EU universities’ mission statements: what is popularized by metaphors

In the last 10 years, a highly productive space of metaphor analysis has been established in the discourse studies of media, politics, business, and education. In the theoretical framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory and Critical Discourse Analysis, the restored metaphorical patterns are especially valued for their implied ideological value as realized both conceptually and linguistically. By using the analytical framework of Critical Metaphor Analysis and procedurally employing Pragglejaz Group’s Metaphor Identification Procedure, this study aims at analyzing the implied value of the evoked metaphors in the mission statements of the first 20 European Universities, according to the Webometrics ranking. In this article, it is proposed that Universities’ mission statements are based on the positive evaluation of the COMMERCE metaphor, which does not fully correlate with the ideological framework of sustainability education but is rather oriented toward consumerism in both education and society. Despite this overall trend, there are some traceable features of the conceptualization reflecting the sustainability approach to higher education, as related to freedom of speech, tolerance, and environmental concerns. Nonetheless, these are suppressed by the metaphoric usages evoking traditional dogmas of the conservative ideology grounded in the concepts of the transactional approach to relationship, competitiveness for superiority, the importance of self-interest and strength, and quantifiable quality