‘Giving the Graduates an Earful’: Identity and Interaction in Commencement Speeches

The chapter looks at identity features in Commencement Speeches (CS) delivered at graduation ceremonies in North American universities. CS exhibit specific identity traits in generic features, discourse structure and social role which identify them as a genre in its own right. One such feature is their inherent hybrid nature since, although being traditionally part of the academic cultural setting, they bring in relevant instances from the professional sphere reflecting the speakers' various professional experiences. Further, having become more widely available outside the university context, through the web, presently CS also play an important role in the identity building process of universities and speakers alike.