I am a postdoctoral research fellow with Prof. Jeannette Littlemore on the AHRC-funded Young People, Criticality and Metaphor project led by Professor Alice Deignan (University of Leeds) in collaboration with Professor Jeannette Littlemore (Birmingham University) and Professor Elena Semino (Lancaster University). The project will investigate children’s (aged 9-13) understanding and use of figurative language in two related areas: ideological arguments and new concepts.
In my own research, I am interested in how metaphor can help people talk and think about sensitive topics. My PhD research investigates how trans people use metaphor to talk about their lived experiences of gender dysphoria and explores the framing effects of the metaphors they use.