I study the discursive construction of social and political phenomenon from a critical discourse analytical perspective. My goal is to better understand how people in society use language in identity-construction and argumentation.

My most recent book (Digital Influencers and Online Expertise: The Linguistic Power of Beauty Vloggers, Routledge, 2023) lends greater visibility to how young people- digital natives - exploit the boundaries between expert and layperson in the discursive construction of expertise through informal tutorializing, indicating how the teaching classroom has grown online in a post-pandemic world, and the importance of co-creation in the process of teaching and learning. My research gives insight into the growing democratization of the digital classroom, whereby learners want to reflect on and make sense of their participation.

My first book (Discursive Illusions in Public Discourse: Theory and Practice, Routledge, 2015) puts forward a multi-perspective discourse analytical framework, that of Discourse of Illusion, which seeks to theorise and analyse how ideological arguments posed by competing groups are formed and spread in society for the purpose of achieving collective consent. As such, I have done extensive research on media and political discourses, particularly in the contexts of populism, terrorism, digital activism, and public square movements.

I am currently working on two research projects:

Discursive Construction of Hindu Nationalism and Diaspora Identity in Digital Mediascapes. This on-going project explores the representation of contemporary socio-political Hindu ideology in public discourse regarding various sociocultural and political issues.

Metaphorical Representations of Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour in New Media. This newer project explores the construction of OCD on social media as part of popular culture as compared with narratives put forward by healthcare professionals.