The discursive construction of institutional identity as place : an analysis of appraisal in the Instagram posts of leading American and British universities

Abstract

It is well known that the emergence and consolidation of new digital technologies have significantly shaped the social practices we are immersed in. These new digital environments have not only reconfigured interaction patterns (Parini, 2023; Parini and Giammatteo, 2018), but have also allowed for new ways of constructing and negotiating identity online. Instagram is a clear example of this. This platform allows users to get in touch with their friends and family as well as to decide how they wish to present themselves to their followers and other Instagram users. Identity construction on Instagram, however, is not confined to the use individuals make of the platform, since it also encompasses companies and other institutions, which make use of social media to reach wider audiences. It is against this background that this study sets out to analyse how universities discursively construct their institutional identities through the posts they share on Instagram. Universities do not present themselves as mere physical spaces that generate knowledge or that students go to in order to access education.