Karyn Stapleton

Karyn Stapleton is a Senior Lecturer in Interpersonal Communication at the School of Communication and Media, Ulster University. Her work bridges communication studies and social psychology, focusing on discourse analysis, identity management, and the sociocultural implications of swearing.

• PhD in Communication and Psychology (2002), Ulster University
• BSc Hons Communication (1st class, 1997), Ulster University

Her research explores how interpersonal accountability, public apologies, and narrative theory intersect with psychological and cultural phenomena. She is particularly interested in how swearing operates in educational and media contexts, as seen in her recent studies on television scripts and multilingual taboo practices.

Though her publications span topics like parliamentary discourse and humor, her recent work emphasizes the role of swearing in television narratives and educational settings. This includes analyzing the impact of professors' swearing on student perceptions and the dynamics of taboo maintenance in multilingual environments.

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2015)
• Co-editor of Devolution and Identity (Routledge, 2017) and Advances in Swearing Research (Benjamins, 2017)
• Co-supervised four PhDs to completion and currently co-supervises four more in applied communication

Stapleton actively contributes to academic governance as a member of the ESRC Research Grants Board and as joint Vice-Chair of the Interpersonal Communication and Social Interaction (ICSI) section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA). Her service includes past roles on the Royal Irish Academy committee and organizing international conferences like the 15th IPrA (Belfast, 2017).