Discourses of Cycling, Road Users and Sustainability: An Ecolinguistic Investigation

by M. Cristina Caimotto

Overview

This book employs a Critical Discourse Studies (CDS) framework to examine cycling mobility, marking a new turn in ecolinguistic discourse analysis. The author focuses specifically on environment-related arguments concerning the promotion of higher levels of cycling, mainly as a means of transport, and investigates the “US vs. “THEM” narratives present in many discourses about road users. Analysing newspaper articles, institutional documents and spoken interviews, the author searches for a positive new discourse that would inspire and encourage cycling as a habitual means of transport, rather than simply exposing ecologically destructive discourse. The book will be of interest to scholars of discourse and ecolinguistics, as well as contributing to the lively debate about how to increase cycling in fields such as sustainability, sociology, transport planning and management.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030440251
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	05/08/2020
Series:	Postdisciplinary Studies in Discourse
Edition description:	1st ed. 2020
Pages:	146
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

M. Cristina Caimotto is Assistant Professor of English Linguistics and Translation at the University of Turin, Italy. Her research interests include political discourse and environmental discourse, with a focus on ideology. She is also a cycling advocate.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Discourse Practices and Power.- Chapter 3: History, Urban Planning and Controversies.- Chapter 4: Stigmatisation in Newspapers.- Chapter 5: London Mayor's Transport Strategy.- Chapter 6: Marketisation in European Documents.- Chapter 7: The Words of People Who Cycle.- Chapter 8: Positive Discourse Strategies and Concluding Remarks.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Read this book if you’d like to know why cycling is not promoted enough, in spite of all the evidence we already have on how beneficial it is. It’s about the language." —Esther Anaya Boig, Imperial College London, UK

"As a transport mode, cycling has many benefits and yet is in many countries bedevilled by stigma and stereotyping. This makes it a fruitful topic for critical discourse analysis, as in this fascinating discussion of documents ranging from European policy papers to newspaper articles on a road traffic collision." —Rachel Aldred, University of Westminster, UK

Editorial Reviews

The books helps us to wield the power of language in order to unlock the potential of the humble bicycle for true transformative change of our mobility system. ... If you work in cycling activism or policy making, the book offers a valuable source of reflection on how you do and can use language. For scholars that study cycling, Caimotto offers valuable tools to study the influence of narratives and discourses in resisting change towards more cycling-oriented policies.” (Urban Cycling Institute, urbancyclinginstitute.com, November 16, 2020)

From the Publisher