Hannken-Illjes, Menno Reijven
December 18, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
jensrydgren.bsky.social
When I began studying radical right parties 30 years ago, many called them "flash parties" and expected them to vanish as quickly as they appeared. They didn’t. Will their support and power keep growing? Possibly, maybe even likely in the short run, but not inevitably. There is no determinism here.
politico.eu POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 23d
Hard-right and far-right politicians now lead the polls in France, the U.K. and even Germany. 

Here’s how the power of populist hardliners differs across European countries 👇 

🔗 politi.co/3MyT6Tp
December 14, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
jfarkas.bsky.social
How do journalism scholars apply discourse analysis?
Find out in our new article in Journalism Studies!

Spoiler: We find a theoretical deficit, as 28% of articles apply discourse analysis (DA) without reference to any major theoretical school.

doi.org/10.1080/1461...
A Discursive Turn in Journalism Studies? A Systematic Review of Discourse Analysis in Leading Journalism Journals
Discourse analysis has a long history within journalism studies, representing a key area of theoretical cross-fertilization with linguistics, semiotics, continental philosophy, and political theory...
doi.org
December 12, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
The Discursive Construction of Morality in Political Blame Games

academic.oup.com/book/59594/c...
Morality in Discourse, edited by Michael Haugh and Rosina Márquez-Reiter. Morality is pervasive, touching all aspects of social life. The aim of this volume is to provide an introduction to research on how morality is socially constructed in and through discourse, and the implications of this for the empirical analysis and theorization of morality. The volume addresses both an ongoing gap in understanding how morality gets practically done in everyday practices, including the discursive and linguistic mechanisms participants deploy in order to be recognized as moral subjects, as well as attending to the practical concerns that discussions of morality inevitably entail. It does so by assembling a collection of current studies that delve into how morality is socially constructed in an array of communicative environments through the lens of a range of different discourse analytic traditions. Part I of this volume addresses “Moralizing in Interaction,” and the ways in which morality is enacted and interactionally negotiated in different mundane and institutional settings. Part II, “Morality and Narrative,” encompasses studies of moral positioning in narratives through the lens of linguistic anthropology and interactional sociolinguistics. The chapters in Part III, “The Politics of Morality,” concentrate on the relationship between government, (mainstream) publics, and morality, with a particular focus on studying moral condemnation and moral standing, and the policing of morality more generally. Finally, the chapters in Part IV, “Digitally Mediated Morality,” focus on the pervasive moralization of exchanges via different forms of social media and ensuing moral conflict, drawing attention to the ongoing contestation of morality in online settings.
December 9, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
paulchilton.bsky.social
Congratulations! This is central, in fact, crucial topic for the world we now live in. I must read it!
December 9, 2025 at 2:32 PM
stenhansson.bsky.social
The Discursive Construction of Morality in Political Blame Games

academic.oup.com/book/59594/c...
Morality in Discourse, edited by Michael Haugh and Rosina Márquez-Reiter. Morality is pervasive, touching all aspects of social life. The aim of this volume is to provide an introduction to research on how morality is socially constructed in and through discourse, and the implications of this for the empirical analysis and theorization of morality. The volume addresses both an ongoing gap in understanding how morality gets practically done in everyday practices, including the discursive and linguistic mechanisms participants deploy in order to be recognized as moral subjects, as well as attending to the practical concerns that discussions of morality inevitably entail. It does so by assembling a collection of current studies that delve into how morality is socially constructed in an array of communicative environments through the lens of a range of different discourse analytic traditions. Part I of this volume addresses “Moralizing in Interaction,” and the ways in which morality is enacted and interactionally negotiated in different mundane and institutional settings. Part II, “Morality and Narrative,” encompasses studies of moral positioning in narratives through the lens of linguistic anthropology and interactional sociolinguistics. The chapters in Part III, “The Politics of Morality,” concentrate on the relationship between government, (mainstream) publics, and morality, with a particular focus on studying moral condemnation and moral standing, and the policing of morality more generally. Finally, the chapters in Part IV, “Digitally Mediated Morality,” focus on the pervasive moralization of exchanges via different forms of social media and ensuing moral conflict, drawing attention to the ongoing contestation of morality in online settings.
December 9, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Morality in Discourse (2025)

global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Morality in Discourse Edited by Michael Haugh and Rosina Márquez-Reiter Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics Offers the first compilation of present-day discursive research on questions of morality Fosters dialogue between different discourse and social interaction traditions
November 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM
stenhansson.bsky.social
Calculated overcommunication:

Strategic uses of prolixity, irrelevance, and repetition in administrative language

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Calculated overcommunication: Strategic uses of prolixity, irrelevance, and repetition in administrative language
Oversupply of information, irrelevance, and repetition in political and administrative text and talk have received considerable scholarly attention, b…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
claesdevreese.bsky.social
🔥 NEW PUBLICATION: What is the state of generative AI and disinformation? Aqsa Farooq and I edited an #openaccess, special issue section of the International Journal of Communication, including a scene-setting Introduction article ⬇️

🧵[1/3]

ijoc.org/index.php/ij...
Generative AI and Disinformation| (Generative) AI and Disinformation—Introduction | International Journal of Communication
ijoc.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:41 AM
stenhansson.bsky.social
Morality in Discourse (2025)

global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Morality in Discourse Edited by Michael Haugh and Rosina Márquez-Reiter Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics Offers the first compilation of present-day discursive research on questions of morality Fosters dialogue between different discourse and social interaction traditions
November 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
tamsinparnell.bsky.social
New *pre-print* for a chapter on Corpus Linguistics.

www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Corpus Linguistics
PDF | In this chapter for the second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Language and Politics, I explore the role that corpus linguistics can and has... | Find, read and cite all the research you ne...
www.researchgate.net
November 21, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
drjennings.bsky.social
It is indisputable that Brexit has been an economic disaster, and notable that none of its political architects have paid any price.
bloomberg.com Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · Nov 21
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist
Brexit Hit to UK Economy Double Official Estimate, Study Finds
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist.
bloom.bg
November 21, 2025 at 10:15 AM
stenhansson.bsky.social
The Discursive Construction of Morality in Political Blame Games

www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) The Discursive Construction of Morality in Political Blame Games
PDF | Morality is pervasive, touching all aspects of social life. The aim of this volume is to provide an introduction to research on how morality is... | Find, read and cite all the research you need...
www.researchgate.net
November 20, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
victorpickard.bsky.social
Was thrilled to help consult for this fantastic John Oliver segment on the tragic plight of U.S. public media and why, if we hope to be a democracy, we still need public media for so many things that commercial media will never provide. Deserves a wide viewership. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknM...
Public Media: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
YouTube video by LastWeekTonight
www.youtube.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Sten Hansson
cambup-linguistics.cambridge.org
🚨New Cambridge Element 🚨

Cognition and Conspiracy Theories by Andreas Musolff is now free to read until November 17th!

https://cup.org/47PLKBW

#Linguistics #LangSky 🐦🐦
November 14, 2025 at 3:47 PM