Keywords
rhetorical move
hypertextuality
university
How to Cite
Abstract
This article reports a genre study of the “About” webpages published in the websites of nine elite Chinese universities (the C9 League). This study explored the macro-level rhetorical structure and communicative purposes, followed by a micro-level discussion of the discursive strategies employed in this institutionalised genre. The findings reveal a dynamic interweaving of two distinct discursive resources – linguistic and multimodal – rhetorically organised through the interplay between the mixing of thirteen move types and various interdiscursive elements. The analytical results indicate that the trend of marketisation, other than a predominant rhetorical feature of being informative, indeed influences the institutional web structuring through employing branding strategies to promote academic excellence as well as strengthen relationship with web readers. The dynamic interactions unfolded by this research not only deepen users’ knowledge of a previously undiscovered yet discursively complex web genre, but also contribute to theoretical and methodological development in genre studies in this digital era.
References
Ahmed, T., Mouratidis, H., & Preston, D. (2009). Website design guidelines: High power distance and high-context culture. International Journal of Cyber Society and Education, 2(1), 47-60.
Allen, R. M. (2017). A comparison of China's "Ivy League" to other peer groupings through global university rankings. Journal of Studies in International Education, 21(5), 395-411.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315317697539
Askehave, I. (2007). The impact of marketization on higher education genres: The international student prospectus as a case in point. Discourse Studies, 9(6), 723-742.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445607082576
Askehave, I., & Nielsen, A. E. (2005). Digital genres: a challenge to traditional genre theory. Information Technology & People, 16(2), 120-141.
https://doi.org/10.1108/09593840510601504
Bano, Z., & Shakir, A. (2015). Personal pronouns in 'About Us' section of online university prospectus. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(1), 133-139.
Bargiela-Chiappini, F. (2006). Polyphony or pseudo-dialogue? Multimodality, hypertextuality and Internet banking. In G. D. L. Camiciotti, M. Dossena, & B. C. Camiciottoli, B (Eds.), Variation in business and economics discourse: Diachronic and genre perspectives (pp. 101-114). Rome: Officina Edizioni.
Barnett, R. (2011). The marketised university: Defending the indefensible. In M. Molesworth, R. Scullion, & E. Nixon, (Eds.), The marketisation of higher education and the student as consumer (pp. 39-51). New York, NY: Routledge.
Bednarek, M. (2014). 'And they all look just the same'?: A quantitative survey of television title sequences. Visual Communication, 13(2), 125-145.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357213507509
Bhatia, V. K. (2013). Analysing genre: Language use in professional settings. New York, NY: Routledge.
Bhatia, V. K. (2010). Interdiscursivity in professional communication. Discourse & Communication, 4(1), 32-50.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481309351208
Bhatia, V. K. (2004). Words of written discourse: A genre-based view. London: Continuum.
Biber, D., & Conrad, S. (2009). Register, genre and style. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511814358
Caiazzo, L. (2014). Emerging conventions in the verbal component of the 'About' page of British university websites. In P. E. Allori, J. Bateman., & V. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Evolution in genre, (pp. 307-325). United Kingdom: Peter Lang AG
Caiazzo, L. (2013). British and Indian university websites: A corpus-based study of the 'About' page. Retrieved from http://digital.casalini.it/9788864580951
Casañ-Pitarch, R. (2015). The genre "about us": A case study of banks' corporate webpages. International Journal of Language Studies, 9(2), 69-96.
Cheng, F. W. (2016). Constructing hotel brands: A multimodal analysis of luxury hotel homepages. Ibérica, 31, 83-108.
Cheong, C. Y. M. (2013). A multi-dimensional genre analysis of tourism homepages and web-medicated advertorial. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Deuze, M. M. (2001). Online journalism: Modelling the first generation of news media on the World Wide Web. Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/893/802
https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v6i10.893
Elberse, A., & Verleun, J. (2012). The economic value of celebrity endorsements. Journal of Advertising Research, 149-165.
https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-52-2-149-165
Erhan, S., & Semiral, Ö. (2010). Conducting preliminary steps to usability testing: investigating the website of Uludag University. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 890-894.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.122
Falsey, T. A. (1989). Corporate philosophies and mission statements. New York, US: Quorum Books.
Fang, S., Xu, H., Yue, Z., Li, H., Qi, Y., & Lei, B. (2013). Empirical research of advantage disciplines of C9 League. Chinese Journal of Library and Information Science, 6, 79-96.
Fairclough, N. (1993). Critical discourse analysis and the marketization of public discourse: The universities. Discourse & Society, 4(2), 133-168.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926593004002002
Fairclough, N. (1992). Discourse and social change. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.
Fletcher, R. (2006). The impact of culture on web site content, design, and structure: An international and a multicultural perspective. Journal of Communication Management, 10(3), 259-273.
https://doi.org/10.1108/13632540610681158
Gervais, B. (2013). Is there a text on this screen? Reading in an era of hypertextuality. In R. Siemens & S. Schreibman, (Eds.), A companion to digital literary studies, (pp. 183-202). London, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405177504.ch9
Graham, C. (2013). Discourse of widening participation in the prospectus documents and websites of six English higher education institutions. British Journal of Sociology Education, 34(1), 76-93.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2012.692048
Hamid, M. A. (2016). Analysis of visual presentation of cultural dimensions: Culture demonstrated by pictures on homepages of universities in Pakistan. Journal of Marketing Communications, 23(6), 592-613.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2016.1147486
Han, Z. R. (2014). The marketization of public discourse: The Chinese universities. Discourse and Communication, 8(1), 85-103.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481313503221
Heilbrunn, B. (1997). Representation and legitimacy: A semiotic approach to the logo. In W. Nöth (Ed.), Semiotics of the media: State of the art, projects and perspectives (pp. 175-189). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110803617-013
Idris, M. Z., & Whitfield, T. W. A. (2014). Swayed by the logo and name: Does university branding work? Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 24(1), 41-58.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2014.919979
Kheovichai, B. (2014). Marketized university discourse: A synchronic and diachronic comparison of the discursive constructions of employer organizations in academic and business job advertisements. Discourse & Communication, 8(4) 371-390.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481314537575
Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. London: Routledge.
Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. (2nd ed.). London, UK: Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203619728
Lam, C. (2009). The essence of "About Us" page with 12 captivating showcases. Retrieved from https://onextrapixel.com/the-essence-of-about-us-page-with-12-captivating-showcases/
Lam, P. W. Y. (2013). Interdiscursivity, hypertextuality, multimodality: A corpus-based multimodal move analysis of Internet group buying deals. Journal of Pragmatics, 51, 13-39.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.02.006
Landa, R. (2006). Designing brand experience: Creating powerful integrated brand solutions. USA: Thomson Delmar Learning.
Lemke, J. (2002). Travels in hypermodality. Visual Communication, 1(3), 299-325.
https://doi.org/10.1177/147035720200100303
Lepcha, S. (2006). Importance of website design and development. Retrieved from https://ezinearticles.com/?Importance-of-Website-Design-and-Development&id=357554.
Machin, D. (2007). Introduction to multimodal analysis. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Mampaey, J., Huisman, J., & Seeber, M. (2015). Branding of Flemish higher education institutions: A strategic balance perspective. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(6), 1178-1191.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1024634
Mijan, R., Noor, S. M., & Jaafar, M. (2020). Exploring strategic branding resources for small and medium-sized brand-oriented companies. SEARCH Journal of Media and Communication Research, 12(1), 29-45.
Morrish, L., & Sauntson, H. (2013). 'Business-facing motors for economic development': An appraisal analysis of visions and values in the marketised UK university. Critical Discourse Studies, 10(1), 61-80.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2012.736698
Mulken, M., & van der Meer, W. (2005). Are you being served? A genre analysis of American and Dutch company replies to customer inquiries. English for Specific Purposes, 24(1), 93-109.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(04)00043-2
Ngok, M. (2008). Massification, bureaucratization and questing for "world‐class" status. International Journal of Educational Management, 22(6), 547-564.
https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540810895453
Nutter, M. (2009). Best practices for effective design of About Me pages. Retrieved from www.smashingmagazine.com
O'Reilly, M, E, A., & Newton, D. (2000). The role of university web pages in staff development: supporting teaching and learning online. In The Web: Communication and information access for a new millennium (pp. 222-238). Proceedings of AusWeb2K, the Sixth Australian World Wide Web Conference, Lismore, NSW: Southern Cross University.
Osman, H. (2008). Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising: A genre perspective. Discourse & Communication, 2(1), 57-77.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481307085577
Osman, H. (2005). Structural organization and socio-cognitive strategies in university brochures: Implications for ESP. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Ouyang, K. (2004). Higher education reform in China today. Policy Futures in Education, 2(1), 141-149.
https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2004.2.1.4
Pott, K. (2007). Web design and marketing solutions for business websites. USA: A Press Company.
Publons. (2019). Nature publishing group. Retrieved from publons.com/publisher
Sauntson, H., & Morrish, L. (2011). Vision, values and international excellence: The 'products' that university mission statements sell to students. In M. Molesworth, R. Scullion, & E. Nixon, (Eds.), The marketisation of higher education and the student as consumer (pp. 73-85). New York, NY: Routledge.
Storrer, A. (1999). Koharenz in text and hypertext. In L. Henning (Ed.), Text Imdigitalan Medium: Linguistische aspekte von textdesign, TExttechnologie and hypertext engineering. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.
Suen, O. Y. (2013). Hotel websites as corporate communication. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.
Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tan, G. (2013). The ecommerce authority. Retrieved from www.onlinebusiness.volusion.com
Teo, P., & Ren, S. (2019). Marketization of universities in China: A critical discourse analysis of the university president's message. Discourse & Communication, 13(5), 539-561.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481319856203
van Duyne, D. K., Landay, J. A., & Hong, J. I. (2003). Design of sites: patterns, principles, and processes for crafting a customer-centered web experience. USA: Addison-Wesley Professional.
Villanueva, L. S., Dolom, M. A. C., & Belen, J. S. (2018). Genre analysis of the "About Us" sections of Asian Association of Open Universities websites. Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, 13(1), 37-59.
https://doi.org/10.1108/AAOUJ-01-2018-0002
Wells, W., Burnett, J. and Moriarty, S. (2003). Advertising principles and practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Xiong, T. (2012). Discourse and marketization of higher education in China: The genre of advertisements for academic posts. Discourse & Society, 23(3), 318-337.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926511433786
Yang, R., & Xie, M. (2015). Leaning toward the centers: International networking at China's five C9 League universities. Frontiers of Education in China, 10, 66-90.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03397053
Yue, W., & Zhu, J. (2009). A quantitative perspective on the leading role of top universities in China. In Proceedings of 3rd International Conference on World-Class Universities: The Role of WCU in National Systems (pp. 109-119). China, Shanghai: Center for World-Class Universities.
Zhang, Y., & O'Halloran, K. L. (2012). The gate of the gateway: A hypermodal approach to university homepages. Semiotica, 1(4), 87- 109.
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.