I am a cognitive linguist, interested in conceptual viewpoint, conceptual metaphor theory, blending, and construction grammar, as applied to a variety of meaning-related phenomena in grammar and discourse. Much of my work is focused on cognitive poetics, especially fictional narratives and drama. I also work on the applications of cognitive theories of meaning to various discourse types, including multimodal artifacts in digital and creative contexts.

I completed my MA and PhD at the Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw. Before taking up a position in the Department of English at UBC, I was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and worked at the University of Warsaw and Simon Fraser University. I am the recipient of a Killam Research Prize. In 2012, I was Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies. In 2015, I was a Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Study at Durham University, UK.

My primary focus in teaching is the Department’s Language Program. I am particularly interested in the study of linguistic meaning. My specific approach to meaning is from the perspective of cognitive linguistics, rather than formal theories in semantics. The courses that best represents my approach to the study of language are ENGL 327 (Cognitive Approaches to the Study of Meaning) and ENGL 328 (Metaphor, Language, and Thought).

I welcome graduate students interested in cognitive poetics, especially cognitive approaches to language, narratives, and multimodal artifacts.

I am interested in the cognitive underpinnings of language and other communicative forms. I have worked on the cognitive linguistic study of conditionals in English. I have a strong interest in cognitive poetics; I have worked on the theory of fictional narratives, but have also published on poetry and on drama. My recent work focuses on the theoretical foundations of the concept of viewpoint, in literary texts, in grammatical constructions, but also in visual artifacts (street art, posters, ads, etc.) and multimodal contexts (digital discourse).

Current Research: I am currently working on a SSHRC-funded project on “Emotional Dissonance and the Post-Truth Crisis”, which investigates the use of expressions of epistemic and emotional stance in contemporary media discourse. My focus is on the role these expressions play in so-called ‘post-truth’ phenomena.

Research Networks and Collaborations:

I am engaged in the activities of two research groups: MIDI research group at KU Leuven, Belgium (Multimodality, Interaction and Discourse https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/midi)  and LCE interdisciplinary hub at University of Oslo, Norway (Literature, Cognition and Emotions https://www.hf.uio.no/english/research/strategic-research-areas/lce/)

Authored books

Forthcoming. Multimodal Discourse: Viewpoint and Figuration across Image and Text. Co-authored with Lieven Vandelanotte. Cambridge University Press.

2014 Figurative Language. Co-authored with Eve Sweetser. Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge University Press.

2012 The Language of Stories: A Cognitive Approach. Cambridge University Press.

2005 Mental spaces in Grammar: Conditional Constructions. Co-authored with Eve Sweetser. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

1998 Conditionals and Prediction: Time, Knowledge and Causation in Conditional Constructions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics 87)

Edited collections

2017 The Cambridge Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge University Press.

2016 Viewpoint and the Fabric of Meaning. Co-edited with Wei-lun Lu and Arie Verhagen. Cognitive Linguistics Research 55. De Gruyter-Mouton.

2014 Language and the Creative Mind. Co-edited with Mike Borkent and Jennifer Hinnell. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.

2012 Viewpoint in Language: A Multimodal Perspective. Co-edited with Eve Sweetser. Cambridge University Press.

2012 Textual Choices in Discourse: A view from Cognitive Linguistics. Co-edited with José Sanders and Lieven Vandelanotte. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

I have published over forty scholarly articles, on linguistic phenomena such as conditionals, negation, and proper names; on the concept of viewpoint in various communicative contexts; and on literary discourse. A list of my major publications is available at http://faculty.arts.ubc.ca/bdancygier/publications/