Abstract: Identity as a theory was influenced by scholars at home and abroad, it is not fixed, but can be reconstructed through the strategic organization of language. It is dynamic. The focus in this paper is how identity is manipulatively constructed by Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, in speeches she gave at TED, Harvard Business school and Tsinghua University respectively. This article will analyse the women’s leadership identity from vocabulary, syntax, discourse analysis and rhetoric. It is found that proper use of these four aspects can change the identity of the speaker in audience’s mind.

Key Words: identity construction; female; speech

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction.1

2. Theoretical Framework and Literature Review.2

2.1 The Theory of Identity Construction 

2.2 The Study of Female Identity

3.Case Study: Sheryl Sandberg’s Speeches and Her Identity Construction .5

3.1 TED Speech

3.2 Speech at Harvard Business School

3.3 Speech at Tsinghua University 

3.4 Discussion 

4. Conclusion ..9

Bibliography.10

Acknowledgements11