Kathleen Ahrens, Ph.D.

ProfessorDepartment of English and CommunicationThe Hong Kong Polytechnic University

My research examines conceptual metaphor patterns in speeches and media to understand how these patterns represent and support different worldviews.

Prolific Researcher

-Has published over 80 journal articles and book chapters, including in Journal of Pragmatics, Metaphor & Symbol, Applied Linguistics, and Humanities & Social Sciences Communication (Nature journal).

Engaging Public Speaker

-Has presented over 250 invited talks, keynotes, and conference papers in 12+ countries across Asia & Europe, the US, the UK & Australia; Teacher in rhetoric, public speaking, and language arts; Workshop leader for coaches, writers, academics, and business professionals.

Selected Publications

Metaphor and gender: are words associated with source domains perceived in a gendered way?

Change in Metaphorical Framing: Metaphors of TRADE in 225 Years of State of the Union Addresses (1790–2014)

Referential and evaluative strategies of conceptual metaphor use in government discourse

Source Domain Verification Using Corpus-based Tools

Politics, Gender and Conceptual Metaphors

"The importance of this book can be seen in the way that it brings together a focus on language (and conceptual metaphors in particular) and politics and applies feminist research questions and methodologies in thinking through this relationship. Language is a tool involved in knowledge production and thus political action, thus it should be analyzed cautiously which is precisely what the contributors of this book manage to do."
-International Feminist Journal of Politics

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Academic and Non-Profit Leader

-Led regional and global non-profit/academic organizations, including as International Regional Advisor Chair for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrations, ExCom Chair for the Association for Researching and Applying Metaphor (registered UK non-profit), Director of the International Writers' Workshop, and President for the Hong Kong Academy of Humanities

Accomplished Administrator

-Directed end-to-end program development, course development, assessment development, degree requirements, stakeholder relations, committee leadership, quality audit compliance, financial reporting, and line management for large academic unit

Award-Winning Teacher

-Received multiple teaching awards for student-centered learning; noted for interactive and engaging lecture style; gained multiple teaching and learning grants for incorporating self-paced learning into the classroom experience

Experienced Reviewer

-Reviewer for 25+ academic journals and publishers (ten to twelve reviews per year); Former Research Committee Chair (15-20 grant reviews per year); Former Panel Member, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (25-30 grant reviews per year)

Mentor and Coach for Academics

-Supervised/co-supervised 12 Ph.D. students and four post-doctoral fellows, ten of whom now hold full-time faculty positions. Departmental Mentorship Programme Director. Certified Gallup Strengths Coach.

Politics, Gender and Conceptual Metaphors

Papers available at:

I would like to thank all the students, colleagues, and administrators I have worked with over the years. The above accomplishments are the result of the combined efforts of many people working together toward a shared mission as a research group or as an academic or administrative team. Thank you for your hard work and good cheer!