The UK ‘at Risk’: A Corpus Approach to Historical Social Change 1785–2009

Description

This book presents a case study of the proliferation of at risk-language in The Times news coverage from 1785 to 2009, illuminating the changing social experience of risk. Zinn presents an historical examination of the forces which have shaped the language of risk over time, and considers how linguistic developments in recent decades are underpinned by issues such as cultural and structural transformations, the management of infectious and chronic diseases and climate change. He also explores changes in the public sphere, including the production of the news. Based on an interdisciplinary research project which combines linguistic research tools with sociological analysis of the social contexts, the book contributes to a better understanding of how 'at risk' has become a defining feature of the UK in recent decades, and one which permeates all kinds of social domains. This research will be a point of reference for students and scholars engaging with risk studies from various disciplines including sociology, media studies, history and socio-linguistics. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 1-17 Understanding Social and Linguistic Change (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 19-57 ‘At Risk’ Constructs as Research Object: Research Design and Methods (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 59-71 Risks in The Times: 1950s to 2000s (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 73-111 People and Valued Objects ‘At Risk’ in The Times—1785 to 2000s (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 113-166 From Substantial Risk to Social Relations and Rhetoric (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 167-186 Institutional Strategies and a New Quality (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 187-194 Changes in News Production and Linguistic Change (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 195-204 Social Forces and the Proliferation of At Risk Language (Jens O. Zinn)....Pages 205-228 Back Matter ....Pages 229-278