I am a Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics in the Division of Literature and Languages. I am a discourse and conversation analyst and my primary research focus is on the relationship between discourse and identity. I have published articles and chapters on discourse and reader identity, on discourses and representations of masculinity in popular culture, on tutorial discourse and student identity and on healthcare and health complaints interactions. I am the co-author (with Elizabeth Stokoe) of Discourse and Identity which was shortlisted for the BAAL bookprize in 2007, and co-author (with James Procter) of Reading Across Worlds: Transnational Book Groups and the Reception of Difference. I am editor of Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle Magazines and co-editor (with James Procter and Gemma Robinson) of a Special Issue of New Formations (Reading After Empire) and of a Routledge edited collection: Postcolonial Audiences: Readers, Viewers and Reception. I was co-investigator on an AHRC-funded project (2007-2010): Devolving Diasporas: Migration and Reception in Central Scotland, 1980- present (http://www.devolvingdiasporas.com/) with James Procter (University of Newcastle), Gemma Robinson (University of Stirling), and Jackie Kay (University of Newcastle). This project involved the analysis of reading group discussions (of 'diasporic' literature), both in Scotland and transnationally. Following a pilot study on interactional approaches to Complaints to the NHS with May McCreaddie, I am now working on an NIHR funded project with colleagues in Ulster, Stirling, Queen Margaret and Loughborough on 'Enhancing the patient complaints journey: harnessing the power of language to transform the experience of complaining' which uses conversation analysis to understand the longitudinal experience of complaining and to develop training materials for healthcare professionals handling complaints.
I have research interests in spoken and written discourse analysis, health communication, reception studies, language and gender, masculinity and popular culture, interactional sociolinguistics and educational linguistics.
Devolving Diasporas: Migration and Reception in central Scotland, 1980 - present
PI: Dr Bethan Benwell
Funded by: Arts and Humanities Research Council
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Article
Rhys CS, Benwell B, Erofeeva M & Simmons R (2024) Harnessing the power of language to enhance patient experience of the NHS complaint journey in Northern Ireland: a mixed-methods study. Health and Social Care Delivery Research, 12 (33). https://doi.org/10.3310/nrga3207
Article
Why affiliation matters: a conversation analysis of complaints calls to the NHS
Benwell B, Erofeeva M & Rhys CS (2023) Why affiliation matters: a conversation analysis of complaints calls to the NHS. Patient Education and Counseling, 119, p. 108077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2023.108077
Article
Should we share qualitative data? Epistemological and practical insights from conversation analysis
Joyce JB, Douglass T, Benwell B, Rhys CS, Parry R, Simmons R & Kerrison A (2022) Should we share qualitative data? Epistemological and practical insights from conversation analysis. International Journal of Social Research Methodology. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2022.2087851
Article
A qualitative study of National Health Service (NHS) complaint-responses
McCreaddie M, Benwell B & Gritti A (2021) A qualitative study of National Health Service (NHS) complaint-responses. BMC Health Services Research, 21, Art. No.: 696. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-06733-5
Article
Traumatic journeys; understanding the rhetoric of patients' complaints
McCreaddie M, Benwell B & Gritti A (2018) Traumatic journeys; understanding the rhetoric of patients' complaints. BMC Health Services Research, 18, Art. No.: 551. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3339-8
Article
Negotiating relevance in pre-operative assessments
Benwell B & Rhys CS (2018) Negotiating relevance in pre-operative assessments. Social Science and Medicine, 200, pp. 218-226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.01.034
Book Chapter
Managing patients’ expectations in telephone complaints
Benwell B & McCreaddie M (2017) Managing patients’ expectations in telephone complaints. In: Van De Mieroop D & Schnurr S (eds.) Identity Struggles: Evidence from Workplaces around the World. Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, 69. Amsterdam/New York: John Benjamins, pp. 243-262. https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/dapsac.69/main; https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.69.13ben
Article
Benwell B & McCreaddie M (2016) Keeping "small talk" small in health-care encounters: negotiating the boundaries between on- and off-task talk. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 49 (3), pp. 258-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/08351813.2016.1196548
Book Chapter
Ethnomethodological and conversation analytic approaches to identity
Benwell B & Stokoe E (2016) Ethnomethodological and conversation analytic approaches to identity. In: Preece S (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Language and Identity. Routledge Handbooks in Applied Linguistics. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 66-82. https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Language-and-Identity/Preece/p/book/9781138774728
Book Chapter
Benwell B & Beynon J (2015) Masculinity and Media. In: Donsbach W (ed.) Concise Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/The+Concise+Encyclopedia+of+Communication-p-9781118789322
Authored Book
Reading Across Worlds: Transnational Book Groups and the Reception of Difference
Procter J & Benwell B (2015) Reading Across Worlds: Transnational Book Groups and the Reception of Difference. New Directions in Book History. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/reading-across-worlds-james-procter/?K=9781137276407
Book Chapter
Benwell B & Beynon J (2015) Masculinity and the Media. In: Donsbach W (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Communication. 2nd ed. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, pp. 340-341. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-111878930X.html
Book Chapter
Benwell B (2014) Language and Masculinity. In: Ehrlich S & Meyerhoff M (eds.) The Handbook of Language, Gender and Sexuality. 2nd ed. Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, pp. 240-259. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470656425.html
Article
Stokoe E, Benwell B & Attenborough F (2013) University students managing engagement, preparation, knowledge and achievement: Interactional evidence from institutional, domestic and virtual settings. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 2 (2), pp. 75-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2013.01.001
Edited Book
Postcolonial Audiences: Readers, Viewers and Reception
Benwell B, Procter J & Robinson G (eds.) (2012) Postcolonial Audiences: Readers, Viewers and Reception, First ed. Routledge Research in Postcolonial Literatures, 37. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & FRancis (Routledge).
Book Chapter
Reading the Reading Experience: An Ethnomethodological Approach to "Booktalk"
Allington D & Benwell B (2012) Reading the Reading Experience: An Ethnomethodological Approach to "Booktalk". In: Lang A (ed.) From Codex to Hypertext: Reading at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, pp. 217-233. http://www.umass.edu/umpress/title/codex-hypertext
Book Chapter
Benwell B, Procter J & Robinson G (2012) Introduction. In: Benwell B, Procter J & Robinson G (eds.) Postocolonial Audiences: Readers, Viewers and Reception. Routledge Research in Postcolonial Literatures. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 1-23. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415888714/
Article
Common-sense anti-racism in book group talk: The role of reported speech
Benwell B (2012) Common-sense anti-racism in book group talk: The role of reported speech. Discourse and Society, 23 (4), pp. 359-376. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926512441106
Book Chapter
That's maybe where I come from but that’s not how I read: Diaspora, Location and Reading Identities
Benwell B, Procter J & Robinson G (2012) That's maybe where I come from but that’s not how I read: Diaspora, Location and Reading Identities. In: Benwell B, Procter J & Robinson G (eds.) Postcolonial Audiences: Readers, Viewers and Reception. Routledge Research in Postcolonial Literatures, 37. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis (Routledge), pp. 43-56. https://www.routledge.com/Postcolonial-Audiences-Readers-Viewers-and-Reception-1st-Edition/Benwell-Procter-Robinson/p/book/9780415888714
Other
Reading After Empire: Special Issue of New Formations
Benwell B (Editor), Procter J (Editor) & Robinson G (Editor) (2011) Reading After Empire: Special Issue of New Formations. New Formations: A Journal of Culture, Theory, Politics, (73). http://www.newformations.co.uk/abstracts/nf73abstracts.html
Article
Benwell B (2011) Masculine identity and identification as ethnomethodological phenomena: Revisiting Cameron and Kulick. Gender and Language, 5 (2), pp. 187-211. https://journals.equinoxpub.com/GL/article/view/10543
Article
Benwell B, Procter J & Robinson G (2011) Not reading Brick Lane. New Formations, 73, pp. 64-90. http://www.newformations.co.uk/abstracts/nf73abstracts.html
Book Chapter
Benwell B & Stokoe E (2010) Analysing Identity in Interaction: Contrasting Discourse, Genealogical, Narrative and Conversation Analysis. In: Wetherell M & Mohanty C (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Identities. London: SAGE, pp. 56-77. http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book230616?siteId=sage-uk&prodTypes=any&q=The+Sage+Handbook+of+Identities&fs=1
Book Chapter
Masculinity and men’s magazines
Benwell B (2009) Masculinity and men’s magazines. In: Simpson P & Mayr A (eds.) Language and Power: A Resource Book for Students. Routledge English Language Introductions. London: Routledge, pp. 172-179. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415469005/
Book Chapter
University students resisting academic identity
Benwell B & Stokoe E (2009) University students resisting academic identity. In: Griffiths P, Merrison A & Bloomer A (eds.) Language in use: A reader. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 82-97. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415442053/
Article
Benwell B (2009) 'A pathetic and racist and awful character': ethnomethodological approaches to the reception of diasporic fiction. Language and Literature, 18 (3), pp. 300-315. http://lal.sagepub.com/content/18/3/300.full.pdf+html; https://doi.org/10.1177/0963947009105855
Book Chapter
Beynon J & Benwell B (2008) Masculinity and the Media. In: Donsbach W (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Communication. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405131993.html
Article
New sexism?: Readers' responses to the use of irony in men's magazines
Benwell B (2007) New sexism?: Readers' responses to the use of irony in men's magazines. Journalism Studies, 8 (4), pp. 539-549. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700701411797
Book Review
Speaking Out: The female voice in public contexts
Benwell B (2007) Speaking Out: The female voice in public contexts. Review of: Speaking Out: The Female Voice in Public Contexts, Dr Judith Baxter ed. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, 288 pp. ISBN-13: 978-1403994080. Journal of Gender Studies, 16 (2), pp. 192-194.
Book Review
The Sociolinguistics of Narrative
Benwell B (2007) The Sociolinguistics of Narrative. Review of: Discourse and Identity. Bethan Benwell and Elizabeth Stokoe. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press. 2006. 314 pp. ISBN 0-748-61750-7. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 11 (1), pp. 116-121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9841.2007.00312_7.x
Authored Book
Benwell B & Stokoe E (2006) Discourse and Identity. 1st ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Article
Benwell B (2005) 'Lucky this is Anonymous.' Ethnographies of reception in men’s magazines: A 'textual culture' approach. Discourse and Society, 16 (2), pp. 147-172. http://das.sagepub.com/content/16/2/147; https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926505049616
Book Chapter
University students resisting academic identity
Benwell B & Stokoe E (2004) University students resisting academic identity. In: Richards K & Seedhouse P (eds.) Applying Conversation Analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 124-140. http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?pid=269707
Article
Ironic Discourse: Evasive Masculinity in British Men's Lifestyle Magazines
Benwell B (2004) Ironic Discourse: Evasive Masculinity in British Men's Lifestyle Magazines. Men and Masculinities, 7 (1), pp. 3-21. http://jmm.sagepub.com/content/7/1/3.abstract; https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X03257438
Book Review
Making Sense of Men’s Magazines
Benwell B (2004) Making Sense of Men’s Magazines. Review of:
Peter Jackson, Nick Stevenson and Kate Brooks, London: Polity, 2001, 224 pp, ISBN 9780745621753. Media, Culture and Society, 26 (3), pp. 459-461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443704042563
Edited Book
Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle Magazines
Benwell B (ed.) (2003) Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle Magazines. Sociological Review Monographs. Oxford: Blackwell.
Book Chapter
Ambiguous masculinities: Heroism and anti-heroism in the men's lifestyle magazine
Benwell B (2003) Ambiguous masculinities: Heroism and anti-heroism in the men's lifestyle magazine. In: Benwell B (ed.) Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle Magazines. Sociological Review Monographs. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 151-168. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405114630.html
Book Chapter
Introduction: Masculinity and men's lifestyle magazines
Benwell B (2003) Introduction: Masculinity and men's lifestyle magazines. In: Benwell B (ed.) Masculinity and Men's Lifestyle Magazines. Sociological Review Monographs. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 6-29. http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405114630.html
Book Chapter
Elusive masculinities: Locating the male in the men’s lifestyle magazine
Benwell B (2002) Elusive masculinities: Locating the male in the men’s lifestyle magazine. In: Sanchez-Macarro A (ed.) Windows on the World: Media Discourse in English. English in the World, Vol 1. Valencia: Universitat de Valencia, pp. 41-62.
Book Chapter
Benwell B (2002) Is there anything "new" about these lads?: The textual and visual construction of masculinity in men's magazines. In: Litosseliti L & Sunderland J (eds.) Gender Identity and Discourse Analysis. Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture, No 2. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 149-174. http://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/dapsac.2/main
Article
Constructing discussion tasks in university tutorials: Shifting dynamics and identities
Benwell B & Stokoe E (2002) Constructing discussion tasks in university tutorials: Shifting dynamics and identities. Discourse Studies, 4 (4), pp. 429-453. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456020040040201
Book Review
Benwell B (2002) Good To Talk?. Review of: Good To Talk?: Living and Working in a Communication Culture, Deborah Cameron, London: Sage, 2000, 213 pp., ISBN 9780761957713. Media, Culture and Society, 24 (3), pp. 443-444. https://doi.org/10.1177/016344370202400310
Article
Male gossip and language play in the letters pages of men's lifestyle magazines
Benwell B (2001) Male gossip and language play in the letters pages of men's lifestyle magazines. Journal of Popular Culture, 34 (4), pp. 19-33. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3840.2001.3404_19.x
Book Review
Star Authors: Literary Celebrity in America
Benwell B (2000) Star Authors: Literary Celebrity in America. Review of:
Joe Moran, London/Sterling, VA: Pluto Press, 2000, 192 pp, ISBN 978-0745315195. Media, Culture and Society, 22 (6), pp. 853-855. https://doi.org/10.1177/016344300022006010
Article
Benwell B (1999) The organisation of knowledge in British university tutorial discourse: Issues, pedagogic discourse strategies and disciplinary identity. Pragmatics, 9 (4), pp. 535-565. http://elanguage.net/journals/pragmatics/article/view/533/458